Preparedness Notes for Saturday — December 4, 2021

December 4th is the birthday of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, (born 1912) an AVG “Flying Tiger” volunteer pilot for the Chinese Nationalist government, WWII Marine Corps aviator, and Medal of Honor recipient. (He died January 11, 1988.) A proto-Redoubter, Pappy Boyington was born in Couer d’Alene, Idaho and was raised in Spokane, Washington.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 98 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Your New Normal, by SaraSue

Once you see the strings on the marionettes, you can never unsee them. In other words, once your eyes are opened to manipulations, you can’t not see them. When you see them, trust, if given, is retracted, taken back, lost. If a thing is found to no longer be genuine, and it is no longer what it was promised to be, you feel tricked. Trust lost is much harder to earn back than trust never given in the first place. I did, at one time, when I was blissfully unaware of politics, “trust the government”. I do not anymore and that has had a profound effect on how I live my life. Yes, I was once very naive. But, I will say this in my defense, the government has never been so corrupt as it is now.

I’m not going to fill space listing all the traitorous things our government has done because it would fill a library or two or three. I’m sure everyone reading here has had some sort of disagreement with the government, perhaps over taxes owed? Maybe it was about who owns your land, that was handed down over generations? Maybe it was or is about the water you pump out of the ground on your land to satisfy the needs of your family and livestock? Taxes, property and water rights, what you’re allowed to buy, or sell, where you can travel and in what mode of transportation, what you eat, how and where you worship, what constitutes medical care, how you raise and teach your own children, etc., somehow has the fingerprints of the government all over it. Is this even America anymore – land of the free and home of the brave?

Many still have their heads in the sand and they’ll do just about whatever they’re told to do just to have some semblance of comfort and normalcy. They absolutely will take an untested substance into their bodies so they can take that Hawaiian vacation. Even really good people, who are not selfish in any way, believe that they should be obedient to government in order to do more good things. What they aren’t thinking about is that compliance with unholy mandates is not actually a sacrifice for a good cause. It is submission to an unholy power. I’ve seen a lot of devout people bow down to the government because they want to “do the right thing”, or alternatively, because their way of life has been threatened. In reality, they are merely submitting because it makes life easier to go along than to shovel against the tide. Although, I do not doubt their sincerity! They just haven’t seen the puppet strings yet, or they don’t want to.Continue reading“Your New Normal, by SaraSue”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I did my best to get caught up on projects around the ranch this week. I also made several antique gun purchases from estates.  As always, I have to scramble to keep guns in inventory.  Sales have been brisk at Elk Creek Company, so I’ve also been busy packing orders. We’re now down to just 17 antique handguns, 16, percussion replicas, 14 rifles, and four shotguns. I did add another Mauser cavalry carbine that just arrived. Our month-long Patton’s Birthday sale ends on December 11th, so if you want to place an order, then do so, soon.

One of the projects for the new chicken coop was laying step-stones in front of the door.  Lily and I went to the far end of our property and gathered three large flat stones that were roughly 20 inches square and 6 inches thick. I estimated that they were just over 100 pounds apiece. We hefted them into the back of our truck for the short ride back to the coop. After rolling them off the truck, I laid down a base of gravel and set the stones in place. The leveling process just took a couple of minutes.  We also brought one other stone that was 30 inches long, three inches thick, and a foot wide. I positioned this one as a ramp, just outside the chicken door at the back of the coop–inside the fenced chicken run–so that the chickens won’t have to hop up or hop down, at the coop’s sliding Guillotine door entry.

Deer and elk season has just ended, leaving me empty-handed. I was so busy with out-of-state travel, and then “catch up” that I didn’t get the chance to get out and hunt.  So I suppose that we’ll slaughter and butcher one of our steers sooner rather than later. It is nice to have plenty of beef available, on the hoof.

Our new sheep have settled in. I’m sure that Lily will have more to report, on that…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then Job answered and said,

I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?

If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.

He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.

Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.

How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?

Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.

He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?

If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.

This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.” – Job 9:1-22 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 3, 2021

Today is the birthday of actor Brendan Fraser (born, 1968.) He often plays “fish out of water” roles. Preppers of course remember him from Blast From The Past.

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A Legislative Action Alert!  Please contact your state’s U.S Senators, immediately, re: Anti-Gunners Attempt Stunt to Pass UBCs Without a Vote. Note that “Universal Background Checks” is just a tricky way of saying: Private Party Intrastate Transfer Ban. Remind your Senators that would be an unconstitutional overreach of the Interstate Commerce Clause.  They can regulate interstate commerce, but not intrastate commerce. Someone selling a used gun to their neighbor is intrastate commerce.

Oh, and while you are at it, also voice your opposition to H.R. 1808/S. 736, — the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, that would define many rifles, shotguns, and other common semi-autos as “assault weapons.”

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 98 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Boots, Knots, Hand Sanitizer, and a Knife, by The Novice

Thrift store shopping can yield many useful items. This article is a collection of short reviews about some of my finds. These finds include a pair of boots, a book about knots, a gallon jug of hand sanitizer, and a knife.

A Pair of Boots

When I am harvesting firewood, I like to wear steel-toed boots. My toes just feel happier with a little extra protection when they are in the vicinity of running chainsaws, swinging axes, and rolling logs.

About a year ago, I was in one of our local thrift stores and ran across a pair of “Skechers Work Relaxed Fit Holdredge-Rebem Men’s Steel Toe Boots.” They were my size. I tried them on and was immediately impressed. They are the most comfortable steel toe boots I have ever worn. If I remember right, they cost less than $10. They are one of the best purchases I have ever made.

Over the course of the last year I have worn these boots extensively in all kinds of weather. They have kept my feet dry in the rain, warm in the snow, and adequately ventilated in the heat. They are lightweight, sturdy, water-tight, breathable and provide good traction. They are more comfortable than many pairs of hiking boots that I have owned.

I was so pleased with these boots that when I went on a mission project to Montana this past summer, they were the only footwear that I took along. I found them well suited to a full day of wear, whether on an airplane, cutting firewood, siding a cabin, or paddling a canoe. If things went south tomorrow, and I had to abandon my home with just the footwear on my feet, these are the boots I would wear.

The boots have just two drawbacks that I can think of. One drawback is small: the laces tend to come untied, so I need to double knot them. The second drawback is larger: the boots are made in China.

A search of the internet revealed that these boots are currently available from many vendors. The best deal that I could find in my size was from Kohl’s for $74.25 . I was strongly tempted to buy a backup pair, but decided to wait. After all, I might run across another pair at a thrift store.

A Book about Knots

For many years the number of knots that I could tie was somewhat limited. I could manage a square knot and a hangman’s knot and a few other knots which I could not even name. I even knew how to tie my own shoes. But I was never a boy scout nor a sailor, and felt that my knot tying skills could use some improvement. I have often been confronted with a rope and a task and had the feeling that there must be some good knot for accomplishing the task, but I just did not know how to tie it. Sometimes I created my own knots with mixed success. So when my thrift store shopping uncovered a copy of The Morrow Guide to Knots: For Sailing, Fishing, Camping, Climbing, I snatched it up.Continue reading“Boots, Knots, Hand Sanitizer, and a Knife, by The Novice”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at used vehicle prices. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Barclay’s Bank’s Moser is looking for more upside in gold.

o  o  o

Gold prices holding gains as U.S. ADP shows 534K jobs gains in November.

Economy & Finance:

Even the left-leaning NY Post admits: Socialists & Joe-cialists twist reality when it comes to inflation, economy.

o  o  o

Equity hedge funds flee Covid-sensitive stocks amid fears of new surge.

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, November Update: Another Holy-Cow Moment.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 2, 2021

On December 2nd, 1823, what became known as the Monroe Doctrine was declared by President James Monroe to Congress outlining a foreign policy initiative that forbade European interference in the American hemisphere but also asserted U.S. neutrality in regard to future European conflicts.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 98 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Hoping For TEOTWAWKI – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

TEOTWAWKI would get rid of both the 24-hour news cycle and the time-wasting crime that television is. By the time after The Day when the new normal has been established, kids (and most parents) will be thin and active and unafraid again, knowing how to ride bikes, developing ingenuity and problem-solving skills by building go-carts and tree forts, and seeing what neat critters there are under rocks and logs when you roll them over. After their many newly-acquired post-SHTF chores are finished, boys and girls will go down to the swimming hole with their friends on hot afternoons without parents or life jackets, with the boys (and some girls) learning how to scare the girls with frogs like their great grandpas did.

All the modern time-wasting toys and gadgets we have today would disappear in TEOTWAWKI and be replaced by simpler things and a simpler, healthier, and more active lifestyle. Yes, shorter too and with many deaths being more painful and drawn out than today, but newborns would live more in their first 40 years post-TEOTWAWKI than most now live in 80 years of ease and opulence.

Am I romanticizing TEOTWAWKI? Yes, to some degree of course, but probably less than most. Not only was I born with an adventurous self-reliant spirit, but I love a good challenge and all the problem-solving brain exercise that goes with it. I passed that on to most of my children who passed it on to their children and although I would wonder, I’d not be overly concerned about how they were faring in their part of TEOTWAWKI-land.Continue reading“Hoping For TEOTWAWKI – Part 2, by St. Funogas”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at storing eggs.

States Adopting Digital Drivers Licenses

First and foremost, over at the GraniteGrok blog: State’s Are Adopting Digital Drivers Licenses – A Digital Identity That Could go Well Beyond Driving. (Thanks to Karen B. for the link.)

Canada Bans Unvaccinated From Leaving The Country

Reader H.L. sent us this sign of the times: Canada Just Banned All Unvaccinated People From Leaving The Country! The article’s intro:

“Unvaccinated travellers over the age of 12 won’t be able to board a plane or train in Canada beginning today, and a negative COVID-19 test will no longer serve as a substitute for most people.

The policy came into effect on Oct. 30, but the federal government allowed a short transition period for unvaccinated travellers who could board as long as they provided a negative molecular COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before their trip.”

Countering The Looter Mentality

Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson sent us the link to this firearms forum discussion: Survival Food Scams.  Mike chimed in. He reports:

“I tried to offer some courteous advice and leads, responding to this string of forum posts:

I don’t get “Survival” food. You have to stock Amazon size warehouse if you want to survive that long.

When it comes to Armageddon, surviving isn’t about stocking anything. It is about getting into a group that knows where/how to get ammo (National Guard armories) and food (business warehouses).

We easily have a year’s worth for the family in cans, dry, and frozen, and we raise chickens, ducks, quail, and rabbits. The prepared stuff doesn’t take “an Amazon warehouse.”

The important thing is to rotate through and keep stuff within shelf life, and buy things you’re actually going to eat.

If things completely go to hell, there isn’t going to be anything in the warehouses. For one thing, with kanban and JIT there really aren’t any warehouses. Even if they haven’t run out by the time it’s an issue, they’ll be looted in minutes.

National Guard armories are: Locked up tight, and don’t have ammo.  They may have a box or two for sidearms, but they usually draw ammo at the range. They don’t keep stocks on hand. (I was an armorer in the Guard for years.)

If your strategy is, “Knock over an armory and steal from a warehouse,” you’re going to have a very short life expectancy.

You need a group who already have ammo, save it for defense and not ill-thought out campaigns, have food on hand and know how to produce it.

You might join us at survivalblog.com for effective strategies on the above and other issues.”

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 1, 2021

This is the birthday of novelist Rex Stout (1886–1975). Rex Stout was the brother of Ruth Stout, the gardener who wrote about no-till, year-round mulching, organic gardening in her book Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy, and the Indolent.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the first entry for Round 98 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 98 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced: Round 97

We’ve completed the judging for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize winners are:

First Prize:

Anthony B., for Progressive Reloading for Beginners, posted on November 24, 2021. His prizes will include:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

Petr, for Internet Privacy Basics, posted on November 25, 2021.  His prizes will include:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

Tractorguy, for Backup Power Generation Considerations, posted on October 17, 2021. His prizes will include:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

Honorable Mention Prizes:

The following 14 articles won Honorable Mention prizes. Each of these prize winners have been awarded a $50 FRN purchase credit that is good for the purchase of any antique gun at Elk Creek Company:

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Round 98 begins today and will end on January 31, 2022. So get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Hoping For TEOTWAWKI – Part 1, by St. Funogas

Oh TEOTWAWKI, where art thou?

I gave up the “news” on November 3, 2020 about 8 PM. During December I’d do a quick scan to see if there was any mention of mushroom clouds, then get back to more important things like trying to figure out how to get my hands on some Hoppes 1-8 to go along with my Hoppes 9. In 2021, I’ve given up all news (except the occasional link in another story) and both my sanity and quality of life have improved immensely. Friends and relatives will notify me of any mushroom clouds on the horizon.

One of the things I look forward to as each new day begins is reading SurvivalBlog with my morning coffee. A sincere thanks to Jim, Lily, and contributors for all your hard work to make SurvivalBlog possible.

Recently, several SurvivalBlog articles, snippets, and news links have gotten me thinking again about some old topics so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve pondered while weeding the garden and doing chores around the homestead. I’m sure most will probably disagree but these are mere opinions and observations so for those folks, I hope we can agree to disagree.

I’ve jokingly told my kids on many occasions that I want a quote on my tombstone which I call my own, but no doubt many others before me have uttered similar sentiments: “As individuals, human beings are the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened on planet Earth. As a species, the sooner we go extinct the better.”

There are dozens of reasons why I feel this way and history is replete with all the bad things we’ve been doing to each other since the beginning of time. But the single biggest reason I see on a daily basis is the fact that as a species, we’re just a big herd of sheep. Most of us lack the capacity for critical thinking (“You can’t reason a man out of a position he didn’t reason himself into”) because throughout history, other than things like “don’t stick your hands directly into the fire to warm them,” truth hasn’t been necessary for our survival. What was important was being part of a tribe and going along with the tribe in order to maintain our membership, even if it meant tossing helpless virgins into calderas to appease the volcano gods. Tribe Trumps Truth and lone dogs didn’t survive for long.Continue reading“Hoping For TEOTWAWKI – Part 1, by St. Funogas”