Seodon FRS Handheld Radios, by Pat Cascio

Ever since I was a little kid, and built my first walkie-talkie (CB radio) – and the darn thing actually worked – I’ve been fascinated with radio communications with other folks. Of course, CB radios, are mostly a thing of the past now – everyone has a cell phone – but a good two-way radio certainly has its place for Preppers.

I spent considerable time searching for what I hoped would be an economical set of fairly reliable compact two-way radios, that would serve my purposes, during a SHTF scenario. Of course, price is always a consideration for me. We aren’t rich – not even close. We usually live paycheck-to-paycheck so we have to spend our funds wisely.

I found these radios on Amazon.com and ordered up four of them. You can get a two-pack, a 4-pack, or even a 5 or 8 pack. The 4 pack was under $60 and what came with this set-up was everything I wanted, and more. Initially, I was going to order a 2-pack. But for just a little bit more money, I went with the 4-pack. When the SHTF – and it will – I wanted to be able to stay in contact with at least one other person, who might join us on our small rural retreat, it’s not big, just about 3.5-acres. In the event, that we needed to patrol this small patch of land, it was important that I stay in contact with another person, who might be working with me on a patrol. Our little retreat is heavily wooded, and you can’t always see another person who might only be 50-feet from you. Now, with four radios, we can stay in touch while outside, as well as with people inside the house.Continue reading“Seodon FRS Handheld Radios, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Trench Fruitcake

The following recipe for Trench Fuitcake kindly comes to us from SurvivalBlog reader Allie E. This recipe dates to World War I, when English and Scottish families often mailed parcels with fruit cakes to their sons, grandsons, husbands, and nephews serving in the trenches of France and Belgium. Hence, the name: “Trench Fruitcake” or just “Trench Cake.”  This makes a great storage food treat, to break up the monotony of other stored foods. Some tinned fruitcakes have been eaten after 10 years of storage with no significant change in flavor or consistency — although of course their nutritive value diminishes, over time.

Ingredients
  • 4 cups of mixed dried fruit (traditionally, 2 to 3 cups of that should be golden raisins)
  • 1 cup self-rising flour
  • 1 (400 g) can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 splash of brandy or rum (optional)
Directions
  1. Put the fruit and water in a pot, and bring to a boil.
  2. Simmer uncovered, two minutes. Cover and cool to room temperature.
  3. While the fruit cools, line a deep baking tin (square, rectangular, or round) with baking parchment paper. Bring the paper to ½ inch above the edge of the tin.
  4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F..
  5. To the pot of fruit and water, stir in the condensed milk and egg.
  6. Next, slowly add the flour, and any optional liquor.
  7. Thoroughly mix the batter. Spoon it into the parchment-lined tin.
  8. Bake for two hours (or until a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted into the cake), at 300 F.
STORAGE

Traditionally, fruitcakes and trench cakes were stored wrapped in cloth soaked in brandy, and then that in turn in a sealed tin. In the 21st Century we’d of course add a layer of plastic inside the tin–such as a food grade Ziplock bag. If stored for long periods of time, then the tin can be reopened and the brandy on the cloth can be renewed — at least once a year.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

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 the revaluation of the Venezuelan currency. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.)

Precious Metals:

It was 50 years ago, this month, that President Richard Nixon took the U.S. Dollar off the Gold Standard –ending convertibility of paper Dollars into gold. We’ve been on the Paper Standard ever since. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Dollar has declined precipitously since Nixon’s Day of Perfidy. Even by official inflation statistics (which are low) an item that cost $1 in 1971 FRNs now costs $6.74. There has been a cumulative rate of inflation of 574.1%. Take a look at prices in 1971. Milk, gasoline, and cartons of eggs haven’t become “more valuable” in 50 years. In real terms, they haven’t changed. It is the currency unit that has been destroyed. And for anyone who has kept electronic “Dollars” on deposit in a bank or FRNs tucked under their mattress? Well, we’ve simply been robbed by inflation — a covert method of taxation.

o  o  o

Gold’s “Flash Crash” Explained: Charts, Fundamentals, & Familiar Manipulations. JWR’s Comment: Though it bounced back on Friday, silver had been down 9.3% last week.

o  o  o

What Gold Volatility, Stanley Fischer, And CBDC Can Tell Us About The Future.

o  o  o

One Bitcoin now buys 0.6 kilograms of gold as 10-year returns turn negative.

Economy & Finance:

At Wolf Street: Miles Driven in America Show the Shifts Brought on by the Pandemic: Rural Is in, Urban Not So Much, Mass Transit is Out.

o  o  o

Truck driver shortage ‘is about as bad as I’ve ever seen’: US Xpress CEO.

o  o  o

The great American dog shortage.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.” – Sun Tzu

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 15, 2021

On August 15, 1961, two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities began building a wall–the Berlin Wall–to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War–a literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe. The wall has now been torn down for longer than it stood, but the scars in memory are still there.

—

Auction ends tonight! Through a friend with an FFL, I’m auctioning a stainless steel Seecamp LWS .380 ACP made in Milford, Connecticut, new in box with three factory magazines, and extra factory springs. As a modern gun, it would require delivery to or through an FFL. This scarce Seecamp pistol has a current market value in excess of $1,000. When I last checked, the bid was $805. Please consider bidding. Not only will you help support SurvivalBlog, but you’ll end up with a gun from my personal collection. This auction ends Sunday, 8/15/2021 at 10:03 PM, Eastern Time.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 96 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. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 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!

Honorable Mention:

A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit toward the purchase of any antique or percussion replica gun from Elk Creek Company will be awarded to each Honorable Mention prize winner.

—

Round 96 ends on September 30th, 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.

Combating Sheep Flock Parasites – Part 2, by Mike V.

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

The test is performed with the freshest stool you can get. You can corral the animal, get your gloves on and get in the rectum to get some pellets out, or any number of less stressful ways to get your sample. I just walk into the field and walk behind the sheep or lamb I want a sample from. They routinely walk away and I follow them until they get a little antsy and they will give you what you need in short order. You are not trying to spook them, just be a little annoying so they stay at the slow halting walk so you can spot the pellets and pick them up. You will need two grams (probably two pellets in an adult and four in a lamb) of stool which you place into the 50cc tube. Add 30cc of flotation fluid and then break up the pellets in the fluid to make a slurry. I do this with a flat screwdriver. Technically you are supposed to use 28cc but the line on the tube is at thirty. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. You will need to strain the slurry into another clean test tube and will need to press the solids within the strainer to drain your effluent through. I have been using the same disposable #10 scalpel blade for the past 5 years. You can now use your pipette to suck up some of the slurry and place it onto the chambers on the slide. I squeeze and eject the contents of the slurry in the pipette ten times before placing on the slide. This mixes the slurry in the tube. Why ten? No good reason. I just do it the same way every time with every test.

The same can be said for 28cc vs. 30cc of flotation fluid, how you break up the pellets, time that you wait before you strain. Do it the same way every time. Apples to apples as they say.
The slides are unique in that they have an elevated cover slip which allows for effluent that you created to stay within the space on the slide via surface tension. You place the pipette at the opening and fill the chamber completely. If you make a mistake or blow in an air bubble, just wash the slide and try again. You have 30cc of slurry and you are only putting about 1cc into each chamber so you have plenty. Lay the slides down and wait about 10-15 minutes which will allow your eggs to float to the upper glass of the chamber while the debris sinks to the bottom. That’s where the specific gravity comes in. The eggs have a specific gravity of around 1.2 and debris at 1.3+.Continue reading“Combating Sheep Flock Parasites – Part 2, by Mike V.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

To share this, you can find it here:  https://kapwi.ng/c/T0on8u2d

Meme Text:

Will He Be the Fox in Charge of the Hen House?

“Many see putting a committed gun control proponent, like David Chipman, in charge of ATF… is like putting Antifa in charge of the Portland police department.” – Senator Chuck Grassley

Related News Links:

Biden ATF Nominee David Chipman Sick Past Comes To Light.

Grassley: Whistleblowers Allege ATF Nominee David Chipman Racially Targeted A Black DOJ Employee.

Note From JWR:  Please phone and e-mail both of your state’s U.S. Senators and urge them to vote down this horrible nominee!

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.“- Galatians 5 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 14, 2021

Today is the birthday of British folk-rock singer Maddy Prior. She was born August 14th, 1947.

August 14th, 1945 was Victory In Japan (“V-J”) Day.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 96 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. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 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!

Honorable Mention:

A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit toward the purchase of any antique or percussion replica gun from Elk Creek Company will be awarded to each Honorable Mention prize winner.

—

Round 96 ends on September 30th, 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.

Combating Sheep Flock Parasites – Part 1, by Mike V.

My mother went back to school to be a social worker, and she did a project which was quite interesting. She taped (remember cassette tapes?) one of our dinner conversations and then played it back to us when her project was over. I do not remember what her point was but I do remember that three planes flew over the house and two trains went by and none of us skipped a beat with the conversation. We lived in the flight path of one of the largest airports in the world and the train tracks were right next door. I guess it is mandatory for the train to toot the horn one long, two short, and one long as it passes the crossing. It was difficult researching the Doppler effect of sound in the encyclopedia especially when you have never heard of the Doppler Effect. It dawned on me that we just tuned the DC-10 out as if it was background noise. To determine why the train made that weird sound as it passed required a trip to the library which was about 20 blocks away with about 15 trees and a whole lot of concrete.

You can’t grow much on concrete except in the cracks. When the land is made of that material you are pretty sure that food comes from the store along with all of the things which make up dinner. Meat comes from behind the glass; milk comes from the carton, vegetables in the bins with the little misters. Who knew someone had to grow all these things in order to eat. In order to be able to grow something, anything, we were going to have to change the substrate we lived on.

We have replaced the concrete with actual dirt and grass over the ensuing decades. It took a while to get to this point but like everything else in life, you can’t take the steps forward without the steps before. Let us begin with the sheep. We have been raising them for the past 6 years because we like lamb. Most of you already know that there are certain requirements that are necessary to raise livestock such as acquiring good animals. Or you could do what we did. Just get a couple from the lady down the road and see what happens. Grass and water, what else do you need? Yeah, the fencing so you do not have to chase them.Continue reading“Combating Sheep Flock Parasites – Part 1, by Mike V.”

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:

.
This past week I was very busy cataloging new inventory for Elk Creek Company. I added seven antique revolvers (two of them have already sold), one Winchester Model 1895 (already sold), and a minty Ruger Old Army percussion revolver in its original box (also already sold).

I’ve also been busy vetting candidates for a retreat caretaker position, for one of my regular consulting clients.

I did a little prep work on our planned outhouse project. Although we have plentiful water from shallow wells and backup power, we want to have an outhouse available, “just in case.” I suppose this is an example of my  “belt and suspenders” approach to preparedness.

I helped Lily plant a couple of more sapling trees, in the orchard.

After a brief rodeo with a couple of our Bovine Delinquents, I also did a fence repair, where the cows had got out.

Now, over to Lily…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.

And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.

Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died.

So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together.

 And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa.

And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people.

And they put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.

And when all Jabeshgilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;

And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” – 1 Chronicles 10 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 13, 2021

Today is the birthday of sharpshooter, entertainer, and folk heroine Annie Oakley (1860–1926.)

—

I had a couple of inquiries about the percussion revolvers that I have listed at Elk Creek Company. To clarify, in addition to the one that I currently have listed, I have several more Ruger Old Army .44 revolvers available, mostly in stainless steel. They have not yet been listed at our online store. Their prices range from $800 to $1,500 FRNs. I can show any of my antique gun inventory to you in detail via Skype video if you have Skype.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 96 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. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 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!

Honorable Mention:

A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit toward the purchase of any antique or percussion replica gun from Elk Creek Company will be awarded to each Honorable Mention prize winner.

—

Round 96 ends on September 30th, 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.

Becoming a Hunter – Part 3, by Remington Smith

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

Early in the season, in this same spot, I learned that I was truly a hunter. It was not when I took my deer because I took him from another place on our land. Instead, it was when I passed up an immature buck. That spike I mentioned earlier gave me multiple opportunities to shoot. I never did. Knowing that I had the discipline to stick with what I had deemed a mature animal gave me the confidence to continue hunting the big bucks. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that even if I saw a monster, I would not shoot unless I was sure that my shot could be placed properly.

I will not attempt to explain every encounter with deer I had during my first season, but I will attempt to give some pointers to those looking for big bucks. Big bucks are tricky. John Wooters called it right when he wrote in Peterson’s Hunting 1987, “A mature Whitetail buck is the easiest animal on the face of the earth to underestimate. He’s capable of things the average hunter simply refuses to believe. The more credit you give him for wiliness…and for wariness…the closer you are to the truth-and to collecting his scalp. And the less credit he gets, the better he likes it. Like old Lucifer, he prospers most when no one believes in him.”

It is often assumed that big bucks only like thick areas, but this is not always the case. I have seen more buck sign in edges between types of woods more than any other place. A good portion of our property is swamp during the deer season. Thick as the devil. I have never seen a big buck in this area thick as it may be.
Big bucks also out-smart hunters by the time they are moving. One morning as I was heading out, I was foiled by a buck who was in replanted pine. That is the clearest area on our land, but he knew he was safe because of the time.

On another occasion, I heard a buck move out of the swamp just after sundown heading towards drier area to bed down. I was hunting at the same place when a buck moved out of a different area of the swamp and bedded down just far enough away to be out of the water. He bedded down 5 to 10 yards from where I was sitting. Both of the two previous instances happened just at the end of legal shooting time.

So when do bucks move during legal shooting time? I am not entirely sure. The rut changes the habits of all deer, but it seems that as more and more hunters pressure the deer during the season, the deer adapt to move at times no one believes them to be moving. This is during the mid-day hours.Continue reading“Becoming a Hunter – Part 3, by Remington Smith”

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 again look at Swiss watches. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Manly: Gold Price Smash in Paper – But Physical Demand on Fire.

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Barrick CEO: Gold’s real rally hasn’t even come yet; Mark Bristow on Q2 results, forward guidance.

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: Yields Plunge After Strongest 10Y Auction On Record.

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Social Security’s Insolvency Is Bigger Than Climate Change And COVID-19 Combined.

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$1.1 Trillion Flood of Liquidity from Drawdown of Treasury General Account Peters Out.

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US trade deficit hits record $75.7 billion in June.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”