The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The larger point here is the long economic cycles have turned. The 40-year decline in interest rates has turned, whether we admit it or not. The 40-year decline in the prices of goods due to financialization (lower interest rates, higher speculative assets) and globalization has turned. The 40-year expansion of the workforce has turned. The 40-year decline of oil/fuel/resources prices has turned. The 40-year fantasy that we can depend on other nations for our essential resources and components is drawing to a close.” – Charles Hugh Smith

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 4, 2021

Today, celebrated as Independence Day, is also the birthday of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) and of General Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882)

—

The second batch of waterproof SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks is now available!  The first batch of 1,000 sold out quickly, so order soon. There are less than 300 remaining in this batch!

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. 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.
  6. 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!

Round 95 ends on July 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.

A Micro Survival Kit for Everyday Carry – Part 2, by M.B.

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

Tool #2: Cordage

Cordage — string, rope, etc. — is another of our oldest tools. Early people would have used animal sinew or plant fibers. No matter what its form, cordage is an essential element for making shelters, tools, and weapons, in first aid, and for making needed repairs.

  • Smallest Considered: Dental floss
  • Largest considered: Paracord
  • Final choice: Paracord, plus several feet of fishing line AND thread
  • Honorable mentions: Braided fishline, carpet or upholstery thread

Thread – Strong thread is wonderfully useful for small tasks and repairs, such as attaching a feather to an arrow shaft or repairing torn clothing. I generally choose nylon carpet or upholstery thread, and I look for words like “Extra strong” on the spool label. Thread weighs almost nothing and takes up little room. It can be wrapped around other objects, like a disposable lighter, for easy carry. Wax it with beeswax to repel water and to reduce tangling. Its failing is its limited strength, which makes it inadequate for such necessary tasks as shelter building, but its tiny size, feather weight and general usefulness makes thread something that belongs in a kit whenever possible. Add a needle or two for even more versatility. I wrap several feet of thread around a matchbook cover, with two or three needles. Highly recommended.

Braided Fishing Line – A little thicker than the thread, but much stronger and more abrasion resistant, braided line for fishing can be very, very useful. It’s much easier to use than old-style monofilament: braided fishing line is an excellent choice for a variety of projects, including the repair of web gear, packs and other hard-use items, yet it wraps around a lighter or a matchbook cover, just like thread. It also benefits from waxing with beeswax. I like to wrap both thread and fishing line around a matchbook cover, with a few needles, to cover a wide variety of repairs and tasks.Continue reading“A Micro Survival Kit for Everyday Carry – Part 2, by M.B.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

 

To share this, you can find it here: https://kapwi.ng/c/kD2sjErF

Meme Text:

Joe Biden Says: AR-15s Are Not Enough–It Would Take F15s and Nukes

George Washington: Okay, Where We Get Ours?

Related News Link: In an Attempt to Suggest People Don’t Need Guns, Biden Accidentally Makes the Best Case for Gun Rights.

Biden’s gaffe was so well-publicized that Palmetto State Armory decided to produce a limited run of “Tyranny-15” AR lower receivers.

 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 3, 2021

On July 3, 1890, the Idaho Territory became the 43rd state in the Union.

July 3rd is also the birthday of both musician Aaron Tippin and of actor Tom Cruise.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. 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.
  6. 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!

Round 95 ends on July 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.

A Micro Survival Kit for Everyday Carry – Part 1, by M.B.

In Jules Verne’s 1874 novel, The Mysterious Island, a group of Union men escape from a Confederate prison during the U.S. Civil War, in an observation balloon. They are swept away into a massive storm and survive a crash landing on a Pacific island with nothing but what they are wearing and what’s in their pockets. In an early scene, the castaways have gathered food, firewood and tinder, but the character preparing the fire suddenly discovers that he has lost his waterproof match container. A frantic search among the castaways uncovers a single match in one character’s vest, and this lone match starts their first fire on the island. Later, they learn other firemaking methods, but that first fire is critical to their survival.

The challenge facing the castaways in Verne’s book started me thinking about how I would fare if faced with a survival situation with only the things on my person. Could I start a fire, illuminate my surroundings, and perform other basic tasks? What tools would I choose for a very small kit that I could carry with me every day and in almost every location? I set about designing a micro survival kit.

The purpose of this kit is for the individual to have a few essential tools in a kit that is small enough that it will be carried every day. The trick is deciding which tools are essential and finding examples that combine high quality, small size, and lightweight. Another factor is cost: the kit should be inexpensive enough that similar kits can be made for friends or family members. We also need to find a carry system that allows the kit to be carried easily — so easily that it won’t be left behind.

You may never be in the middle of a major disaster, but car accidents, power outages, severe weather, vehicle breakdowns, and other emergencies may place you in a position to save yourself, and others, if you have the tools to do so. This article is intended to start you thinking about a very small survival kit that you could have with you on a daily basis.

The Four Basic Tools

I chose four of the most basic tools, which humans have been using for thousand of years: a knife, firemaking tools, a light, and cordage. My tools may be smaller and lighter than what ancient men used, but the need for these tools remains the same, especially when trying to survive — or help others — in an emergency.Continue reading“A Micro Survival Kit for Everyday Carry – Part 1, by M.B.”

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 made it safely home to the Rawles Ranch. Now, in addition to unpacking and catching up on some water system repairs, I’m now very busy boxing up orders for Elk Creek Company. When I switched the pricing to Pre-1965 U.S. silver coinage it triggered a large rush of orders.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.

When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.

The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:

Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.

For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.

But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.

But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.” – Psalm 75 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 2, 2021

On July 2nd, 1937 aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. 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.
  6. 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!

Round 95 ends on July 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.

Black Gold: Organic Matter – Part 2, by R.M.

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

Do you have access to sawdust? In most places where I have lived, I have had access to free sawdust. Sawdust is almost pure carbon = organic matter (yes I know it’s not quite that simple, but for the purpose of how to make your soil better, it really is). Put it on your plants and they will most likely die from lack of nitrogen as the sawdust absorbs it. For the best and fastest composting, you need a ratio of carbon to nitrogen of 7:1, and sawdust is all carbon, no nitrogen so it will rob nitrogen if too close to a plant. If you have access to sawdust, there are many ways to use you can use it. The following is what has worked best for me. The first I now longer do as my garden soil is over 5%, but I used this technique for many years. Make a raised bed garden by digging out the paths (putting the dirt on the bed on each side so you have twice as much top soil to garden in) and fill in the paths with sawdust. No mud, no weeds and  it does not steal the nitrogen for more than a few inches, which is the edge of the bed where you don’t want weeds growing anyway. Every 2 to 3 years till the whole garden in the fall, plant a cover crop, and repeat the dig out paths the next spring.

Have animals that need bedding? Use the sawdust, put the manure / sawdust mix out on your compost pile or in the area you will get around to gardening in.

Have any animals where you use a outdoor barn lot, or hay feeding area? Bed the whole area down with 6-8 inches of sawdust. The huge advantages of this technique are to keep you and the animals out of the mud, make scraping up the manure easier, but most importantly animal urine is mostly water and nitrogen. At least 90% of the nitrogen (your most expensive fertilizer to buy) evaporates into the air within 24 hours. If the animal urinates on sawdust, almost all the nitrogen is ‘sucked up’ by the all carbon (and no nitrogen) sawdust! Next summer you will scrape up only black crumbly dirt that is much higher in nitrogen than just the manure would have been, and there will be a lot more total volume than just the manure (and waste hay) would have been. This can be your ‘sacrifice’ area where you can rest your pasture when you run low on forage.

Green Manure

Green Manure, grow your own organic matter. Slower, lower costs, but still a fairly quick method:

Get a good tiller so you will not put this task off or better yet, if you have access to a tractor, get a tractor mounted tiller. If just starting on a larger scale and do not yet have a tractor, talk to neighbors who do, who may be willing to trade use of their tractor for use of your tiller for their gardens. Till in whatever is growing there now, and plant something. Your something seed should be cheap as you will be using quite a bit of seed, you are putting it on a LOT heavier than usual. If only green manuring and not using green manure as part of a rotation, you will be growing at least 2 to 3 crops a year. Shop around, I see mail order garden catalogues that sell green manure seeds for $5 to $10 per pound. Go you your local seed / feed store and you will be looking at under $0.35 for grains and a couple dollars for legumes. Till, plant, rake in, and then till back in as soon as it has grown as large as possible, but not so large that you can not easily till the growth back into the ground. If you add some type of fertilizer, you will grow more organic matter faster. The breaking down of plant material will result in increasing organic matter.Continue reading“Black Gold: Organic Matter – Part 2, by R.M.”

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 Gathering Financial Storm of Inflation. (See the Inflation Watch section.)

Precious Metals:

First up, over at MarketWatch: Why Basel III regulations are poised to shake up the gold market. A quote:

“Under the new regime, physical, or allocated, gold, like bars and coins, will be reclassified from a tier 3 asset, the riskiest asset class, to a tier 1 zero-risk weight —putting it “right alongside with cash and currencies as an asset class,” said Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management Group.

Since physical gold will have a risk-free status, this could cause banks around the world to continue to buy more, Koos said, adding that central banks already have stepped up purchases of physical gold to be held in the institutions’ vaults, and not held in unallocated, or paper form.”

o  o  o

I’m a Gold Bug—Because I’ve Seen Real Inflation and Devaluation.

Economy & Finance:

Mortgage rates jump above 3% for the first time since April — economists warn they’re likely to rise higher.

o  o  o

The Moment Janet Yellen Moved for ‘Greasing the Wheels’ with Inflation.

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: Is this the Reversal of Exodus-Triggered Plunges & Spikes of Rents? Mmmm-maybe.
Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The legislative acts against the trust reposed in them, when they endeavour to invade the property of the subject, and to make themselves, or any part of the community, masters, or arbitrary disposers of the lives, liberties, or fortunes of the people . . . whenever the legislators endeavour to take away, and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any farther obedience, and are left to the common refuge, which God hath provided for all men, against force and violence.” – John Locke, Second Treatise on Civil Government

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There’s a rebel lying deep in my soul. Anytime anybody tells me the trend is such and such, I go the opposite direction. I hate the idea of trends. I hate imitation; I have a reverence for individuality.” – Clint Eastwood

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 1, 2021

Taking some of my own advice, we are about to implement Pre-1965 silver coinage prices at Elk Creek Company.  We will no longer accept credit card payments.  The prices listed are with the intent for some customers to send payment in 1964 or earlier mint date 90% silver U.S. coins. But you can still send payment in Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) — via check or U.S. Postal Service Money Order — with an initial multiplier of 23 times face value.  That is right around the current market price for $1,000 face value bags.  The shopping cart system should be updated (and reactivated) no later than July 4th. Thanks for your patience!

Important Note For Those Paying in Silver: Silver coins should be tightly wrapped in a triple thickness plastic bags and then taped to a large piece of cardboard so that they are rattle-free, and then mailed in sturdy box—preferably a small Priority Mail Flat Rate box. If you have any questions, then call or e-mail me for details.

When the shopping cart system is back up and running, I will look forward to your orders! – JWR

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. 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.
  6. 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!

Round 95 ends on July 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.