Canes, Walking Sticks, and Umbrellas for Street Self Defense

…the Front Sight web site. (Click on “Special Offers” and then on the link for “15 Gun Training Reports free of charge.”) Extensive training on self defense combative techniques is worthless if you don’t see an attack coming. Be alert. If you don’t live near a school that teaches cane and stick fighting, there is a 40 minute training DVD produced by the Gunsite academy, titled: “Defensive Techniques: Walking Stick.” It is available from Blade-Tech and directly from the Gunsite Internet Pro Shop. (The latter does not accept overseas orders.) I should also mention that modern self defense with a walking stick (“Bartitsu“) was popularized by Edward W. Barton-Wright. His classic 1901 magazine article on walking stick self defense is available for free download. See: Part 1 and Part 2. These techniques are weak on weapon retention, but it otherwise is still fairly valid, even after more than a century….




Letter Re: Ideas Concerning a Post-Collapse World

…by the promissory note signed by the borrower. Private money, or specie, backed by a private promise. Incidentally, the warning of Scripture about the love of money being the root of all evil arises from money being based on man’s promise, rather than God’s promise. Sincerely – J.L. Hugh Replies: I think you have a mistaken idea on who wrote the post. The post was written by JLF. But the ideas that are put forth are valid considerations. Usury was indeed forbidden by Christianity in the middle ages, and the New Testament has clear teachings against the charging of interest. Specifically, the Christian is expected to lend money without expectation of repayment, according to Matthew 5:42, Luke 6:34-35, and Luke 6:38. The Qur’an clearly forbids usury. Some of the earliest prohibitions that we see historically on usury come out of Vedic Texts of India. Even China has outlawed interest, at…




Are You Fit to Survive, by S.D.

…withstand wear and tear Throughout time there have been numerous tests created to gauge physical fitness, and most of the time people default to those tests administered by the military. While these are valid tests, they are most often very basic and far from the be-all end-all. It is my opinion that you can come up with your own standards of fitness. which may be more applicable to your situation. For example, you may say, “I want to be able to walk ___ far under my ruck, in ___ amount of time. I want to be able to sprint 100m. I want to be able to fell and process a tree, and still function the next morning.” Our first objective then will be to define a set of goals. Training without goals is akin to running in a hamster wheel. To give ourselves a starting point, let’s first reverse engineer…




SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

…make their job any easier. A search warrant cannot compel you to say anything — such as provide safe combinations or phone/computer passwords, nor reveal your cache locations or the hiding places for your keys. That would be self-incrimination and violate your Fourth Amendment rights. Also, do not confuse an arrest warrant with a search warrant. Never grant permission to law enforcement officers at any level (local, state, or federal) to search your vehicle or your home without articulable probable cause or a valid court-issued search warrant! o o o Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch scolds Americans over handling of pandemic emergencies. o o o A warning on mail-order veterinary antibiotics: June 1st THIS Becomes Illegal – How To Stock Up Before the Ban. JWR Says: Stock up, for the good of your pet fish! o o o SaraSue sent this snippet: “We are having a great Spring this year after…




Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 21, 2022

…save you $1,100 off the cost of a new PVS-14. — Optics Planet (one of our affiliate advertisers) is running a short-term 10% off sale, for several Nightforce rifle scope models. At their site, search for: NightForce NXS and NightForce SHV. — A special note courtesy of AmmoLand for readers in Oregon about Measure 114: “Separated by about a percentage point at this writing, it appears that Oregon’s Ballot Initiative 114 is going to pass. And despite assurance by those who lie about guns and those ignorant and/or biased enough to believe them, a lot more than “common sense” inconveniences will result. In effect, it will be shutting down gun sales. “Based on the passage of Oregon Ballot Initiative 114 and its expectation to take effect on December 08, 2022, Sportsman’s Warehouse currently understands the following impacts to Oregon residents,” the outdoor sporting goods retailer announced on its website. Sales…




Colorado’s New Law on Private Firearms Transfer, by Attorney Timothy J. Priebe

…that the goal of these laws are to disarm and remove guns from citizens as opposed to punishing them for not completing paperwork. I would like to see the true statistics relating to how many criminals are buying guns from private citizens before committing their crimes. Using common sense, we know that is not how they are arming themselves. The criminals are acting as criminals by stealing the guns and then using them in the commission of crimes. This law does nothing more than regulate (control) law abiding citizens when selling their own private property. Another punishment for violation of this statute is the attachment of joint and several liability for any civil damages proximately caused by the transferee’s subsequent use of the firearm. Joint and several liability means that if three people were involved in the matter and all three were found to be liable, the damaged party could…




On Diabetes, and Thinking Outside the Box, by Dr. Cynthia J. Koelker

…to answer a few more of my own questions above: 1.      In the identical twins shared-pancreas scenario, with blood going in and out of each person, blood typing is not a problem.  However, for others to share blood back and forth, both the diabetic and non-diabetic would need to be compatible to both donate and receive blood.  Simple ABO/Rh typing does not prevent all transfusion reactions, and of course even correct typing does not eliminate the possibility of infection or fluid overload.  Still, in a life-or-death situation, with a supply of insulin expected to be available shortly, it could be considered.  (Make sure to obtain a blood donation compatibility chart if you would consider transfusion for any reason.  You’ll either need to know everyone’s blood type ahead of time, or learn how to crossmatch it yourself.) 2.      Theoretically a normal weight or an overweight person, even a mild Type 2…




Survival Planning–More Than Just Gear and a “To Do” List, by Ray

…multiple steps in your plan of action. And realistically, beyond the granular level, you also want to devote some thought to encapsulating groups of processes within procedures. Define success and failure conditions, when it’s time to try something else or what to do next. This branching logic is more complex than a “by rote” routine, and requires more work up front, but the simple fact is canned strings of actions can’t adequately respond to changing real world conditions. Defining procedures and communicating them to your family/group makes for greater speed in going from decision to execution, while still giving you the flexibility to modify your course of action midstream. It also allows for greater autonomy, allowing you to delegate decisions (or entire branches of the decision tree), which means people who are closer to the the current situation are free to act on new data without having to report back….




Letter Re: Open Carry, Concealed Carry and Gun Free School Zones

Dear Jim, There’s another tricky loophole regarding permitted concealed carrying in or near schools. Many states have reciprocity with other states, but best I recall, the Federal statute requires valid licensure issued by that same State to carry in these areas.  So even if your license is valid throughout the state [via a reciprocity provision], it could conceivably still violate Federal law to be armed on or near school grounds. Thanks, – Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large)…




SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

…o No Vax, No Food: Spokane Christmas Food Pantry Requires Proof of Vaccination or COVID Test to Get Food. o o o Pasco USPS No. 1 nationwide for parcel deliveries. Wyoming The ‘Cowboy Cocktail’: How Wyoming became one of the world’s top tax havens. o o o Though it is rare, Wyoming is not immune to violent robbery crime: Two suspects arrested after armed robbery on Interstate 80. o o o RINO Liz Cheney Down By 20 Points In Latest Poll Vs. Unknown Candidate! o o o Laura Ingraham fires back at media ‘hacks’ and Liz Cheney over Jan. 6 messaging. o o o Wind rips trees down, causes major damage in Wyoming town. Send Your News Tips Please send your American Redoubt region news tips, event announcements, and American Redoubt-based companies worthy of a mention to JWR. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form….




The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

…is an interesting article on defending your homestead from the perspective of a Venezuelan. As predicted, the city has serious shortages of everything and the citizens of the towns are now “foraging” through the countryside for supplies. As the title of the article states: Eventually people will come for what you have. The article gives some advice on equipment and operations that have been necessary for the homesteader to retain control of their properties. This is definitely worth a read. o o o Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!…




Gunsmith Training, by R2

…on a daily basis would be difficult, though not impossible. Getting one of them to take me on as an apprentice is a different story. I’ve spoken with a few, and while they are more than happy to have free labor for menial tasks, they don’t really want to share their knowledge or the work. I’ve also spoken with a few people who hang around the gunsmiths over time, and none of them had gained any appreciable knowledge. The conclusion I’ve come to is that, for whatever reason, the local gunsmiths are not (or don’t want to be) teachers of their skills. Attending a Gunsmithing School Attending a gunsmithing school was out of the question. There is no gunsmithing school within a reasonable commuting distance of where I live. I’m already running two businesses that require my full time attention. I can’t just pick up and move my family to…




The Power of Police and Rules for Encountering Them – Part 1, by APC

example: You are camping in Humboldt County, in northern California. Your neighbor states he is a police officer and is concerned with something he sees in your tent. He asks to take a look and presents a Los Angeles Police Department shield and valid ID card, even though he is in civilian clothes. Let’s examine this a little. Under California Penal Code 830.2, the officer standing before you is a valid peace officer with powers throughout the state, 24 hours per day. Again, in theory, they are within their jurisdiction. In practice, look at the following, however: The off duty officer is not acting in an official capacity during this encounter, and he will not likely have the support of his department. If the situation at hand is not a true “life or death matter”, the officer could face a complaint or reprimand. This situation is highly unusual, and you…




“Internet” Without Infrastructure – Part 3, by R.H.

…it really was them. This can be used to solve the problem of verifying blog entries, as mentioned before. If Joe Blogger has a blog at www.JoeBlog.com, he posts a message with a name of, for example, “www.JoeBlog.com 2015-01-15-YREU”, (YREU being random) adding a digital signature at the bottom of the message, which he generates with PGP, using his private key. Anyone interested in the blog can find it in a pouch the same way he would find his your own messages. If it is signed and the “public key” is known, PGP can be used to verify that the message is authentic. A public key is quite long and random; it’s definitely not something any normal person is going to be able to remember, but it can be sent in a message, and it can be saved on a USB key or SD card. Each postmaster will eventually have…




Letter Re: Missouri Constitutional Carry—Not So Fast

Gentlemen, The recent override of Governor Nixon is indeed a step in the right direction. However, it is important to remember that Missouri citizens do not enjoy state preemption. This bill only allows permitless concealed carry where permitless open carry is currently allowed. Many localities ban carrying a firearm (concealed or unconcealed) without the state concealed carry license. If you choose to carry a concealed firearm without a valid permit, you will NOT enjoy any of the exemptions that are enjoyed by those who DO carry on a valid CCW permit, including exemptions to federal laws that prohibit firearms in schools and on premises that meet the federal definition of a “school zone”. I would hate to see a reader (or anyone) blunder into a felony charge based on a misunderstanding of the law. – C.H….