CRKT Woods Chogan, by Pat Cascio

There are a lot of tools that are very suitable for survival purposes, as well as for just plain fun, and self-defense. In the past, I’ve mentioned that, in a hand-to-hand combat situation, as much as I love a good fighting knife – I designed several myself – I would prefer a well-made and well-balanced tomahawk (“t-hawk”) of some type. First of all, you will have a much longer reach, to get at your attacker, than you would with a knife. Secondly, there is a lot more “umph” behind a tomahawk that is swung at an attacker, And, of course, when it comes to survival or camping, it’s just really hard to be a well-made tomahawk for all kinds of camp chores.

I actually passed on the CRKT Chogan T-Hawk, several times, for testing for an article – don’t know why, but I did. I usually have more than enough knives and similar products to test and write about, but for some reason, the Chogan T-Hawk, just didn’t rattle my cage for some reason. Well, the nice folks at CRKT sent me a big box of their products to test and write about, and the Chogan was one of the products.

Admittedly, the Chogan still didn’t catch my eye, until I actually took it out of the box, and started giving it a good once over – and then a second, and a third. I had to assemble it – assembly is simple, just put the axe head on the hard hickory handle, and follow the instructions included in the box, and use a pounding motion to get the head attached to the shaft. Easy to do – just pound the top of the wooden handle on a hard surface, like a concrete sidewalk, and the head will work its way down to the top of the shaft and it will secure itself in a few minutes. I had concerns about this method of attaching the head of the axe to the handle…more on this later.

Now, if you’ve ever been out camping or doing some survival training, and I certainly hope all of our readers fall into this category, then you know there are some tools that are more useful than others. I know setting up a tent, requires that you pound the tent stakes into the ground. More often than not, you will hit something hard or just packed dirt, and it makes getting those tent stakes far enough down in the ground so they’ll hold a tent under windy conditions. Also, another thing we usually run into, is some wood for a campfire – and you will never seem to find enough kindling or other wood to get a campfire going and keep it going throughout the night.

Yeah, I know there are a lot of great big, “camp” and “survival” fixed blades knives on the market, that can get the above jobs done. However, in my humble opinion, none of them work nearly as well as a good hatchet, tomahawk or axe can do the jobs.

Continue reading“CRKT Woods Chogan, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Bear’s Breakfast Cookies

The following breakfast cookie recipe is from SurvivalBlog reader “Bear”.

Bear says: This can hardly even be called a recipe. I like it because it is so easy, pretty healthy, my kids eat it well, it’s good to make ahead and have for grab-and-go in the mornings, and it’s infinitely scale-able and incredibly customizable. It was originally called “Three-Ingredient Cookies” but often around here they turn into four- or five-ingredient, because, well, I’m a rebel. LOL. So:
 
1) Grab some ripe bananas, either fresh or frozen. I would imagine that rehydrated freeze-dried bananas would also be fine, but have not personally experimented with those yet. You’ll get roughly three cookies per each banana used. 

2) Mash the bananas in a bowl with a fork or potato masher, then stir in 1/2 C. rolled oats for every one banana used. If the bananas were extra small or extra large, adjust the oats a little bit, accordingly. You’ll get a feel for the consistency.

3) Stir in whatever else you like! Some ideas:
*chocolate chips (my kids’ favorite) and/or peanut butter chips (my favorite)
*chopped nuts of any kind
*raisins or any other dried fruits
*spices to taste (we like ground cinnamon; it’s yummy and good for blood sugar regulation too)
*combinations limited only by your pantry and imagination. Finely chopped apples and cinnamon… Shredded coconut and chopped dried pineapple and nutmeg (if you like piña coladas, and getting songs in your brain…)… Raisins and chopped walnuts.
 
4) Scoop by 1/4 C-fulls onto a baking sheet (lined with parchment, if you like) and flatten them out to cookie thickness. They do not spread out when baking, so you can put them close together. Bake at 375 F for 15-18 minutes.
 
These are good eaten warm, but I also like them made ahead and refrigerated because they get a nicely chewy texture when chilled.

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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 further examine price inflation.

Precious Metals:

Mike Gleason: Wall Street Roiled By Hot Inflation Data: Is This REALLY “Transitory”?

o  o  o

Peter Krauth: Silver to $300

Economy & Finance:

Inflation Nation: Consumer Prices Jump 4.2 Percent

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At Zero Hedge: US Core Consumer Prices Explode Higher At Fastest Pace Since 1981

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Charles Hugh Smith: Hey Fed, Explain Again How Making Billionaires Richer Creates Jobs

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: State of the American Debt Slaves: Fed “Confounded” as They Pay Down Credit Cards, Other High-Interest Debt, and HELOCs.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The point is, this kind of ideological conditioning is happening everywhere, every day, on the job, among friends, even among families. The pressure to conform is intense, because nothing is more threatening to devoted cultists, or members of totalitarian ideological movements, than those who challenge their fundamental beliefs, confront them with facts, or otherwise demonstrate that their “reality” isn’t reality at all, but, rather, a delusional, paranoid fiction.

The key difference between how this works in cults and totalitarian ideological movements is that, usually, a cult is a subcultural group, and thus non-cult-members have the power of the ideology of the dominant society to draw on when resisting the mind-control tactics of the cult, and attempting to deprogram its members … whereas, in our case, this balance of power is inverted. Totalitarian ideological movements have the power of governments, the media, the police, the culture industry, academia, and the compliant masses on their side. And, thus, they do not need to persuade anyone. They have the power to dictate “reality.” Only cults operating in total isolation, like Jim Jones’ People’s Temple in Guyana, enjoy this level of control over their members.” – C.J. Hopkins, from an essay titled: The Covidian Cult

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — May 16, 2021

On this day in 1868, the U.S. Senate votes against impeaching President Andrew Johnson and acquits him of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.” In February 1868, the House of Representatives charged Johnson with 11 articles of impeachment for vague “high crimes and misdemeanors”. (For comparison, in 1998, President Bill Clinton was charged with two articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice during an investigation into his inappropriate sexual behavior in the White House Oval Office. In 1974, Nixon faced three charges for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.) The main issue in Johnson’s trial was his staunch resistance to implementing Congress’ Civil War Reconstruction policies. The War Department was the federal agency responsible for carrying out Reconstruction programs in the war-ravaged southern states, and when Johnson fired the agency’s head, Edwin Stanton, Congress retaliated with calls for his impeachment. In more recent years the Democrat leadership of the U.S. Senate has used impeachment for political grandstanding, forcing votes even when they have no chance of a successful conviction.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 94 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 94 ends on May 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.

The Honeypot Survivalist, by Gnorizon

Surviving virtually any event largely comes down to resource availability, planning, groups and perhaps most critically thinking. Thinking is the one innate ability that separates humanity from the wild and, arguably, from other humans unable or unwilling to adjust to new events; history, particularly noted in war, is replete with such examples ranging from the macro level down to the individual. The ability to leverage thinking can compensate for a weakness in resource availability, planning and groups – such as cohesion of individuals in the group, its longevity and so on. The purpose of this article is to present information that you may think about in relation to your survival plans in the hope that you may think of a new or more effective way to ensure not only your survival in virtually any event but also those around you, whether that be family or a group coalesced around MAS (Mutually Assured Survival).

Over the past few decades, particularly with the evolution of technology and a drive to influence, monitor and control ever larger swaths of humanity, a new burden has been placed upon survivalists. That is, how to maintain that degree of independence which is the hallmark of what it means to be human; the anti-entropy of existence that drives us to create and evolve towards something better that elevates each of us individually and, by extension, humanity as a whole. In other words, collective independence. In reality this burden requires perhaps a way to apply new thought and action to the long-established basic, and old, tenants of survival; unless your entire existence is contained within the confines of an entirely artificial system, nature or natural law will – in the end – triumph. It may be argued that even in an entirely artificial system, independence is not only still possible – but inevitable for as long as humans possess what it means to be human and the artificial system itself must abide by the laws of nature for its own existence because that system cannot supersede the Kosmikí Alítheia (or cosmic truth). However, discussion of that inevitability is best suited for another time.Continue reading“The Honeypot Survivalist, by Gnorizon”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” – Hebrews 8  (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 15, 2021

Today is the birthday of Evelyn Ernest Owen (15 May 1915 – 1 April 1949) an Australian who developed the Owen submachine gun which was used by the Australian Army in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

On May 15th, 1942, gasoline rationing began in 17 Eastern states as an attempt to help the American war effort during World War II. The main concern behind the rationing scheme was conserving scarce imported rubber, rather than fuel. By the end of the year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had ensured that mandatory gasoline rationing was in effect in all 48 states.

—

Today, we are posting a book review by T.M. in Arkansas, one of our volunteer book review editors. – JWR

Durable Trades: A Book Review by T.M. in Arkansas

If you are looking for a change of career you will find this book of interest, especially if you are migrating from a city. There are plenty of good ways to support you, your family, and fulfill you personal work satisfaction.

Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time by Rory Groves is published by Front Porch Republic Books in Eugene, Oregon. The book is copyrighted 2020 by the author with 293 pages and is available at your favorite book dealer.

The author, a computer scientist now living with his family on a farm in Minnesota is not advocating the usual back-to-the-earth let’s all be hippie’s philosophy, but a lifestyle that is sustainable and rewarding. His website the thegrovestead.com and is worth a visit.

In the Introduction the question is asked, “Is it possible to reclaim some of the lost practices of previous generations – and lost rewards of strong families and resilient communities? Is it possible to build something that will last, something that becomes an inheritance, even to our children’s children?”

The author says “Yes”, and I agree.

He discusses the evolution of job obsolescence over the past few centuries as humans became tied to machines that evolved necessitating retraining of humans to keep their jobs. Consequently, the joy of work and accomplishment has been lost to the drudgery of punching the clock, collecting your pay, and hoping the job lasts for a while. You might be working for the same company, but your job continues to change on a frequent basis. Are you really satisfied with what you did today?

There are alternatives. This book has sixty-one of those alternatives and not merely in a list. Each job is assessed as to it’s stability, resiliency, family-centeredness, ease of entry, and income. The author’s methodology is explained in an appendix. To spice things up there are also profiles of real people/families in each job giving their advice, relating the pitfalls you might experience, and the benefits they enjoy.

Not all sixty-one of these career choices are relevant to all locations, but if you are interested go find it for yourself. Example: Not every town needs a courier service or midwife, but we can all use a good plumber, electrician, schoolteacher, mechanic, roofer, artist, musician, seamstress, carpenter, banker, and so on. Some of these jobs require a college degree, but most do not. There are plenty of trade schools, that can train you to go forth, make a lot of money, and enjoy your work at the same time. All of them require a desire to do what makes you happy and the gumption to get up in the morning and go to work. And, there is no age requirement. It is never too late to start anew and skipping college for trade school is not a sin.

And do not forget the internet gives you a worldwide market for your products if you are an artist, woodworker, knife maker, gunsmith, writer, etc. Thus, you can live off the beaten track and still make a profitable living doing something you enjoy.

In my home county, I purchase my annual beef supply from a local rancher who also doubles as the butcher. I fill up my freezer once a year and he has difficulty keeping up with demand and is looking for an assistant, especially during deer hunting season. Another family has a successful vegetable farm that keeps pantries full of good food. Local tradesmen keep my household mechanicals in good repair as does a local car mechanic for my vehicles. All of these folks have to wash their hands at the end of the workday and are not tied to a chair at a desk or workstation. And we are all on a first-name basis.

Chapters include “The Dignity of Work” ,“The Discipleship of Work”, “Defining Durable”, “The Industrial Revolution: Then and Now”, and more.

The Foreword is by Allan C. Carlson, President Emeritus of the Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society. He is a scholar and former professor of history among other things.

So, ‘nuff said. Grab a copy or two of this book for yourself and a gift. It is well worth the money and your time.

JWR Adds:  As usual, we’d prefer that you Starve The Amazon Beast by doing your book ordering through Books-A-Million (BAM).  (We are a BAM affiliate, so SurvivalBlog gets a little piece of the action, whenever you order through them.)

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:

We’ve been very busy packing orders placed during our Jeff Cooper’s Birthday sale, at Elk Creek Company.  Thusfar, more than $14,000 worth of guns have sold. Please note that if congress passes their private party transfer ban scheme (“Universal Background Checks”), then I plan to put Elk Creek Company on hiatus for six months, awaiting price discovery on pre-1899 antique guns. I will also probably discontinue accepting credit cards, regardless. Paying $300 per month for a credit card merchant account is painful, especially when they also charge 2.5% of gross for the privilege of using plastic. Once I drop my credit card merchant account, I will only accept payment in cash, U.S. Postal Money orders, or silver. This will probably be my last big sale, before that change. The Jeff Cooper’s Birthday sale ends on May 21st, so get your order in soon.

This past week I did a garden water infrastructure project, split a good poke of firewood, and worked on some fences. I dropped three more small dead-standing fir trees in our north woodlot. The largest of these was only 14 inches, at the butt. I cut them into 5-foot lengths — the longest that our ATV trailer can safely handle. Our daughters have started limbing those, to prepare them for me to haul out of the woodlot. Next week: More of The Firewood Imperative. I won’t rest until I have plenty of firewood cut and stacked!

I took one of our sons with me on a gun show trip. That was a three-hour drive there, four hours at the show, and then a three-hour drive home. I did manage to find a few pre-1899 guns and a couple of complete AR uppers, so that made the trip worthwhile.

 

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,

Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?

Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day

For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:

About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,

Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.

Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.

And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.

And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?

Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.” – Joshua 4 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 14, 2021

On May 14th, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, reestablishing the Jewish state after 2000 years. In an afternoon ceremony at the Tel Aviv Art Museum, Ben-Gurion pronounced the words “We hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine, to be called Israel,” prompting applause and tears from the crowd gathered at the museum. Ben-Gurion became Israel’s first Prime Minister.

The British Army had withdrawn the day earlier and fighting broke out almost immediately. Egypt launched an air assault later in the evening. Despite a blackout in Tel Aviv–and the expected Arab invasion–Jews joyously celebrated the birth of their new nation, especially after word was received that the United States had recognized the Jewish state. At midnight, the State of Israel officially came into being upon termination of the British mandate in Palestine.

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Please pray for Divine Intervention, for peace in Israel!

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 94 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 94 ends on May 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.

Growing Your Own Food in the Inland Northwest – Part 4, by D.F.

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.)

Harvesting

I have tried several contrivances for hand harvesting grain or lentils etc., but each time I have been disappointed. Inevitably I have resorted to pulling a clean plastic garbage can behind me while I manually grab the grain heads and jerk or strip them off and deposit them into the garbage can. Surprisingly this procedure has been “perfected” such that I can harvest about a bushel worth of wheat per day. A bushel of wheat weighs 60 lbs. Because wheat and dry legumes have about 1,500 calories per pound a person could expect to survive decently for a year on five or six bushels of wheat and an equal quantity of legumes. Therefore, harvesting a bushel of wheat or peas per day is tolerable though also quite tiring. Harvesting lentils the same way is much slower and is really back-breaking work because they are such low-growing plants. This is a problem waiting to be solved.

Threshing was initially tried by abrading the wheat heads between screens or surfaces. This was clearly insufficient. My current method uses my electric drill with a bolt in the chuck. On this bolt I have attached a couple pieces of steel chain extending about 5-6 inches out from the bolt [forming a flail.] I shove this up and down in about 1/3 of a garbage can full of grain heads while the drill is running and complete the job in about a minute. I follow this by winnowing using a box fan and then further cleaning with a couple screens. Screen with ½, ¼ and 1/8 inch mesh from hardware stores can be nailed to a frame and provides some useful additional seed cleaning. I may need to repeat these steps to get satisfactory results. Field corn is certainly much easier to harvest by hand, but these methods make grain harvesting possible so I have largely decided not to grow dry corn.

Grain can be stored in white plastic food grade buckets as has been described many times by preppers.

Grinding into flour can depend on the cooking method used. Several people have talked about which mill they prefer. My experience is different. I bought a hand crank grinder like the Chard GM150 for trial. It was not even called a mill and was recommended only for rough grinding into meal rather than flour. To make it work I first adjust its screw tightener about one full turn less than totally tight. This just cracks the wheat into pieces but makes it easier to turn by hand for the next grind. After sifting out the fine powder the unfinished grain is returned to the grinder which is then adjusted for a tighter grind. The grinding and sifting is repeated until no further improvement seems evident The resulting flour is not uniformly fine. Much of it is about equal to commercial fine flour, but a substantial portion is more coarse. This produces a dense but tasty loaf when placed in a bread machine, but a 50/50 mix of this with store-bought flour makes quite a fine loaf.Continue reading“Growing Your Own Food in the Inland Northwest – Part 4, by D.F.”

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 rising steel prices. (See the Commodities section and the Equities section.)

Precious Metals:

A video interview: Roubini: There’s tech bubble, crypto bubble, Robinhood bubble, ‘I would be slightly overweight gold’ right now.

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Egon von Greyerz: Gold vs $200 Trillion Counterfeit Money.

Economy & Finance:

‘$17 trillion’: Economist finds Biden plans 3 times costlier than advertised.

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Inflation Nation: Consumer Prices Jump 4.2 Percent

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Brandon Smith: Existential Economic Threats: How U.S. States Can Survive Without Federal Money

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New tax warning: Biden to whack small businesses

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Charles Hugh Smith: Here’s How ‘Everything Bubbles’ Pop.

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Montana Is First State To Cancel Unemployment Benefits In Response To Unprecedented Worker Shortage.

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Reader H.L. sent this: LA’s Homeless Housing Now Costs More Than Some Luxury Condos.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”