RF Scanning for Preppers – Part 2, by R.W.

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

—

Scanner Models

When radio systems were still purely analog, there were many manufacturers vying for your attention to buy their scanning receiver. With the costs of developing digital-capable receive technology and a dwindling user base, the market has collapsed to just two manufacturers of multimode (analog and digital_ scanning receivers: Uniden and Whistler. Uniden, having been one of the pioneers in consumer electronics developing dozens of models over the past 40 years, currently has twelve scanner models available while Whistler offers six.

For those who might want to dip their toe in the water, there are $150 analog models from both companies (Uniden BC125AT and Whistler WS1010) that will allow you to learn a lot about scanning receivers with a minimal investment. These scanners can only monitor analog radio systems but most public safety agencies have long ago moved to digital systems. Most fire and EMS agencies have moved to digital but still keep their dispatch analog channels active. There are still many agencies on analog systems like commercial and military aircraft as well as many businesses. But an analog scanner will do nothing to let you monitor the vast majority of public safety agencies (police, fire, EMS, hospitals, emergency management, animal control, etc.). Just be aware that neither of these two analog models have coverage above 512 MHz because that’s where the vast majority of digital radio systems are found.

If you want to delve into the digital realm of receivers then be ready to part with $300 for the Whistler digital and base models or $400 for Uniden’s comparable offerings. The Uniden offerings (BCD325P2 and BCD996P2) will likely be worth the extra cost as they cover the more popular Project 25 (aka P25) Phase 1 and Phase 2 systems which the Whistler models (WS1040 and WS1065) do not. It’s very likely that you’ll want P25 Phase 1 / 2 coverage but if you’re sure you don’t then you can save some money by going with Whistler.

The next step up is Uniden’s BCD436HP and BCD536HP which sell for around $500. These include support for P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2 systems built-in, with the option of paying to upgrade the radio’s software to receive NXDN, DMR and ProVoice digital systems. These two radios are part of Uniden’s HomePatrol series (along with the HomePatrol-2 model) which come with the entire US and Canadian radio databases programmed into them. All you have to do is punch in your zip code and a listening range in miles, and it will automatically select all systems within that circle of coverage to monitor. Obviously, you also have the capability to hand-program the scanner for the systems you want if you are more of the hands-on type. The automatic option gets you up and running quickly while the manual option allows you to fine-tune exactly what you listen to — and also learn how your scanner actually works.

While DMR and NXDN are optional upgrades for those Uniden models, Whistler’s TRX-1 and TRX-2 come programmed with support for those two radio systems out of the box. But that will set you back roughly $500 and it won’t give you ProVoice support like you have with Uniden’s less expensive offerings.Continue reading“RF Scanning for Preppers – Part 2, by R.W.”

Movie Reviews: Two for the Price of One, by Large Marge

I visit elderly shut-ins around Eugene, Oregon.
Yesterday, one of our regulars got on her trailer-court facebook dealy-bobber to invite a bunch of geezers to her trailer for spectating at televisionprogramming on her new big-screen television set.
We watched a couple ‘presentations’:
a) RICHARD JEWELL directed by Mister Clint Eastwood hisownself,
and
b) SEASPIRACY financed by hollywood darling Leonardo DiCaprio.
This semi-review is in two parts:
a) is for the flicks, and
b) is for the audience ‘participation’.
And here we go…
a)
Anybody over the age of twenty-five probably remembers the terrorist attack at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
According to various legends, Our Best Men in the fbi accused one of the security working the events of putting a backpack of pipe-bombs near a stage for musicians performing at the Olympics, such notables as Kenny Rogers, B.B. King, and Celine Dion.
According to the various legends, two folks were murdered and dozens injured by the blast.
(An aside…
The movie clearly illustrates the dangers of crowds.
Crowds attract trouble… plus you can get trampled.)
The movie focuses on a genuine sweetheart of a gentleman, Mister Richard Jewell, some of his background, his delightful relationships with his friends and family… and their travails during the three months of ‘investigations’ by Our Best Men.
From the get-go, Officer Jewell is presumed guilty.
All the Our Best Men profilers/investigators decide he is The Only Possible Person capable of the bomb making and placing.
In the hands of anybody other than Clint Eastwood, this could easily turn into a comedy romp as we observe Our Best Men fumbling around, bumbling and tripping and patting each other on the back for their remarkable insights into the mind of such an Obviously Guilty Person as Officer Jewell.
At this point, I am diverging from a straight review to share some of the animated reactions from our little crowd.
All the trailer-park facebook folks are hard-core marxists, socialists, bolsheviks, and outright nincompoops (some overlap), transplants from The Worker’s Paradise of California into the hippie-ville of Eugene Oregon.
As though it was some sort of vicious hive-game, each time a USA flag was included in a scene, somebody in our audience yelled/sneered “Republican patriots!” as a derogatory curse.
This was followed by animated discussions about the evils of patriots, Republicans, and the horridly-awful results of allowing such horridly-awful people to exist on a socialist-paradise planet.
The group agreed ‘extermination’ is the only possible avenue for anybody flying the American flag.
Anytime the Confederate Flag was in a scene, I had to pause the flick.
The audience-hive went into a fuming screaming frenzy out for blood.
Lynching is too good for those vermin, they need to be nuked from orbit.
[I am not making this up]
And during their mini-riots in the old gal’s living-room, the movie was temporarily forgotten in favor of their vicious spittle-flinging circular encouragements.
Me?
Organizing snacks in the kitchen, I was vastly amused.
Back to the flick.
I enjoyed the performances of the actors:
* Olivia Wilde as the head-reporter is utterly immoral in her approval-seeking.
* Kathy Bates approaches sweetly over-acting as the mother.
* The gentleman portraying the titular is excellent as ‘a decent person doing the right thing’ incapable of deceit, and I would watch him in other shows.
Another aside about my little audience:
* several folks hated the protagonist.
Often, somebody yelled/sneered “Southern idiot!” at his appearance.
“Southern bigot!” was also a popular scream.
Variations of “Inbred trash!” were particularly agreeable to our folks, self-encouraged by nods and high-fives and sneers of “He deserves it!”.
My reaction to the actor’s work?
Quite decent under the direction of long-time professional Clint Eastwood.
I recommend the movie RICHARD JEWELL.
For a microcosm of America today, I recommend watching it with a hive of marxists transplants from California coastal cities.
Tons of fun!
.
.
And onto our next entertainment…
b)
SEASPIRACY is an obligatory propaganda piece about marine wildlife such as fish, whale and dolphins, and reefs.
I recommend the flick with strong reservations.
The parts about the downstream out-of-sight accumulations of petroleum-based plastics is eye-opening.
Shocking.
Saddening.
We hear about the floating mountain-island of plastic trash in the Pacific, but this story dives into the results of sun/seawater to reduce each piece of junk to ‘micro-plastics’… and their introduction into the food-chain.
Folks, this is bad news.
Watch SEASPIRACY for this reason.
The other two-thirds of the piece deals with:
* performing dolphins (the propagandist calls them “slaves”) at Sea World and other ocean-oriented parks, and
* farmed fish and factory-fishing vessels.
Those sections were obviously slanted toward encouraging “a plant-based diet”… whatever that is.
Similar to definitions of the word ‘sustainable’, ‘a plant-based diet’ changes with the mood of the proponents.
And they can get moody!
The trouble with prescribing a one-size-fits-all diet is ignoring our human diversity.
Oh, did you think I could get through this without mentioning the socialists objective?
The subject of ‘diversity’ is all fine and good as long as it fits The Agenda.
But injecting additional aspects into The Narrative can result in frying their tiny brains into more screaming and flailing and gnashing of teeth than I expected.
Silly me.
Stirring the pot,
– Large Marge

Avoiding Water Damage To Engines, by Michael Z. Williamson

I just blew up a car engine by driving through a puddle.

Many of us remember our older vehicles tackling flood conditions.  My old 1983 station wagon and my full-size 1996 van drove through three feet of water, more than once.
On many new vehicles, including the Chrysler minivans, Dodge Challenger, and the Minis, the intake tube for the air cleaner is actually down behind the fog lamp near the bottom of the air dam.  I drove through a puddle no more than 8″ deep, which threw up a bow wave, and the engine inhaled it.  Water doesn’t compress.  The block cracked, a piston was damaged, rod bent, throttle body flooded, and starter ruined.  Instantly, the car stopped, and the replacement was over $5,000.

When I stepped out of the car, the water on that side of the car was so shallow my feet didn’t even get wet. This was a puddle.

In normal times, this is very inconvenient and pricey. During an emergency it can leave you stranded with no backup.

I talked about this with my shop’s mechanic, and the easiest fix for this is to remove the intake air tube leading up to the air cleaner assembly (filter box). This means the air intake is up behind the headlights, a much safer location.

There are no negative effects on performance–I’ve been driving without it for weeks.  The only noticeable difference is an increase in induction roar (noise when you accelerate) which some of us like for feedback on how the car is moving.

It’s worth checking your car to determine the air intake location, and if it’s low to the ground, I strongly suggest moving it to a higher position. There are also aftermarket air filters that sit right under the hood. Don’t let fresh air turn into fresh water.

I also recommend checking your backup generator and other powered equipment to ensure the intake is well above any possible floods from below, or heavy rains from above. – MZW

—
Michael Z. Williamson is SurvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” – Frederic Bastiat

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 30, 2021

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr..  Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas K. Delahanty. Known for his quips and unaware of the injury to others at the scene, President Reagan walked into the hospital, despite his wound, and was heard telling his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”

—

I’m in transit back to the Rawles Ranch today, so I’ve reactivated the Elk Creek Company shopping cart. The hiatus is over! 30 guns are now sale-priced. Get your order in soon. The Senate’s version of H.R. 8 is likely to come up for a vote soon. That would ban private party sales of post -1898 guns.  I expect a big rush of order for pre-1899 guns and percussion cap-fired blackpowder guns. They will sell quickly, so don’t hesitate.

—

I noticed that there have been very few reviews of my book The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide posted at the Barnes & Noble web site.  If you’ve read that book, then I would greatly appreciate it if you’d post a brief review.  Many Thanks!  – JWR

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 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. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. 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 93 ends on March 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.

RF Scanning for Preppers – Part 1, by R.W.

Sir Franics Bacon is attributed with saying, “Knowledge is power.” And nothing could be more true than when it comes to prepping for emergencies and SHTF situations. When the forces of nature or the whims of men (or women) turn life upside down, we need to have a plan for reacting. If you’re reading this then you, more than anyone else, understands how true this is. For those who are unprepared it can literally mean the difference between life and death. Shortly after I began writing this article the people in Texas were put to the test with massive loss of power and freezing temperatures that sadly resulted in many deaths.

Signals Intelligence

One area that seems to get little attention in the prepping community is that of radio frequency (RF) communications. While many understand the importance of radio communications, few seem to understand the vital imperative of signals intelligence. I’ve read through many prepping sites and books that talk about how you need to get an amateur radio license and then buy basic ham radio (or CB) gear that allows you to communicate with others.

But what about monitoring what’s going on out there, without ever saying a word? Do you understand the wealth of information that is flying around you, sight unseen? Do you have any idea of the number of local, state, and federal agencies that are broadcasting information free and clear for you to listen to? This includes all kinds of police, fire, and EMS personnel as well as dozens of governmental agencies. Most large businesses own or lease radio equipment to talk back and forth. Our armed forces use many means of communication including satellites but they also rely on good, old VHF and UHF radio systems. Commercial aircraft, railroads, maritime, and public utilities are also favorite monitoring targets. The list goes on and on.

Gathering Reliable Inteligence

All it takes is a bit of education and preparation to put yourself in the position to be a source of reliable intelligence about what’s really going on out there when things go sideways. You will be able to listen to events as they unfold. You will be able to get the word from boots on the ground when bad weather hits or a riot breaks out or an accident closes down a road. You will have the ability to possess the truth and be much less dependent on the lamestream media. If you choose, you can pass along what you have learned to family and friends to keep them informed as well.

What we need to do, then, is to find out what we want to listen to, what equipment we need to listen to it, program our equipment accordingly, learn to use the equipment effectively to monitor intended targets and finally, prepare for the day when an emergency strikes. During a real emergency, we must have the expertise to monitor as well as the power sources needed to keep us running if the electrical grid goes down. Being able to effectively use a radio scanner can provide us with important information that can be found nowhere else and long before it comes across the usual news media outlets.

What Is A Radio Scanner?

For starters, we need to define what radio scanning really is. Put simply, scanning is the hobby of using a radio receiver to intercept signals in order to hear the voice messages being carried on each signal. When we have a radio frequency we want to listen to, say the dispatch channel for the local police, we would program that frequency into a memory channel of our radio receiver. We could also program other channels to listen to the fire and EMS frequencies. A radio scanner now allows those channels to be sampled briefly for activity. This act of going through all of the programming memory channels looking for activity is referred to as scanning. The memory contents are being scanned, sampled one at a time in a continuous loop, until activity is detected. Once an active signal is found, the scanner stops on that frequency to allow us to hear the audio signal and thus listen to what is being communicated.Continue reading“RF Scanning for Preppers – Part 1, by R.W.”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

The first four of today’s Snippets come courtesy of reader Animal House:

Heartland Republicans Unite to Defend Meat Against Liberal Attack. GOP rallies around meat industry in response to attack by Colorado’s Jared Polis.

o  o  o

New Crisis? The Canadian Border May Soon Be Swarming with Illegal Immigrants. “A new spike in the number of families and children crossing the Rio Grande into South Texas over the past several hours is forcing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to request airplanes that will allow the Biden administration to transport migrants to states near the Canadian border for processing,” Miroff reported.

o  o  o

A Brandon Smith article: The Illegal Immigration Crisis: It’s All About New Covid Lockdowns. What if conservatives were tricked into supporting covid lockdowns as a means to control illegal immigration?

o  o  o

Wild mint can prevent blood sugar spikes after meals, reports study

o  o  o

I heard that there is now a GoFundMe legal defense fund campaign for Kristopher J. Ervin, the man behind Auto Key Card.

o  o  o

Our Editor-At-Large Mike Williamson wrote in:

“While traveling:  A WalMart in southern Kentucky today had a just one gun left on the rack:  A kid’s .22 single shot in teal color and no ammo in any caliber or gauge. Customers are limited to a single box per day when they do.”

o  o  o

On a similar note,  Captain Nemo wrote:

“You are right about owning suppressors in the current climate.  I remember a YT video where someone tried shooting a subsonic .22 through a Twinkie, and surprisingly, it worked as a suppressor!  Maybe shoving a loaf of bread over the AR barrel might suppress it!  First shot would be a throwaway to make the bore, but the next should be good.   Kind of a waste of food, but you could eat most of the evidence, minus the black parts.  I have to test this!

I hope everyone has plenty of airgun ammo!  Just stopped by one of the local dealers, and there’s not a pellet or BB to be had!  Looks like everyone turned to airguns to solve the problem getting ammo.  They did have airguns in stock, but no ammo.  Sitting on 10K worth of .177 pellets bought during the last panic.

Ammo stocks at the dealer: .17 Hornet, 6.8 Western, turkey loads in 20 and 12 gauge, duck loads in 28, 20, 16, 12 3 ½”, 10 gauges.  That’s it!  Mountain House pouches $9.99 ea.  Bought the 6 cans of chicken & rice that they had that were still reasonable.  Very few magazines left, very few parts available.  I had to go on a 200-mile scrounging trip to [find the parts to] finish another AR, and I have one more lower to go.

I’m starting to see more guns on shelves, but with stupid high prices.  I burned $800 to finish that AR with low end mil-spec parts.  That was for the upper assembly and stock assembly, and I had to assemble both.  The days of cheap ARs may be at an end.”

o  o  o

Reader Ray K. wrote to mention:

“I just found out that the owner of the Doan Machinery & Equipment Co. has retired and shut down the factory. The residual stock can be purchased from their webpage:
I have absolutely no interest in the company, but wanted to let you know.  The Chinese copies are pure junk.  I was able to pick up a few on eBay for $11 and change apiece, but once they’re gone – they’re gone.”

JWR Adds: I checked and found that there are still some original Doan firestarters available on eBay.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region.

Today, a special edition of this column, with a listing of ammunition and ammo component manufacturing companies in the American Redoubt region. Note that most of these companies have been overwhelmed with orders since February of 2020, and they have built large order backlogs.

In addition to those listed below, there are also many Redoubt-based small companies that make cast or jacketed bullets listed at the Corbin web site. (Just search for the American Redoubt telephone area codes: 208, 509, 406, 307, 541, and 458. Yes, those six area codes cover the whole region –unlike some coastal states that have 10 area codes for just one state.)

I should also mention that if you have good mechanical aptitude, many of these companies are now aggressively hiring.

Idaho

Buffalo Arms. In addition to producing ammunition in many hard-to-find calibers, they also sell some blackpowder guns and accouterments. Their retail store — with no sign out front — is worth visiting. Once you find the correct door, you will soon learn that they are friendly folks.

o  o  o

CCI in Lewiston, Idaho is the best-known and by far the largest ammo maker in The American Redoubt. In fact they are the world’s largest rimfire ammo maker.  They produce small-caliber rimfire ammunition and primers by the billions, annually. Presently they are running around-the-clock, producing about 4 million rounds of .22 rimfire ammo per day. And although they are having difficulty keeping up with demand, their line of products just keeps growing.

o  o  o

Also in Lewiston is the much smaller Freedom Munitions.

o  o  o

PNW Arms (Potlach)

o  o  o

Steele Components (a big “wholesale only” company with a low profile, in Lewiston)

o  o  o

Xtreme Ammo And Brass (Caldwell)

o  o  o

For shotgun shell reloaders: Ponsness/Warren (in Rathdrum.)

o  o  o

Garnet Ammunition in Coeur d’Alene is worthy of mention, but hard to contact, since they only sell their ammo wholesale–mostly to gun shops and gun show dealers.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Nothing is more usual, among states which have made some advances in commerce, than to look on the progress of their neighbours with a suspicious eye, to consider all trading states as their rivals, and to suppose that it is impossible for any of them to flourish, but at their expence.  In opposition to this narrow and malignant opinion, I will venture to assert, that the encrease of riches and commerce in any one nation, instead of hurting, commonly promotes the riches and commerce of all its neighbours; and that a state can scarcely carry its trade and industry very far, where all the surrounding states are buried in ignorance, sloth, and barbarism.

It is obvious, that the domestic industry of a people cannot be hurt by the greatest prosperity of their neighbours; and as this branch of commerce is undoubtedly the most important in any extensive kingdom, we are so far removed from all reason of jealousy.  But I go farther, and observe, that where an open communication is preserved among nations, it is impossible but the domestic industry of every one must receive an encrease from the improvements of the others. ” – David Hume

Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 29, 2021

Today is the 102nd birthday of William “Bill” Summers Anderson. At last report, he was still living. The following is from his biography at the Infogalactic wiki:

“He was born March 29, 1919, in Hankow, China. On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong was also attacked by the Japanese. As a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC), Anderson fought the Japanese but after 17 days of heavy fighting, Hong Kong surrendered.

On Christmas Day 1941, exactly four years after he had escaped from the Japanese in China, he became a Prisoner of War (POW) and lost his second home. For the first two years, he was in a prison camp in Hong Kong before being moved to Nagoya, Japan as part of a group of 400, to work in a railway locomotive factory. Here the work was very hard; inmates worked 13 days out of 14 and were beaten on occasion. Towards the end of 1944, Japan was being bombed regularly. In May 1945, a large air raid over Nagoya knocked out the factory and the POWs were sent across the country to Toyama on the west coast to work at a branch of the locomotive factory. Toyama was almost totally destroyed in a fire bomb raid on August 1, 1945, after which the POWs were confined to barracks until the Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945.

He was evacuated from Japan to the Philippines and as a British citizen, sent to England after two weeks of recovery in Canada. After the war, he became chairman of NCR Corporation.”

In 1983, just before he retired, Anderson was reportedly America’s highest-paid business executive with a compensation of $13,299.000

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Today, another review by our redoubtable Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Rossi RS22 Semiauto .22 Rifle, by Pat Cascio

I’ve neglected covering .22 Long Rifle (LR) firearms over the years. My apologies. It wasn’t intentional, believe me. I just get so many centerfire firearms to test, that I’ve been concentrating on them. For many years, I recommended that folks who were starting out as Preppers – or Survivalist – make their first purchase as a pump-action 12 Gauge shotgun – as their main firearm, until such time, as finances permitted, to move on to other firearms, if possible. I was wrong! Today, when new preppers ask me what to get as a first firearm, I recommend a .22 LR caliber rifle – or a .22 LR handgun. Let me explain:

First of all, with a .22 LR rifle, you can not only use it for self-defense – I know, save the hate mail – if that’s all you have – it will get the job done with proper shot placement. Secondly, you can take small game, and in a pinch you can take game up to deer-sized – once again, with proper shot placement. Of course, I would never recommend hunting deer with a .22 LR chambered firearm. However, in a pinch, a survival situation, you can certain take deer with a head shot – I knew a fellow who routinely took deer with headshots to feed his family – he wasn’t earning enough money to make ends meet. I can’t fault someone for wanting to feed their family – as best they could. So, don’t think I’m advocating poaching, I’m not!

Of course, if you don’t have a .22 LR chambered rifle, the next best thing is a .22 LR chambered handgun – once again, it could be used for self-defense in a pinch, and you can take small game – as well as deer-sized game if need be. However, you have to be a fairly good shot to take deer with a head shot, but it can be done. Small game is also a challenge with a handgun – just have to know what you’re doing and be a better than average shot.

I wouldn’t recommend a bolt-action .22 LR rifle, or a single-shot rifle – it takes too long to get follow-up shots, especially in a self-defense situation. Needless to say, we are talking about home defense – ‘cause you can’t carry a rifle on your person out in public. So, a semiauto rifle is in order. When it comes to handguns, you semiauto is my first choice, followed by a revolver of some type – they will serve you in a self-defense scenario – if that’s all you have. Believe me, no one wants to get shot, not even with the lowly .22 LR round. Once again, I’m not recommending a .22 LR chambered firearm for self-defense as my first choice – so save the hate mail, once again. Many years ago, I knew the fellow who ran the ballistic testing lab in a big city, and he told me that (at that time) more people were killed with .22 caliber firearms, than any other caliber.

Today, we’re looking at the Rossi .22 LR semiauto rifle, simply known as the RS22L1811 – RS22 for short. Rossi has been around for a lot of years, and they have a close relationship Taurus Firearms, which markets their revolvers. Rossi has always made an affordable line of firearms, starting with .38 Special revolvers and single-shot long guns. Their guns are made in Brazil, and the low labor costs there make their guns quite competitively priced.Continue reading“Rossi RS22 Semiauto .22 Rifle, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Big Ben’s Texas Goulash

The following recipe for Texas Goulash was kindly by SurvivalBlog reader Big Ben. It was developed with freezer storage in mind. He later adapted it for home freeze-drying.

Ingredients

5 lbs Ground Beef

5 lbs Macaroni Noodles

2 lbs Frozen Corn

1 large Onion diced

1 #10 can Tomato Sauce

2 10 oz cans Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chile

2 4 oz cans diced green chile

1 10.75 oz can condensed tomato soup

1 ½ c Italian seasoning spice mix

½ c Chili powder

¼ c granulated onion

¼ c granulated garlic

½ c minced garlic

¼ c crushed red pepper flakes

1/8 c ground black pepper

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

8 oz shredded Italian cheese blend

24-32 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Brown ground beef well and add diced onion and cook till translucent.  Cook macaroni to al dente in a large pot.  Drain macaroni and ground beef.  Combine everything in one pot and mix well.  Add 4 to 6 cups water and simmer to desired doneness/flavor blending.  The cheese will want to stick to your stirring spoon, but if you keep stirring eventually it will dissolve into the mix.  I bag this in quart freezer bags at 24 oz to the bag to fill twenty bags. \

To freeze dry in my Harvest Right, I turn it out onto parchment-lined trays two bags to a tray.  To rehydrate, add enough boiling water to make 24 oz again, and let stand for about 5 minutes.  Each 24 oz load will feed me and the wife with the addition of some crackers or bread (cornbread is a good extender for this one) and will satisfy my otherwise oversize appetite.   This is one of our big 5 freeze-dried meal recipes.   We do two batches of this as part of our one-year supply, along with the other 4 recipes plus extras.  Making this takes about 3 hours.  The freeze-drying takes a couple days.

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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!

20 Reasons Why America’s Next Bank Holiday Will Be a Nightmare (Updated)

JWR’s Introductory Note: Today, in lieu of our regular bi-weekly Economics and Investing column, I’m presenting an update to an article that I wrote for SurvivalBlog, back in June of 2012, titled:  20 Reasons Why America’s Next Bank Holiday Will Be a Nightmare.

If anyone compares this with the original edition, you will see that I’m standing by the majority of my 2012 predictions and recommendations. If anything, nine years later, the threats that we’d face in a banking crisis will be even greater, because of increased reliance on electronic payment systems, power grid reliance, Internet reliance, and the larger scale of the tech-based economy.

I should mention that one of the key metrics that I cited was Money Zero Maturity (MZM) money supply. Back in 2012 it was around $7 trillion. It has now more than tripled, to more than $22 Trillion. Humpty Dumpty is now headed for a much bigger fall — that is, one that will not just devastate the financial markets and retail banking, but also the Dollar itself.

Here is the updated article:

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The world has returned to the brink of a global credit crisis that could be far worse than the tumultuous events of 2008-09 and 2012-13. The sovereign debt crisis of 2012-13 in the southern reaches of the Eurozone seemed to indicate that bank runs could escalate and spread in a global contagion. Thankfully, that crisis was stemmed. But with interest rates now rising, I can see that a similar situation may return. The recent collapse of Germany’s Greensill Capital is troubling. Though European banking managers and regulators are calling the Greensill collapse “contained”, it is having far-reaching consequences. Mark my words; Greensill may not have been just an isolated glitch.

Interest rates have been kept artificially low since 2007. What we are witnessing now (in early 2021) is an understandable rebound. Some analysts suggest that it might herald a repeat of the 1945-to-1981 interest rate wave. That wave was triggered by currencies and banking detaching themselves from precious metals. (First silver, and then gold.) The 1971 to 1981 period, in particular,  was quite traumatic. A similar, but a probably much smaller wave of interest rate hikes will be triggered by global financial markets detaching themselves from the U.S. Dollar as a reserve currency, and adopting sovereign digital currencies.Continue reading“20 Reasons Why America’s Next Bank Holiday Will Be a Nightmare (Updated)”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labeled a radical 60 years ago, a liberal 30 years ago and a racist today.” – Thomas Sowell

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 28, 2021

On this day in 845, a 5,000-man strong fleet of Danish Vikings invaded Frankish lands. They only retreated after besieging Paris and securing a ransom from the Frankish King Charles the Bald. This was part of a series of devastating raids begun by the Vikings in the 790s.

The Vikings were led by a man named “Reginherus” or Ragnar, sometimes linked to the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok. The Vikings easily overcame defenses set in place by Charlemagne and are known to have attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés just outside the city. Although struck by an outbreak of plague, the Vikings overcame this to return home with their ransom of 7,000 French livres of gold and silver.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 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. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. 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 93 ends on March 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.