Necessity is the Mother of Improvisation – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

We have all seen the post-apocalyptic movies where improvise armored vehicles with machine guns roam the landscape.  These Hollywood creations make for great entertainment but are such cobbled together machines just fantasy?  The civil war in Somalia introduced the world to “Technicals”, or utilizing civilian vehicles, like decades old Datsun and Totota Hilux pickup trucks, as a platform to mount heavy machine guns, like the Soviet era DShK 12.7mm.  Thirty years later and such vehicles are now being used on the battlefields of Ukraine.  Not only has Ukraine made improvised war wagons out of civilian pickup trucks but they have used off-the-shelf drones to make an impressive improvised air force.  Just as modern warfare has caused the need for improvisation, so will The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI).  How can we be better prepared to improvise when the time comes?Continue reading“Necessity is the Mother of Improvisation – Part 1, by 3AD Scout”

SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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.  Today, a public domain photo of the Palouse Hills at sunset in late summer, by Alejandro Rodriguez.  The thumbnail photo below is click-expandable.

Send Your Media Links

Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos that are posted or re-posted must be uncopyrighted. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“It is my belief that there are ‘absolutes’ in our Bill of Rights, and that they were put there on purpose by men who knew what words meant, and meant their prohibitions to be ‘absolute.’” – Justice Hugo L. Black

Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 9, 2026

On March 9, 1776, Adam Smith published the influential economics book “The Wealth of Nations”.

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March 9, 1916: Pancho Villa‘s men killed more than a dozen in a raid on Columbus, New Mexico.

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March 9, 1945, the U.S. Army Air Forces bombed Tokyo with napalm, causing fires that destroyed a quarter of the city and killed some 80,000 civilians.

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Today’s feature is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

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We still need entries for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Ontario M3 Fighting Knife, by Thomas Christianson

The M3 Fighting Knife was designed with a single purpose: to kill the enemy. It was designed to penetrate deeply into an opponent during hand-to-hand combat, severing arteries and veins along the way, so that the opponent would quickly lose enough blood to cease to be a threat.

The M3 and the KA-BAR were evaluated together for the US military in 1942 by civilians on the Smaller War Plants Corporation Board. It was adopted by that board based on civilian rather than military criteria. The chairman of that board was eager to select designs that could be quickly and economically produced by small businesses, thus allowing private industry to more smoothly reconvert to peacetime goods production after the war.Continue reading“Ontario M3 Fighting Knife, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Roasted Asparagus with Garlic is from SurvivalBlog reader Callie B.

Ingredients
  • 1 large bunch of fresh asparagus, washed and with woody butt ends cut off
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • Sea salt (to taste)
  • Black pepper, preferably freshly ground. (To taste)
Directions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Place the asparagus spears in a large bowl then add the olive oil and garlic and toss to coat them.
  3. Season with salt and pepper (to taste).
  4. Transfer the asparagus spears onto a thick metal baking sheet and arrange in one even layer so that every spear is touching the sheet.
  5. Roast for 15-30 minutes to desired consistency. Cooking times will vary based on the thickness of the asparagus spears and how well roasted you like them.
  6. Remove from oven and transfer the asparagus spears to a serving dish.  If you used too much oil, then blot them with a paper towel before serving.
SERVING

Serve it while it is still hot.

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Do you have a well-tested 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 recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: U-Haul 2025 Growth Index. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)  It is obvious that the Inland Northwest, the Southeast, and Texas are the winners, while the increasingly socialist California, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York are the losers.

The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

 

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Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Who’s going to trust the British media when we know now for a fact that the Trusted News Initiative is an organization of media partners that recognize that their real enemy is independent media? Their enemy, they’re not competing with one another anymore. They’re competing against independent media. It became very clear in COVID. It wasn’t a revolutionary moment. It was a revelationary moment where a lot of people saw for the first time [that] you can’t trust your government. You can’t trust your media. You can’t trust corporations. They’re there to control you. They require that you are ignorant and docile in order that they can control you. A lot of people woke up.” – Russell Brand, in a March 2026  interview with Tommy  Robinson

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 8, 2026

Richard “Dick” Hyman turns 99 today! (He was born March 8, 1927.) Dick Hyman is a jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, pioneering electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters fellow in 2017.

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March 8th is also the birthday of famed revolver shooter, big game hunter, and gun writer Elmer Keith, who co-designed the S&W .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges. He authored the book Sixguns, which is still considered a standard reference. His fascinating life story is told in his last book, Hell, I was there!  A Proto-Redoubter, Keith spent the second half of his life on a ranch near Salmon, Idaho. (Keith was born in 1899 and died February 12, 1984.)

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Today’s feature article is by our friend “Kim Kipling”, a retired CIA officer. It is not part of the writing contest judging. JWR recommends his books.

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We still need entries for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

The Fighting Cane, by “Kim Kipling”

The need to be prepared to defend one’s self in an increasingly uncivil, hostile world is apparent. I strongly recommend the daily carriage of a defensive sidearm, backed up by a reliable edged weapon whenever possible, and I strongly encourage regular practice with these essential tools. More important than simply having hardware is cultivating the mindset of awareness and preparedness. But all too often, our increasingly intrusive nanny state governments, both national and local, enact laws and encourage policies designed to disarm us in public places. Some jurisdictions will go out of their way to prosecute any use of armed defensive force with a firearm or blade, as a punitive example to other citizens who might think of disobeying their draconian weapons restrictions. They all too often harness the power of law to prevent us from being armed and to punish those who arm and defend themselves anyway.

Fortunately, there is a loophole in these misguided, unconstitutional and frankly evil efforts to disarm good people. Two federal laws with real teeth provide for the routine, universal, and legally authorized carriage of a potent weapon of self-defense: the Fighting Cane. (Proviso: I am not a lawyer and the information contained in this article is not legal advice. Do your own research on these matters or consult a licensed attorney.)Continue reading“The Fighting Cane, by “Kim Kipling””

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

The Amazingly Popular New Game:

Ayatollah Whackamollah

News Link:

Who Will Be Iran’s Next Supreme Leader?

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

Rejoice evermore.

Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-18 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 7, 2026

On March 7, 1644 Massachusetts established the first two-chamber legislature in the American colonies.

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March 7, 1707: The birthday of Stephen Hopkins, a Governor of Rhode Island. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

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And March 7, 1944 was the birthday of Townes Van Zandt, a gifted Texan singer/songwriter. (He died in 1997.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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),
  2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  4. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN 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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

What I’m Growing This Year – Part 2, by SaraSue

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

Meat, Dairy, and Eggs

My first cow to calve this year is due in a couple of weeks, and being that she is a first time heifer, she could calve any time now.  So, I’m trying to finish up house projects, cleaning the farmhouse top to bottom. and get the garden going before I need to ensure a healthy calf, and train its mother to the milking machine.  I’ll be honest.  I’m apprehensive about training this particular heifer.  She’s a big Guernsey, taller than me, and has long “kickers”/legs, and she’s a little skittish.  Some heifers settle right in, and some want to kill you.  LOL.  So far, there’s not been a cow I’ve failed to train to the milker, but there’s always a first.  Maybe she will extend mercy to me.  If not, I will turn her out with her calf, until such time as she is over her first calf hormonal insanity.  I’m not in the mood to fight with a heifer this year.

I train all my cows to come in by their names, and also to a feed bucket, so there’s an incentive for her to allow me to milk her, but she has to decide.  I’m not the kind of person who will truss up a dairy cow and force her to comply.  It goes so much better when she realizes it’s a good experience and wants to come in to be milked.  There will be milk (cheeses, yogurt, butter, etc.)  I’m just not sure yet who is going to get it – me or the calf or both.  This heifer was bred to sexed semen and should produce a full-blooded Guernsey heifer (a calf for future milk or to be sold).Continue reading“What I’m Growing This Year – Part 2, by SaraSue”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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 the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I did some chicken slaughtering and butchering this week. There were six in this batch. Two of those were older “Stewpot” roosters that were quite difficult to skin. I also cleaned up the barnyard and hauled out manure. This time, it went to fill a couple of low spots in one of our pastures.

On Thursday, with the help of a young neighbor farm hand, Lily, I, and our younger daughter pitchforked an entire box trailer load of manure and soiled bedding from our in-barn sheep pen that still holds four rams and ramlings.  I’m building another squash mound at woodling on the north side of one of our pastures with that manure

I also helped an ailing neighbor get into town to run his errands.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”