Experience with Tesla Solar and Powerwall 2, by Davey

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I’d like to relate my experience with installing and operating the Tesla Solar and Powerwall 2 system.

Being able to be off-grid is a goal that most folks prepping aspire to achieve. There are many ways to accomplish this depending on your individual budget, location and needs. Take a moment and think about modern life. Modern life runs on electricity. All the things like your household appliances, lights, HVAC plus your fridge, water heater, and the chest freezer in the garage. The outdoor security lights plus your infrared camera systems and your security alarm system.

What about your driveway notifier like the Dakota Alert system, or similar so you know something (A deer or a people) at 3 AM just started down the driveway or up from the rear fence line gate? I have an input to the television in the bedroom that if the alert goes off, I can flip on the television screen and see the outdoor wired night vision camera feeds 24/7 from my bed and they are set up overlapping to see all the approaches possible. Saves me having to get out of bed for another deer moseying through, and not have to grab the rifle and nighttime “bump in the night” go kit to check it out. (Yeah, I only went to visit the deer in the dark a few times before coming up with a better plan). I would have to get up and go at 3 AM if I want to see who is there without electricity. How about charging and running all your electronics day today. Even things like charging your ham/GMRS/FRS radios, tactical lights, and Eneloop batteries. Electricity is a force multiplier if you have it and if you don’t can really make life a lot more work and a bigger challenge for sure.

There is an old joke I heard as a kid on the farm about snow and ice storms that goes something like “What would people do when the power goes away”, and the young child answers: “We can watch television by candlelight.” Just think about all the things electricity allows us to have and do. Some folks and groups like the Amish go “old school and traditional” and for long-term that can make a lot of sense, plus help inform and inspire our choices too.Continue reading“Experience with Tesla Solar and Powerwall 2, by Davey”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the rising value of Bitcoin. (See the Cryptos section.)

Precious Metals:

We’ll start out with this from Kelsey Williams: Gold To Monetary Base Ratio Says No Hyperinflation

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#SilverSqueeze hits London as SLV warns of Limited Available Silver Supply

Economy & Finance:

Budget Deficit Totals Record $735.7 Billion Through January

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Who Bought the $4.5 Trillion Added in One Year to the Incredibly Spiking US National Debt, Now at $27.9 Trillion?

o  o  o

Another at Wolf Street: 10-Year Treasury Yield Hit 1.21%, More than Doubling Since Aug. But Mortgage Rates Near Record Low. And Junk Bond Yields Dropped to New Record Lows

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 18, 2021

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Today is the birthday of astronaut Theodore Cordy “Ted” Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964.) Ted Freeman and his wife Faith were friends of my mother and father.  Both my father and Ted Freeman were stationed at Bryan Air Force base in the early 1950s, and they rented houses three blocks apart, in College Station, Texas. The families often played the card game Bridge together. Faith and my mother were also in a play production together. Oddly, the Freemans named their daughter Faith, and they referred to her as “Faith, Junior.” (They couldn’t call her “Little Faith”, for fear of “Oh Ye of Little Faith” jokes.)  A decade later, while training as an astronaut in the Gemini space program, Ted was killed in a birdstrike flying accident, while flying a T-38 Talon jet trainer. Ted Freeman was the first casualty of NASA’s manned space program. Fittingly, Ted Freeman’s name is inscribed on a memorial plaque that was left on the moon, by Apollo astronauts. – JWR

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Today we present a review article by our Editor At Large, Michael Z. Williamson. Mike is a true Renaissance Man. He is a retired military NCO, award-winning sci-fi novelist and anthologist, blogger, essayist, historical reenactor, bladesmith, gunsmith, and handloader. This article shows his expertise with the latter.

Reloading for Obsolete Rimfires, by Michael Z. Williamson

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Yes, that’s correct. Reloadable rimfire ammo for your obsolete guns.

I can now shoot my original rimfires, most notably my 1863 Colt Pocket Navy conversion.

The company HC Collection in France produces these kits for .32 Rimfire, .32 Rimfire Long, .38 Rimfire, and .41 Rimfire, as well as several pinfire calibers. I bought one to try out.

The .32 Rimfire kit contains cartridge cases, bullets, swaging tools, dies, and instruction (in English.) It comes in a wooden case. Because it shipped from overseas, it did not contain primers, but those are readily available here in the USA. This kit can be used for loading rimfire cartridges for guns made in the medium-bore rimfire era of the 1860s to 1880s, as well percussion guns of the 1850s and 1860s that were later converted to rimfire.

Continue reading“Reloading for Obsolete Rimfires, by Michael Z. Williamson”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the invasion of an Arctic airmass.

‘Unprecedented’ Arctic Weather Shocks Texas

First up today is this, linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: ‘Unprecedented’ arctic weather shocks Texas.

We also read: Walmart has temporarily closed 500 stores.

JWR’s Comment: Al Gore should chalk this up as another example of Global Warming.

Parler is Back, After Amazon’s Censorship

Mashable reports: Parler is back after going dark for a month. Just a bit more news about Parler’s new hosting servers can be read, here.Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 17, 2021

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I just heard that Rush Limbaugh passed away. He was a heroic American patriot. Prayers please for his family. And also pray that someone truly worthy takes his place behind The Golden Microphone at the EIB Network.

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On this day in 1838, hundreds of Voortrekkers traveling along the Blaukraans River in the Natal region were massacred by Zulus. This tragedy became known as the Weneen Massacre.

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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.

Making Ham and Bacon at Home, by Michele C.

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I’m one of those ‘tin-foil hat’ weirdo preppers and proud of it; especially in light of the recent lockdown orders that many states have unconstitutionally ordered in light of COVID-19. When everyone was on a wild grab for toilet paper and other things they thought they needed, emptying store shelves of everything; my family and I were sitting home comfortable and unstressed.

I am always teaching myself new things to make everything I need or want including making cured meats – in case it would no longer be available on supermarket shelves or in a SHTF situation. In the past three years, I have also taught myself to make bacon and ham at home and it has only been home-cured since then.

Making ham and bacon at home is really easy, tasty and satisfying. For both, you do not need to use the traditional cuts of meat, pork belly for bacon and leg and butt for ham. You can use any cut of fresh pork you like. I personally always like my bacon more meaty than I can find in the grocery store – I used to spend lots of time checking every single package of bacon and never finding something I was really satisfied with. Making it myself, I can use meatier cuts for my bacon (like pork loin) and I buy fresh pork shoulder for my ham which is usually so much cheaper and once you’ve cured it, tastes just the same as leg or butt.

I’ve used our own pork shoulder from the pigs we raised a few years ago, but the meat processing place froze everything before we got it back. You are not supposed to use frozen/thawed meats – they say that it alters the cellular structure and doesn’t cure as well. When I used it frozen/thawed I just gave my shoulder hams a little more time to cure and they worked out just fine. I baked them and used them right away but did not put them back in the freezer after baking them. We didn’t eat the whole ham for dinner (we are a family of five) so I cut the leftovers in small pieces and canned them (adding a little water) in ½ pint jars. I thought this might be nice to add to other dishes such as beans, pea soup or scalloped potatoes. I think home-canned ham in small pieces is a great item to have in my long term storage.Continue reading“Making Ham and Bacon at Home, by Michele C.”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 16, 2021

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February 16th is the anniversary of U.S. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur’s “Most daring act of the age” as British Admiral Horatio Nelson called it. The Muslim pirates from the Barbary states – Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripolitania, had been leading raids against U.S. flagged ships, stealing the cargo and ransoming the crew back to the U.S. at an exorbitant price. After two years of minor raids, President Thomas Jefferson ordered U.S. Navy vessels to the Mediterranean Sea to engage them. The U.S. frigate Philadelphia ran aground near Tripoli and was captured. On February 16th, 1804, Lt. Decatur led an expeditionary force into Tripoli harbor to destroy the captured American vessel before it could be used to the Tripolitan advantage. Seventy-four men, including nine U.S. Marines, sailed into the harbor, boarded the ship, attacked its crew, capturing or killing all but two, then set fire to the frigate and escaped without the loss of a single American. The Philadelphia subsequently exploded when its gunpowder reserve was lit by the spreading fire.

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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.

Small Batch Meat Canning Tips, by Tractorguy

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Introductory Proviso: This article assumes that the user is already familiar with safe practices to pressure-can meat. This article is NOT a comprehensive discussion of all the caveats and procedures necessary for safe canning. It is ONLY supplementary information for specific items and situations listed below. The correct procedures (times and pressures) for safely pressure-canning low-pH items like meats are available from the manufacturer of your pressure canner or from the USDA.

My wife and I enjoy pressure canning, and believe it to be the best procedure for storing small quantities of meat and other perishables for easy transportation and storage in a grid-down environment where refrigeration and cooking may be unavailable or problematic. Pressure-canned meat is moist (it is cooked during the canning process in its own juices), fork-tender, and delicious. It is already cooked and only requires warming — or if you’re really desperate, eaten cold. In addition, even in a non-emergency environment, we have found that it provides us with quick, pre-cooked meals for dinner when we are both tired from working all day and don’t want to spend a lot of time and effort making dinner.

We have found that most of the recipes for canning are for quantities in pints and quarts. My wife and I are both small people and don’t eat a lot. These quantities of food are just too big for us to use in a reasonable amount of time, and result in a quantity of perishable food after we open a jar that must be used quickly or it will spoil. We typically can meat in half-pint or quarter-pint jars, and soups or other complete meals in pints. Such quantities would also be desirable for a person living alone that would not be able to reliably refrigerate a partially used jar of food.

If you are into canning, or considering getting into canning, I strongly urge you to explore reusable canning lids like Tattler or Harvest Guard (an advertiser on the SurvivalBlog site). This reduces your consumables to near zero. Remember that when using reusable lids, you must retighten them when removing them from the canner. Put your hot mitts on and grab each jar after removing it from the canner and give it a twist to make sure the lid is tight.

The only downside to reusable lids is the unlikelihood of getting your reusable lids back if you give away any of your canned food. One admirable point that is stressed here at SurvivalBlog is the concept of Christian charity in difficult times. When canning, you might want to use a few metal lids for each batch, with those jars becoming your potential giveaway food – if you never see that person again, you only lost the jar, not the reusable lid.Continue reading“Small Batch Meat Canning Tips, by Tractorguy”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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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, we have a lot of winter weather news for the region.

Region-Wide

First up, over at Redoubt News: Dam Removal Plan Would Devastate Agriculture

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Frigid temperatures cloak the Inland Northwest

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Regional Snow Analyses: Northern Rockies

Idaho

Here is a newly-listed retreat that I’ve personally visited and I really liked: Idaho Redoubt Clearwater Riverfront Property.

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Idaho State House approves bill to hold gold as inflation, risk hedge. Here is an excerpt:

“Thursday, Idaho State House approved a bill that enables the State Treasurer to protect state reserve funds from inflation and financial risk by holding physical gold and silver.

House Bill 7, the Idaho Sound Money Reserves bill, found overwhelming support in the House, passing by a 51-19 vote. The bill will now head to the Idaho Senate for a hearing, which is expected to start as early as next week.

According to the bill, the proposed legislation would permit – but not require – the State Treasurer to hold some portion of state funds in physical gold and silver to help secure state assets against the risks of inflation and financial turmoil and/or to achieve capital gains as measured in Federal Reserve Notes.

The legislation was introduced by Rep Ron Nate (R-Rexburg) and Senator Steve Vick (R-Dalton Gardens)….”

o  o  o

Lori Isenberg murder trial set to begin in June 2021

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 15, 2021

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Today, I’d like to wish Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large) a Happy Birthday!

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This is the birthday of gun developer Richard “Dick” Casull was born on February 15, 1931. Casull passed away peacefully at home on May 6, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Dick Casull is most famous for his design of the .454 Casull revolver, along with many other handgun and rifle designs. He held 17 firearm patents.

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As our feature article today, the following is a review written by our Redoubtable Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.