Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 4, 2021

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January 4th is the birthday of George Hyde, who was born “Heide” in 1888, in Arpfingen, Germany. He was the chief gun designer for the Inland Division of General Motors (GM) in Dayton, Ohio during World War II. Hyde was best-known as the co-designer of the M3 “Grease gun” SMG and the Liberator pistol, but he also designed the Bendix-Hyde Carbine and the M2 Hyde submachinegun. He immigrated to the United States in 1927. A gent at the Nitro Express Forums mentioned some details on his life before World War II: Before 1935 Hyde was the shop foreman and metal man at Griffin & Howe. He quit there and went into business for himself. Samuel A. “Harry” Leonard teamed up with Hyde, and their rifles are marked “Leonard & Hyde New York” on the barrel. In May of 1935 [school teacher and New York National Guard Major N.H.] Ned Roberts and his father-in-law [well-known carte-de-visite photographer] W.G.C. Kimball went into business together as “Roberts and Kimball” in Woburn, Massachusetts. Their idea was to make high-quality sporting and varmint rifles on Mauser actions in the then-popular cartridge that bears Roberts’ name, the .257 Roberts. Metal work on these Roberts & Kimball guns was done by George Hyde, and the stocking was done by Harry Leonard. Some information suggests that Leonard and Hyde did not relocate to Massachusetts but that the work was sent to them in New York City. Roberts & Kimball company lasted less than a year, and their rifles are not found very often.

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Our big rifle sale at Elk Creek Company ends at 5 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, January 6th, 2021. Get your order in soon!

Annual Reminder: The Ten Cent Challenge

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Each year, I only post one reminder, encouraging voluntary Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions, and this is it.

Back In August, we celebrated our 15th blogiversary. Thanks for making SurvivalBlog such a success! There are now more that 33,700 archived articles and columns. And after just a couple of years of adopting a comments section, there have been more than 72,000 comments posted.

Hopefully, some readers appreciate the fact I only post an appeal once a year. And I’m confident that most  readers appreciate that SurvivalBlog is one of the last of the daily “Old School” blogs. We are one of the few blogs without any of the annoyances and intrusions that you’ve probably seen elsewhere:

  • Off-topic “filler” articles
  • Annoying pop-up ads
  • A “Pay Wall” that presents just the first paragraph of an article
  • Opt-in pop-ups to generate e-mail lists
  • E-mail list spamming
  • Auto-playing media
  • Paid placement pseudo-articles written by foreign hacks
  • Instant surveys
  • “Are you sure you want to leave?” messages
  • Animated graphics or animated/blinking ads
  • “Top 10” slideshows
  • Inane infographics
  • Cheesy stock photography
  • “Members-only” exclusives
  • Keyword stuffing
  • Sporadic posting

SurvivalBlog is not a typical sporadic blog. I’ve only missed three days of posting in more than 15 years, most notably just after my first wife passed away. And I have never stooped to the assorted marketing and data-mining trickery that has become so commonplace on the web. Nope. We are still truly Old School. And we will never sell your e-mail address. We don’t even maintain any e-mail lists for our own use.

Everything at SurvivalBlog–including the full archive–is available free of charge. And we certainly do not harass you with droning week-long PBS-style pledge drives.

Please keep in mind that to operate SurvivalBlog we have considerable expenses for bandwidth, web hosting, paying for our primary server, maintaining our backup server, software, and legal fees. I also have contract expenses for our Managing Editor and our Field Gear Editor.

So, here is my appeal in a nutshell: If you find that you get more than 10 cents worth of value per day in reading SurvivalBlog, then please donate 10 cents a day ($36.50 per year) to help cover the blog’s costs. And by the way, even with inflation, that suggested donation amount hasn’t changed since the blog’s inception, back in 2005.

There are several payment options including PayPal, cash, checks, booklets of “Forever” U.S. postage stamps, and even mailing us a few silver dimes or quarters. Many folks thoughtfully send pre-1965 silver dimes or quarters taped to a piece of cardboard.

Please consider investing in an antique gun or two. Those scarce guns only go up in value, and profits from that side-business help keep us afloat.

Only about 1% of readers are Ten Cent Challenge subscribers. Please join in, and do your bit. Your contributions are needed and greatly appreciated.

If sending your subscription by mail, then please use this address for a check payable to James Rawles:

James Rawles
P.O. Box 303
Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845

Note that unless I have my Amazon Associates account suspended (like Claire Wolfe did), or my PayPal account gets suspended (like Zero Hedge, Gab, Joe Biggs, Alex Jones, and Laura Loomer did) then this post will be my only mention of the Ten Cent Challenge, in 2021. I won’t pester you.

Lastly, please consider other ways that you can help support SurvivalBlog. Even just placing links helps a lot. And if you sell food storage, communications, night vision, body armor, alternative energy, shooting, or other preparedness-related products or services, then please consider either advertising your products or services in SurvivalBlog or becoming a writing contest prize donor. You’ll find the publicity very beneficial to your business.

Many Thanks!, – JWR

Bushnell Powerview 2 Binoculars, by Pat Cascio

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I don’t pretend to be an “expert” in anything – just a serious student, or many things. Having spent 35 years in the martial arts, and I have Black Belt rank in five different styles of martial arts disciplines, I don’t consider myself an expert – just a serious student. I’m just like most folks, just a hard-working stiff, who demands the most for my hard-earned dollars, so that means I shop around – most of the time – for things I need or want. At times, it is difficult to walk away from a particular firearm, but if the price won’t allow me to get it, then I walk away from the deal. I’m always looking for deals on the Internet, and many can be found there – if you have the patience to keep on researching the product you want to obtain.

I’m certainly no expert when it comes to “glass” and by that, I mean, optics, like binoculars and rifle scopes. If you’re a hunter, you probably use the term “glass” more than you realize. Over the years, I’ve been able to look through some very expensive rifle scopes and binoculars. And, they are a thing of beauty, but I can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on a scope or binoculars – not even in my wildest dreams.

Over the years, I’ve probably owned more scopes and binoculars made by Bushnell than any other brand, and for good reason. I’ve found their glass to be extremely affordable, and give me what I’m looking for – magnification of what I need to see from a distance. I still remember when I was a kid, getting a pair of those folding “binoculars” that actually folded-up with the lens going into the hard case – I was thrilled. But those things didn’t work very well at all. Every now and then, I’ll still see someone using those folding magnifying things at a sporting event – well, I see it on television, I don’t attend any sporting events – not since I was a kid.

This brings us back to Bushnell optics, and I’ve found them to be a fantastic value for your money. I’ve lost count, of the number of hunting rifles I’ve owned over the years, that had a Bushnell rifle scope mounted on them. And it is not unusual to find a brand-new high-powered hunting rifle, in a “package” with scope, rings and bases already mounted, for a very reasonable price. More often, I’m seeing Bushnell brand scopes mounted on these rifle packages. Again, they are a great value, for someone who wants to open the box, take the rifle out and zero the scope and hit the hunting trail, without having to shop around for a scope, mount, and rings.

I’ve never had any problems with any glass from Bushnell, be it a scope on a rifle, or binoculars. In another life, I worked as a Private Investigator, as well as a police officer, and found having a good pair of binoculars on-hand, made my job easier. While doing surveillance, I could do so, from a distance, and still be able to read a license plate number, or recognize a suspect. ithout binoculars, it made the job much harder to do.

Bushnell has been providing excellent glass at very affordable prices for as long as I can remember. Just a year ago, I was in my favorite small box store, and spied a pair of Bushnell binoculars for $39.99 – and I snapped them up. My wife uses them more than I do, for watching the many deer in our area as they graze. If you are in the military, I honestly don’t see how you can do your job, without a decent pair of binoculars. And, I don’t mean that you commanding officer or platoon sergeant are the only ones who need some glass. You need them as well. It can save a lot of grief down the road, if you can spot the enemy before they see you.Continue reading“Bushnell Powerview 2 Binoculars, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Globalist Political Casserole (2021)

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To celebrate the new year, we are presenting the following parody recipe sent to us by SurvivalBlog reader M.S.U. for his Globalist Political Casserole (2021). Note that this is not a typical recipe for SurvivalBlog. Again, it is a parody.

Ingredients
  • 1 President-Elect, Brain-Fried, Thoroughly Senile
  • 1 Vice President-Elect, Marxist, Over-Ambitious, Fully Co-opted, and Clarified
  • 2 Houses of Congress, Braised until their two party ingredients are indistinguishable.
  • 3 Low-Interest Rate Economic Recoveries, julienned into very long strips. (Can be substituted with fake economic recoveries.)
  • 7 Major Religious Denominations, De-Backboned, Homogenized, and Whipped
  • A Half-Dozen Social Media Outlets, with Socialist Agendas Thoroughly Stirred-In
  • 3 Soured Legacy Mass Media Networks
  • 1 Communist News Network (CNN), Half-Baked
  • 1 Fox News Network, Turned Over Easy, with Plenty of Green
  • 1 Drudge Report, Freshly Dredged in Globalist Whitewash
  • 50 States, (with 49 Governors Browned to serve up Compliant Statist Lockdowns.)
  • 9 Supreme Court Justices, Riot-Shakened (Or alternatively: 15 Justices, packed liberally.)
  • 12 Federal Reserve Bankster Governors, Non-accountable and stewed since 1913.
  • 1 Generally Dumb Public, Well-stirred by Mass Media to a Flat, Dull Consistency
  • 1 Pandemic, pre-heated and over-hyped for 9 months, left simmering
  • 2 Re-hashed Media Dilettante Doctors (Choose from Fauci, Brix, et cetera),
  • 2 Shots of Over-Rushed Vaccine
  • A large dollop of election fraud.
  • A dash of Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, or Face Time.
Directions
  1. Pre-heat Political Oven to 450F. (But not all the way to 451, so that books will not be burned.)
  2. Let the three Legacy Mass Media Networks stand for 60 years until soured.
  3. In a separate well-greased pan, fry the brains of the President-Elect, for 45 years.
  4. In a media mixing bowl, marinade the Communist News Network (CNN) in Leninist dogma for 40 years, and left half-baked.
  5. In a censorship-coated Media Casserole Dish, combine the first 11 ingredients, stirring in equal amounts of Climate Change hype, White Privilege guilt, and Transgender Acceptance seasonings.
  6. Add some faux Black Lives Matter, to regional taste. (Use larger amounts, on the East and West Coasts and in the Deep South.)
  7. Add one Asian Pandemic (Wuhan variety is best.)
  8. Before cutting in the Fox News Network, be sure to first remove all the brains, but DO NOT remove the 10 Blondes’ Legs.
  9. Punch down any alternative media that rises.
  10. Bake for a full election season.
  11. Season well with salty and spicy irrelevant pop culture gossip.
  12. Drizzle with carmelized Drive-By Media drivel.
  13. Garnish with a sprig of Green New Deal.
  14. Optionally, this casserole can be done as a Molotov Flambé, with Renewed Portland Riots.
SERVING

Serve on a festive “2020 is Over!” table setting decorated with a hoarded toilet paper centerpiece. Best with side dishes such as Never Trumper Sour Grapes, Georgia Runoff Election Grits, Re-heated, and Well-Aged Pelosi Polenta, and Curdled Senile Senator Feinstein Souffle. Also goes well with a tossed ballots salad. Accompany with a 1940s-vintage Antifa Red Whine. Follow dinner with an appropriate dessert — such as Aztlan Flan, Soros Sweets, Eco-Friendly Tesla Tart, or Facebook Frappé. Round out the evening with either an Ocasio-Cortez Barista Espresso or a 1960s-vintage pinko protest aperitif.

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Do you have a favorite real 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

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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 some new taxes and California’s proposed extra-territorial tax. (See the Taxation section.)

Economy & Finance:

Dire Straits For European Banks? Banks Paying Near Zero On Deposits, Now Charging Fees

o  o  o

Top 10 Economic Predictions for 2021

o  o  o

Allan Stone of the leftist Washington Post: The craziest, creepiest year for financial markets I’ve seen in half a century

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: Another Piece of the Puzzle of Plunging Credit Card Balances

o  o  o

Bloomberg: Get Ready for the Great U.S. Inflation Mirage of 2021

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“A settled plan to deprive the people of all the benefits, blessings, and ends of the contract, to subvert the fundamentals of the constitution, to deprive them of all share in making and executing laws, will justify a revolution.” – John Adams

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 3, 2021

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On this day, in 1521, Martin Luther– the father of the reformation and founder of Protestantism– was officially excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 92 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 92 ends on January 31, 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.

Foraging Before TEOTWAWKI, by Just A Dad

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This article describes how foraging can provide many of the things we need.

In today’s world, the idea of foraging for one’s existence is deemed beneath most of us. In fact, I personally have encountered many individuals who believed themselves to be so far above me that they had already decided what laws I was breaking, what wrongs I was committing and gone so far in some cases as to call law enforcement to stop me from foraging from discarded trash. And before anyone gets any ideas, the individuals who got upset, were a mixture of backgrounds. One notable individual recently was driving a truck with a Trump 2020 flag attached, and another called the police and tried to get them to take my child while flaunting their “United – Never Defeated” shirt. It always amazes me to see how ridiculous people can be.

Edible Plants

Foraging and gleaning are age-old traditions that kept humanity alive and allowed us to thrive as a species. For myself, the tradition was adopted from my parents before me. They taught me how to seek out ripe berries, wild onions, tubers, and how to clean small game so as to use all the available meat. More importantly, my Ozark-bred parents helped me understand that while we rarely asked for help, we could in fact subsist quite easily on the fruits of our own labor. And labor it is, foraging.

Learn about the edibles in your specific area. A hint: these tend to vary quite a bit, sometimes drastically, over just short distance or a difference in ekevation. Understanding what is edible, what is tasty, and what is simply filling is important. There are plants that offer medicinal benefits to varying degrees. Meanwhile, other plants can poison you slowly, or almost instantly. And there are plants that can be both poisonous and healthy depending on how they are prepared. Where I reside at this time we have a rather high alkaline content in the soil, this translates into high alkalinity in the plant life as well. Limits and balance are your friends when eating, regardless of what you eat.

Some foraged plants require a good amount of soaking and others require boiling. Still more require drying, and others must be either young or old. In all, our plant life, while less abundant in many ways; compared to other locations is still a solid source of fiber and vitamin intake for the family. Our local animal life consists of rabbits, ground squirrels, javelina, deer, sheep, antelope, bobcat, mountain lion, black bear, elk, turkey, and a few dozen species of snakes and small birds. To be fair I rarely hunt small birds, generally using a shotgun for dove or quail can be tedious when cleaning. I prefer instead to use live traps we build for this very purpose.

Unlike the intelligent crows, ravens, jays, magpies, and the rest of the Corvidae family, dove and quail are quite easy to lure and trap with regularity. Just 3 or 4 are enough to supplement a meal with solid protein servings. The traps are simple tubes of chicken wire, with a small funnel inside them to prevent the escape of the trapped creatures. Spreading a bit of grain or other tasty leftover treats around the trap with a large amount inside ensures they pour in with ease and regularity. To build up a good trapping area I scatter grain with a closed trap, leave it like this for a few days to build up the message that it is a solid spot to get fat. Birds are notorious for telling their entire world about your bounty they now believe they own. Make sure you tour around during their feeding so they become accustomed to seeing you. When I open the trap, I allow a few to get in, and shut it up. I bring another closed trap with me and swap them out. For a few minutes or sometimes a few hours the birds will leave the area, but they always come back. Needless to say, consult our state’s fish and game laws before hunting or trapping. Continue reading“Foraging Before TEOTWAWKI, by Just A Dad”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.

And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?

Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.

But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

 I and my Father are one.

 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,

And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.

And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.

And many believed on him there.” – John 10: 7-42 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 2, 2021

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January 2nd, 1776 is the anniversary of the Grand Union Flag — first revolutionary flag to be displayed.

—

Also on this date in 1936, the first night vision electron tube was revealed in St. Louis, Missouri.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 92 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 92 ends on January 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.

What Would You Do?, by SaraSue

151

introductory Disclaimer: Eight years ago I suffered a brain injury.  Prior to that I was a professional in high tech, and had handsomely-paid writing and teaching gigs.  I have several degrees, and held at least a dozen technical certifications in a wide variety of technologies.  Most of what I knew was forgotten, lost, in that moment my brain almost died.  My writing and teaching skills flew out the window.  It’s taken a long time to regain even social skills as I still struggle to string my thoughts together in a coherent way, and command my body to function.  All that to say, I wish, with this short article to engender a discussion around “What Would You Do”, and would ask that you go easy on my lost writing skills.  I love this community, so here we go…

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What would you do if you woke up on inauguration day 2021 and much to your despair, your candidate for President didn’t win?  Would your life be over?  Would it change the way you live in regards to work, where you live, your level of self-sufficiency?  I have thought long and hard about these questions.

I will say now, that Trump is my President and I believe God has used to him to save us, America, from a widespread Communist/Marxist influence.  I do not worship him in any way, shape or form.  But, I do see how instrumental he has been in attempting to restore the American way of life.  He has committed himself to restoring power to We the People.  For that, I am grateful.  Things were going in the worst possible direction in our country and someone, Trump, stepped in and yanked the reigns on so many levels.  I had hope that America could be restored: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to keep and bear arms, freedom to raise our children how we see fit, freedom from the globalist influences, freedom to work in whatever capacity we so chose, etc.

Now, with the 2020 election in a “contested” status and the “press” scattering all kinds of false stories across the Internet and over the airwaves, it’s hard to know what is really going on.  I’m following a number of lawsuits and feel as if our lives are hanging by a thread.  To me, it’s freedom or communism.  Patriots vs Traitors.  With that said…Continue reading“What Would You Do?, by SaraSue”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I’m presently en route back to the Rawles Ranch from a lengthy out of state trip, so I’m leaving today’s column up to my amazing, wonderful, lovely, patient, and talented wife Avalanche Lily. (Can you tell that I miss her?)

 

Avalanche Lily Reports:

Dear Readers,

We have had mild winter temperatures and clouds this week.  In the middle of the week we had another snowstorm.

At the very end of last week we experienced a six-inch snowfall, On Sunday, I plowed for the first time this year.  I have to say that I now am very comfortable with the job. We have a standard transmission pick-up truck and all of the transitional moves are now automatic and smooth on my part.  Yeah!  That is so cool.  Now I can officially add to my repertoire of acquired skills, snow plow lady.  😉 I plowed a second time for a four inch snowfall that we had in the middle of the week.

During the past two weeks, I have gotten back into weight lifting.  My arm muscles have recently lost quite a bit of mass from not doing too much physically during the past three months. It’s amazing how quick one loses their prime when not maintaining it. To counteract this, I am now lifting eight pound weights in about four different ways with repetitions of thirty or more, several times a day.  Plus the daily mucking out of the cow shed and shoveling.  I’m glad the snow has finally arrived and the presence of the wolves have forced the use of the shed, thus the mucking out, to be more active again.  I’m not into being a big muscled bound woman by any means, but when I found it difficult recently to lift a fifty pound box of Jim’s ammo, I knew it was time to work out and lift weights, again.

Not much else in the prep department.  Just maintaining that which God has given us.

End of week wolf update:  The wolves have appeared to have moved on.  The horses and cows are no longer staring off into the distance around the ranch. I have been walking around the ranch again with just the Glock, and haven’t see any tracks….

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.

A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.

The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts.

A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.

A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.

He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.

A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.

An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.

He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.

Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend.

He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.

He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.

He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” – Proverbs 17: 1-22 (KJV)