Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 10, 2019

July 10th is the birthday of British novelist John Wyndham. (His full name was John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris, but Harris shortened that to just John Wyndham for his pen name.) He we was born in 1903 and died March 11, 1969. Harris was a good friend of fellow novelist Samuel Youd (1922-2012), who wrote under several pen names, including John Christopher. Both men were famous for writing what are often called cosy catastrophies. Several of Wyndham’s novels and short stories have been adapted to film, with varying degrees of success. One of the best of these was a parallel universe story called Random Quest.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 83 ends on July 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.

TEOTWAWKI: Thoughts on Wild Game Populations by Pete Thorsen

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Anyone that ever visits a prepper website or has ever heard a prepper conversation has certainly heard that after any TEOTWAWKI societal collapse event that all wild game populations will drop to near zero immediately. While this might be true in a few locations, overall I just don’t think it will happen–at least not over any large area of our country.

While statements on either side of this debate are pure conjecture we can look at some facts that back up the guesses on one side or the other. The first obvious thing we should do is look at the animal/human populations in the United States.

The human population is three hundred twenty seven million. That is a lot of people. So let’s look at wild game populations. These population numbers are estimates from state fish and wildlife departments.

  • Deer – 30 million
  • Elk – 1 million
  • Moose – relatively small numbers outside of Alaska
  • Antelope – 1 million
  • Bison – about ½ million
  • Big Horn sheep & Mountain Goat – small numbers
  • Bear – approx. ½ million

So big game populations overall are only roughly one percent of the human population. If we stop here it would appear that post-TEOTWAWKI situation American big game animals would be quickly decimated. But we are not talking about trophy hunters here instead every hunter would be totally concerned only with meat to prevent starvation. In that light I would assume most hunters would go for any meat to stay alive and feed their family. This would include domestic animals especially because they would be much easier to access. So logically we would have to include livestock populations into our equation.

  • Cows – 94 million
  • Horses – 9 million (yes you can eat horses)
  • Goats – 2.5 million
  • Sheep – 5 million
  • Beefalo & domestic bison – approx. ½ million

Adding these livestock numbers we see adds a whole lot of meat-on-the-hoof that would be available to hunters. But if you are hunting for deer because you are starving I would have to assume you would not turn down smaller game like a fat tasty rabbit. Population numbers of wild rabbits (cottontail and jack rabbits) is unknown but the number is huge. A guesstimate of over one hundred million is very likely.Continue reading“TEOTWAWKI: Thoughts on Wild Game Populations by Pete Thorsen”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies that have any tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and food storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. This week the focus is on Silky Saws. (See the Gear & Grub section.)

Books:

The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting

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The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 (The Revolution Trilogy)

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Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

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The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss

Movies:

John Wesley: The Faith That Sparked The Methodist Movement. (Available for free streaming to those with Amazon Prime.)

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Journey To Grace: The Hansie Cronje Story.  (Available for free streaming to those with Amazon Prime.)

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“For until men recognize that they owe everything to God, that they are nourished by His fatherly care, that He is the Author of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond Him – they will never yield Him willing service. Nay, unless they establish their complete happiness in Him, they will never give themselves truly and sincerely to Him.” – John Calvin

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 9, 2019

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July 9, 1938 was the birthday of Brian Dennehy. He is most often remembered for his role as the alien leader in Coccoon and as Sheriff Teasel in Rambo: First Blood, but he was also in the cast of in many other movies and in hundreds of television show episodes.

July 9, 1956 was the birthday of actor/director/producer Tom Hanks. His acting in the movie Saving Private Ryan is riveting.

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Our small remaining supply of waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks is currently on close-out sale, at just $19.95 each.  This is just until we exhaust the annual supply. This is your chance to order some extras, for gifts. When I last checked, we had only about 65 sticks remaining, and they’ve been selling at a rate of nearly 20 per day.  Order yours soon–before they are all sold out!

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 83 ends on July 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.

IBS and Disease Prevention, by S.P.

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During the summer of 2013 I experienced my very first health scare. I was thirty-eight years old at the time, and aside from catching the flu or suffering from an occasional sinus infection as a result of seasonal allergies, I had been very fortunate to not have any major health issues.

Well my perception of good health changed drastically after I began having some very unpleasant digestive problems. There was a very abrupt change in the pattern of my bowel movements, and for the very first time in my life I experienced excruciating abdominal pain. The stomach cramps became so unbearable that I would be left confined to a sofa for several hours. After mentioning my symptoms to my mom, who has worked as a registered nurse for over four decades, I was told that it sounded like I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

I had no idea what IBS was, but I immediately went to my laptop and conducted a Google search. Needless to say, the information I stumbled across left me startled. As I recollect, screening for colon cancer was suggested in the Wikipedia on Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and just seeing the dreaded “C-Word” mentioned with the symptoms my body was displaying was enough to shift my amygdala into overdrive.

The Diagnosis and Natural Healing

Prior to visiting my primary care physician and being officially diagnosed with IBS-D, IBS-C, and chronic anxiety, I attempted to heal my digestive issues on my own. The very first thing I did was visit a few local drugstores to see whether or not there was an easy, over-the-counter solution. Two different pharmacists recommended Imodium A-D, and one suggested I take a Probiotic.Continue reading“IBS and Disease Prevention, by S.P.”

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 or the Inland Empire. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the Redoubt region. Today, we focus on Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille. (See the Idaho section.)

Region-Wide

I often recommend getting the LBRY app. With LBRY, I recently uploaded a German television news segment  (in German) from GALILEO TV: Zu Besuch bei den Preppern in Idaho.  (“Visiting the Preppers in Idaho”.) It mentions the “American Redoubt Zone” several times. Note that it has German narration and overdubbing. This news segment features interviews with Idaho real estate agent Chris Walsh and entrepreneur John Adrain — the inventor of the Bed Bunker gun vault. Also, briefly, they interviewed Kurt Wilson of Survival Enterprises, In Hayden, Idaho. To view the news segment: With the LBRY app running, click on “Discover” and then type “Idaho Preppers” in the search box.

Here is the literal address, if you have the app:
lbry://Idaho-Preppers#62d338ca4724a33970a1e92e7821418bfe345920

Or, via the LBRY web site:
https://beta.lbry.tv/Idaho-Preppers/62d338ca4724a33970a1e92e7821418bfe345920

Note: This segment is not available on YouTube.

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Some great footage of eastern Washington and north Idaho from 1955: Historic Washington: Inland Empire of the Northwest

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The Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club is continuing its tradition, since 1956.

Idaho

Summer activities on and around Lake Pend Oreille.

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Best Northwest Lake Getaways: Lake Pend Oreille

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Campgrounds around Lake Pend Oreille

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Lake Pend Oreille Cruises

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

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 U.S.-produced Russian ammo.

Doug MacKinnon on the Coming EMP Blackout

Reader H.L. suggested this Fox News interview: Doug MacKinnon: Will you survive the coming blackout?

SurvivalBlog Archive USB Stick Sale: Going, Going…

Our small remaining supply of waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks is currently on close-out sale, at just $19.95 each.  This is just until we exhaust the annual supply. This is your chance to order some extras, for gifts. When I last checked, we had only about 65 sticks remaining, and they’ve been selling at a rate of nearly 20 per day.  Order yours soon–before they are all sold out!

Free Bible, Shotgun, and Flag with Car Purchase

By way of Whatfinger.com, some news from Alabama: All-American Car Dealership Offers Bible, Shotgun & US Flag With Every Vehicle Purchase.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“You never can tell when you do an act
Just what the result will be;
But with every deed you are sowing a seed,
Though the harvest you may not see.
Each kindly act is an acorn dropped
In God’s productive soil;
You may not know, yet the tree shall grow
And shelter the brows that toil.

You never can tell what your thoughts will do
In bringing you hate or love;
For thoughts are things, and their airy wings
Are swifter than carrier doves.
They follow the law of the universe —
Each thing must create its kind;
And they speed o’er the track to bring you back
Whatever went out from your mind.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox. You Never Can Tell (1895)

Preparedness Notes for Monday — July 8, 2019

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Today marks the birth of actor Kevin Bacon (who was born in 1958.) Preppers and survivalists usually associate him with the campy movie Tremors.

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This is the last day of the big Independence Day Sale, at Palmetto State Armory. Many of the sale  prices are amazing. They have their standard “Safe/Fire” AR-15 stripped lowers on sale for just $29.99. M16 complete bolt carriers for $49.99. And they have complete AR pistol lowers with SBA3 adjustable arm braces on sale for just $179.99.  (Those normally sell for $319.) There are several other lowers and lots of different complete uppers (AR-15/M4 and AR-10) also on sale. Oh, and Magpul M2 30rd Black PMAGs – Normally $12.30, but currently $7.99 each, with coupon code “PMAG”, and free shipping if you order 10 or more. Visit their site and check it out, before the sale ends tonight!

 

Taurus TX22, by Pat Cascio

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One firearm question that I’ve gotten over the years, more so than any other is: “What kind of a ‘gun’ should I get for survival?” Needless to say, this opens up quite a can of worms, and there is no one gun that can do it all, and there is no pat answer that I can give folks. In another life, I used to tell preppers or survivalists that the first gun they should get on a limited budget was a pump-action 12 Gauge shotgun. I’ve since changed my thinking on that, for a number of reasons. First off, the limited capacity of a shotgun, and secondly, the recoil – its not for the faint of heart, and third, is the ammo – it takes up a lot of room and is heavy. Lastly, is the limited range of a shotgun. Oh sure, there are some positive aspects, like all the different types of ammo available – any thing from light bird shot, to 00 buckshot, to slugs for taking all but the biggest game.

These days, I tell folks to get some kind of .22 LR firearm. And I’d like to see them get a rifle first, and a handgun second. The long gun is more versatile, for taking small game at longer distances, while the handgun is concealable. Of course, the lowly .22 LR can be use for self-defense as well – it’s not what we’d call a “manstopper” round, but with proper shot placement, it will sure make a bad guy wish they were someplace else. Of course, we then have the cost of .22 LR ammo – after the long ammo drought we just went through — almost six years — .22 LR is finally, once again, available in quantities and prices have come back to close to what they were before the drought. Of course, a person can easily pack several 500-round bricks of .22 LR ammo in a backpack, without too much trouble.

There are many very fine .22 LR firearms on the market, that will sure get the job done, and I prefer something that is semi-auto, for faster shooting and ease of reloading. It doesn’t take much time to stick a fully loaded magazine into a .22 LR rifle or handgun, so that’s a big advantage. And, if someone were within 150-yards and posed a threat to you during a SHTF scenario, they will sure wish they were some place else.

Someone can take medium-sized game with a head shot – again, this would be in emergency situations ONLY. We do not promote poaching. However, when it all hits the fan, taking wild game may be your best bet when it comes to feeding your family. I once knew a fellow, who wasn’t making ends meet, and he was poaching deer on a regular basis to feed his two kids. I didn’t condone it then, nor do I condone it now, since he could have found other methods of making ends meet to feed his family. The point is, he took deer with head shots from a .22 LR rifle.Continue reading“Taurus TX22, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Bob’s Fruity-Oaty Granola Bars

Reader Bob. C. kindly sent us one of his favorite recipes, for Fruity-Oaty Bars. The name was inspired by the fictional wave commercial in the movie Serenity. His recipe starts with a basic granola bar, and then he offers several variations–including his favorite Fruity-Oaty variation. Bob says that his Fruity-Oaty variant “…provides tremendous strength and endurance, for terminal situations. They make a man out of a mouse. These are the best bars in the ‘Verse.”

The recipe can be doubled, if you have an extra large mixing bowl, and a deep sauce pan.

Ingredients
  • 1 cup flour (whole wheat or white flour)
  • 4 ½ cups rolled oats
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ⅔ to ¾ cup of honey
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • ¼ cup of light brown sugar
Variations
  • Fruity-Oaty Bars (aka The Healthy Kind): Add up to 1 cup of Craisins, and up to 1/2 cup each of chopped dried apricots, shredded coconut, and/or chopped almonds
  • The Cinnamon Kind: Add no more than ½ tsp of cinnamon to the dry ingredient mix
  • The Maple Kind: Substitute maple syrup for less than one half of the honey in the wet ingredients
  • Smores Granola Bars (aka The Unhealthy Kind): Add 1 cup of mini marshmallows –or frozen and chopped marshmallows–, and 1 cup of chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 325 F.
  2. Dry Mixture: Mix together the oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in any of the aforementioned variation additions, if desired.
  3. Wet Mixture: Melt butter and stir in honey, brown sugar, and vanilla.
  4. Pour wet mixture over the dry mixture and then stir it well. (If too dry, then add some more honey.)
  5. Press combined mixture into a cookie sheet with raised edges. (You can use a 9×13 inch baking pan if you prefer thick bars).
  6. Press down firmly with a spatula.
  7. Bake at 325 F for 18 to 22 minutes. (Less for thin bars, more for thick bars).
  8. Using a spatula, again press the bars down firmly, hot from the oven.
  9. Let the batch cool for 10 minutes in pan, and then slice into bars of desired size.
  10. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before removing, with a spatula.

SERVING

Bob says: “Best served during marathon binge-watching of Firefly, with Serenity at the end.”

STORAGE

Stack them in an airtight container, with a sheet of wax paper between each layer. Because the recipe includes butter, these are best stored refrigerated. Or, if you need to pack them for hiking, you can wrap the bars in individual wrappings of cling wrap. These will also store for several months in your freezer.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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This is a special edition of a regularly-posted column, by JWR. (Now posted on Mondays and Fridays.) Today, in lieu of the normal column items, I’ll only be discussing investing in rifle and pistol magazines, here in the United States.

Tangibles Investing (Magazines):

Magazine Bans

There are now several “high capacity” magazine ban bills pending at the local, state, and Federal level. Although the proposed Federal ban (H.R. 1186) may be passed by the U.S. House, it probably won’t pass in the U.S. Senate. At the state level, New Jersey’s ban on magazine over 15-round capacity was amplified to now restrict any magazine over 10-round capacity. And Colorado now has a ban on any magazine over 15-round capacity. Currently pending is a ban on any magazine over 5 rounds, in Oregon.  And a similar law has been proposed in Washington. Both are sadly expected to be enacted. Last week, the Maine legislature adjourned, after defeating a bill that would have banned magazines holding more than 10 cartridges.

There are also some well-established bans that will probably be permanent–unless the Supreme Court eventually renders them null and void, as it should:

  • In California, the limit is 10 round–although that is now pending an appeals court challenge.
  • In Connecticut, the limit is 10 rounds.
  • Massachiusetts also has a 11+ round magazine ban, but just as in California, there is a Grandfather Clause.
  • Maryland has a 10-round limit.
  • The District of Columbia has a 10-round limit.
  • Hawaii, has a limit is 10 rounds for pistols, but no limit for rifles. But, since may guns such as the AR-15 are also made in pistol form, those magazines are also banned there.
  • New Jersey has a 10-round limit.
  • The City of Chicago has a 10-round limit.
  • New York, beginning on April 15, 2013, with passage of the “SAFE” Act, only magazines with a capacity of seven rounds could legally be sold. The ban allowed ten-round magazines purchased before that date, but made it illegal to load more than seven rounds of ammunition into a ten-round magazine, except “at an incorporated firing range or competition…”
  • Inside the city of Pittsburgh, the limit is 10 rounds.
Stock Up!

Given the onslaught of magazine ban legislation, I strongly recommend that SurvivalBlog readers stock up on magazines this year, while prices are low, and while supplies are plentiful.  If a new Federal ban is enacted–either by congress or an import ban by executive order, then prices will again skyrocket.  If DJT’s chances of re-election to a second term in the White House start to dim, then there could be another rush to buy magazines, and a price spike.Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“An earnest attempt to partition Washington state is a noble and proportional response to the progressives’ accelerating march to an ultimate tyranny. If the attempt fails, we will have the comfort of knowing we tried earnestly to preserve what we love by peaceful means. A comforting thought as you are left with no alternative but to lock and load.” – SurvivalBlog Reader S.V.M., commenting on the Liberty State Movement