JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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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–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how-to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on books on homeschooling. (See the Books section.)

Books:

Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation.  This brilliant new book by conservative commentator Candace Owens was ranked #2 in books, overall on Amazon, the day after it was released. (It would be #1 except for Bob Woodward’s new book, which is an anti-Trump hit piece that is being heavily-promoted by the mainstream media (MSM). It is commndable that Owens’s Blackout is getting such strong sales when it is being consciously ignored by the MSM.

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In our comments section SurvivalBlog reader “Once a Marine” recommended this book: Public Works: A Handbook for Self-Reliant Living- First Aid and Survival / Child Care / Health / Food / Farm and Home / Tools and Construction, compiled by Walter Szykitka. JWR’s Comment: Wait and watch for used copies that come up for sale on Amazon or eBay, for under $25 each!

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Home Learning Year by Year, Revised and Updated: How to Design a Creative and Comprehensive Homeschool Curriculum

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The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids

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Beyond Brilliance: The Blueprint for Learning Anything

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The McGuffey Readers

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Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

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

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 22, 2020

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September 22nd is the birthday of the late Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Reid-Daly, who founded and commanded the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. He was born 1928, and he died August 9, 2010. His history of the Selous Scouts, titled Pamwe Chete is fascinating to read, but it is a very hard-to-find book.

And today is also the birthday of survivalist writer Joel Skousen. (Born, 1946.) Skousen authored the excellent books Strategic Relocation and The High Security Shelter – How to Implement a Multi-Purpose Safe Room in the Home.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First 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 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 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. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. 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).
  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. 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.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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 90 ends on September 30th, 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.

We Have a Major Problem, by Castle Circle

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We Have a major problem, and it isn’t going to just away.

As I write this, we have multiple people shot in Kenosha, 80+ days of rioting in Portland, and the large major cities are powderkegs waiting to blow. Lack of leadership from city and state leaders nationwide has exacerbated the problem greatly while blaming everyone but those responsible for those places and people. I look at this from the standpoint of an amateur historian, and I see this getting far worse before or if it gets better, with winter coming, riots, Covid and all its ramifications, things are going to get a lot worse, and not just for the short term. We have a major problem, and it isn’t going to just go away.

If all those issues went away today, the magic wand is waved, and we go back to “normal” then we still have a serious problem. That problem is a clear, vocal, and violent movement that has emerged from the shadows and its limited visibility (Portland) to this date to national prominence. I do not want to use their name specifically because these are a group of groups, but their overall movement and goal is what I will refer to.

I will refer to them as Revolutionaries or Revs.

These Revs who today burn businesses and homes, assault and murder people in the streets. are identical to those Revs from the 1960s and 1970s who prepared the ground for this when they left the streets protesting Vietnam and became the politicians and executives who created the welfare state, education system, political correctness society which is directly responsible for the situation as it stands today. Those revolutionaries are now the generation who themselves or their direct lineage tell police nationwide to stand down, prosecutors who release violent criminals onto the streets, and support the violent riots vailed by their allies in the media under the omnipresent narrative of “peaceful protesters”.Continue reading“We Have a Major Problem, by Castle Circle”

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, a link to a CBS News piece about a young Montana CH-47 helicopter pilot. (See the Montana section.)

Idaho

Idaho death by suicide rate lower than 2018 despite COVID-19

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Gas prices slipping across Idaho

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Passenger goes missing after rollover crash in eastern Idaho

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Europe is not free, because freedom begins with speaking the truth. In Europe today it is forbidden to speak the truth. A muzzle is a muzzle – even if it is made of silk. It is forbidden to say that today we are not witnessing the arrival of refugees, but a Europe being threatened by mass migration. It is forbidden to say that tens of millions are ready to set out in our direction. It is forbidden to say that immigration brings crime and terrorism to our countries. It is forbidden to say that the masses of people coming from different civilisations pose a threat to our way of life, our culture, our customs, and our Christian traditions. It is forbidden to say that, instead of integrating, those who arrived here earlier have built a world of their own, with their own laws and ideals, which is forcing apart the thousand-year-old structure of Europe. It is forbidden to say that this is not accidental and not a chain of unintentional consequences, but a planned, orchestrated campaign, a mass of people directed towards us. It is forbidden to say that in Brussels they are constructing schemes to transport foreigners here as quickly as possible and to settle them here among us. It is forbidden to say that the purpose of settling these people here is to redraw the religious and cultural map of Europe and to reconfigure its ethnic foundations, thereby eliminating nation states, which are the last obstacle to the international movement. It is forbidden to say that Brussels is stealthily devouring ever more slices of our national sovereignty, and that in Brussels today many are working on a plan for a United States of Europe, for which no one has ever given authorisation.” – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, from a March 15, 2016 speech

Preparedness Notes for Monday — September 21, 2020

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On this day in 1780, during the American Revolution, American General Benedict Arnold met with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British in return for the promise of a large sum of money and a high position in the British army. The plot was foiled and Arnold, a former American hero, became synonymous with the word “traitor”.

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Today we have another product review by our stalwart Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

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Be advised that there are just nine days left in Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. There will be more than $10,000 worth of prizes awarded. This round ends on September 30th, 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.

Ruger American Compact 9mm LEO, by Pat Cascio

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As I’ve said many times before, Ruger produces firearms to match the budget of blue-collar workers. However, that’s not to say, they aren’t suitable for anyone – they are. Ruger produces some of the most over-built firearms in the world, and that’s a good thing in my feeble mind. I like the fact that, Ruger firearms are not over-priced, not in the least, and you can usually find them for a lot less than retail, if you shop around – again, that’s a good thing.

Ruger had a rough start, when they attempted to come out with their first center-fire semi-auto handgun, the Model P85. However, after some bugs were worked out, it was a stellar handgun, built for the toughest conditions you can throw at it. For a time, when I was the chief of police, in a small Oregon town, I carried a Ruger P85, as did the sheriff of our county. Everyone else carried a Glock 17. I went through an executive protection training course, back in 1989. There, everyone who was in my class either had a Glock 17, or a Beretta 92SF – I was the only  student with a Ruger P85. The handgun part of the training was tough – on average, we would fire about 1,500 rounds per day – everyone was wearing Band-Aids on their thumbs from numerous magazine loadings. During the course of the firearms training portion, everyone, without exception had some kind of failure with their guns – except me, with the P85. The only minor complaint I had was that, at the end of the training, the finish on my P85 was extremely worn – we started nearly all of our shooting with the guns holstered, so there the leather holsters did cause some wear on the guns.

Ruger has had a string of home runs with their P-series of handguns. That was followed by their polymer-framed pistols have also been quite successful. I owned just about every model of the P-series, and none of them let me down in the least. It was with great anticipation, that I waited for the new American 9mm to come along, and it didn’t let me down in the least – 17+1 rounds of 9mm on-tap – and this gun was designed to meet all US Military Specs for their handguns. However, Ruger didn’t enter the American in the competition – too bad, I think they might have won – because the American 9mm is so rough and tough – it’ll take anything you can toss at it. I owned the American in 9mm and in .45 ACP and much preferred the 9mm version…the .45 ACP didn’t seem to my liking with only 10+1 rounds on-tap…not that ten rounds isn’t “enough” to end more deadly encounters – I just preferred to have more rounds of ammo in my gun. Not a thing wrong with the .45 ACP version – not at all. I still own one.

Today, we’re looking at the new American Compact 9mm LEO Model. “LEO” is an acronym for Law Enforcement Only, and I don’t believe that sales are actually restricted to Law Enforcement Officers. But it has some really nice added features that the “regular” American Compact 9mm version has – features that are of use for police as well as civilians.Continue reading“Ruger American Compact 9mm LEO, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Quick Orange Marmalade, by St. Funogas

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The following recipe for a very Quick Orange Marmalade is from SurvivalBlog reader St. Funogas.

Chef’s Notes: If you’re a marmalade fan, you’ll love how quick and easy this recipe is and the fact that there are only three ingredients and no added pectin. Noe, however, that it’s not going to have that nice clear look like Smuckers, but theirs can’t be made in 20 minutes either. This recipe should probably be called Candied Orange Peel Jam, and it’s one of my favorites. After you’ve made it once, you’ll know how to adjust it better to suit your taste as far as peels and sugar go. Don’t worry if it is inconsistent from one batch to another, since a “medium orange” is not well defined.

Ingredients
  • 4 Oranges, medium size
  • 2 cups (400 g) sugar
  • ½ cup of water
Directions

Take four medium oranges and cut the ends off so that the exposed orange color is about the size of a silver dollar. This is to get rid of some extra peel.

Slice the orange in half along its equator. Place each half face down flat on the cutting board. Slice it in one direction so the slices are about a ½” wide, then do the same slicing it in the other direction. You should end up with the orange peel portion of each piece more or less a ½” square. Some of us like them larger so it’s up to your taste as you experiment with this recipe. Remove the seeds after everything is cut up but if you miss any, don’t worry, they’ll float to the surface as you begin cooking it.

After the oranges are diced, put them in a food processor and pulse until things are chopped up pretty well but with some pieces of peel still ½” sized. Don’t worry just yet about any pieces that may be too large.

Put the oranges, water, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. You’ll probably be thinking that the amount of sugar looks a little low as you are putting it into the pan, but since the peels take up a lot of the bulk, the sugar will be adequate. While you are stirring, you can pick out any seeds as they come to the surface. Also, have your cooking shears handy to reach in and cut any larger-than-desired peels that will float to the surface.

After it comes to a boil, boil for 15 minutes, stirring frequently so the sugar doesn’t burn.

When it’s finished cooking, ladle into clean jars. This batch only makes two pints or less so instead of water bath canning them, just put them in the fridge. If you like the recipe, you can double it next time and run them through the canner.

SERVING

This is delicious on pretty much anything and even makes a good poor man’s chutney.

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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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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 Tesla’s “Battery Day”. It is scheduled for tomorrow: Tuesday, September 22, 2020. (See the Commodities Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Monday morning update:  Silver took a big 9% dip this morning, to $24.42 per Troy ounce when I last checked.  So this is a good time to buy! By the way, a phone call to New York confirmed the following: The word on the street is that stocks got hammered so hard yesterday that brokers are liquidating commodiites to raise cash, in order to meet their margin calls. That is an ugly suituation. But again, it provides a short-term buying opportunity for those with cash.

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Interview: Reality matters; why all-time high gold price was not ‘real’

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Gold Miners Forecast: Major Breakout Underway

Economy & Finance:

Charles Hugh Smith: This Is How It Ends: All That Is Solid Melts Into Air

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At Seeking Alpha: Wells Fargo boosts targets for GDP, stocks and oil

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At Wolf Street: What’s to Be Done Now with All These Zombie Companies?

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And over at Zero Hedge: FOMC Signals Rates Unchanged Through At Least 2023 Despite GDP Forecast Upgrade. JWR’s Comment: Do the buffoons at the Fed honestly believe that if they continue forcing rates artificially low, year after year, that it won’t lead to malinvestment, distortions in the bond market, and the eventual destruction of the U.S. Dollar?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Up to a point a man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him; then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of things he wishes to be.  Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate.  Everyone has it within his power to say, this I am today, that I shall be tomorrow.  The wish, however, must be implemented by deeds.” – Louis L’Amour The Walking Drum

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — September 20, 2020

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On this day in 1519 Magellan left Europe on his voyage of discovery.

On September 20, 1995, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to drop the national 55 MPH speed limit. This allowed the states to again decide their own speed limits, without fear of losing Federal highway funding.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First 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 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 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. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. 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).
  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. 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.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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 90 ends on September 30th, 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.

Finishing an 80% AR Lower Receiver – Part 3, by 2A Advocate

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(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

Results
Photo 15

I think my lower receivers turned out great (Photos 15, 16, 17 & 18). The machined edges are straight and sharp. The trigger pocket walls are smooth, almost mirror-like. There are slight tool marks from the end mill, but no touch up or sanding was done until after these photos were taken. Then I touched up the side holes and the opening for the trigger slot with some Aluminum Black by Birchwood Casey. It’s quick and hides the raw aluminum edge.

 

I didn’t treat the entire inside of the trigger pocket, I think it looks cool and at any rate is completely hidden when the upper receiver group is attached. The lower parts kits were from Palmetto State Armory, and everything installed correctly with one exception that was my fault and was corrected as described shortly. Uppers were installed and the rifles were test-fired. There were no failures to fire, extract or eject.

Photo 16

The Easy Jig 2 was solid and robust. It seems like a very well thought out product. Some of the parts do double duty, like the side plates that rotate and reattach to mill either AR-15 or AR-10 lowers. The red buffer screw support does the same and also allows for attachment of your vacuum hose. And the drilling block inverts to drill the pilot hole or mill the trigger slot. There was very light wear on the top router plate from moving the router. There was a little wear in the measuring pockets from touching it with the end mill. Since these hash marks are engraved into the router plate, I don’t believe this will be an issue affecting function.

Photo 17

My results were consistent from one lower to another if I followed the directions. The jig allows the trigger pocket, trigger slot and side holes to be machined and drilled with great precision. All the lower parts installed just as if it was a factory produced 100% stripped lower receiver. I like that the jig doesn’t have to be disassembled to begin milling another lower receiver. Documentation supplied with the jig was also excellent. A 26-page manual and a 6-column quick reference guide are clearly written in good English and the many illustrations are precise and very helpful. There is a company video and many other YouTube videos available.

I used 80% Arms for my source of 80% lowers. I felt that I might have the best results by buying the lowers from the company that made the jig. Their lowers are excellent quality in fit and finish.

80% Arms doesn’t sell firearms and they don’t work on completed lowers if you have a problem. However, they are responsive to questions and will offer remote help by phone or email. This is from their website under warranty:

“80% Lower Replacement Program: In the remote chance you make a mistake while using an 80% Arms Jig that damages your 80% Arms lower, we will replace your lower at a 50% discount off of the list price.”

Continue reading“Finishing an 80% AR Lower Receiver – Part 3, by 2A Advocate”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” – 1 Peter 4: 1-17 (KJV)