The Reality of Aging and Prepping – Part 2, by Muscadine Hunter

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Now, let’s talk more about ham radio: Beginning in February, 1991 the FCC, in their infinite wisdom, did away with the Morse Code requirement for Technician Class Operators. What that means is there are nolw a lot of ham radio operators who do not know Morse Code. Why is this important? It takes a lot less technology and output power to successfully transmit a message using code. And if you have developed your own alphanumeric code for your group (as we have) then it is even harder to break if sent in Morse code because so many people now days cannot copy Morse code in the first place. Also, if propagation conditions are not good, especially over long distances, it is possible to get a Morse Code message through that would be impossible via voice communications. Also, should you find yourself and members of your group being held captive by a hostile force you can possibly communicate between jail cells or even in the same room blinking Morse code with your eyes, taping it out on the desk or floor or just whistling it.

I don’t think we have more than maybe three or four months before we are faced with a total Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) situation. So, as a senior, spend that time learning code and developing your radio listening skills, it will make you a very valuable member of any group.

Reloading and Bullet Swaging

Disclosure: I have no affiliation and receive no compensation from Lee Loaders or Corbin Dies or any of their subsidies. The gentleman who introduced me to bullet swaging, recommended Corbin dies to me as a source for my needed supplies and Lee was the brand, I chose for my first loader 50 years ago. So other than as a consumer, I have no other association with any company or brand name mentioned. I also recommend using factory ammo for all self-defense situations, but at some point factory-loaded ammo may not be available.

Another skill which will prove invaluable to your group in a SHTF situation is reloading and bullet swaging. I have only started to learn bullet swaging and don’t feel knowledgeable enough to go into much detail on the particular how-tos but David Corbin has a wealth of information and Corbin dies are considered the premium in the bullet swaging community, in my opinion.

Ammunition will be a premium commodity in any extended SHTF situation. So knowing how to make bullets and how to reload ammunition will be very valuable skills. I started reloading 50 years ago at age 15. It started at the skeet club my Dad and I belonged to. The club had a shotgun shell loader and one of the gentlemen at the club took me under his wing and taught me to reload shotgun shells. Following that, I bought a Lee hand loader and learned to reload .270 caliber rifle ammunition. I still have and use that Lee hand loader to this day. The hand loader is not fast. And because it only does neck sizing, it is actually not recommended for ammunition used in semi-automatic weapons.  Without full-length sizing, there is a bigger potential for jamming. I have reloaded thousands of rounds of .270 ammunition and shot it through my semi-automatic deer rifle without issue. I also have reloaded roughly 1,800 rounds of .38 Special ammo and shot it through several of my revolvers with only a very occasional swollen cartridge casing being hard to eject. The Lee hand loader is lightweight and small enough to carry in your G.O.O.D. pack, with ease.Continue reading“The Reality of Aging and Prepping – Part 2, by Muscadine Hunter”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;

Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

 Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.

 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” – 3 John: 4-11  (KJV)

 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 1, 2020

5

August 1st is remembered as the election day in 1946 that sparked the Battle of Athens, Tennessee, when returning World War II veterans took up arms to oust a corrupt local government that was rigging an election.

—

And August 1st is celebrated as Swiss Independence Day, in recognition of the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291, which united Switzerland’s first three cantons. As of 2014, Switzerland has been free and independent for 723 years. Having a well-armed populace has assured that.

—

This is also the birthday of Lt. Colonel William B. Travis (born 1809, died March 8, 1836, at The Alamo.)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the first 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.

 

The Reality of Aging and Prepping – Part 1, by Muscadine Hunter

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To one extent or another I have been a prepper since I was in junior high school, 50 years ago. My dad was an avid outdoorsman who taught me to fish when I was old enough to hold a pole and taught me to shoot when I was 6 years old. By age 15 I was shooting skeet in state competition and began learning the art of reloading. I started bowhunting with a recurve bow when I was about 13 and had learned to make my own arrows, using blank shafts, by the time I was 15. Also, during my early teen years my best friend, who was a full-blooded Cherokee Native American, began teaching me about edible plants.

Now, 50 years later, I’m still learning. But age has taken its toll on my body. Two bad knees make it extremely painful to get around and impossible to escape and evade, run, or traverse rough terrain. Also, open-heart surgery two years ago forced me on to a daily regimen of medication which could be a problem when the SHTF. But, my lack of mobility does not mean I am unable to do my part in our survival group. In fact, I have a standing offer from two other groups to join up with them should the group I chose to link up with becomes unsatisfactory. I’m am not saying this to brag because all of my skills and knowledge come from God, without Him I can do nothing on my own.

I tell you this because the majority of articles I read on SurvivalBlog and most other preparedness web sites seem to focus more on a person’s tactical ability. I think many “groups” have the belief that unless you are physically fit enough to pass a Marine Corp PT test, then you are a liability. I should mention that I found SurvivalBlog just three months after Mr. Rawles started it, 15 years ago, and I read it daily.

What I have lost in physical ability I have made up for with other skills and knowledge. I believe make this ‘old timer’ worth having around. With this article, I hope to inspire other ‘old timers’ to make yourself valuable so that any group you choose to link up with will see you as a valuable asset and will welcome you into their fold. I also hope to cause groups made up of strictly fighting-age men and women to consider the benefits of having an ‘old timer’ or two in their midst. I will, hopefully, give you some basic information about each skill I think will make you valuable and give you a starting point to begin learning each skill or expand on skills you may already have.

Life is a continual learning experience so never think you know everything there is to know about any subject or skill. As I previously mentioned, some of the skills I have date back 50 years or slightly more but I still don’t know everything there is to know, so I keep my mind open to new concepts and ideas. There’s always a way to build a better mousetrap!Continue reading“The Reality of Aging and Prepping – Part 1, by Muscadine Hunter”

July 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

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Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance, and the factors that affected gold prices.

What Did Gold Do in July?

I hope that nobody followed that old saying “Sell in May and go away,” because gold had a very, very good month in July. Both gold futures and spot gold repeatedly shattered all-time record prices in the last half of the month.

Gold built on the base formed at $1,800/oz to start the second week of July. After about July 20th, the yellow metal began to pick up steam. Amid a rally that lasted for 9 consecutive trading sessions, the gold price jumped $40 per ounce on July 27th to new nominal all-time highs.

Finally, we got some consolidation just before month-end. There was a significant pullback from gold’s highs around $1,980 per ounce on Thursday, July 30th. A sell-off in global equity markets that session prompted investors to liquidate long gold positions to cover margin calls from stock losses. Another reason for the big drop was the fact that weekly and monthly options both expired that day.

Silver hit 7-year high during the last week of July before giving back some of the gains. Nonetheless, the silver price has virtually doubled from its March lows around $12/oz to above $24/oz to close out the month.

Factors Affecting Gold This Month

CHINA–US RELATIONS SOUR
The closing of consulates between the United States and China, as well as new international sanctions against Beijing, are continuing to upend the world economy and global trade relationships.
It’s not just a struggle between these two world powers, either. Tensions have ramped up between China and its other neighbors: India moved 35,000 more troops to the disputed border with China in the HImalayas. China has moved tanks and artillery into the region, as it tries to seize more territory to widen a corridor to Kashmir and Pakistan.

FED & REAL INTEREST RATES
One major tailwind for gold is negative real interest rates. Investopedia defines real interest rates as “Real Interest Rate = Nominal Interest Rate – Inflation (Expected or Actual)”.
In a note circulated before the new highs, Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Vivek Dhar said the fall in U.S. 10-year real yields has been the “most important driver.”

A handy sign for real interest rates is the 10-year TIPS bond. So long as this key rate remains in negative territory, gold looks attractive as a safe haven with its 0% yield compared to Treasury bonds that actually offer a negative real yield.

US DOLLAR
The DXY dollar index spent a good part of July hitting successive two-year lows. This helped gold buyers not just in the US, but in most foreign buyers as well. Since gold is priced in US dollars, a weaker dollar means it takes less of a foreign currency to buy gold in foreign markets.

Weakness in the dollar has been in part due to the fractured response to the COVID recession from Congress, compared to other nations. Ironically, it’s also in part because of good news on progress on a COVID vaccine, which reduces the safe-haven appeal of the USD.Continue reading“July 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”

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:

We finished nearly all of the hay hauling. Our friends only had about 23 tons of grass hay available to sell to us. Picking up the bales in the field saved us some money. This is an example of the old “Dollars-to-sweat ratio” that I’ve often written about. To be fully ready for winter, we’ll need another four tons. We’ll source that from another supplier, later in the summer.  But we’ll again do our own hauling.

Now that most of the hay hauling and stacking is done, I’m back to firewood cross-cutting and splitting.  I’m also knocking off items from the “Honey-Do” list. Next up will be adding some cattle panels to reinforce the bottom four feet of our main garden fence. That should keep the cows from nosing under the woven wire.

I’ve been very busy with the Elk Creek Company biz. Since the 12th of July, we’ve booked more than double our normal sales. Three of those pre-1899 guns went to a repeat consulting client and were delivered on-site, during our day-long consultation. The majority of the mailorder sales were also to repeat customers. It seems that they appreciate my “eye”, in picking out nice old guns. And of course, sales were helped by the fact that many gun shops are presently nearly sold out of guns and that most gun shows have been canceled. Americans are rightfully anxious to buy guns. I’ve been doing my best to re-stock, but at the rate that things are going, I won’t have much inventory remaining by September.  (I launched the biz back in February with more than 90 guns on hand. But now I’m down to just 51.)  So if you have an interest in buying a “no-paperwork” pre-1899 cartridge gun, then don’t hesitate to get your order in.

In the next two weeks, we have visits planned with all of our older “up and out” offspring, and our grand-kids. We really savor those visits, regardless of the time of year. But summertime is particularly fun, with plenty of sunshine, watermelon, and swimming. Those visits should be great fun!

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” – Psalm 95 (KJV)

 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 31, 2020

I just heard that former presidential candidate Herman Cain dies from Coronavirus at age 74. My condolences to his family.  He was a great patriotic conservative American!

—

July 31st, 1921, was the birthday of Army Air Corps veteran David Thatcher (pictured), one of the Doolittle Raiders. Thatcher was the tail gunner of the Mitchell B-25 medium bomber christened the Ruptured Duck, the seventh of 16 planes. Returning from the raid, the bomber crashed into the sea from low fuel and the crewmen survived, in no small part to Thatcher’s heroic efforts. The five airmen washed ashore and were given aid by Chinese fishermen who found them. Thatcher bound their wounds and being the only crewman able to walk, joined with armed guerrillas to carry the other crewmen to a hospital while evading Japanese troops. He was born in Bridger, Montana, and later lived in Missoula, Montana. He died in 2016, at age 94.  Only one other Doolittle Raider outlived him: Dick Cole.

—

31 July is also the birthday of free market economist Milton Freidman (born 1912, died November 16, 2006.)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the final entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Round 90 begins tomorrow! 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 89 ends today — July 31st. But get busy writing and e-mail us your entry for Round 90. 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.

To Keep and Bear, by Joshua G.

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“To conquer a nation, you must first disarm its citizens.” That was spoken by Adolf Hitler, one of the twentieth century’s most hideous leaders. These words serve as a dire warning to all freedom-loving Americans. As active shootings have become more and more publicized so has a rising clamor for stringent government action. Screeching fabricated mendacities from between their parched lips, liberal politicians, some openly communist, encourage people to support new Red Flag gun laws. They vigorously insist that these laws will keep Americans “safer”. This is false. Many have been deceived. The danger is real. Common sense refutes their proposed “common sense” gun control laws.

Over and over, the evidence has proven to support the fact that people are indeed safer with the ability to defend themselves rather than relying on the police. Unquestionable illustrations of this exist. The right to bear military arms in order to defend oneself from violent criminals or an over-reaching government is staunchly upheld in the Second Amendment. Unfortunately, the term arms is frequently misunderstood, as some assert that the Second Amendment excludes the right for civilians to own military weapons. However, the word “arms” is defined by John Trusler’s 1794 dictionary as; “instruments of offence generally made use of in war…” Noah Webster and Samuel Johnston both define arms as “weapons of offence.” This would appear to indicate that by choosing the word “arms”, the Founding Fathers indeed meant for the people to be armed with military weapons. Fundamentally, the Second Amendment recognizes a pre-existing right of the citizenry to keep and bear tools of war in order to ensure that the military power of the country would always rest in the hands of the people.

In recent years there has been much debate around “Common Sense” gun laws. Prevalent belief expounded by such liberal politicians as Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, and others would have people believe that gun control is about keeping everyone safe and stopping the gun violence which is supposedly decimating massive numbers of the U.S. population. Biased media obscures the truth. Compared to the vast numbers of people killed from heart disease or the many who die from unnecessary medical blunders, the number of people who die from so-called “gun violence” is trivial. So why are so many politicians frantically trying to pass repressive laws limiting Second Amendment rights? One key answer lies in a quote from the communist dictator, Mao Tse Tung: “All political power proceeds from the barrel of a gun; you register and ban the firearms before the slaughter begins.”Continue reading“To Keep and Bear, by Joshua G.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the rocketing rise in precious metals prices, and the corresponding decline of the Doillar on the Forex. (See the Precious Metals section and the Forex section.)

Precious Metals:

Back in January, I had surmised that the year 2020 was going to be a year of 20/20 hindsight. Well, now it appears that 2020 will be: The Year of SurvivalIst “I Told You So.” In summary: We were right about stockpiling gloves, hand sanitizer, and N95 masks. We were right about storing toilet paper. We were right about food storage. We were right about buying rural real estate. We were right about investing in guns and ammunition. And now we’ve been proven right about investing in both precious metals and Swiss Francs. Give glory to God for grantng you wisdom and discernment. And give yourself a pat on the back, folks. – JWR

o  o  o

Gold price marks highest settlement and intraday price on record. The article notes, in a subhead:  “Silver tops $24/oz for highest finish since 2013.”

JWR Warns:  Whenever the banksters see precious metals “out of whack” (read: in variance with their plans), then they do their best to drive metals prices down with short selling, changing COMEX margin requirements, and other chicanery.  Be prepared for a roller coaster ride, in the next few weeks.  But please keep your core metals holdings. The banksters and politicians will not be able stop this bull market in metals.  They can’t double the size of the national debt and expect gold, silver, and platinum prices to stay in the doldrums. Eventually, currency market equilibrium must be reached. They can’t fight the law of supply and demand. And in this case they inflated the supply of Dollars. When they create trillions of new Dollars like papier hygiénique, then precious metals will inevitably rise! Oh, and the last time I checked (on the evening of 30 July, 2020), it took just over $11,000 USD to buy one Bitcoin.

Economy & Finance:

The Irish Times reports:  US economy in biggest fall since the Great Depression

o  o  o

Fed Sticks to Whatever It Takes With No Sign of Virus Easing

o  o  o

And at Zero Hedge: Aviation Flu? It Will Take Years For Passenger Numbers To Fully Recover

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There has grown up in the minds of certain groups in this country the notion that because a man or corporation has made a profit out of the public for a number of years, the government and the courts are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary to the public interest. This strange doctrine is not supported by statute or common law. Neither individuals nor corporations have any right to come into court and ask that the clock of history be stopped, or turned back.”  – Robert A. Heinlein

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 30, 2020

1

Today we remember the birthday of author Reginald Bretnor. He was born Alfred Reginald Kahn on July 30, 1911, in Vladivostok. He died on July 22, 1992 in Medford, Oregon. In addition to penning many witty science fiction novels and short stories in his characteristic style, he also wrote nonfiction articles for Mel Tappan’s P.S. Letter

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 89 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 89 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.

Body Armor Basics, by Raskolnikov

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It’s always struck me as odd that we often think of defensive preps almost exclusively as involving firearms. Don’t get me wrong, I love guns. I’ve taken courses and train regularly so I can use them effectively if the need should ever arise. But in a gunfight, the bullets don’t just go in one direction. Often, they come back at you as well.

Today, we’re going to talk about how we can protect ourselves with various types of body armor or ballistic protection. We’ll talk about some of the basics of body armor, how it works, what options are available, and a few considerations when buying your first armor set. Unfortunately, if you see ads for body armor online, the comments reveal that many folks believe misinformation about body armor. I’m hoping to provide you accurate, verifiable information to help you get started. I’m not an expert by any means, so do your homework and verify what I say (after all, your life is at stake, so take this seriously). In this article, I may also mention specific companies, but that’s just because they’re the ones I know. I’m not affiliated with any of them, I don’t benefit from sending business to them, and I don’t have any specific inside-the-industry knowledge. I’m just a regular guy hoping to share a bit about one of his interests, and hopefully help out those who feel overwhelmed by all the options.

One additional disclaimer: Some jurisdictions restrict use and possession of body armor, so know and follow your local laws (and consider moving to a free state!).

The Basics

Body armor usually comes in the form of a vest, with either a flexible material like Kevlar or a hard material like steel or ceramic serving to absorb the force of an incoming round. By distributing the force over a wider area, the vest lowers the likelihood that the round penetrates the chest area. Today’s ballistic vests are just the latest iteration of the armor worn by combatants for thousands of years, except that instead of protecting yourself from the swords of the Huns, you’re protecting yourself from the guns of the lawless. It’s tested and rated according to a scale from the National Institute of Justice, which rates body armor based on the rounds it’s capable of stopping.Continue reading“Body Armor Basics, by Raskolnikov”

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 a suggestion for Mandatory Vaccinations for COVID-19.

Rioters Draw Guns on Drivers in Eugene, Oregon

Reader H.L. sent this portentous news: Crowds launch fireworks at brewery, draw guns on drivers as riots spread from Portland to smaller Oregon city. JWR’s Comment:  Of course Eugene is a college town in the Willamette Valley, but this spread of rioting from Portland does not bode well.

COVID19: Long Lasting Damage & More HCQ ‘Controversy’

Reader A.K. suggested the latest video from Chris Martenson: COVID19: Long Lasting Damage & More HCQ ‘Controversy’

In August: QSO’s Virtual Ham Expo

Petter sent us a link to this announcement of a free event, on August 8th & 9th:  QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo

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