Prepper Project Suggestions, by R.H.

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I have compiled a list of possible projects that can be accomplished by people of average skill with the usual tools and supplies. This list is just to get you thinking about what you might need and what you could use in the event of an emergency. Luckily, we currently have the Internet to easily find plans for these projects. Print the plans now and start a “to-do” list. The Internet is great but also have some how-to books on hand. The time is upon us.

Water

In keeping with preparation priorities, let’s first discuss water projects. One of the first things to consider should probably be some sort of rain water collection system. You may live in an area in which rain water collection is illegal so check before you implement such a system. That being said, you could probably still go ahead with the assembly of materials and even construction as long as the system is not used. After a critical event, law makers and enforcers will likely have bigger fish to fry than someone who is utilizing rain water for gardens, orchards or water to flush toilets.

One simple method of rain water collection involves one or more large plastic trash bins that can be purchased at the big box stores for about thirty dollars. I have had good luck with Rubbermaid Brute® containers which hold 32 gallons of liquid. With some fall and spring cleaning and maintenance, mine have lasted more than five years without any signs of failure. Stock extra “O” rings and faucets for the tanks. Recycled poly drums or intermediate bulk containers (IBC tanks) are good, sturdy and cheap alternatives if you know what was previously stored in them.

One may simply let a down spout flow into a hole cut into the lid for collection. The addition of a hose bib near the bottom of the trash bin allows for running an irrigation line to the garden or filling a bucket or other container. Construct a strong frame to elevate the trash bin in order to have clearance for a bucket or watering can. If your 32-gallon trash bin is full of rain water, it will weigh slightly more than 267 pounds so plan ahead and secure the bin with ratchet straps so it won’t tip over.

Once you have water, you may have to filter it. Short of a purchased water filter, you may consider a do-it-yourself one with one of many plans available on the web. I have constructed a gravity filter from a leftover water cooler bottle. Include many layers of sand and activated charcoal under a cloth filter that can be changed frequently.

Heat (Energy)

If you are a country dweller or maybe live in some suburban areas, you probably have access to at least some quantity of firewood. If you need to depend on that firewood for warmth or cooking fires, it will have to be dry. You may want to consider constructing some sort of wood shed or wood rack with a roof to be able to keep at least some of the firewood dry and ready for use.

For about a hundred dollars worth of pressure-treated lumber, an open air wood rack with a roof can be constructed in a weekend. If you have access to pallets or salvaged scrap, use that lumber for the build and save a lot of money.Continue reading“Prepper Project Suggestions, by R.H.”

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 we feature a video on Krag Rifles. (See the Instructional Videos & Vlogs section.)

Books:

NOLS Wilderness Medicine (NOLS Library)

o  o  o

Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto

o  o  o

For Love of Yurts: Building an Ultra Simple Yurt Home for Under a $1000

o  o  o

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy (Updated edition.)

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

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 16, 2020

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On June 16, 1980 the movie The Blues Brothers debuted in Chicago. It was very successful in its theatrical release, and has had a cult-like following as a home video.

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I just heard that the folks who run Naturally Cozy (one of our long-time writing contest sponsors) is re-launching their Privy Paper business. They sell massive rolls of TP, stacked in 5 gallon plastic buckets.  This is a brilliant idea that saves a tremendous amount of storage space.

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 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 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, which 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.

Strategies for Buying Rural Land

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Over the years, I’ve heard from many of my readers who yearn to live in the hinterboonies. But they often say that they feel “stuck”, living where they are.  One of the biggest impediments seems to be the cost of land, in their desired locale. Let’s face it: If you buy land in an area with a fairly mild climate, plentiful water, and fertile top soil, then odds are that it will have a fairly high “per acre” price. There is plenty of affordable desert scrub land on the market, for as little at $1,000 per acre. But good land now ranges from $5,000 to $25,000 per acre. (And even more, for particularly desirable “view” parcels, or for small lots, with utilities.)

This might seem daunting, but fear not. In my 20+ years of consulting, I’ve learned some key strategies for finding quality rural land at a reasonable price. But note that most of these take plenty of research, patience, and persistence. Here they are:

1.) Search for tax delinquencies. Back in the old days, this necessitated making a trip to the Assessor’s Office, at your county courthouse.  But many of those public records are now available online. The ideal property to look for is a property with an out-of-state owner but that has not been listed for sale for more than three years. Getting a call from a would-be-buyer just a few days after receiving a tax delinquency notice is perfect timing.

2.) Watch for foreclosures.  I noticed that in April, 2020, the folks at Lifewire published a fairly comprehensive list of foreclosure search/watch web sites: The Best Free Foreclosure Search Sites.  This well-researched set of links is broke down into categories, such as:  A.) Bank REOs, Government-Owned, and General Foreclosure, B.) REO, and Distressed Property Listings, and C.) Real Estate Agents, Brokers, and Property Services. 

3.) Make a friend of a banker. Perhaps the best small investment you’ll ever make is buying a lunch or two, for a local banker.  Do some phoning around and find out which bank in your area carries the most rural mortgages, and then ask who handles the foreclosures. This is the guy (or gal) that you want to take out to lunch and a chat. (If that individual is of the opposite sex, then make sure that your spouse joins you, for the luncheon appointment.) There is a huge advantage in getting to know each other, and letting that banker know that you are both earnest and qualified, and the type of property that you are looking for.

4. ) Watch for auctions. You will of course need to do your due diligence, but sometimes properties sell at auction far below the prevailing market price. Needless to say, never buy a piece of land sight unseen.

5.) Consider buying “tear-downs”. A lot of rural properties get overlooked by other buyers because they have standing houses on them that are substandard or totally dilapidated.  But you need to just step back, squint, and ask: “Now what would this look like, without that collapsed single-wide there?”  Often, such properties sell for less than nearby ‘bare land’ parcels, of similar size. Yet, consider that in many cases these properties already have an established power line, a phone line, an established spring or well, water lines, fencing (or at least surveyed property lines), some usable outbuildings, roads, cleared fields, fruit and nut trees, developed garden topsoil, and a septic system — and most or all of those can be re-used. (Hence saving you many thousands of dollars in property development costs.) Just be sure to factor in your eventual costs of demolishing and hauling away the material any unsalvageable dilapidated structures.Continue reading“Strategies for Buying Rural Land”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on a couple of street racing incidents.  (See the Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington sections.)

Idaho

On Radio Free Redoubt: North Idaho Armed and Peaceful Deterrent

o  o  o

Family confirms remains found on Chad Daybell’s property belong to JJ Vallow, Tylee Ryan

o  o  o

Police use of force, defunding, loom large in discussion with new Boise police chief

o  o  o

US delays repairs for North Idaho road in grizzly bear habitat

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Rural areas around the world have been largely spared, at least for now. The North American hinterlands, according to health professionals, benefit from less crowding and unwanted human contact.

Living in dispersion may not save you from contagion, but being away from people, driving around in your own car, and having neighbors you know, does have its advantages in times like these. Even the urban cognoscenti have figured this out—much as their Renaissance predecessors did during typhus and bubonic plague outbreaks, wealthy New Yorkers today are retreating to their country homes where they struggle with the locals over depleted supplies of essentials.” – Joel Kotkin,The Coming Age of Dispersion, in Quilette

Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 15, 2020

6

On July 15th, 1888, the Bandai Volcano erupted on the Japanese island of Honshu killing hundreds and burying many nearby villages in ash. While Honshu is in an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, this eruption was surprising. The volcano had erupted only four times in the 1,000 years prior and none had been particularly deadly. However, this eruption was different. The rumblings started just after 7 a.m. Within 30 minutes there was an explosion on the north side of the mountain and over the next two hours there were dozens of explosions giving villagers very little time to escape.

Kershaw Launch 8, by Pat Cascio

4

Growing up in Chicago, many in my neighborhood carried Italian stiletto folding knives, except they didn’t work. Oh sure, it had that button that you’d push, but it didn’t work…it was there for looks only, but those knives looked mean. Only problem was, they were pure junk, I never owned one that even had an edge on it – and odds were good if you dropped it or threw it, it would break. But still, a lot of us kids owned them. I will admit to being involved in a couple knife “incidents” that ended just as quickly as they started – first blood and the fight was over.

Even today, you can still find these Italian Stiletto folders in knife shops and other stores – they aren’t worth the money you’ll pay, but they look bad to the bone. The real deal – from Italy – next to impossible to find – you see, automatic folders – switch blades – can’t be imported into the United States, by Federal law. Some times it is skirted, when these knives come into the country, and then a company or individual will add the internal components, making them into an automatic folder. But those knives are still junk.

Many states and locales restrict the ownership of automatic folders for some stupid reason – most believe that a “switchblade” knife is some how more deadly than a manual opening folder, or an assisted opening folder – ignorance is bliss when it comes to politicians and the stupid laws they pass. There are several well-known knife companies in Oregon – where it is legal to own and carry an automatic folder, and even many police officers in my home state ignorantly believe an automatic folder is illegal to own, except by law enforcement.

Kershaw Knives recently released their version of the Italian Stiletto, called the Launch 8,  and it is made right here in Oregon. This folder was designed by well-known custom knife maker Matt Diskin, and he did a great job on this “stiletto” if you ask me. I wasn’t familiar with Diskin’s work, so I did some checking around on the Internet, and found his custom knives are sure to my liking – every last one that I looked at, on-line.

The first thing you will notice, when you pick-up the Kershaw Launch 8 folder is that, it is very lightweight – it only weighs-in at 2.4-ounces, yet it is a good sized folder with its 3.5-inch CPM 154 stainless steel blade. The blade is stonewashed, and it looks good on this folder. The handle material is anodized gray Aluminum, with a carbon fiber insert in the handle for a great grip on this folder. Of course, there is “that” push button, and needless to say, it works, and the blade comes out of the handle with some authority, and I opened and closed the blade many hundreds of times and it remained locked open and closed without getting loose. The button releases the open blade, so you can manually close it back into the handle. There is also a reversible pocket clip, for carrying in the right or left front pocket, with the knife tip up. There is a cross guard on the front of the handle, and this prevents your thumb from slipping onto the open blade.Continue reading“Kershaw Launch 8, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Baked Bean Soup

3

The following baked bean soup recipe is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book will be one of the bonus items in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021.

Ingredients
  • 3 slices bacon
  • 2 cups baked beans
  • 4 cups cold water
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 tablespoon butter or butter substitute
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Paprika
Directions

Cook bacon. Add to beans. Add cold water and cook until beans are soft, then rub through a strainer. Place on the fire and add a little more water, if needed, as the soup must not be too thick. Bind with the flour and butter. Cook two or three minutes. Season with salt, a dash of pepper, and paprika.

—

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

56

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 further examine the growing exodus from American cities. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Hub Moolman: US Dollar Cycle Points To New All-time Highs For The Gold Price

o  o  o

Another crash is coming; gold to hedge against 100% inflation

o  o  o

Bullion Bank Retreat Puts Floor Under Silver And Gold Prices

Economy & Finance:

As Many as 25,000 U.S. Stores May Close in 2020, Mostly in Malls

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: US Consumer Credit Crashes As Americans Repay A Record Amount Of Credit Card Debt

o  o  o

Another piece by Tyler: Fed Again Tapers Daily Treasury Purchases To $4 Billion Per Day For Next Week

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: The 53 Companies Bailed Out by the Bank of England: Johnson Controls, Carnival, PACCAR, Honda, Toyota, BASF, Bayer…
Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — June 14, 2020

5

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution on June 14th, 1777, stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes,” was based on the “Grand Union” flag– a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also had 13 red and white stripes.

—

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 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 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, which 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.

An Old Boy Scout’s Journey – Part 4, by Rocket J. Squirrel

23

(Continued from Part 3. This installment concludes the article.)

Other PREPPING SUBJECTs

Fitness: I have managed to keep my body weight about the same as it was when I finished high school. I try to maintain my aerobic fitness. I have done a reasonably good job. The fitness routine includes running and I have commuted to work on my bicycle at various times over the years. Southern California roads were much friendlier to bicyclists compared to my new home. I need to be more consistent with my work-outs since I am not bicycling lately. Although my body weight is the same as when I was young, I am certain that my muscle mass has dropped. I need to get back to consistent strength training as well.

Vehicles: Our current vehicles are a 4-door sedan and an all-wheel-drive SUV. On my wish list is a Dodge 4X4 crew cab with a Cummins diesel engine. As Hank Williams Jr. sings, “I got a shotgun, a rifle and a 4-wheel drive, and a country boy can survive…” At this point, I just want to be a Country Boy. The diesel engine vehicle will give me fuel diversity.

We keep each vehicle stocked with various supplies: headlamp with extra batteries, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, Leatherman, assorted small tools, tire plug/repair kit, the larger cans of Fix-A-Flat, blanket, space blankets, cash, hats, bandanas, golf umbrellas, pocket-size copy of SAS Survival Guide, truck gun (unloaded, but with side saddles filled and a full grab-and-go), drinking water, rain jacket, DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer of appropriate states, FAA Sectional Charts (the maps that pilots use) covering the same area, Mainstay and SOS food bars, leather gloves waterproofed with SnoSeal, a 12VDC-to-120VAC inverter. Tire chains and a shovel are added during the winter or when planning travel over mountain passes. I carry a manual bicycle pump on long journeys – slow but effective. I keep a trigger lock which I apply to the truck gun before dropping the vehicle for service and remove the lock after service. At other times, locking of the vehicle is the firearm security. The firearm is always stored out of sight.

Should abandoning our home become a reality the SUV is equipped with roof racks and Class 3 hitch receiver. There is a Yakima roof-top cargo box to mount on the roof racks for carrying supplies. The to-do list includes purchasing a basket-style hitch cargo carrier in which four GI fuel cans 20 liter would be carried. I did a little research and decided to purchase new fuel cans, not surplus. New is more expensive than surplus, but I did not want to end up with a leaky fuel can. I purchased the cans at www.jerrycan.com.

There is a fuel transfer hand pump (sort of like a small bicycle pump but specifically designed for gasoline and with suction/discharge hoses) with which I could remove gasoline from the sedan and place in the fuel cans to provide extended range for the SUV. The specific fuel transfer hand pump I purchased doesn’t seem to be available any more. Make certain that any pump you purchase for this purpose is rated specifically for gasoline. I see similar pumps currently available on Amazon from Cole-Parmer and Koehler Enterprises.Continue reading“An Old Boy Scout’s Journey – Part 4, by Rocket J. Squirrel”

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 tension between police and rioters.

Poll: Most Reject Defunding Police

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Rasmussen Poll: Most Reject Calls for Defunding Police.

Siri and Alexa “Updated” to Promote Black Lives Matter

Another from Whatfinger: Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Assistant have been updated to express support for Black Lives Matter. JWR’s Comments: While confirming that, ask Alexa its definitions of the words: “Socialism”, “Marriage”, and “Militia”.  My advice: Get these spy/propaganda devices out of your home, and use them for target practice.

The Journalists’ Purge of 2020

Peter sent us the link to this troubling piece, in The Wall Street Journal: Cancel Culture Journalism. This article begins:

“The purge of senior editors at progressive newspapers this weekend is no cause for cheering. Their resignations are another milestone in the march of identity politics and cancel culture through our liberal institutions, and American journalism and democracy will be worse for it.

The long-time editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who’d seen the publication through difficult times, was pushed out over a headline, “Buildings Matter, Too.” It was atop a piece by architecture critic Inga Saffron, who worried that buildings damaged by violence could “leave a gaping hole in the heart of Philadelphia.” Staff members deemed the headline an offense to Black Lives Matter. They protested, and no amount of apologizing or changes to the headline were enough. Editor Stan Wischnowski didn’t last the week.”

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