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 how solar superstorms are projected to affect the national power grids.

All 50 States Have Declared Disasters

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: All 50 states under disaster declaration for first time in US history. A snippet:

“All 50 states are under a major disaster declaration for the first time in U.S. history, after President Trump approved Wyoming’s declaration Saturday.

Within 22 days, Trump declared a major emergency in all 50 states and most territories through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The final disaster declaration occurred on the same day U.S. surpassed Italy to become the country with the most deaths from the virus.

Trump approved the first major disaster declaration for coronavirus in New York on March 20, followed two days later by Washington and California, the early hot spots of the virus. New York has become the hardest-hit state, recording 188,694 positive cases and 9,385 deaths from the virus, according to the state’s health department.

The U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico all received approved major disaster declarations. American Samoa is the only U.S. territory that has not received a disaster designation. “

3-D Printers Get Past Biometric Security

Reader C.B. sent this: 3-D printers help override biometric security measures

Solar Storms: Where the Power Might Go Out

Reader A.D. sent us this fascination article about the threat of solar superstorms: Where the Power Might Go Out. Take a close look at the included maps. Here is a pericope:

“Whether or not *your* power goes out during a solar storm depends on two things: (1) The configuration of power lines in your area and (2) the electrical properties of the ground beneath your feet. In areas of more electrically resistive rock, currents struggle to flow through the ground. Instead, they leap up into overhead power lines – a scenario that played out in Quebec in 1989.”

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“At no time, at no place in solemn convention assembled, through no chosen agents, had the American people officially proclaimed the United States to be a democracy. The Constitution did not contain the word or any word lending countenance to it.” – Charles A. Beard

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 15, 2020

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On April 15th, 1912, the “unsinkable” Titanic sank. 1,517 people lost their lives on the maiden voyage. As research into the incident has progressed over the last 100 years, it seems as if, one way or another, the ship was just going to sink. Impact with an iceberg, raging coal fires in the fuel supply, wrong turns, locked-up binoculars, weak rivets, too few lifeboats, and more. Perhaps this whole incident was really the result of man’s hubris.

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With commerce returning to most of the western states on May 1st, I’ve decided re-open Elk Creek Company, as of the first Monday in May. (Monday, May 4th, 2020.)  Mark your calendars. Thanks for your patience! In the interim, please just put the guns that interest you on your Wish List.

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One of the few bits of good news from the entire Wuhan coronavirus debacle: Income tax filings have been postponed for three months. So enjoy this relaxing April 15th!

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 88 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 $100 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 88 ends on May 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.

Prepping and Survival as a Mindset, by F.B.

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People — being people — have all kinds of reactions to “prepping.” Some get it. Some think they get it. And some consider themselves too sophisticated to “prep” because that implies the system will fracture; so to them preppers are “extremists of doom.”

I’m not a prepper; I’m just a Dad responsible for a family. And once you wrap your mind around that, you’re already down that slippery slope of being a “prepper.”

Prepping Begins in the Brain

I have life insurance, like any middle class salary man. I pay for it every month. I don’t think I’ll die in any one of the months I pay for it. But I’m a financial prepper because I’ve prepared for the very low likely hood of my own untimely death. Does that make me paranoid, or responsible?

Your number one Prep is your brain. If all you have to “prep” is a brain, that’s 90% of what you need. Prepping is about foreseeing challenges, however unlikely, and making preparations for them. Foreseeing possible challenges will not drive your life any more than buying life insurance does and buying Life insurance doesn’t mean you have a death wish.

But you’ve got to use that gray matter and do some war gaming.Continue reading“Prepping and Survival as a Mindset, by F.B.”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–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  reloading equipment and reloading reference books. (See the Books section and the Gear & Grub section.)

Books:

Lyman 50th Edition Reloading Handbook

o  o  o

Hornady 10th Edition Handbook of Cartridge Reloading

o  o  o

Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage

o  o  o

The latest from Glenn Beck: Arguing with Socialists

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

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 14, 2020

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Today marks the birthday of actor Adrien Brody (born 1973). He played the lead role in The Pianist.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 88 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 $100 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 88 ends on May 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.

Caffeine for TEOTWAWKI, by N.E.S.

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I will be addressing both coffee and tea options that work for us around our homestead. I will start with coffee. I am certainly no coffee connoisseur; I am just a homestead wife trying to make some decent coffee for my hubby. We are not sophisticated in that we try to detect certain acidity, aromas etc. My hubby just wants coffee that he enjoys drinking. I am in no way affiliated with any of the vendor suggestions that I comment about here. Rather, I’m just listing the things that through the research that I have done through this journey. I figured it might save some a little trial and effort.

There are lots of different ways to brew your coffee which I will not be going over since most folks have that system down pretty well at this point.

My hubby is a coffee addict. I wondered a while back what would happen if the coffee beans became scarce or not available for a long period of time–such as in TEOTWAWKI. I have been experimenting with coffee storage for quite some time now. Coffee that has been roasted prior to buying at the store has a pretty short shelf life. After some research online I came up with roasting green coffee beans at home.

My hubby likes a really dark roast, almost espresso dark and was having a hard time finding that roast at my normal stores that I frequent. We got away from going to Starbucks etc. as we did not have that extra money at the time and we live pretty far out of town. That is when I started doing research on roasting at home.

Green coffee beans can be bought in bulk from several sources. I am lucky enough to have a green coffee seller in my area. Green coffee beans keep for years properly stored. I just store mine in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma Seal lids. The coffee itself is placed in mylar bags and sealed. Another option for sealing which I have also done is to store in ½ gallon canning jars and vacuum seal them to keep them fresh with a vacuum sealer jar attachment. Both methods work great. Green coffee beans will store for many years if kept in a cool, dry, dark area. You can get as basic or as sophisticated as you want in the choice you make for your coffee beans. Price can also vary widely depending on the varietal choice that you make.Continue reading“Caffeine for TEOTWAWKI, by N.E.S.”

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 mass media coverage of the American Redoubt movement.  (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

CoVID-19: Time to Relocate?

o o o

America’s ‘survivalists’ feel vindication as they lock down for coronavirus epidemic — with ‘beans, bullets and Band-Aids’. A pericope:

“While some, like Rawles, are already hunkered down at their remote ranch, others are ready to flee, a move known among preppers as “bugging out.”

The ranches are usually in the “American Redoubt” in the northwest, covering Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and eastern Oregon and Washington. It is a term coined by Rawles that means a political migration to mountain states in the northwestern U.S. considered a place of refuge for libertarian, conservative survivalists.

Up in that vast wilderness the population is thin, cities are distant, gun laws are relatively lax, and there is plenty of land, water and hunting.”

o o o

The NPR affiliate Boise State Public Radio almost predictably labelled survivalists as “anti-government” in this piece: Anti-Government Activists Split On Coronavirus Emergency Orders. Here is a  snippet:

“What does unite anti-government movements during the pandemic is the importance of firearms. On a recent online broadcast of the prepper-focused Radio Free Redoubt, host John Jacob Schmidt said he’s relieved to be surrounded by heavily armed preppers during a crisis.

“It feels so good to be living in the American Redoubt,” he said.

The American Redoubt is generally thought of by survivalists and militia groups as a region encompassing parts of Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana. It is seen by them as a kind of last refuge from societal collapse.

Todd Savage lives in North Idaho and runs Black Rifle Real Estate, which caters to preppers and followers of the Redoubt movement. He says his business is booming over the past month as concerns about COVID-19 have jumped to the fore.

Given that his company name is a nod to the AR-15 rifle, it’s unsurprising that he thinks guns are essential during a pandemic.

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said. “When somebody is breaking down your door because they’re desperate for food, water, medicine for their family, what are you going to do?””Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The socialist ideal eventually goes viral, and the majority learns to game the system. Everyone is trying to live at the expense of everyone else. In the terminal phase, the failure of the system is disguised under a mountain of lies, hollow promises, and debts. When the stream of other people’s money runs out, the system collapses.” – Kevin Brekke

Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 13, 2020

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April 13, 1743 The birthday of Thomas Jefferson. (He died on July 4, 1826.)

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A reminder: Patrice Lewis of the great Rural Revolution blog has launched a sale of her complete Country Living Series collection of 52 homesteading and practical skills e-booklets for download or on CD. I highly recommend her writings.

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Today we present another product review by our venerable Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Zero Tolerance 0640, by Pat Cascio

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To those many readers who have requested, once again, some high-end folding knives, here’s one that is quite unique. Its not all that easy getting our hands on high-end folding knives because, well…they are very expensive and always in-demand. Today we’re taking a close look at the Zero Tolerance Model 0640 and it’s a winner in every respect.

As I’ve said numerous times, you can buy a knife for $5, or one for several hundred dollars, but don’t expect the less expensive knife to stand up like a quality knife. There are some really nice knives on the market, that are sold on some of those knife selling infomercial channels, where you can get dozens of knives for a hundred bucks, and they look good – in the commercials. However once you get them in your hands, they are nothing more than eye candy. They look good, but they have blades that aren’t heat treated, and most come dull, too. Oh sure, you’ve watched those snake oil salesmen demonstrate how sharp those knives are, by slicing a piece of paper. Well, they took those blades and put an edge on them so that they will do that. Just don’t expect those eye candy blades to do that more than a few times – it ain’t gonna happen.

I really like the Swiss Army knife concept, if only they made they with the best materials. However, if you try using any of those numerous tools that comes on these days, and apply any amount of force, you’ll soon find that you are holding that knife in pieces in your hand – they just aren’t up to the super hard tasks like the high quality multi-tools that we have today. Again, great idea, all those tools in a knife, but I wouldn’t want to bet my life on them.

So, just because a knife looks great on television, don’t expect something that costs a buck or two, to stand up to the rigors of survival, law enforcement, or military duties. You are throwing your money away, and maybe even your life, if you purchase garbage cutlery. Now, with that said, you can get some really high-quality knives from some big name knife companies, like Kershaw Knives, which is a division of Kai USA Corporation, which also owns Zero Tolerance knives. I’ve tested some Kershaw Knives that retailed for $40 to $50 and I’ve got to tell you, they are well-made – quality – for your money. Sure, some are made overseas, but made under strict quality control, and they are not made in slave labor factories.Continue reading“Zero Tolerance 0640, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: GritsinMontana’s Dirty Rice

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Reader GritsinMontana kindly sent us her recipe for Dirty Rice.

Ingredients
  • 1 pound meat (ground beef, chicken, or sausage)
  • 1/2 pound chicken livers (traditional but optional)
  • 1 cup white rice
  • 1.5 cups chicken broth
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1-2 bell peppers, finely chopped
  • 3-4 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • A bit of butter or olive oil
  • Thyme, dried or fresh
  • One Bayleaf. (Remove after cooking.)
  • Garlic, 2-3 cloves, minced
  • Salt, 2-3 teaspoons
And these three peppers, to taste:
  • White pepper (start with 1 tsp) 
  • Black pepper (start with 1 tsp) 
  • Red pepper (start with 1/2 tsp) 
Directions
  1. Wash your hands!
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Pull your 10 inch cast iron skillet out of the cabinet and set it on the stove top.
  4. Sauté thyme, bay leaf, and garlic in a pat or two of butter or a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
  5. Then add your meat(s) and cook thoroughly.
  6. Now add all the finely chopped veggies to the skillet.  (You can omit veggies you don’t like or substitute amounts of veggies based on what you have lying around. Everything will be just fine in the end.)
  7. After the veggies begin to wilt down, add your rice and continue to sauté for a while until the rice just barely begins to show some brown.
  8. Now add the broth, salt, and the white, black, and red pepper.
  9. Stir slightly to mix the salt and pepper into the broth evenly. (We like it spicy so we increase the red pepper.)
  10. Cook just until the stock is hot.
  11. Place skillet (un-covered) in the preheated 400 degree oven for approximately 18-20 minutes.
  12. Remove from oven.
This recipe should roughly fit into a 10 inch cast iron skillet. If you use a larger skillet just increase portions accordingly, ensuring you always use a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of broth to roughly 1 pound of ground meat of your choice. (Rice triples in volume so keep that in mind when you decide to use a larger skillet and larger volumes.)
SERVING

Rice should be very flaky and completely done.  Feed this comfort food to anybody you love. It can be served as a side dish or as a main meal (with greens of some sort on the side). And remember to smile, since you only dirtied up one skillet. 

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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, I speculate on how more PV-equipped vans will soon hit the market, for use as Bug-Out Vehicles. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

This is some now slightly dated but still incisive analysis: Violent Price Divergences Between Real Physical Precious Metal and Futures Prices

o  o  o

Currency Is Being Created ‘On Scale Never Seen Before In The History of Mankind’

Economy & Finance:

PMI Inches Down to 49.1%, But Storm Clouds Brewing

o  o  o

H.L. sent us this: Japan using BILLIONS in stimulus money to lure its firms OUT of China as fallout over coronavirus continues

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: QE-4 Cut in Half this Week. Fed’s Helicopter Money for Wall Street & the Wealthy Hits $1.8 Trillion in 4 Weeks

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“If you all come out now, a bunch of you are going to get sick. If you hold off until May 1, even more of you are going to get sick, and we’ll be in the worst economic depression the world has ever known due to a complete lack of engaging in economy.

If you all hide until September, you’re still going to get sick, and at the worst time of year for it–October-December, just like the flu and other colds. More people will die on top of everyone who’s starving to death because we will have literally no economy left. (And I realize idiots don’t believe this is true, even though in just two weeks we’ve gone from 3% unemployment to 10%. It’ll be 20% by next week, and likely hit 40% by the end of April, if we don’t stop the stupidity right now.)”  – Michael Z. Williamson