SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

62

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 the variety of reactions to the coronavirus pandemic in the American Redoubt, most notably that of Idaho Representative Heather Scott (pictured.)

Idaho

Bonner County: Sheriff opposes stay-at-home order

o o o

North Idaho Legislator Urges Constituents To ‘Push Back’ Against Governor’s Stay-Home ‘Edict’

o o o

A ‘Liberty’ Rebellion in Idaho Threatens to Undermine Coronavirus Orders

o o o

Paradise in Idaho: Boondocking the Snake

o o o

An unusual event last week: 6.5 earthquake rocks southern Idaho, according to USGS

o o o

Governor Little Signs Bill to Improve Constitutional Carry in Idaho

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The only acceptable response to the threat of lethal violence is immediate and savage counterattack. If you resist, you just may get killed. If you don’t resist you almost certainly will get killed. It is a tough choice, but there is only one right answer.” – Col. Jeff Cooper

Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 6, 2020

25

This is the birthday of famous American newsreel and radio journalist/narrator Lowell Thomas.

—

JWR Observes: SurvivalBlog readers were wearing masks out in public, for weeks before it was cool.

—

Do you want to really get away from it all?  Then check out this new listing at my #1 Son’s SurvivalRealkty.com: Cabin on 100 acres in Chile.

—

Today, we present another product review from the indefatigable Pat Cascio.

 

Work Sharp Sharpeners, by Pat Cascio

8

Two questions, that I receive all the time from readers are: 1.) What is your favorite gun? And, 2.) How do I re-sharpen my knife back to factory sharpness? Of course, the first question is impossible to answer, because there is no single gun that can take care of all my needs. The second question is a bit hard to answer, as well. You have to remember that there are folks in the knife factories who spend their entire day sharpening knives, on a power belt machine, and they sharpen hundreds of knives each day, they have a special talent and a “touch” when it comes to putting an edge on a knife, before it leaves the factory. I’ve personally witnessed these guys sitting there and putting a shaving sharp edge on a knife in less than a minute. Wow!

Many knife companies will re-sharpen your knife for you, if you send it back to them. Most knifemaking companies don’t charge for this service, and some only charge for the return shipping and handling. Still, who wants to be without their favorite knife for a week or two? No me, that’s for sure. And, there are a good number of knife sharpening tools on the market. And there is no “magic” tool, for the most part, that simply allows you to press your knife against the sharpener, and the factory edge is restores instantly. With any tool, it still takes time and practice to get you knife sharp all over again. I try to not allow whatever knife I’m carrying or using, to get overly dull, when that happens, it does take some time and effort, to get the blade back to factory sharpness. It only takes me a few minutes each week, to touch-up a slightly dull knife blade.

Over the years, I’ve tested many different types of devices for putting an edge back on a knife, some work well, some are just “okay” and some only worked if the knife wasn’t very dull. Regardless of what type of knife sharpener I’ve tested, they still require a little bit of skill by the end user. However, there are knife sharpeners that can make your job much easier. Work Sharp Sharpeners recently sent me five of their different sharpeners to test. By the way, these five were just the tools that I tested–they have other sharpeners for other jobs, as well.Continue reading“Work Sharp Sharpeners, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Claire’s Four Cheese Spaghetti Bake

2

Reader Claire kindly sent us her Four Cheese Spaghetti Bake recipe. She says that her family often requests it. I suppose this qualifies as a “comfort food”, for hunkering down in the pandemic.

Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 pounds of cooked spaghetti
  • 1/2 pound Fontina cheese, coarsely shredded (2 cups)
  • 1/2 pound Gruyère Cheese, coarsely shredded (2 cups)
  • 1/4 pound Gorgonzola dolce cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
  • 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, coarsely shredded (2 cups)
  • Ground pepper, to taste
  • Salt, to taste
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
  2. Butter a 13″-by-9″-inch baking dish.
  3. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until it has softened al dente.
  4. Meanwhile, shred and crumble the four cheese ingredients.
  5. Drain well and spread the spaghetti on a baking sheet; let cool.
  6. In a large bowl, toss the Fontina with the mozzarella and Gruyère.
  7. Spread one third of the spaghetti in the prepared baking dish in an even layer.
  8. Sprinkle another third of the mixed cheeses and half of the Gorgonzola over the spaghetti.
  9. Season with pepper and salt.
  10. Repeat with another layer of spaghetti, mixed cheeses, Gorgonzola and salt and pepper. Top with the remaining spaghetti and mixed cheeses.
  11. Bake the spaghetti in the center of the oven until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes.

SERVING

Let cool slightly before slicing into squares. Can be served with traditional spaghetti side dishes (like these, that I found on-line) and of course the vino: red wine.

STORAGE

This does not store particularly well. But it can be refrigerated for up to three days and then re-heated–preferably in your conventional oven.

—

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

16

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 both the supply and demand sides of the silver market. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

The demand side for physical silver is off the charts. But meanwhile, the supply side of the silver market equation is downright grim. Consider these factors and some recent news:

  • In the United States, Newmont has temporarily closed some mines.
  • In Canada, many mines–in all sectors, not just silver–have been put on hiatus.
  • Ditto for mines in Peru.
  • Mexico’s Ministry of Health announced that all silver mines in Mexico will be shut down until at least the end of April, because of the Wu Flu pandemic.
  • About 30% of silver production worldwide is a by-product of copper, zinc, and lead mining production. But all of those industrial commodities have had depressed prices for many months, and some mines have therefore shut down, or shifted to very limited production.
  • Global silver production had already been in a gradual decline, since 2017.
  • Silver refining production, particularly in Nevada’s Carlin region is slowing, or in some cases stopping.

Although the official spot and futures prices of silver are still depressed because of fallout from the stock market crash (read: traders liquidating assets, for margin covering), the real world physical market is red hot. Dealers are charging as much as $19 over spot as a premium, for 1-ounce Silver American Eagles.

I expect the spot price of silver to rebound, by the end of June. And, as I’ve mentioned several times, I expect the silver-to-gold price ratio to get back closer to normal.  For that reason alone, I prefer buying silver rather than gold. Silver will gain, relative to gold. So, if you can find any silver, then stack it deep!

Economy & Finance:

Reader DSV sent this: “There Are Basically No Sales”: U.S. Auto Industry Enters Total Collapse From Nationwide Lockdown

o  o  o

Simon Black, over at Zero Hedge: There’s a major sovereign debt crisis looming

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: Week Two: How COVID-19 Lockdowns Impact US Housing Market. Mortgages Give Clues: It Gets Uglier

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 5, 2020

On this day in 1614, Pocahontas married John Rolfe which ensured peace between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan Indians for several years.

—

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 $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. 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.

Alaska, Coronavirus, and the True Church – Part 2, by J.P.

36

(Continued from Part 1. This installment concludes the article.)

First – ​Narrow our Focus

First, we must narrow our focus to what we are actually capable of doing, while distancing ourselves from all those entities over which we have no power or authority. Lamenting the direction of the United Nations, FEMA, or even the cumbersome nature of the U.S. Government will only consume our energy and cloud our focus. It’s a tough call, but at this point in the game I believe it’s time to release our friends, family, and even churches that just don’t get it. This could be reversed later, in the event of a turnaround, but should not drain us at this point. It’s a hard reality but one which we must all face.

Secondly – ​Think Proximity

If you’re like me, in the event we have to “circle the wagons”, most of us could come

up with at least a short list of good and desirable folks we’d pick with which to share the challenge; my best hunting buddy, my sister and her son, a family from church that we get on well with, etc. That’s all well and good, but the reality is that most of those folks don’t live next door, or aren’t even within a reasonable walking distance.Continue reading“Alaska, Coronavirus, and the True Church – Part 2, by J.P.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

104

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 record gun sales.

March, 2020: A New Record for U.S. Gun Sales!

Despite the fact that many state and local governments were sporadically closing down gun stores, and despite the fact that most gun shows were cancelled, and despite the fact that New Jersey shut down ALL gun sales, the month of March 2020 saw an all-time record for the number of FBI background checks for FFL gun transfers. It was a whopping: 3,740,688. Wow! That is more than a 1 million transfer increase, from February.

Of course that figure does not include multiple sales to the same individual. (You can buy as many guns as you want and put them all on the same ATF Form 4473–and get just ONE background check.) Nor does the monthly tally reflect private party sales. Nor home builds. Nor-pre-1899 gun sales. Suffice it to say, Americans bought a lot of guns in March, and they will probably buy just as many in April. Since an armed society is a polite society, America’s Politeness Quotient just increased. Please help any of your neighbors who are first-time gun buyers to learn safe gun handling.

More Americans Heading For The Hills

The Reuters news service reports: Amid coronavirus scare, Americans flock to remote land, survival retreats. A snippet:

“On March 7, Internet searches for rural properties spiked by 364% over the previous year, according to data provided to the Thomson Reuters Foundation by Redfin, a national real estate broker.“

How Taiwan Overcame it’s Face Mask Shortage

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site, ws this from Deutsche Welle: How Taiwan overcame it’s face mask shortage

The COVID-19 Virus May Have Been in Humans For Years

Andre sent this: The COVID-19 Virus May Have Been in Humans For Years, Study Suggests

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” – Revelation 11: 1-10 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 4, 2020

6

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee.

—

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 $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. 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.

Alaska, Coronavirus, and the True Church – Part 1, by J.P.

31

Have you ever thought about just how far it is from Seattle to Alaska? Probably not, because for a long time the world rightly assumed it to be a long way. Early pioneers came to Alaska by steamer, horse-drawn sledge, and on foot; a long and arduous journey.

Modern conveniences changed all that. A scenic ride on a ferry can take between three and seven days. By car, between Seattle and Anchorage, it’s still a serious three day drive. A commercial flight will average just under four hours. That’s still a long way even in modern day thinking.

So, in trying to get a perspective on how safe and secure (distance wise) we Alaskans are, in relation to the Covid-19 virus, January and half of February felt fairly comfortable.

Then the virus, almost overnight, moved quickly up the coast and brought the focus to an unsuspecting nursing home in Kirkland, Washington. Typically such facilities have low medical security with dozens, if not hundreds of volunteers and visitors. Now we’re concerned, but still banking on distance to keep us protected.

​How far is it from Seattle to Anchorage Alaska? Not as far as we’re accustomed to thinking. In reality, just two steps! One step on to the plane at SeaTac Intl Airport in Seattle, and one step off the plane at ANC International in Anchorage.

So what’s the problem?

The real bugaboo is the dastardly long incubation period, 6 to 14 days, during which few if any symptoms are manifested but the virus can be spread person to person.

How secure are we in “far off Alaska”? Not very! The ubiquitous nature of modern air travel makes Alaskans every bit as vulnerable as an unsuspecting nursing home in Washington State, or any other center of modern life. We travel, because we can.

We Alaskans face potential challenges of huge proportions. What’s the solution? In this letter I have chosen not to rehash lists of preparations to complete and supplies to accumulate (those are available in multiples throughout the internet, and due to increasing demand for many things, we are already experiencing shortages).

What I hope to do here is lay out a straightforward approach to the process of preserving our God-given freedoms in conjunction with living as the True Body of Christ, his Church.Continue reading“Alaska, Coronavirus, and the True Church – Part 1, by J.P.”

Editor’s Prepping Progress

139

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:

I had a busy week, conducting a two-day “Pre-Hunker” sale for Elk Creek Company. We took 12 orders for a total of 15 antique guns. Those should all be shipped by Monday. Unless the pandemic subsides earlier than predicted, we will be on a voluntary hiatus from taking any new orders until May 26th. Thanks for your patience. In the meantime, I’ll be adding items to the catalog. These will include a few replica guns that are chambered in obsolete cartridges that are no longer found in stores. The relevant Federal law that puts these recently-produced guns in the Federal “Antique” category reads: “…any replica of an antique firearm if it is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or uses rimfire or conventional centerfire ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States, and which is not readily available in ordinary channels of commercial trade.”  – 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3), (a)(16).  Thus, NO FFL is required!

This coming week, despite some recent snow and the forecast of some rain, I plan to be out in our woodlot, cutting up some downed trees into firewood to ready ourselves for the winter of 2020-2021.

Continue reading“Editor’s Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations.

He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.

So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.” – Psalm 61 (KJV)