Preparedness Notes for Monday – January 21, 2019

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Good news!  The greatly-expanded SurvivalBlog 2005-2018 Archive Waterproof USB stick is now available for ordering. Since there is so much more bonus material in this year’s edition, we had to switch to offering a 16 GB stick!  If sales made last year are any gauge, we can expect the limited production run of this year’s archive to sell out in just a couple of months.  Order yours today.

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As a former Army SIGINT officer, this article caught my attention: President Trump pays tribute to Americans killed in Syrian suicide bombing as their bodies arrive back in US.  I really doubt that the unit attacked was on a “routine patrol” in Syria, as was publicized by the Pentagon. For OPSEC reasons, I will refrain from posting any conjecture on their unit, mission, RSTA mission equipment, or vehicles. Please take a few minutes to read the article.

Down in the depths of this article were these details:  “On Friday, three of the four Americans slain were identified. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan R. Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida, Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Shannon M. Kent, 35, of upstate New York and Defense Department civilian Scott A. Wirtz of St. Louis, Missouri were all named as victims of the suicide blast.”

Tactical SIGINT collectors and analysts are not always “In the rear, with the beer, where there is no fear.”  In fact they are often out Beyond The Wire, in harm’s way.

My sincere condolences to the families of these fallen.

Please pray for the safety of both the military and civilian contract SIGINTers of the US Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA), US Army INSCOM, US Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM), and the Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF)–aka US Air Force Intelligence Agency–who are forward deployed. Tactical SIGINT/DF troops are often the “first in, and last out”, in overseas counterinsurgency campaigns such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

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On this day in 1968, the siege of Khe Sanh began, as NVA regulars surrounded the USMC hilltop airfield near the Laotian border. Fearing a repeat of the French Army’s 1953 Dien Bien Phu debacle, the Pentagon assigned maximum round-the-clock air power to the region, including B-52 bomber strikes, to break the siege. According to the Infogalatic wiki this was “‘the most concentrated application of aerial firepower in the history of warfare’. On an average day 350 tactical fighter-bombers, 60 B-52s, and 30 light observation or reconnaissance aircraft operated in the skies near Khe Sanh.” It was reported that more than 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the area during the siege.

American casualties during the siege were 274 killed and 2,541 wounded. ARVN casualties were 229 killed and 436 wounded. The NVA took massive casualties, before withdrawing. MACV’s report estimated 5,550 NVA killed and more 8,000 wounded. (Only 1,602 NVA bodies were counted, but the NVA was famous for recovering the bodies of their KIAs, partially for propaganda reasons, to “deny body count.”) Khe Sanh was finally relieved by American and ARVN ground forces on April 6, 1968.

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Today we feature another product review by SurvivalBlog’s staff Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Springfield Armory Saint Edge AR 5.56mm Pistol, by Pat Cascio

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Several weeks ago, we introduced our readers to the Springfield Armory Saint AR 5.56mm rifle. Today we’re taking a close look at the newest sibling, the Saint “Edge” AR pistol, and it is quite a firearm.  Note: This is not to be confused with Springfield’s standard Saint AR pistol, which I will be reviewing in a couple of weeks.

According to the Springfield Armory web site, the Edge AR pistol combines the most popular features of their premium Saint Edge AR rifle, with compact shootability in an AR pistol platform. This compact AR pistol, is everything Springfield claims it to be, and then some. We’ll take a look at some of these features. However be sure to check out their website for the full description and detailed specifications.

One change from the standard Saint AR pistol we tested a few weeks ago, is that the Edge has a lightweight billet-machined lower receiver instead of a forged one. We also have the Springfield patent-pending full-length free floated handguard with a lightweight 10.3-inch barrel that is Melonite coated. It has a 1:8-inch twist, so it can handle not only light 5.56mm and .223 ammo, but also some of the heaviest weight bullets.

The handguard is designed so you can attach M-LOK compatible accessories. Unfortunately, I can see many users stupidly add as many accessories as they can fit on this handguard. This defeats the fast-handling capabilities of this pistol. I can attaching a see a small light, or perhaps a laser on the handguard, but that’s it.

Maxim Arm Brace

There is one salient feature I really love on the Edge, and that is the Maxim Defense CQB adjustable pistol arm brace. Keep in-mind, this ATF-approved arm brace is legally not a buttstock. The adjustability of this brace helps reduce the overall size of the pistol and helps reduce recoil and without a doubt aids in accuracy.  With the arm brace extended, the Edge is 28.5-inches long. With the arm brace in the closed position, the pistol is 24.6-inches in length.

Continue reading“Springfield Armory Saint Edge AR 5.56mm Pistol, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Homemade Pasta Sauce

Reader “Sis in Montana” kindly sent us one of her family’s favorite recipes:

Mom’s Quick Homemade Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

5 – 8 oz. Cans of Tomato Sauce
1-1/2 tsp. Dried Parsley
1-1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
1 tsp. Dried Basil
1 TBSP. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Onion Powder
1 Pint (or 1 pound) Browned Hamburger

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly, and simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This can simmer while you are preparing the pasta of your choice.

Notes:

This recipe can be made with storage foods, including canned browned hamburger.

This goes well with garlic bread. If you are out of French Bread for making garlic bread, then you can use toast with garlic butter or even toasted hamburger buns or hotdog buns, with garlic butter.

 

 

 

 

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today’s focus is on out-of-production or not normally for civilian sale night vision and other military electro-optics. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Surges On Stock Selloff

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Jim Rickards — Axis of Gold: Sanctions Weaponize the Dollar

 

Economy & Finance:

At the James Turk blog: The Arrival Of The Credit Crisis

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The ZIRP Decade: SmallCap Debt Has Increased 400%, Earnings Only Fractionally; Global Economy ‘Headed for Recession’. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)

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China Injects Gargantuan 1.1 Trillion In Liquidity This Week

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Our country – In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right, and always successful, right or wrong.” – Stephen Decatur, from a toast at a dinner in Norfolk, Virginia (April 1816) as reported in Niles’ Weekly Register (Baltimore, Maryland), April 20, 1816

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – January 20, 2019

Today is the birthday of Congressman Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 80 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  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 gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 80 ends on January 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.

Raising Chickens For Meat- Part 2, by Michele Cooper

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I’m writing about our experience of raising chickens for meat. Since I didn’t want to kill chickens, we still found a way to raise our own, thanks to a friend who told us about chicken processors.

In part 1, we had obtained our chicks and told you about the things they required to grow strong and healthy in their plastic bin in our home. I also told the funny story about how my husband reacted when I shared my plans to move layer chicks into our first home together. (It all worked out really well. Jeff helped me with the chicks.)

Chicks Grow Amazingly Fast

Anyway, back to raising meat chickens. The chicks grow amazingly fast. Within a few weeks at most, the bin, which seemed plenty big enough a few weeks prior, became very crowded. At that time, I needed to move them to their chicken tractor. The problem was, I didn’t have a chicken tractor.

Rolls Royce of Chicken Tractors

I really love the chicken tractors that Dave Duffy built for Annie. It is the Rolls Royce of chicken tractors. I showed my husband the article Dave wrote, complete with detailed instructions and beautiful pictures and told him that was what I wanted. He read it. Then told me he might be able to get to it in late summer. That would not work.

Continue reading“Raising Chickens For Meat- Part 2, by Michele Cooper”

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 “HJL”. Zimbabwe is crashing and burning this week…again.

Lunar Eclipse

Tonight will provide an excellent view of the only full lunar eclipse in 2019. The eclipse is notable because it will be happening during what is called a “super moon”, a time when the moon is closest to the earth, making the moon look larger. Technically, “super moon” is not an official term, but it rolls off the tongue a whole lot easier than “perigee syzygy” which is the proper name. In any case, 12:12 a.m. EST (9:12 p.m. PST) is totality. North and South America will have a great view of this one. Have fun viewing it.

Top Five Lies on YouTube Gun Channels

Reader T.J. sent in this excellent video from Reid Henrichs of Valor Ridge that deals with some of the more egregious lies propagated on YouTube channels. I’ve heard these lies myself many times, but usually from YouTubers that I no longer watch because I recognize them as mostly ignorant trying to pass themselves off as experts. Some of these lies will get you hurt or killed in a critical situation. Reid addresses each of them with actual facts.

Additional Gun Ban Legislation

The NRA has sent out an alert to its members about Washington’s new push for gun ban legislation. Senate Bill 5340 and the companion House Bill 1286 were filed at the request of the attorney General. They would ban possession of commonly owned semi-automatic firearms based solely on cosmetic features along with a list of firearms, and magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds. This legislation is in addition to the already filed SB 5062 and HB 1068 which will ban standard capacity magazines. Yep, thanks to the American voters, we are in for a wild ride for the next two years. Thanks to reader P. for the link.

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

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – January 19, 2019

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January 19th is the birthday of the late Carla Emery (born 1939, died October 11, 2005). She is well known in self-sufficency circles as the author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living. (This book re-released in a 40th Anniversary edition.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 80 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  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 gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 80 ends on January 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.

Raising Chickens For Meat- Part 1, by Michele Cooper

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This past year, for the first time, I raised chickens for meat. The reason I did not previously is that I do not like killing animals. I can butcher them after they are dead, but I don’t like killing them. Yes, I know, I’m such a wimp.

Informed of Chicken Processing Plants

I have a good friend, Tami, who works for the local feed store, and in the spring, they have lots of chicks. I mentioned to Tami that I would like to raise my own chickens for meat but cannot kill the chickens (or rabbits, or whatever). She informed me that, in Idaho (much closer to us than the Willamette Valley or the coast), there are chicken processing plants where you bring in live chickens and return a few hours later and have chickens that have been killed, cleaned, cooled, and sealed in plastic.

Going To Raise Meat Chickens

Well, that settled it for me; I was going to raise my own meat chickens.

I had done a lot of research on growing meat chickens, and I had decided if I ever raised my own fryers they would be Red or Freedom Rangers or the equivalent, and not Cornish Cross or Franken chickens, as I call them. Cornish Cross chickens are what are grown commercially because they grow from baby chick to fryer size in 6-8 weeks. In fact, they grow so fast that their legs often cannot keep up and you have a bunch of chickens that can’t, or can barely, walk. Further, many of them die of heart attacks due to their massive growth rate.

Red rangers take about twice as long as Cornish Cross. It takes twelve weeks instead of six to eight.

Continue reading“Raising Chickens For Meat- Part 1, by Michele Cooper”

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. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

JWR

We are in full Winter Mode, here at the Rawles Ranch. After a couple of glorious sunny (but chilly) days early in the week, we transitioned back to snow. This time it was a fine dry powder that refuses to clump together when pressed in your palm. This made Avalanche Lily quite excited, because she likes getting some of that on top of an established snow base, for cross country skiing.

I’ve been busy outlining a book for a publisher in England. The book contract is pending. I’ll post more updates on that is a couple of weeks.

I’ve also been frantically ordering parts and magazines for my current AR builds. These are all being assembled for my grandchildren. I say “frantically” because I’m starting to see prices creep up. I believe that we’ve seen the bottom of the Trump Slump. I expect AR parts and 11+ round magazines to positively gallop in price, in the next few months. Buy low and sell high, folks! Fair warning: The new U.S. Congress has been meeting. This famous quote bears repeating:

“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” – Gideon J. Tucker

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

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 “HJL”. Today features a pair of videos that explain how nuclear bombs work, but in language that a person can truly understand.

How Nuclear Bombs Work

I was looking for a short tutorial on how nuclear bombs work when I ran across this two-hour lecture series on YouTube. People understand how normal explosives work and the fear factor just isn’t there because there isn’t much “unknown”. But with regards to nuclear bombs, that “unknown” factor is often off the charts. While the politics in this two part lecture are somewhat dated (2013), the technical stuff is brought down to a reasonable level and you walk away with a rudimentary understanding of how they work, how they are made, and what the significant dangers are.

As an example, it becomes apparent that enriching uranium 235 to the low yield of 4.5% required for peaceful nuclear reactors is actually about 75% of the work required for weapons grade U-235. Bringing it to 20% is about 90% of the work to get it to weapons grade quality. At this stage, the uranium is stored as a gas called uranium hexaflouride and can be enriched to weapons grade with comparatively very little effort. When a country acquires the ability to have “peaceful” nuclear reactors, the remaining industry to build nuclear bombs is relatively minimal. You don’t even need “weapons grade” to build a bomb either. The series also points out that if your delivery system is a container on a ship or a truck, you don’t even have to worry about the miniaturization required to fit it on a ballistic missile. This is a very informative series on the difficulties (and simplicities) of building nuclear weapons.

Nuclear 101: How Nuclear Bombs Work Part 1/2 – Making nuclear bombs

Nuclear 101: How Nuclear Bombs Work Part 2/2 – Making the material for nuclear bombs

Companion Planting

By this time, we’ve all heard of companion planting – the method of plantinig certain garden plants together to gain a synergistic benefit. Sometimes that benefit is in the areas of pest control and sometimes the benefit is growth or fruit/seed production. But did you know that some plants should never be planted together because the opposite happens? Reader H.L. sent in this interesting article on plants that should never be planted together (or even in the same area as you rotate your plans around your garden.)

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: but God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.” – Exodus 13:17-19 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – January 18, 2019

Kevin Costner, who starred in Open Range, was born on this day in 1955.

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We are coming up on the end of of Round 80 of the SurvivalBlog Non-Fiction Writing Contest. You only have two more weeks to get your entry in before it ends. By the way, this round of the contest has been somewhat light on entries so your chances of winning are better than ever! Send your entries to us. You can also include original pictures (no stock photos please) of your project. Just include them as a jpg or png attachment to the email.

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We are also looking for scrumptious recipes that you may be willing to share with the SurvivalBlog community. If you have a family recipe, especially one that is made from your food stores, send it in to us as well.