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 are linking to a plethora of Wuhan Coronavirus news.

South Korea’s Hospital Bed Shortage

The Reuters news service reports , with a possible preview of some American news headlines, once Mr. Wuhan arrives and transitions into full community transmission: Thousands wait for hospital beds in South Korea as coronavirus cases surge

Macron Orders Seizure of Face Masks

Reader DSV forwarded this from the Reuters news wire: France reports fourth coronavirus death, requisitions masks. JWR’s Comment: So is is it supposed to sound nice and “legal”, when they call seizing private property “requisitioning”?  Note to Monsieur Petit Tyran Macron: Your truncheon is showing!

Army Doubles Purchase of Sniper Rifle 

From Zero Hedge: Army Doubles Purchase of New Sniper Rifle. A snippet:

“The Tennessee-made PSR, which is produced by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, is a bolt-action Multi-Role Adaptive Design (MRAD) system and called the Mk 22, which will be chambered in 7.62×51 mm NATO round. The PSR is the next generation of sniper rifles, and it’s lightweight, more accurate, and more reliable than legacy systems. “

Native Bees are Reliable Pollinators

C.B. sent this: Flower faithful native bee makes a reliable pollinator

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  – Galatians 3: 10-29 (KJV)

A Prepping Reality Check – Part 3, by Mama Bear

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(Continued from Part 2.)

Communication

Communication methods must be well thought out, ahead of time. Most communication methods that are mentioned on the blogs/literature involve electronics such as ham radios, CB radios, walkie-talkies, portable radios, etc. All of these require some source of power. As discussed earlier, computers are very fragile and should not be depended on for communications.

  • What power source does your communications technology use?
  • Do you have backups?
  • If using rechargeable batteries, how many times can they be recharged before they die?
  • Are your communication methods subject to eavesdropping? (HINT: the answer is yes.) How will you communicate securely when needed?)
  • What is the range of your communications technology?
  • Have you practiced using it?
  • Can you communicate with your neighbors or similarly minded preppers?
  • Is the technology stored in such a manner that it is safe from an EMP?
  • What will you do if the government/invaders/whoever knock on the door to confiscate your communications?

Look into alternatives as well. Telegraph between close neighbors might be feasible given a battery, telegraph key and wire (old phone wires, perhaps?). Coded light signals using lights or lanterns might be another method. Another method might be drum codes. A drop location to leave messages that can be checked by those who share that drop location might be another option. After all, humans communicated for many years before our current electronic technology became available. Consider researching and learning some of these older methods.

Medical Care, Health and Hygiene

An extremely important part of planning is to prepare for the health, hygiene, and medical needs of your family. An assessment of the health issues of members of the family/group is essential. As is the overall physical fitness of each member. I mentioned earlier that I went on a program to lose weight and improve my physical fitness. I have also changed my diet and lifestyle and been able to get off all prescription medication.

  • Is your weight at a healthy, physically fit level?
  • Have you had a recent physical?
  • Have you made any necessary diet and lifestyle changes to eliminate prescription medications as much as possible?
  • Do you have a year’s supply of prescription medication stored? Do you rotate this supply?
  • Have you had a recent dental exam and cleaning?
  • Taken care of any caries or necessary dental work?
  • Have you had a recent eye exam?
  • Do you have a spare pair of glasses? Plenty of extra contacts and solution? Spare reading glasses?
  • Have you stocked up on medical supplies? Bandages, antibiotics, burn ointment, splints/wraps, disinfectant, sutures, etc.
  • Have you taken any first aid/medical training?
  • What herbs and/or essential oils do you have on hand?
  • What will you do if a member of your group is giving birth?
  • Is there a local midwife?
  • Is there a local doctor who is similarly minded?
  • Do you have soap, toothpaste and other hygiene items?
  • When you run out of hygiene items, can you make more?
  • How much toilet paper do you have and what plans do you have for when it runs out?
  • Do you have the means to wash clothes when the washer and dryer are not functional?

I located two books which have been very useful in preparing. One is called “Where There Is No Doctor” and the other is “Where There Is No Dentist.” Both are available online as free PDF downloads. I found the dental one very helpful in describing exactly the dental tools and techniques needed when no dentist is available. The medical one is also very helpful.

Many medical supplies such as scalpels and sutures can be purchased from veterinary supply catalogs when unavailable from other sources. Even IV saline can be purchased from these suppliers. Some drugs may require prescriptions, discuss this with your friendly fellow prepper doctor or veterinarian.Continue reading“A Prepping Reality Check – Part 3, by Mama Bear”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

Even though I’m presently traveling, I made some prepping progress by topping off our NBC protective equipment.  I mail-ordered more disposable plastic booties and nitrile gloves. We probably already had enough, but this will give us extras for barter and/or charity.  I’ve also been on the hunt for more pre-1925  reference books to scan for use as bonus material for next year’s SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. I want to make that one really special, since it will be our 15th Anniversary edition.

Oh, by the way, we are now sold out of the 2005-2019 edition of the blog Archive USB sticks. The family that handles order fulfillment for us  has promised to get them all in the mail by around March 14th. So that means all of the buyers in CONUS should have theirs in hand no later than March 21st. Folks in the UK, EU countries, and Australia may have an additional 2-week to 3-week wait. Thanks for your patience!

I’m also taking this opportunity to do some minor repairs on our “daily driver” — a four-wheel drive SUV. It now has logged more than 300,000 miles–with no major repairs. I’ve been scrupulous about maintenance, but I now have one regret: I now wish that I had used synthetic motor oil, from the outset. That might have meant making it past 450,000 miles without an engine overhaul.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.

When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.

The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.

A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.

Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.

A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.

The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.

The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” – Proverbs 18 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 6, 2020

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March 6th was the birthday of Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr., born in 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. This U.S. Air Force pilot and astronaut was aboard Mercury 9 and Gemini 5. Cooper had his exploits well documented in Tom Wolfe’s book The Right Stuff, and in the well-done film of the same name. Cooper died at age 77 from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California, October 4, 2004.

Coincidentally, this is also the birthday of Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937), a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space (aboard Vostok 6). She was born in Maslennikovo, USSR.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. 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.
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. 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 87 ends on March 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.

A Prepping Reality Check – Part 2, by Mama Bear

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(Continued from Part 1.)

Now that you have decided on a physical location that provides the best probability of survival for you and your family, let’s look at the next stage.

Food Production
  • Do you plant a garden each year? If not, why not?
  • When you plant your garden each year, where does your seed come from?
  • If you are ordering seed each year from a catalog or internet or purchasing seed at a local store, how are you going to plant your garden when that is not available?
  • If you are raising hybrid or GMO varieties, how will you save seed for the next season since these vegetable types will not breed true?
  • If you use a tractor or tiller, where will you obtain fuel to run the equipment?
  • How do you water/irrigate your garden?
  • Where does this water come from and will it still be available during TEOTWAWKI?
  • How will you fertilize and with what?
  • How will you preserve and store what you harvest?
  • What will you do if a third party comes to confiscate your harvest?

Personally, I purchase and grow only open pollinated varieties from which I can save seed. This also decreases the amount of money I need each year to plant the garden. And this past winter, I had fresh tomatoes for salads through December in my greenhouse. The savings I put into purchasing orchard and vineyard plants. I use raised beds and no till gardening with drip line for irrigation from the well run by solar. No fossil fuels needed and maximum water conservation.

Grains will be an issue for most after the first year. If you have a year’s supply of wheat then if society is not back together what will you do when that runs out. Having seed to grow wheat and other grains is a start. However, grains are extremely labor intensive without power equipment. Anthropologists estimate a stable community of approximately forty people in order to have enough labor to plant, grow and harvest the grain necessary to keep them fed.

Once you have planned to provide for vegetables and hopefully, fruit, then there must be provision for protein/meat.

  • Can you set a snare?
  • Can you trap?
  • Do you have supplies to set snares and traps?
  • If you do not have livestock, why not?
  • What are the rules/regulations/zoning regarding livestock at your location?
  • If you intend to hunt and live off wild meat, how long do you think that will last when everyone in the area is doing the same thing?
  • If you are sheltering in place and are prohibited from having livestock, consider having rabbits which can be easily kept in a garage, basement or spare room.
  • What about putting up shelters which can be used for shade until TEOTWAWKI and then converted to livestock shelters for the animals acquired through purchase or barter after the SHTF?
  • How will you feed the livestock?
  • How will you provide water?
  • If you are able to grow feed for livestock, how will you harvest or store the feed through the winter?
  • How will you protect the livestock from predators, both four legged and two legged?
  • Have you ever hunted?
  • Have you ever butchered an animal?
  • What will you do with the offal, hide, horns, etc.?
  • Do you have plenty of beans or other alternative protein sources?

Most areas will be hunted out within 3-4 months or less. If you do not have livestock, consider rabbits, chickens, and hogs as your first purchases. Rabbits, chickens and hogs can be fed with scraps from the garden and kitchen with some hand harvested grass for the rabbits and hogs. Remember that breeding pairs will be necessary in order to have a sustainable meat harvest over several years. When acquiring livestock, look at whether you will be able to breed them locally (within walking distance) if you do not acquire breeding pairs. Also plan for the ability to feed them with forage or grain. It also may be possible, if you do not want to have livestock, to arrange a barter agreement with a neighbor who does have livestock to provide garden stuffs, labor, or security in exchange for meat.Continue reading“A Prepping Reality Check – Part 2, by Mama Bear”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at a new tangibles investing niche: used oxygen concentrators. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold price muted as Bank of Canada follows Fed with 50-basis-point cut

o  o  o

Steven Cochran (our Precious Metals Correspondent) sent this: Listen to how precious-metals sellers psychologically manipulate elderly conservatives

o  o  o

Charts for Gold, Silver and Platinum and Palladium, Mar. 4.  JWR’s Comments: Note that spot silver has dropped below its 200-day moving average. So this is a good juncture to buy silver!

Economy, Finance & Equities:

NPR: Wall Street’s Brutal Week Slashed Nearly 3,600 Points From Dow

o  o  o

Gary Christenson: The Care and Feeding of Bubbles

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge:“It Smells Like Panic”: This Is Not What Powell Had In Mind…

o  o  o

Fed Repo Injections Hit Record Level: Global Contagion Negatively Impacting Financial Markets

o  o  o

Stocks Sag as Fed Cures Coronavirus by Cutting Rates ½ Percentage Point. JWR’s Comment: When equities prices go down immediately after an interest rate cut, then it is clear that you’ve entered uncharted territory!  Granted, there was a substantial (1,200+ point) bounce back on Wednesday, but then a 969 point drop on Thursday. This is that wild roller coaster ride that I warned you about, folks.

o  o  o

Also at Wolf Street: Yield Curve Gets Ugly, 10-Year Treasury Yield Falls Below 1% for First Time Ever, 30-Year at Record Low, on Rising Inflation

o  o  o

And over at Seeking Alpha: Markets tank following Fed’s emergency cut

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 5, 2020

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March 5th, 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre. (March 5, 1770.) It was one of the key precipitating events for our War of Independence.

This is also the birthday of Howard Pyle (1853-1911) an influential American book illustrator, painter, and author. He was the mentor of many great American artists including Thornton Oakley, Frank E. Schoonover, Allen Tupper True, and of course his most famous student: N.C. Wyeth.

—

Some anxious folks have written to check on the status of their recent SurvivalBlog archive USB stick orders. Rest assured: We did not take orders for more than we had on hand. But they won’t arrive on your doorstep overnight. We aren’t Amazon Prime. Our ordering page clearly states:  “Allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.” If your USB stick order hasn’t arrived AFTER six weeks, then ping us, and we can provide a tracking number.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. 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.
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. 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 87 ends on March 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.

A Prepping Reality Check – Part 1, by Mama Bear

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(How-To Think, Plan and Make Decisions in Preparation for When the SHTF)

Let’s have a reality check for all preppers, survivalists, and conspiracy theorists. How serious are you about being ready for TEOTWAWKI? I read many articles on the blogs about guns, food storage, politics, etc. But one thing that I read very lttle of is anything on the issue of decision making, attitude, commitment and how to think about surviving the coming TEOTWAWKI.

All the guns and food storage in the world will be of no benefit to you or your family unless accompanied by decision making, priorities, survival attitude and a survivable location. Preparations are very individual to circumstances and location. So, let’s discuss decision making and being committed to surviving TEOTWAWKI. Let’s look at the process of questioning in determining individual preparedness and the decisions to be made during the process of preparing. In much of this discussion I will use myself as an example. Understand that I am not trying to dictate any particular decision but am trying to illustrate my decision making process in the hopes of illuminating and expanding others’ decision making process in order to improve their chances of surviving/succeeding when the SHTF.

General Planning and Location

Recently, I have read several articles which had a common theme – the construction of a “retreat” for the writer and his family in the event of TEOTWAWKI. While I admire the writers’ commitment to providing a retreat for the family, I must question the feasibility of these “retreats.” In each article that I read, the “retreat” was located 2-5 hours away from the writer’s home. (At highway speeds, this means 100-300 miles away.) Given a TEOTWAWKI situation, I question whether the writers would ever actually arrive at their “retreats.” Consider this situation, TEOTWAWKI has occurred. Fuel is unavailable. Traffic is snarled ten times worse than any rush hour ever experienced. All major highways are blocked. Then ask yourself these questions:

  • Do you have enough fuel to drive directly to your retreat?
  • Do you have enough fuel if you are delayed in traffic or must detour or use the engine heater or air conditioner?
  • Do you know an alternate route, avoiding all major highways, to reach your retreat?
  • Do you know how long the alternate route will take and do you have enough fuel to make it?
  • How many potential obstacles exist on your direct and alternate routes? (e.g.; other communities, bridges, railroads, weather obstacles)
  • What if your vehicle is attacked while sitting in the traffic jam?
  • What if you are ambushed while driving your alternate route?
  • What if a member of your family, or you, are injured or incapacitated by attack or accident while en route to your retreat?
  • What if, because of attack, accident or malfunction, you no longer have your vehicle and must proceed on foot to your retreat which may be 75-300 miles away? At an average pace of 12-15 miles per day? (Your trip could take 6-25 days or even longer.)
  • Do you have food, water, backpacks and a way to transport children/pets who may be too young to walk that distance?
  • How will you transport anyone who was injured in the attack or accident?
  • How will you keep the retreat and supplies secure until you have need of it?

Any or all of these questions/situations could lead to disaster for you and your family before you ever arrive at your retreat. Personally, I believe that having a retreat more than one day’s hike (10-15 miles) from your current living residence is a recipe for disaster when the SHTF. Matt Bracken in his article on Civil War II and Kit Perez’s article on strategic relocation address this issue partially in assessing your current residence and whether it is sustainable during TEOTWAWKI. Continue reading“A Prepping Reality Check – Part 1, by Mama Bear”

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 some more panic buying news.

Costco Panic Buying in Southern California

Video: Costco Panic Buying Takes Hold in Southern California, as Shoppers Talk of Coronavirus

People in Japan are Panic-Buying Toilet Paper

People in Japan are panic-buying toilet paper due to Covid-19 coronavirus

Wuhan COVID-19 is More Lethal than Earlier Estimates

WHO says coronavirus death rate is 3.4% globally, higher than previously thought.  A pericope:

“World health officials said Tuesday the mortality rate for COVID-19 is 3.4% globally, higher than previous estimates of about 2%.

“Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. In comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected, he said.”

California’s Carcass Problem

Reader S.B. spotted this: Kings County to hold special meeting on livestock carcass emergency.  A snippet from the article:

“The Kings County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting Tuesday to decide how to dispose of animal carcasses on farms and dairies in the county.

Carcasses are piling up after the South Valley’s only rendering plant was forced to stop picking up dead cows, bulls and horses on Feb. 24 after mechanical issues forced a severe slowdown of its operations.”

S.B. had this comment:  “We often consider the potential effects of the failure of urban or suburban utilities and infrastructure. However, for those of us living in rural areas, we might want to think about services and facilities focused on our particular needs and the consequences of those shutting down.”

Bloomberg Tries to Defend His Armed Guards

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Bloomberg Tries to Defend Using Armed Guards While Pushing Gun Control. JWR’s Comment: On Bloomberg’s farm, all pigs are created equal, but some are more equal than others.

Apple Settles for Throttling Back Older iPhones

DSV sent this: Apple to pay $500 million settlement for throttling older iPhones. The article begins:

“Apple has agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle litigation that accused it of slowing down older iPhones as it launched new models as a way to push users to upgrade their phones.

The settlement calls for the tech giant to pay customers $25 per iPhone, which could be adjusted up or down depending on how many iPhones are ultimately eligible.

It covers U.S. owners of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus or SE that ran iOS 10.2.1 or later operating system and owners of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that ran iOS 11.2 or later before Dec. 21, 2017.”

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 4, 2020

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On March 4, 1902, the American Automobile Association (AAA) was founded in Chicago.

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Do you want a really remote retreat? Here is a new SurvivalRealty listing in Alaska: Riverfront cabin on 80 acres. It is accessible only by aircraft, or a 150-mile boat ride.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. 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.
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. 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 87 ends on March 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.