Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 20, 2019

3

On December 20th, 1606, the Virginia Company loaded three ships with settlers and set sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 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.

Survival Hunting – Lessons Learned – Part 1, by O.V.

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I’ve hunted since the late 1970s and I thought I’d pass along some knowledge I’ve accumulated albeit not in a polished format, but more of a “if you just want the answer to the test format.” It will probably come across a little bit choppy reading, but I want to hit the high points and mention the low hanging fruit. And by the way the SurvivalBlog readership wants TEOTWAWKI usefulness, so that’s the slant of this article.

First off are a couple of things to get out of the way — number one being equipment. Good stuff is a help and it isn’t cheap. It isn’t necessary, but for example a guy with a repeating firearm may shoot several squirrels; a guy with a wool coat and a pair of warm boots can hunt longer in the cold; a guy with a topo map and compass or a smart phone with a map/GPS app that can show hunting opportunities or obstacles is a lot more efficient; and so on.

Another piece of equipment is a dog. They are so useful in hunting that they are almost mandatory in some sports or at certain times of year or in certain environments. Can you do without one? Of course. Just like the guy with the single shot .410 and the cotton tube sox in tennis shoes in the snow……

Another thing to realize is when you are hungry, sport hunting, challenging methods, and moral and ethical compasses written into law by city folks won’t work. For example, I might hunt with a .22 rifle for sport, but a 12 ga shotgun might put more meat on the table. Baiting is extremely helpful especially with younger animals, and we aren’t worried about the horns in TEOTWAWKI.Continue reading“Survival Hunting – Lessons Learned – Part 1, by O.V.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

10

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 land price forecasts for 2020. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Why gold and oil will be real winners of 2020 – Wells Fargo

o  o  o

Commerzbank: Loose monetary policy to lift gold in 2020. A snippet from the article:

“‘We envisage an increase to $1,550 per troy ounce by the end of 2020,’ the bank said. ”The high optimism among speculative financial investors and the subdued demand in Asia will initially preclude any higher prices, so we expect to see the lion’s share of the upswing in the second half of the year.”

Prospects for the yellow metal are ‘positive,’ the bank said.

‘Monetary policy pursued by the major central banks will remain ultra-loose next year,’ analysts said. ‘Admittedly, the U.S. Fed ruled out any further rate cuts. All the same, they are not entirely off the table, and are still more likely than rate hikes.'”

o  o  o

The real gold price rally hasn’t even started yet, says analyst who called $1,500

Economy & Finance:

Reader H.L. sent this sobering news that a manufacturing recession may be beginning: An American trucking giant is slated to declare bankruptcy — and it may leave more than 3,200 truck drivers stranded and jobless

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: “The Fed Was Suddenly Facing Multiple LTCMs”: BIS Offers A Stunning Explanation Of What Really Happened On Repocalypse Day

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: When Losses Don’t Matter: How Japanese Conglomerate Mitsubishi Blows Billions on a Jet Nobody Really Wants

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“If one, then, asks me the meaning of our flag, I say to him, It means just what Concord and Lexington meant, what Bunker Hill meant; it means the whole glorious Revolutionary War, which was, in short, the rising up of a valiant young people against an old tyranny, to establish the most momentous doctrine that the world had ever known – the right of men to their own selves and to their liberties.” – Henry Ward Beecher

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 19, 2019

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December 19th is the birthday of physicist Albert A. Michelson (born 1852, died May 9, 1931), who was the first American to be awarded a Nobel Prize in science, for measuring the speed of light. I’m distantly related to him, by way of my great aunt, Zelpha Rawles Michelson.

—

On Dec 19, 1776, Thomas Paine published “American Crisis”. “These are the times that try men’s souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” These words were an inspiration to Washington’s dispirited men, having suffered humiliating defeats and encamped at McKonkey’s Ferry on the Delaware River. The beleaguered troops mustered their remaining hopes for victory, crossed the Delaware, and defeated the hung-over Hessians. The revolution had been salvaged.

—

Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) is continuing their AR-15 Days of Christmas sale.  They have their 16″ 5.56 NATO 1:7 Freedom Classic Upper with Bolt Carrier Group & Charging Handle in Olive Green on sale for just $219.99. Just type “7780181” in their search box, to find this item. Meanwhile they have matching Olive Green complete lowers on sale for $129.99. Just type “7779347” in their search box, to find this item. If you slap that upper on that lower then–aside for a magazine and a rear sight (or optic)–you’ll have a complete OD furniture M4gery!  That is a great deal. If you can afford to, then I recommend that you buy several sets.

They also have their Nitride MPI Full-Auto AR-15 Bolt Carrier Groups on sale again at just $49.99!  Just paste item number 516446953 into their search box. If you own two or more ARs, then you should keep at least one compete spare Bolt Carrier Group on hand!

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 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.

Powering Tube Radios with Batteries, by Brian H.

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DISCLAIMER: USE THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HEREIN AT YOUR OWN RISK. HIGH VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT, SUCH AS DESCRIBED BELOW, CAN BE LETHAL. IN ADDITION, EVEN SMALL GEL-CELL BATTERIES CAN PRODUCE HIGH CURRENTS WHEN SHORT-CIRCUITED AND QUICKLY MELT WIRE, DESTROY COMPONENTS, AND START FIRES. IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH ELECTRICITY, THEN ASK SOMEONE QUALIFIED TO CHECK YOUR WORK BEFORE ENERGIZING ANY OF THE CIRCUITRY DESCRIBED.

Older vacuum-tube radios are popular in the prepper world (and rightly so) for their resistance to EMP damage. One useful fact about them that is often unrealized is that many of them can be powered by direct current directly from batteries, without the use of an inverter to make 120VAC.

The All-American Five (AA5)

Many communities in the early twentieth century had 120V DC power, instead of AC. Many radios from the 1940s to 1960s were designed to work off of either 120V AC or DC power, and are of what was commonly referred to as the ‘All-American Five’ design, so-called because they used five vacuum tubes. The earlier designs used large octal tubes (50L6, 35Z5, 12SA7, 12SQ7, and 12SK7) and the later designs used seven-pin miniature tubes (12BA6, 12BE6, 12AV6, 50C5, and 35W4). These sets were designed to have their tube filaments powered directly off of the power line with no transformer required. (The first digits of a tube’s number, that precede the first letter, indicates its filament voltage. Note that the tube prefixes, when added together, add up to 121). Further, the circuitry was designed to run off of a relatively low plate voltage of 120V. This allowed a simple inexpensive design that would run off of either AC or DC power.

There are some variations on this. Later AM/FM radios used a solid-state rectifier to produce the plate supply DC, and used the now-eliminated rectifier tube filament voltage drop for an FM converter tube, to allow the set to receive the FM broadcast band. Some just replaced the rectifier tube with a solid-state rectifier and used a resistor to provide the voltage drop for the filament string. The venerable Hammarlund S-120 uses this system.Continue reading“Powering Tube Radios with Batteries, by Brian H.”

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 Michael Bloomberg’s planed war on private gun sales.

Arched Roof Cabin Kits

Fellow blogger Claire Wolfe mentioned some quite affordable arched roof cabin kits that are apropos for building tiny houses.

New Zealand Volcano Eruption

Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: New Zealand volcano eruption ‘too dangerous’ for rescue crews on White Island…  The text that accompanies the video reads:

“In New Zealand, at least five people have been killed in a volcanic eruption on White Island, a popular tourist destination. Around 50 people are believed to have been on the island at the time of the eruption. Emergency services say the number of people missing is in double digits. Most of the survivors who have been taken off the island are injured, and some have suffered severe burns. Hours after the eruption, police say they fear there will be more casualties. The difficult conditions are complicating search and rescue efforts. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there will be a time for questions about why the island remained open to visitors despite warnings the volcano could erupt.”

Bloomberg’s War on Private Gun Sales

Reader DSV sent this: Bloomberg Fumbles Facts, Laws in Gun-Control Policy Rollout. JWR’s Comment:  Although Mikey Bloomberg is being touted as a “moderate” Democrat by the mainstream media, he is actually one of the most rabidly anti-gun Democrat candidates. Note that he advocates both “universal background checks” (a private party transfer ban ) and a 48-hour hold on taking possession. Together, those new laws would absolutely destroy gun shows, as we now know them. Bloomberg has repeatedly demonstrated a loathing of the Second Amendment. Oh, and his view of the First Amendment is also quite frightening.

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 18, 2019

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Mat Stein: Rest In Peace

We are sad to report the death of Matthew Stein, our Back-Country Editor. At the request of a family member, the publication of his obituary was delayed in SurvivalBlog. (They wished to downplay Mat’s survivalist outlook and preparations.)

Mat was a design engineer, green builder, and author of two best-selling books: When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency and When Disaster Strikes: A Comprehensive Guide for Emergency Planning and Crisis Survival. He also authored a children’s book, titled Geronimo the Frog. All three of those books are still in print, leaving a lasting legacy. He never completed writing his autobiography.

Mat Stein grew up in Burlington, Vermont. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, backpacker, rock climber, and mountaineer. He made more than a hundred Yosemite Valley climbs, including several of El Capitan and the Half Dome wall. He was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he majored in Mechanical Engineering. At MIT, Mat was the recipient of their Straight T Award. That is MIT’s highest athletic honor. Stein appeared on numerous radio and television programs and was a repeat guest on Fox News, Coast-to-Coast AM, Alex Jones’ Infowars, Vince Finelli’s USA Prepares, Gary Null, The Thom Hartmann Show, and The Power Hour.

Mat Stein was a humble philanthropist who never publicly mentioned his charitable giving. And for more than two decades, he served as a guide and instructor for blind skiers and hikers. His volunteer work for Sierra Regional Ski for Light touched hundreds of lives.

He founded Stein Design and Construction, where he designed and contracted energy-efficient, hurricane-resistant, and well-insulated green homes. He also designed disk drives, water filters, photovoltaic roof panels, emergency chemical decontamination drenches, medical bacterial filters, and transportable fiberglass buildings.

Mat wrote many articles on sustainable living and disaster preparedness. He was a guest columnist for the Huffington Post. He authored several articles for SurvivalBlog that were posted between 2012 and 2014. His web sites were WhenTechFails.com and MatStein.com. (Both of those have now gone dark.) In his later years, Mat lived in the high country of the Sierra Mountains, in Truckee, California.

The following is from an obituary in a local newspaper, The Sierra Sun:

“He will be missed by many, most especially his fiancée, Mary Beedle. After being widowed at 57, he had found a new life with Mary. They enjoyed music, dancing, and time with friends. He is also survived by his daughter, Elisha Jussen-Cooke, step-son, Josh Satcher, and siblings Daniel E. Stein, Jennifer Barker, Debby Stein Sharpe, and David M. Stein.”

He died in late 2018 at age 62 of a heart attack, while leading a technical rock climb. In retrospect, that was the fitting time and place for him to pass away–while doing what he loved best. His knowledge, wit, and wisdom were as big as the mountains that he loved.

To say that Mat Stein is greatly missed is an understatement. It was an honor to be his friend. – JWRContinue reading“Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 18, 2019”

Management by Objective for TEOTWAWKI Planning – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

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

Is your objective time sensitive? Your object has to have an element of time that denotes when you want the objective to be completed. We are saying we want to store 3 years worth of foods but the length of time we are going to take to take to accomplish this objective must be in our written objective. Saying within two years or by an actual date/time will help ensure your stated objective meets the time sensitive element.

Our final objective with all the “SMART” elements could read something like this:

“Purchase 3 years worth of food to include enough normal groceries (can foods, freezer foods, et cetera) to last 1 year, enough dry staples like rice, beans and pasta to span 3 years, and freeze-dried foods to last 2 years, by January 2021.”

Once you have a “SMART” objective now you have to determine “How” you are going accomplish the objectives. We can call these “tactics” or “tasks”. Just like components of your objectives, your tasks should also be realistic. Is buying one-hundred dollars of food each week realistic? Only you can determine that. Your tactics can also go more in-dept like save $50 each paycheck to put towards a bulk freeze-dried food order. Perhaps you buy a 50-pound bag of rice each week or month. Looking at weekly grocery store adds and taking advantage of in store sales could also be a tactic. Your tactics should also go beyond just the procurement strategies but also include such tasks as building storage racks/shelving, putting rice, beans and other staples into mylar bags and food grade plastic buckets.Continue reading“Management by Objective for TEOTWAWKI Planning – Part 2, by 3AD Scout”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on the music of Frank Sinatra. (See the Music section.)

Books:

The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way (Alton & Alton)

o  o  o

The Passivhaus Handbook: A Practical Guide to Constructing and Retrofitting Buildings for Ultra-Low Energy Performance (Sustainable Building)

o  o  o

Joy of Cooking: 2019 Edition Fully Revised and Updated

o  o  o

Edison

o  o  o

Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“I know I am speaking for tens of thousands of my fellow Montanans and tens of millions of my fellow Americans when I say what I’m about to say.

‘Red flag’ gun confiscation laws violate every principle of liberty upon which our country was founded. There is no due process associated with “red flag” laws. A judge’s order to seize the firearms from an American citizen who has not been accused of a crime, charged with a crime, convicted of a crime—or who never even threatened to commit a crime—based on the accusation of a single individual is anything but due process.

Our accuser could be a disgruntled employee, a bitter ex-spouse or relative, a vengeful neighbor, an anti-gun liberal or even an anti-gun policeman. By definition, “red flag” laws use mere suspicion of what one “might” do as justification to seize a person’s firearms. Tactics such as these have been used in virtually every despotic regime of history. In the name of protecting society, the rights and liberties of individuals were denied. Eventually, these repressive governments included political or religious persuasion as triggering “red flags,” which led to their disarmament—all in the name of public safety, of course.

You know as well as I do that when the rights of one American are abridged, the rights of all Americans are abridged. This is not yet a communist nation where the rights of the state—or even the rights of a majority of citizens—supersede the rights of the individual.

…

‘Red flag’ laws turn the Bill of Rights and the fundamental legal doctrine that a man is innocent until proven guilty completely upside down. “Red flag” laws are a mockery to every constitutional principle of liberty since the Magna Carta. Seizing a citizen’s firearms by force (and thereby rendering him defenseless) without a crime being committed—or even the accusation of a crime being made—is old-fashioned TYRANNY. Such an act presumes a person is guilty until proven innocent.

Then there is this: After the guns are seized, it could take years for the victim to prove his innocence (or competence) and have his guns returned—and in what condition would they be when (and IF) returned? Furthermore, will you legislators, judges and police officers who collaborate to strip an innocent person’s ability to defend himself accept any responsibility when the real bad guys take advantage of this person’s vulnerability and invade his home and bludgeon or rape or even kill his family? Of course you won’t. But mark it down: You will be held responsible in the eyes of Almighty God—and in the eyes of the citizens you have victimized.” – Pastor Chuck Baldwin

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 17, 2019

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December 17th, 1905 was the birthday of Simo Häyhä, who was the world’s most successful sniper. Using an iron-sighted Mosin–Nagant in Finland’s Winter War, he had an astounding 505 confirmed sniper kills. He died April 1, 2002, at age 96.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 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.

Management by Objective for TEOTWAWKI Planning – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

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Many Preppers plan on being what is referred to as “lone wolves”. That is, they plan on tackling the apocalypse all by themselves without the help of others. Other Preppers have formed some type of group. These groups can be made up of extended family, friends, neighbors or any combination thereof. History has shown us that humans are social beings in that we bond together to work together and form communities. Based on that history, one can surmise that when society ends as we know it, new organizations will be formed. What once was a group made up of your immediate family, your brothers’ family and a few cousins and their families will morph into a larger group as people with knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) that are needed or wanted by your group are added.

Prepper fiction is full of characters that manage/leader every aspect of their community’s post-SHTF life. If this was possible and feasible, we would not have the rank structure we do in the military, we would just have a general who would lead everyone. Span of Control should be considered in our planning. Sure, you can still be “in charge” but research shows that the average person can only manage 5-7 people in stressful environments. My community was having a large chemical spill drill and the local fire department asked me to provide some advice to the deputy chief who was going to be in charge of the incident since I was an Incident Command System (ICS) instructor. I stressed the need to quickly delegate tasks to others. Something that is hard to do if you are not used to doing it. During the drill a photograph was taken of him surrounded by at least 30 people, all with questions or wanting information, and he has the “deer in the head lights” look because he was overwhelmed since he did not delegate functions/operations/tasks to other people. We need to ensure we have a good expandable organizational structure and management system in place before SHTF.

Many of us may believe that after the collapse we would not take on any “new” people, except that Emergency Room Physician, or maybe a chemists, or veterinarian, or herbalist, or . . . and the list will go on and on, especially after the fall when holes in our preps start to become extremely evident and as we start to rebuild society. Logical thinking would not only consider the ramifications of taking on new people but also consider the ramifications of not taking on new people.

Think about the 1930s and the migration of scientists from Germany, many of whom took part in the development of the atomic bomb. Back up history for a minute and consider the ramifications of the Untied State not taking in those scientists, and instead they migrate to China and the Soviet Union. What do you think about that comrade? If we are to believe that post-TEOTWAWKI will be akin to Mad Max then we need to think about what happens if groups that are aggressive take in people whose knowledge and skills can latter impact you in negative ways. This is not to say only take in those with military skills but rather we should be looking at those who can help with restoring the means of production. History shows that those with the means of production enjoy more safety and security.Continue reading“Management by Objective for TEOTWAWKI Planning – Part 1, by 3AD Scout”

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.

Today, to bring any new blog readers up to speed, I’m presenting a special re-post of a background piece on the American Redoubt movement, by Alex Barron. It was originally published at the Charles Carroll Society web site in 2013, under the title: “The American Redoubt, Who the Players Are”.

I should also mention that Alex Barron has announced his candidacy for an Idaho State Senate seat. I believe that he deserves your vote.

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The American Redoubt, Who the Players Are

The American Redoubt concept was created and popularized by the prolific writer James Rawles of Survival Blog dot com. Initially, Rawles advised people for preparedness reasons to migrate out of large cities, away from either coast to low population density areas. James Rawles packaged these ideas in what he called his Precepts of Rawlesian philosophy with his list of the most preferable States to migrate too. This is a very important piece for those studying the Redoubt movement. It spells out in very articulate terms what the issues are from a preparedness perspective, and forms the basis of the philosophy of the political American Redoubt. Of particular note in our fallen, politically correct culture is Rawles precept that racism ignores reason.

Eventually, James Rawles begin to advise people to move from increasingly militant socialist states for political reasons. If your family has no existing rural roots, James Rawles suggested moving to the “top three or four” states from his most favorable preparedness list, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana for political reasons. He coined the term American Redoubt to explain this concept. The American Redoubt a simple concept, it is called political migration.

In an interview by G. Jeffrey MacDonald published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Rawles was quoted as saying: “It’s time to distance ourselves from the vile corruptness that we see…. [The American Redoubt movement] is analogous to the Puritan exodus (from Europe). They couldn’t fit in and said, ‘We’re going to move to completely virgin territory and start afresh.’ … In effect, we’re becoming pistol-packing Amish.” There are many groups who have done this over the years including the Puritans; Native Americans moving West to escape the European colonization (I guess forced ethnic cleansing, but again I hope you get the point), Americans of African descent escaping the Southern forced racial apartheid system (racial migration?). Many, many groups move because of various reasons including political reasons. The American Redoubt is libertarian leaning Christian and Jewish traditionalist politically migrating from militant progressive secular states that are becoming increasingly hostile to their Christian based western culture.

The basic goal of political migration is to escape areas that are hostile to your culture and build new more benign communities. The political theory goes that if you start with States that are already overwhelmingly conservative libertarian, friendly to Orthodox Christian culture with fairly well maintained budgets and motivate enough like-minded patriots to move there, you could make them even “deeper” red state full of liberty-minded people, essentially redoubts of traditional American culture. All are welcome, no one would be asked to leave, but practicing conservative libertarian Christian and Jews are encouraged to migrate to these Rocky Mountain States. And this approach appears to be bearing fruit.

Sierra Crane-Murdoch reports in an article about Kootenai County, Idaho, “To outside observers, it may have appeared that the county swung along with the nation’s political pendulum. American voters leaned right in 2010, awarding Republicans a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. But in Kootenai County, Idaho, something far more enduring than partisan realignment had tipped the scales.Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”