Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 9, 2019

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December 9th, 1914 was the birthday of Maximo Guillermo “Max” Manus. He was one of the few Norwegians who had the testicular fortitude to put his life on the line, fighting the Nazi occupiers. (There surely would have been more active resistance fighters, but fearing widespread reprisal executions by the Germans, King H7 asked the civilian populace to stand down.) Max Manus passed away in 1996. I would have liked to have met him. His exploits are fairly accurately shown in the movie Max Manus: Man of War.

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Today, another review by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Springfield Armory XDe .45 ACP, by Pat Cascio

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Quite some time back, I wrote a review of the Springfield Armory XDe in 9mm. It was an outstanding little gun, all things considered. I wanted to test this particular model, because it was hammer-fired, instead of striker-fired. I had no real complaints on the XDe 9mm, other than I was wondering, why it was so “big” compared to the XDs 9mm. Okay, maybe “big” isn’t the right term, but it is bigger than the XDs models in 9mm and .45 ACP. However, I wasn’t about to second guess Springfield Armory on this. After all, the XDe is hammer-fired, and thus it had to be a little bit bigger than the striker-fired models. But still, I wondered.

I decided to take the plunge and requested an XDe in .45ACP — and it all respects, other than the caliber, it is the same exact gun as the XDe 9mm is. Not to go over too much of what I already reported on the 9mm version, I wanted to touch on some of the salient features of the XDe that sets it apart from the XDs. As already mentioned, it is hammer-fired. Many people shy away from striker-fired handguns for some reason — I don’t understand it myself. However, in the case of the XDe, there are a number of different ways you can carry this gun, once its loaded. You can insert a magazine, and chamber round, and from there you can press down on the ambidextrous thumb safety to decock the pistol and carry it that way. Or if you prefer, once decocked, you can apply the thumb safety, by pushing it up, and when you need to fire it, you simply press down on the decocker and the gun is ready to go. Personally, I don’t see the need to put the XDe in “safe” once you have decocked it. Then, as another option, you can chamber a round, and the hammer is cocked, and you can apply the safety (by pushing it upward, just like a good ol’ 1911) and carry the XDe “cocked tn locked.” This is my preferred carry mode. But of course don’t carry it cocked without the safety in the “on” position.Continue reading“Springfield Armory XDe .45 ACP, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Pam’s Coddled Irish Stew

Reader Pam kindly sent us her recipe for a traditional coddled (simmered) Irish meat and potato stew.

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup (4-ounces) of salty back bacon. (Measure or weigh this after the rind is removed)
  • 6 traditional pork sausages (each about 5″ long and 1″ in diameter)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 medium-size onions (peeled and thinly sliced)
  • 2 large (or 4 small) carrots (peeled and thinly sliced)
  • 8 ounces raw white potatoes (finely sliced)
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Ground pepper (to taste)
  • 2 cups beef stock or chicken stock
Directions
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 425 F.
  2. In a large fry pan or skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onions and cook over medium flame for about 4 minutes, stirring them frequently.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into 1/2-inch cubes.
  4. Add the bacon to the onions and stir well.
  5. Cut the sausages in quarters and add these to the onion and bacon, and stir.
  6. Raise the heat. While constantly stirring, cook until the sausages start to brown. But be careful not to burn the onions.
  7. Remove the skillet from heat.
  8. In a thick casserole dish, put down a layer of the onion, bacon, and sausage mixture followed by a layer of sliced carrots, and then a layer of potato.
  9. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  10. Repeat layering all of the solid ingredients, ending with a layer of potato on top.
  11. Gently pour the stock over the layers.
  12. Cover with a lid.
  13. Do not stir this stew. It is layered for a reason!
  14. Place in the center rack of your oven and cook for 45 minutes at 425 F. After the first 15 minutes, check to make sure the stew isn’t drying out. (If necessary, top it with a little water.)
  15. Reduce the heat to 350 F and cook for another 30 minutes–until it is bubbling and the potatoes are cooked through.

SERVING

Let this stand and cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.  When serving it is best to plunge a large serving spoon to full depth of the casserole dish, to have each helping get some of each layer.

STORAGE

This stores refrigerated quite well for re-heating.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at some conflicting predictions of deflation and inflation. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

Arkadiusz Sieroń: The Narrative About Gold Is Changing Again

o  o  o

Over at Gold-Eagle: Precious Metals Ratio Charts

o  o  o

Illegal gold flowing through Miami is a ‘direct threat’ to U.S. national security, Rubio says

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: “Lower For Ever”: One Bank Makes A Stunning Discovery – The Fed’s Rate Cuts Are Now Deflationary

o  o  o

But wait a minute….at Wolf Street: Inflation Is Coming: All the Trends That Were Deflationary Are Slowly Going in Reverse. A quote:

“If you think deflation is a fact of life, you clearly haven’t paid attention to history. Governments around the world have experienced a unique decade where they ran deficits and printed money without “bad inflation” which upsets voters. They think this is a new normal with no consequences. It isn’t. They’re already panicking with the S&P a few ticks from all-time highs. Soon politicians will go into ludicrous mode with fiscal stimulus.

What will fiscal stimulus do to the equity market? I’m reminded of the 1970s—inflation is no friend to most stocks. What happens to trillions in negative yielding long-dated bonds if inflation ticks up? What happens to bond proxies like global large-cap equity indexes or real estate? What happens to risk-parity funds that are leveraged a few times over expecting bonds and equities to increase over time? What if both legs of the trade drop at the same time?

No one is ready for inflation, but I believe it’s coming. Maybe not today or next week, but there is a powder keg of monetary supply just waiting to be unleashed by governments who think that inflation can never happen again. At first, markets will cheer a bit of inflation—then they’ll panic. The markets often do whatever the fewest people are positioned for. Who’s positioned for inflation? That’s about as contrarian as buying Argentine sovereign debt.”

o  o  o

Trump’s “idiotic” trade policies will “destroy us”, here’s how according to Doug Casey

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Government should never be able to do anything you can’t do. If you can’t steal from your neighbor, you can’t send the government to steal for you.” – Former Congressman Ron Paul

The Rush To A Cashless Society, by Brandon Smith

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A fundamental pillar of true free markets is the existence of choice; the availability of options from production to providers to purchase mechanisms without interference from governments or corporate monopolies. Choice means competition, and competition drives progress. Choice can also drive changes within society, for if people know a better or more secure way of doing things exists, why would anyone want to stay trapped within the confines of a limited system? At the very least, people should be allowed to choose economic mechanisms that work best for their particular situation.

This is not how our society functions today, and free market do not exist anywhere in modern nations including the US. Whenever I hear someone (usually a socialist) blame free market “capitalism” for the oppressive ailments of the world, I have to laugh. The alliance between governments and corporate monopolies (what Mussolini called national socialism or fascism) makes free markets utterly impossible. What we have today is an amalgamation of socialist economic interference and corporatocracy. Our system is highly restrictive and micro-managed for everyone except the money elites, who do not have to follow the same rules the rest of us do.

Of course, I might be preaching to the choir when it comes to these issues. But, there are some underlying developments being pushed forward by globalists hell-bent on a one world monetary system and a one world government that even many liberty activists are not fully aware of.

In alternative economic circles, the US dollar is seen as the end-all-be-all of fiat currency dominance. Many activists see it as the key to the power of the global elites and they think the Federal Reserve is the top of the globalist pyramid. This is not exactly true.

The US dollar is itself just another tool of the banking cabal, and tools sometimes lose their usefulness over time. While it could be said that for the past several decades the dollar as the world reserve currency was the core of globalist influence, this is about to change and we can see the signs today. The rush towards a cashless society in the past few years is startling and unfortunately too many liberty activists have been suckered into thinking that it’s is a good thing.

There are a number of reasons for this. As mentioned above, activists see the dollar (or Fed note) as fuel for the globalist machine, and so obviously they would like to see it go down in flames. They also are generally proponents of free markets, and the exploding trend of cryptocurrencies has given them the illusion that “choice” is returning to economy through “monetary competition”. I understand the basis for this attitude, and I appreciate where it’s coming from. I also have never been a proponent of the dollar or any other central bank fiat system. This article should not be misinterpreted as a defense of dollar hegemony.

That said, there is a much bigger agenda at play here, and the dollar is only one fading part of it as it is being quietly replaced by a completely digital framework. We have to once again ask ourselves – Who really benefits from a sudden shift in the economic and monetary world? Who gains political and social power through a cashless society? Is it the public? Or, is it the same banking elites and globalists that have always held sway over our economic structure?Continue reading“The Rush To A Cashless Society, by Brandon Smith”

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 gun statistics.

California Volcano Risks

Thanks to reader S.B. for suggesting this article: California is famous for earthquakes and wildfires—but don’t forget about its volcanoes.  JWR Adds:  Californians should visit the California “My Hazards” web page, and take a look at the hazards lists for their particular ZIP codes.

Gun Law Onslaught in Virginia

Colion Noir recently posted this commentary: Virginia turns Anti-Gun overnight with Bloomberg – Waste no time with gun confiscation SB16,18,64. Sadly, Noir is right. It doesn’t matter if the GOA and NRA are playing 3D Chess, if Mikey Bloomberg’s wallet is playing Tackle Football. He is simply out-spending them, and he has the mainstream media on his side. So please generously support the GOA, The Firearms Coalition (TFC), the JPFO, and State-level gun rights defending organizations such as Gun Owners Action League of Washington. Meanwhile, as a hedge, build yourself a private (no paperwork) battery of capable guns. Why? Because there may be no voting our way out of this. It has been aptly said that the ultimate votes are from the rooftops.

A New Hyper Glue

C.B. sent us this from Tech Xplore: New ‘hyper glue’ formula developed. A snippet:

“The team of chemists and composite materials researchers discovered a broadly applicable method of bonding plastics and synthetic fibres at the in a procedure called cross-linking. The cross-linking takes effect when the adhesive is exposed to heat or long-wave UV light making that are both impact-resistant and corrosion-resistant. Even with a minimal amount of cross-linking, the materials are tightly bonded.”

Horse Stolen and Slaughtered for its Meat

Spotted by reader Tim J.:  Florida horse stolen and slaughtered for its meat, sheriff’s office says.Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” – Romans 10:1-17 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — December 7, 2019

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On Sunday, December 7, 1941, America was caught sleeping, at Pearl Harbor. Then there was that September morning, in 2001. Let’s continue to pray that nothing like those days ever happens again. – JWR

—

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.

Planning Your Escape – Part 5, by JMD

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(Continued from Part 4.  This installment concludes the article series.)

If you’re even further away you may need to consider how you can supplement your food supply as you travel. One obvious way to do that is to learn how to forage. Foraging can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, so take some training on how to recognize edible plants and what to avoid. If you’re going to be traveling to the same area frequently you should look into taking a local foraging class; they’re offered in most major locales. I also carry an edible plants reference card and a foraging guide with me, and I always do some research on regional plants whenever I travel to a new area. You could also bring a trotline and/or some snares with you and set them out while you’re sleeping. As with any wilderness skill, you should practice using both of them before you need them (check local laws governing fishing and trapping before attempting).

If you have food that needs to be heated or have boiling water added to it you’ll need some way to start a fire, and all of the common wisdom regarding lighters, ferro rods, tinder, etc. applies here. I carry a small Esbit-style folding stove in my travel kit along with various fire starters and tinder, and a 15-20 minute fire with twigs is usually enough to get a cup of water boiling. If you need something bigger to cook a fish or some wild game or warm up I’d recommend using a Dakota fire hole if possible to reduce the fire’s visibility. Remember that fire and cooking smells can carry for quite a distance, so you’ll be better off if you leave the area as soon as you’re done eating – don’t prepare meals in the same location you plan on sleeping.

When traveling in unknown conditions there’s always a chance you’ll get sick or injured, which could interrupt or even end your journey if you’re not prepared. In a post-SHTF world you most likely won’t be able to call an ambulance or stop by the local doc-in-a-box, so you’ll need to have a decent first-aid kit and the knowledge on how to use it. There are plenty of good articles on what should be in a first aid kit, but there are a few things that will be especially important for multi-day RTB travel:

  • Moleskin/Leukotape P for the inevitable blisters
  • Pain relievers for the inevitable aches and pains
  • Instant cold & heat packs, for additional pain relief
  • Electrolyte Replacement Tablets to replace what you sweat out
  • Anti-Diarrheal tablets, since your diet will be going through radical changes and having the runs can result in serious issues
  • Boiron Oscillococcinum for cold/flu symptoms (or a DayQuil equivalent)
  • A full course (30 250mg pills) of antibiotics in case a cut or wound gets infected – I carry Amoxicillin, which you can buy as ‘FishMox’ online

The common wisdom is that you should get plenty of rest when you’re sick or injured, but if you’re desperate to get home to your family, curling up in a nice warm debris shelter for a couple of days probably isn’t an option. You’ll need to reduce your pace and rest more frequently and for longer, but staying in one place for too long may cause more problems than it solves.

Unless the event results in the world all of a sudden becoming a bastion of rainbows and unicorns you’ll most likely need some way to protect yourself from both two- as well as four-legged threats while moving through unknown terrain. Whenever I travel I always bring at least one firearm if I’m legally allowed to possess it at my destination; if you don’t have a firearm with you, obtaining one at your destination location after an event will be extremely difficult. I always try to meet people and make friends at local gun shops and gun ranges when I travel – there’s no guarantee, but knowing some people can increase the chance of you being able to acquire a firearm if a major world-changing event occurs. One alternative to firearms is an edged weapon – I always pack a Gerber Downrange Tomahawk in my suitcase – it makes a decent weapon with a long reach as well as providing chopping, hammering and prying capabilities. If all else fails a simple club made from a chair leg or piece of metal pipe might be your only option, or you can attach a knife to a long rod or sharpen a stick to make yourself a spear. None of these are ideal, but it’s better to have some weapons than none at all.

Continue reading“Planning Your Escape – Part 5, by JMD”

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:

I’m again traveling out of state, to assist a elderly relative. So my entries in this column will probably be fairly brief and scant. Meanwhile, my lovely wife is looking after our ranch and livestock, so she will have far more to report.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.

Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.

O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?

Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.

The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.

Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.

If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.” – Micah 2 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 6, 2019

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Today is the birthday of “claymation” artist and filmmaker Nick Park (born, 1958.) He is best known for his Wallace & Gromit films.

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On December 6th, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, ending the institution of slavery. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” With these words, the single greatest change wrought by the Civil War was officially noted in the Constitution.

—

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.

Planning Your Escape – Part 4, by JMD

11

(Continued from Part 3.)

Some Kit

In my previous article I talked quite a bit about the kit I take on the road, but there are a few items that are a lot more relevant to a long Return To Base (RTB) journey that I’d like to focus on. Keep in mind that if you’re flying you’ll be a lot more limited in what you can take, and I’m not recommending that you’ll want or need everything on this list – do your route planning and figure out what makes the most sense for your plans. If you can’t bring everything with you that you’ll need, make a list of the critical missing items and identify local sources near your destination where you can obtain them quickly after an event.

First things first – if you plan on walking all or part of your RTB journey (and you should, no matter what other options you’ve planned), one of the most critical pieces of your kit is your footwear. Anyone that’s ever gone on a long multi-day hikes can attest to the fact that blisters and fungal infections are some of the leading problems they typically encounter. Since you can’t always predict what the weather will be like your boots should be waterproof even in the summertime, since wet feet will cause serious problems. You should stick with lightweight merino wool or synthetic sweat-wicking socks, and bring at least two pairs so you can swap out wet ones for a clean dry pair. For winter time make sure you’ll need quality insulated boots and heavier socks. I also bring a set of gaiters when I travel in winter, which can help keep your pants dry and prevent snow from getting in your boot tops. Alternatively you could go with a pair of waterproof overboots, which will work better if you have to cross a lot of water obstacles. Regardless of what you bring for footwear you should always make sure it’s in good condition, and consider spraying it with waterproofing on a regular basis to maintain it.

Next is clothing, since exposure to extreme elements can kill you pretty quickly. If you’re traveling in hot weather you should focus on lightweight breathable long pants and long-sleeve shirts, along with a wide-brimmed hat, since getting sunburned would seriously hamper your ability to travel quickly. You should also include a cooling cloth, some sunscreen and sunglasses. If you’re traveling in cold weather, bring layers that you can put on and take off easily to help you maintain a comfortable body temperature. Merino wool base layers, puffer jackets and pants and a good waterproof outer shell provide a lot of flexibility and they pack up pretty small. Good insulated waterproof gloves are also a must.

One note on camouflage clothing – some people think it’ll be critical and other think it’ll cause more problems than it solves. I believe its value will depend on your situation and location, so I typically bring a camouflaged poncho in my travel kit that I can throw on if I need to blend in in the wilderness. If you’re worried about camouflage in snowy conditions you can stop by a hardware store and grab a set of white Tyvek painter’s coveralls to wear over your clothing, or you can bring a winter camo poncho.Continue reading“Planning Your Escape – Part 4, by JMD”