Rock River Arms LAR-15 Carbine, by Pat Cascio

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This may come as news to some readers, but not all AR-15-style firearms are equal. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that, the brand-new Gee-Whiz AR you just bought, brand-new in the box, for $500 is the equal to the Wow AR that was next to it for $1,200. It just ain’t true – and I don’t care what the guy standing behind the gun counter might tell you. Don’t be taken in by their sales pitch. I actually own a couple of lower-end (in price) ARs and they are good performers, and would probably last for the the rest of my life. But they aren’t ones I’d want to take into combat with me. Oh sure, they’ll make do, for most survival situations, and perhaps even for real-life combat. But I’d make sure I had plenty of spare parts on-hand.

Many AR makers claim that their ARs are made with mil-spec parts, and they are either lying or don’t know the difference between mil-spec and civilian AR gun parts – simple as that.  If they were using all or mostly all mil-spec parts in manufacturing their ARs, then they couldn’t sell them as inexpensively as they do. And, lets be clear on this, I don’t know of any – not any – maker of ARs, that manufactures every single part that goes into producing their ARs. It makes no sense to set-up machining to make the little springs and pins that go in to an AR – when they can have them made to their specs, by an outside vendor – that is, assuming, you can actually get the parts made to your specifications. The US military is very particular, into what goes into making our M16 Rifles and M4 Carbines. Every single part must be to mil-spec – period! We don’t want parts failing in the hands of our troops, because some company produced sub-standard parts, and looking to save a few cents. No sir. We want the best for our troops.

Today we’re checking out an AR-style carbine from Rock River Arms (RRA).They make a huge variety of AR-styles of rifles and carbine – probably one of the best selections or styles you’ll find. And, right off the bat, I’ll tell you this, they have some of the absolute best triggers on all their firearms, right out of the box. They also produce some models in a left handed version – you won’t find many other makers doing this.Continue reading“Rock River Arms LAR-15 Carbine, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: R.J.’s Turkey Tetrazzini

What will you do with that leftover turkey from that big Thanksgiving bird?  Reader R.J. says: Make Turkey Tetrazzini.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. egg noodles, cooked
Olive oil (for oiling your baking dish)
7 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 shallots, minced
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
3 cups of shredded cooked turkey leftovers
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup bread crumbs, preferably fresh
2 green onions, chopped

Directions
  1. Cook the noodles first, drain them, and set them aside.
  2. Pre-heat an oven to 450°F.
  3. Oil a 13″x9″ pyrex baking dish.
  4. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 Tbs. of the butter. Add the shallots and mushrooms and sauté them until the mushrooms about 5 minutes, until they begin to brown. Transfer to a large bowl.
  5. In the same frying pan, again over medium-high heat, melt 4 Tbs. of butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
  6. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cook this into a sauce for about 4 minutes stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens, Stir in the salt and white pepper.
  7. Pour the sauce into the bowl with the mushrooms and add the turkey, cooked noodles, 1/2 cup of the cheese and the green onions and stir to combine.
  8. In a small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs and the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.
  9. Transfer the turkey mixture to the prepared pyrex baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with the bread crumb mixture. Break the remaining 1 Tbs. butter into small pieces and sprinkle over the top.
  10. Bake about 15 minutes until this tetrazzini is bubbling around the edges and the bread crumbs are golden brown.

SERVING

  • Serve immediately.
  • This recipe serves 6 to 8 people.

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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!

Reader Letter: Second Amendment Sanctuary Resolutions in Virginia

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Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:
I live in New South Maryland, formerly known as Virginia, where our black-face-sporting Governor Northam is brewing gun control legislation plans with the other liberals. In anticipation, 22 Virginia counties have adopted second amendment sanctuary resolutions. My county was among them. I went to the recent public hearing regarding this matter and was joined there by several hundred patriotic Americans in support of their right to keep and bear arms. Many speakers boldly noted to the Board of Supervisors that the Second Amendment is not about hunting, but maintaining an armed citizenry to inhibit government tyranny. The turnout and knowledge level of these fellow citizens is encouraging and makes me hopeful that freedom will be defended, that many will not simply capitulate to socialism or worse.

However, I must temper the enthusiasm of my fellow patriots. The Supervisors in my county have at times taken breathtakingly spineless actions in order to raise taxes, to have someone else to blame. And our county is poorly run by a good old boy network of people growing government for their own benefit. These people protect their own hind ends at all costs, and they commit to no position that will cost them a dime or any credibility with the sleepy voters. Let’s not think that all of a sudden these wimps have awakened to the reality of militant liberalism and are ready to fight. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The resolutions being adopted have no force of law or regulation. The Supervisors in Virginia counties have no authority over local sheriffs, and they have no sway over the State Police, National Guard, Federal law enforcement, or anyone else who might be tasked with gun confiscation. Right before passing the 2A resolution, our Board recognized some EMS personnel for good work, and the 2A document has just as much legal weight as the certificates of appreciation handed to the firemen.

The sheriff stood up in our meeting and proclaimed loudly that he was not going to ignore enforcement of any law, but he is hearing our concerns. He qualified his support multiple times, while sounding like he is on our side. Only time will tell.

Look, when the order for gun confiscation comes down, any sheriff who does not comply will eventually be removed by force by the feds or State Police. If any county politician stands up against them, they will be removed as well. I’ve long believed that gun confiscation will not be practical to implement until food rationing is in place, where the government will have leverage over the population and law enforcement through selective food distribution. Just like in Connecticut and New Jersey today where outlawing firearms/magazines has resulted in embarrassingly few surrenders of hardware, gun owners are not going to give up their firearms without either a fight, or being starved out.

What these 2A sanctuary counties are doing is great, as far as it goes, but don’t expect your local sheriff’s deputies to block the Fed’s access to your home when the order happens. This is the order you may not even hear about until that knock comes at your door. All politicians do everything to serve themselves, all the time, without exception.

Signed, Vigilant in Virginia

P.S.: Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself!

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 rare postage stamps. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold prices holding steady, waiting for potential trade fallout after Thanksgiving holiday

o  o  o

H.L. sent us this: Poland Repatriates Gold From Bank of England Storage to ‘Show Strength of its Economy’

Economy & Finance:

Martin W. Armstrong:  QE Versus Managing Benchmark rates.

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: Chinese Media Stunner: China Will Be The Next Country To Cut Rates To Zero

o  o  o

Voting with their feet: After Years of Threats, Schwab Joins Exodus, to Move Headquarters from San Francisco to Texas. Here is a quote:

“In 2015, Schwab still had 2,040 employees in San Francisco. By now, that has shrunk to 1,200.

So the writing was on the wall, when in May 2019, Charles Schwab himself indicated that moving the company’s headquarters out of San Francisco is being kicked around.

‘We’re pretty much a national company now,’ he told the San Francisco Business Times. He was “not sure” the company would remain in San Francisco. ‘We’ll continue looking at that as a possibility,” he said. “The costs of doing business here are so much higher than in some other place.’”

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Escaping the HOA Hole

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Suburban America is sinking into the Homeowner’s Association (HOA) Hole. About 24% of the nation’s population (about 63 million people) now live under the rigid strictures of HOAs.  According to some fairly recent statistics from PropertyManagement.com, there are:

  • 40 Million households living in HOAs
  • 351,000+ HOAs in the United States
  • 8,000 new HOAs formed every year in the U.S.
  • 24%+ of U.S. population is living in HOAs

HOAs usually have lengthy sets of rules and bylaws that are subject to the interpretation of either elected or un-elected HOA boards. These rules are generally called Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs).

Some people tout HOAs as “necessary to preserve the resale value of a house investment.” But I would argue that a HOA is the worst form of tyranny, because:

1.) It is almost always self-imposed. If you buy a piece of property inside of a HOA, you know it before you buy, and you become a party to that underlying contract.

2.) There is essentially no legal recourse for extracting yourself from the chains of a HOA, other than A.) Getting a majority of your fellow land owners to vote to abolish the HOA (very unlikely) or B.) You sell and your property, and move out.

3.) Inflation of HOA annual fees is often unlimited, and in many instances they have been increasing at greater than the rate of currency inflation.

4.) They represent another layer of “government” that is largely run by unaccountable private citizen busybodies with a general attitude and outlook on life that ranges between Nazi and Soviet.

5.) You often forfeit some of your due process rights.

6.)  Failure to perfectly abide by the HOA CC&Rs (which often can change) leave you open to legal attachment.

7.) A HOA’s set of rules is essentially “a moving target”. In many states, and HOA can change its rules post facto, however they please, as long as any rules do not contradict extant city, state, or federal law.

8.) If you sue your HOA, then you will indirectly pay for their legal costs, and your HOA fees will then rise, in subsequent years.

Continue reading“Escaping the HOA Hole”

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 honey bee hive health.

Rescue Honey Bees from Famine on the Farm

A little prairie can rescue honey bees from famine on the farm, study finds. (Thanks to reader C.B. for the link.)  Here is a quote from the article on honey bee hive health:

“‘One hypothesis about that is that bees near agricultural zones have more access to flowering crops and weeds like clover than those near forests, which can have fewer floral resources,’ he said.

The new research seems to support this idea. To see what plants the bees relied on, the team took samples of pollen spilled by foraging bees on their way back into the hive.

‘Over the entire year, more than 60% of their pollen collection was from clover,’ Dolezal said. The study did not determine which plants supplied the nectar, however.

‘This experiment was designed to establish how commercial farmland surrounding a honey bee colony supports its growth and survival,” O’Neal said. “More than 80% of Iowa is dedicated to agriculture. And while the two most important crops do not require bee pollination, corn can provide pollen and soybeans produce a lot of flowers, which can be a source of nectar for honey bees. The weight gain of a is due to honey, which comes from nectar.’

O’Neal was surprised how often honey bees found clover in landscapes devoted to almost nothing but corn and soybean.”

Texas Woman Killed by Feral Hogs

Reader W.W. sent this news: Texas woman killed by feral hogs in pre-dawn attack

Colion Noir Dissects Vox’s Gun Background Checks Video

H.L. sent a link to this video by Colion Noir: The Truth About VOX’s Video: “The gun solution we’re not talking about”

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” – Ephesians 3 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 30, 2019

Satirical novelist and poet Jonathan Swift was born on November 30th, 1667.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 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 85 ends on November 30th, 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.

Gardening Year-Round in North Country, by RAP1

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Many people see gardening as primarily a busy spring and summertime activity. But in truth it should be viewed as a part-time, year-round pursuit, and It shouldn’t run your life any time of the year. Autumn is actually a good time to begin your garden for next year. But before I explain what I mean, first some background.   Our homestead is 1.7 acres, in zone 5, located in a sparsely populated community in Maine, and includes a small pond, an orchard with 15 fruit trees, a grape trellis, dozens of blueberry, elderberry and raspberry bushes, an asparagus bed, and a vegetable garden roughly a half an acre in size. Until recently, we also had a chicken shed and yard.

One of the best tasks that you could do in the fall is to add cover crops to your growing areas. Cover crops protect soil quality, add nutrients and keep microbial activity going…more on this later. Hopefully, you also might have set aside patches of carrots and beets, and have a good size planting of ‘survivalists’ parsnips in the ground. Carrots and beets and yes even cabbage and swiss chard can be mulched for the winter now. You’ll love these fresh veggies when warmer weather rolls around next spring.

Of course this time of the year we have our storage supply of potatoes, squash, onions and garlic. We’re fortunate to have a cool basement which works well for storing these vegetables, and fruit like apples, asian pears, and we usually have plenty of berries in the freezer.     We also invested in a cider press sometime ago which we crank up in the fall, producing cider, grape and elderberry juice. Some of the cider we boil producing a wonderful sweetener. Two plantings of elderberries a few years ago have expanded to give us wonderful berries and flowers. These we press with the grapes to produce a very fine wine to sip alongside the wood stove in the winter.

Contrary to many gardening experts I no longer have the usual seasonal extenders like hoop houses and greenhouses. Takes too much time, caretaking and unless you’re trying to get a jump start selling crops at the farmers’ market, there is no real advantage to be gained for the homesteader or survivalist gardener. Key to our successful gardening experience is to devote a good deal of time in November to preparing ferments, like sauerkraut, pickle beets and cukes. These are so good that thinking of them now makes my mouth water!

I use the winter months to strategize my next year’s garden. Good time to write down what worked and what didn’t. Along with this I do a broad brush run through last season’s weather. See what parallels there might have been between the two. It’s also at this time of the year I start getting my seeds together. I save squash, potatoes, pole beans, peas, cuke and tomato seeds because it’s easy to do. I’m also at this time of the year cruising discount stores, like Home Depot, looking for big discounts on last years’ open pollinated seeds. Harris and Ferry Morse seeds are sold in these places and they have worked well for me.Continue reading“Gardening Year-Round in North Country, by RAP1”

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:

We had a fairly busy week, preparing for our family Thanksgiving gathering. I had to spend several days out on errands, with shopping, vehicle registration renewals, picking up mail, and visiting the dentist’s chair. The latter was necessary, but no fun. l also spent nearly one full day cleaning, lubing, price-tagging, and cataloging the seven antique guns that I had bought last weekend at the Lewiston, Idaho gun show.  There, I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few nice 1890s-vintage antiques.  I’m confident that I’ll be able launch Elk Creek Company (an Internet-based sales company), in February. My goal is to have at least 60 pre-1899 antique guns in inventory.  The current receiver count is 38, so my goal of 60 pieces seems realistic.

The weather was pleasant for Thanksgiving, and we had a joyful yet muted celebration. One of my sons was not able to attend, because of the hospitalization of his Mother-in-law. Her prognosis, we are told, is poor and her time is short. But we take heart in the fact that she is a woman of strong faith in our savior, Jesus Christ. With the assurance of her final destination, we can rest well. Please pray for comfort, for her and her family.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?

And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?” – Exodus 17: 1-7 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 29, 2019

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Today is the birthday of writer Clive Staples (“C.S.”) Lewis, who was born in 1898 and died 22 November 1963.

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I have several Black Friday sales announcements:

Harvest Guard Reusable Canning Lids is offering a 15% discount on all of their products beginning at 12:00 am Friday November 29 through midnight, Monday December 2, 2019. Customers must use the coupon code “black15” during checkout on their web site at:  https://canninglids.com/shop/

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The manufacturer (ITT) offered a very special price, so Ready Made Resources is passing along the savings: PVS-14 Gen 3+ Pinnacle Night Vision Monocular White Phosphor High Performance WHP+.
Note that these are normally priced at $4,095, but just for Black Friday they have a limited number of these monoculars at just $2,995. They even offer financing.

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A reminder: Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) is now in the middle of their week-long Black Friday sale.  They have their 16″ Mid-Length 5.56 NATO 1:7 Nitride Classic Upper with Bolt Carrier Group & Charging Handle in Flat Dark Earth (FDE) on sale for just $219.99. Just type “5165457990” in their search box, to find this item. Meanwhile they have match complete lowers on sale for $129.99. Just type “7779346” 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 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 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!

If you have an AR  lower already on hand, then don;t miss their Midlength 5.56 NATO 1:7 A2 Nitride Freedom Rifle Build Kits, at $289.99.  Just type “507279” in their search box, to find this build parts kit.

They are also offering 15% off all MagPul products with coupon code “magpul.” The only exclusions are products like the Gen2 PMAGs and the MBUS sights that are already more than 15% off, and have their own unique coupon codes.

Order soon, since quantities are limited, and they are not taking back orders at the Black Friday prices.

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Keep Shooting just advertised genuine US Military Surplus Tri-Fold Entrenching Tools — yes, the genuine article — for about the same price that most companies sell the cheapo Chinese knockoffs. That is a great deal.  Oh, and don’t miss their USGI concertina wire cutters.

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Valley Food Storage is running several 25% off specials and even on several of their food storage kits. They even offer no-interest financing on their one year supply kits.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 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 85 ends on November 30th, 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.

What Are You Really Preparing For? by B.P.

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After a fair number of years being a designated “prepper” and enjoying the heaps of blessings and trials I’ve received, it happens that occasionally I take a tally on my soul and recall the lessons from my life as a disciple in Christ. Now, your mileage may vary depending on the faith, or lack thereof, you have committed yourself to. For me, it was an easy choice to make early in life, as the benefits greatly outweighed the costs (considering an eternity in torment apart from my Creator as the greatest of these). Since making the choice nearly 50 years ago to subscribe to the teachings of a protestant Christian faith, I have only affirmed and reinforced that decision over time, with a lifetime of experiences to support my choice.

As it happens, like many others at the time, I became a solid convert to the prepping mindset circa the turn of the century, when I realized the vulnerability of civilization during the Year 2000 (Y2K) wind-up. But really, it was the desperation of an early adult life in the 1980s and 1990s that set that stage moreso than just the talk of the time, for I had experienced poverty, starvation, and destitution enough by the time I was in my mid-twenties to know the consequences of having to do without. The fact that I also started a family without first securing a decent living only made the apparent that much more painfully obvious. Being responsible for the welfare of others like that can be quite effective at waking the child into real adulthood.

Now, I am counseled in the Word that we should be good stewards of our “Talents”, that when we are provisioned, we have a duty to manage those blessings as the servants we have agreed to become. Therefore, it just seemed prudent to me to stockpile, to learn the skills, and to teach my progeny. Somewhere in there, the quest to improve my provisioning ability led me to seek ever more challenging work assignments, to learn to do things that others couldn’t, or more importantly wouldn’t, and thereby increase my value in the marketplace. While this did require some sacrifices which in retrospect were more expensive than I expected them to be at the time, the end result was, for the most part, the outcome I was looking for.

Now it should be stated that if you are going to pursue such ambitions, you really ought to be partnered with someone who’s outlook is compatible with yours. Sadly, this was not the case in my particular situation, though I didn’t realize it at the time. Thus, much of my accomplishment was squandered, and the risks I undertook meaningless. But that is on me for being naïve and foolish and not making a good choice on picking a mate. However, I stand by decisions, even when they turn into mistakes, and I take my vows seriously, so no crying over spilled milk. It is what it is and that is that.Continue reading“What Are You Really Preparing For? by B.P.”