Gunsmith Training, by R2

29

I recently began to wonder about retirement. I’m in my 50s, self-employed, and middle-class. My father worked for the same company for 45 years and retired on a comfortable pension, but I don’t see that happening to me. Unlike years past, there isn’t any real loyalty between employers and employees anymore and retiring after long years on the job is more of an exception than the rule now. To add to this concern, there is the reason I’m self-employed. I’ve never performed well under the thumb of a boss. However, I have been able to excel when working for myself. Not to knock the job, but flipping burgers or being a Walmart greeter just doesn’t suit me as I look forward in getting older.

No Faith in Social Security or Pension Plans

Given the economic precipice that we seem to sit on, I have no faith in social security or in any pension plans. I also don’t want to just sit back and relax after all these years of work. I may not be able to keep up the physical pace that I once did, but my mind is still sharp and I am still driven.

A Hobby to Pay Bills in Golden Years

My self employment has come about because I took hobbies that I held interest in and turned each of them from a mere hobby that paid for itself into one that actually paid the bills. Honestly, it’s time to do that again, this time planning for a hobby to pay the bills in my golden years.

Gunsmithing a Natural Choice

Gunsmithing was a natural choice for me. I enjoy working on firearms, and it doesn’t require heavy manual labor. As my body ages, I can still maintain an income. However, in order to take it from a mere hobby to a business, I had to step up my game. I needed more knowledge and skill as well as the ability to work on other people’s firearms. So how was I to go about that?

Continue reading“Gunsmith Training, by R2“

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

38

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”.

Watch Your Six

If you are an open Trump supporter, you need to start watching your six according to this article sent in by reader D.S. In the U.S., graffiti is popping up that says “Kill your local Trump supporter” and people all over the world are demonstrating violence towards Trump effigies. Even children of Trump supporters have been pepper sprayed at rallies. While not specifically a Trump supporter and I’ve even had hateful vitriol spewed at me in emails from some SurvivalBlog readers. I’m beginning to believe that Trump Derangement Syndrome is a real thing. I’m not suggesting that you hide your support, but you may want to make sure that your head is on a swivel when out and about. Check out this “rap sheet” of acts of violence and threats against Trump supporters.

Antifa Bomber?

A burglary suspect arrested in Sioux Falls, South Dakota last Tuesday had a disturbing amount of bomb making materials according to this article sent in by reader T.Z. There was also evidence of his “extreme hatred for police, fire, and government” according to a police spokesman. The local sheriffs department had earlier said that the suspect was connected with Antifa and had a sawed-off shotgun and an unlicensed silencer in his home. The explosives were ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder with police saying the amount recovered was significant and concerning. The arrest warrant was issued because he had stolen from an Ace Hardware.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.” – Acts 9:1-9 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – July 21, 2018

4

July 21st is the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. Sadly, he committed suicide in July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho, after being diagnosed with haemochromatosis, and after electroshock treatments failed to lift him from chronic alcoholic depression. He lived a sad life but was a great writer.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 77 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  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).

Round 77 ends on July 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.

What is Survival?- Part 5, by MuddyKid

23

What is survival? I am talking about my journey from short-term to long-term survival and thinking on what is legible. We left off on the subtopic of the human predator and specifically with my question about whether the situation in Syria would be considered a short-term or long-term situation.

Syria

What has been going on in Syria is interesting and one of many regions that I pay close attention to in effort to understand survival. To the leftwing, Syria started because of a climate change induced drought. For the rightwing, Syria started because Assad is a communist sympathizer who is brutal dictator.

Whatever your political flavor is, there are stories about why Syria is in a civil war that cater to your politics. However, we can say for certain that the situation in Syria is complex. Syria played a role in Alas, Babylon in 1959, which clearly demonstrates how long the U.S. has disliked Syria. There is a good amount of evidence that Syria has become a proxy war between who gets to control oil pipelines, the east or the west.

So, why did Syria pop off? There is no one answer to that question. Rather, it was a sum of many situations that created the civil war in Syria.

Continue reading“What is Survival?- Part 5, by MuddyKid”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

16

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

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:

This week I did some cross cutting of logs into firewood rounds. The rest of my time was spent on another project, and my usual writing.

Avalanche Lily Reports:

This week I spent the bulk of my time helping Jim with several family projects. We have been very very happily and excitedly busy with our projects.  We did some shopping and had a couple of routine appointments this past week.  I picked lots of Black Raspberries and Strawberries and froze them.  I weed-whacked the Garden and did all of the usual watering rotations.  Weeds that offended my eye as I walked by them were pulled while doing other things.  I have to set aside another couple of days and get at those weeds with concerted effort!!

We hope you are all enjoying the warm weather and the fruitful abundance of summer.

Many Blessings to All, – Jim Rawles and Avalanche Lily, Rawles

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

13

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. I nearly had to clean up a coffee mess on the dining room table as I read about Hillary Clinton today.

Radio Direction Finding

The entry on Radio Direction Finding on July 19th’s Odds ‘n Sods generated some email traffic to SurvivalBlog. Reader T.J. was kind enough to send this article in that gives a short tutorial on how it works and how to perform it with simple equipment. While you may not have a need for it or perhaps you’ve made the determination that your not interested in it, you should at least understand how it works. Currently, it’s uses run the gamut from fun and games to search and rescue, but in a time of war or survival, it can give you the edge. Understanding how it works can help you avoid it being used on you and being able to perform it means you can find others.

Gun Control

Leftist Seattle has now passed a city ordinance that requires that you place your firearm in a locked container in your own home. I have nothing against a gun safe and in fact I own one that I keep some of my firearms in. However, the ordinance requires that all firearms be kept within that safe. “Excuse me Mr. Robber, can you wait just a moment while I open my safe to retrieve my gun and shoot you?”

The penalties for violating this ordinance vary depending on whether the gun was used in a crime or not. $500 for not locking it up, $1000 when a prohibited person gets their hands on it, and $10,000 if it is used in a crime. The council was unwilling to say whether or not enforcement would include surprise visits from police. There is nothing quite like holding victims of crime responsible for the actions of the criminal.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” – Isaiah 1:16-17 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – July 20, 2018

5

Today is the 82nd birthday of novelist Cormac McCarthy (born, 1933.) He is the author of the survivalist novel The Road, which later became a popular movie with the same title.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 77 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  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).

Round 77 ends on July 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.

What is Survival?- Part 4, by MuddyKid

19

I’ve asked the question, what is survival. Mostly, up to this point, I’ve talked about providing long-term resources for food when the stores are no longer an option. We’ve talked about gardening, foraging for plants, and hunting or trapping. This was just part of my journey in developing a means for survival.

Feeling Depressed, Looking Through Digital Window

As I had previously mentioned, during my time out in the woods learning skills and testing my gear, I was also reading anything and everything I could that related to the state of the world and ways to protect my family. After several years of this, I began feeling depressed.

Every day the news was saying something bad was happening in the world and this created a lot of fear. Then, with time, I started to question that, when I was looking through this digital window that is the Internet, the majority of what I saw was an ugly world. According to that, the world was almost entirely focusing on sexuality, aggression, and fear. I would then go outside and notice that my immediate environment was peaceful and green, neighbors would wave, and animals were running around. Then, when I went back inside to look through the digital window, to my surprise there was more violence, fear, and sexuality.

News About Survival

These observations, along with some of the books I was reading at the time, led to the idea that the news itself is entirely about survival. What I mean is, the news frames stories in ways to where other people died and we, the reader, survived. The news shapes how we see and understand the world. But what world are we talking about here? Could this view of the news relate to legibility? My immediate world was completely different from what the news was telling me.

Continue reading“What is Survival?- Part 4, by MuddyKid”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

4

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on obsolete stock certificates. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

 

Precious Metals:

Gold: If Only the ‘Smart Money’ Could Buy…

o o o

At last glance, spot platinum was at $809 per ounce.  JWR’s Comment: That is a screaming buy, in my opinion.

 

Commodities:

Colin First: Commodities Daily Forecast – July 19, 2018

o o o

The FOMC’s moves and the flattening Yield Curve have pushed a lot of commodities in a new direction. For example: Lumber.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – July 19, 2018

July 19th is coincidentally the birthday of handgun designers Samuel Colt (born 1814) and Gaston Glock (born 1929).

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 77 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  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).

Round 77 ends on July 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.

What is Survival?- Part 3, by MuddyKid

27

I’ve asked the question, what is survival and am addressing my progress in discovery of solutions from short-term to long-term ones. In the last part, we left off talking about hunting as a survival technique and that not all hunting is the same. Many seem to have the opinion that the “Golden Horde” will strip the land of all flora and fauna and there will be no natural resources. It’s my opinion that this is sci-fi. I explained that not all hunting in the same. Let’s consider some more of my reasons for thinking that hunting will be viable as one means for survival, in certain cases.

Urban Human and Animal Interaction

Another point to consider is the proximity of a hunter to an urban center, or rather how often humans and animals interact. This will have an impact on the animal’s behavior. A suburban deer is going to be much more domesticated than a rural deer. This means a suburban deer could be completely comfortable with allowing a person to casually walk within fifty yards of it. A country deer, on the other hand, will require real skill to stalk within fifty yards of it.

Stalking a Deer

For those of you who can stalk a deer in such a fashion, you can do so because of skill and your understanding of the environment. You are aware of your scent, wind direction, you have no sense of time, and you understand the weather and climatic conditions. (Good luck stalking a deer in the woods during a dry fall season.) You already have an understanding of deer behavior in your hunting area. Most hunters do not have these skills. Some do; most don’t.

Continue reading“What is Survival?- Part 3, by MuddyKid”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

25

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Of particular interest today is the article on radio direction finding.

Genetically Modified Babies

In a disturbing announcement, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in the UK has stated that they agree that changing the DNA of a human embryo could be morally permissible if it is in the best interest of the child. This opens up the ability for parents to alter their children’s DNA if they perceive it would give their baby the best chance at life. The announcement also said that the change could not add to the kinds of inequalities that already divide society. While there may be some good that could be accomplished through such a program, like stopping certain inheritable diseases, it is far more likely that parents will engineer physical or mental traits. For now, British law (as well as law in many countries) forbids tinkering in the DNA of humans, but I fear that time is coming. Thanks to G.P. for the link.

Heighten Your Senses

The Art of Manliness has an article on 10 tests, exercises and games that can be used to heighten your senses and situational awareness. We all know that walking around in Cooper’s “condition white” is a situation that just begs to problems to occur, yet that is generally what the population around is doing. It’s easy to fall into that habit. Rather than spend your time walking around like a sheep, you should focus on what your physical and mental tasks are at hand. If your driving, you shouldn’t be thinking about that argument you had with your spouse. Keep your mind on your driving. I can’t tell you how many times I have driven somewhere only to arrive and not remember anything about the drive because I was preoccupied. This article gives you some simple things you can do to practice keeping your mind focused. You don’t have to be a man to do them either. Ladies and kids can practice these too.

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