Economics & Investing For Preppers

2

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we are traversing from our normal column items to focus on investing in Colt 6920 variants.

The Elusive Colt 6920 “M4”

There is one tangible investment that I haven’t seen discussed much elsewhere on Zee Interwebz: Colt 6920 variants. These didn’t formally hit the civilian until around 2013 which was long after there were dozens of competing brands crowding the market, the Colt-made M4geries really stand out. Not only are they made to full military specifications, but they also have the panache of the Colt name. The later-production ones have their lower receivers prominently rollmarked “M4 Carbine”, and those seem to have the best collector appeal.

Used (police trade-in) semi-auto Model 6920 carbines sell for $500 to $700. And new ones seem to start at  around $750. But there are some 6920 variants that were sold in very small numbers that now are selling on the secondary market for $1,400 to $2,500. As time goes on. I expect many of those Colt M4s to creep up closer to $3,000. That is, if they are still “new inbox” (NIB) or “like new in box” (LNIB).

A few of these are are still in production and hence quite reasonably priced. But most of the many variants  are now “discontinued” and therefore their prices are rising. Here are some descriptions, with links:

  • Colt M4A1 SOCOM. The Colt web site describes this variant: “The barrel is a true SOCOM 14.5 heavy barrel with the iconic M203 flats under the Knights Armament Rail System. Extended flash hider has been pinned and welded to achieve a non-NFA length of 16.1″. Includes the side sling swivel at the gas block and an ambidextrous safety selector.”
  • The MagPul FDE Sporter. Here is a 2015 review, over at TFB: New Colt LE6920MPS Rifles.
  • 6920 were also made in small numbers, in Stealth Gray.
  • Recently, there were also some “contract over-run” semi-auto 6920s with Mexican Police rollmarks released on the U.S. civilian market. It might be a good gamble to grab one of those.
  • For a while Colt also cataloged 6920s in assorted camouflage colors. Of these, the Carbon Fiber finish had a quite high MSRP, and now fetches $2,000+. Since most these variants only had a few hundred of each produced, then they are worth buying IF you can find them with their original box that has that all-important label, with the correct variant model number and serial number, to match.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“The preacher man says it’s the end of time
And the Mississippi River, she’s a-goin’ dry
The interest is up and the stock market’s down
And you only get mugged if you go downtown

I live back in the woods you see
My woman and the kids and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun a rifle and a four-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive

Country folks can survive

I can plow a field all day long
I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn (Yeah)
We make our own whiskey and our own smoke too
Ain’t too many things these old boys can’t do

We grow good ole tomatoes and homemade wine
And a country boy can survive

Country folks can survive

Because you can’t stomp us out and you can’t make us run
‘Cause we’re them old boys raised on shotguns
We say grace, and we say ma’am
If you ain’t into that, we don’t give a damn

We came from the West Virginia coal mines
And the Rocky Mountains, and the western skies
And we can skin a buck, we can run a trot line
And a country boy can survive

Country folks can survive.”   – Hank Williams Jr. – A Country Boy Can Survive

Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. & Mrs. WWW

61

Editor’s Introductory Note: Today, after a long interval, we present another Retreat Owner Profile. This one is for Mr. and Mrs. Whiskey Whiskey Whiskey (WWW). They recently relocated to Idaho.

—

Present Home: 5 flat fenced acres with private irrigation and potable wells and river, 15 minutes from two  small towns in central Idaho. 50,000 pop city 1.5 hours and 200,000 pop city 2.5 hours drive time. Relaxed CCRs with no enforcement. 5,000 sq ft living space [1,300 sq ft in rentable apartment] and 2,000 sq ft storage. 4 horse stalls, barn, sheds. 3 gas furnaces, 2 fireplaces. Planning on 2 wood stoves.

Ages: 65 and 61, one 25-year old child, who lives elsewhere

Annual Income: $275,000 plus latent available portfolio income.

Profession: retired portfolio manager and retired C suite executive and public company board member [3 boards].

Investments: Large amount of gold stored overseas with liquidity. Multi-million dollar California home to sell and invest proceeds. Substantial long term puts on US Markets, some income long positions.

Vehicles: 2016 Jeep Rubicon 4 door petrol, 2019 Range Rover Long Wheel base 5L petrol, 2012 Porsche C2S Cab, and 2018 Porsche GT2RS.

Firearms: 5 .308 Garand T-26 from Roland Beaver with scout scopes and 1/2 minute of angle accuracy, 200 clips. 2 SCAR 17 in .308, 20 20-round mags. 22 WMR rifle and revolvers. 30 Glocks in .45, 10 mm and 9 mm. With the new powerful 9 mm ammo available, no longer plan to sell our 9mms. Over 200 Glock mags. 2 gen 4 night scopes  and FLIR scope. 8 portable ham radios and base station. 4 12 gauge Reminton 870s. A .375 H&H Magnum rifle, and .300 Wincheter Mag McMillan. 3 bullet stop vests [handgun only w/o plates]. 4 .30-30 lever action rifles [car long guns]. Etc.Continue reading“Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. & Mrs. WWW”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

18

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 negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we focus on a DIY Radio Data Terminal.

A DIY Radio Data Terminal

NC Scout’s latest, over at the great American Partisan site: A DIY Radio Data Terminal On The Cheap. Take the time to read all of it, but here is a pericope:

“First and foremost, in keeping with the basic principles of clandestine radio communications for guerrilla groups, we’ve got to keep our time on the mic short and transmitting power low, and if at all possible, using a directional antenna such as my small UHF Yagi on a simple camera tripod. Transmitting a long message can take some serious time, is susceptible to interference and/or jamming, and also might not be understood on the other end. But most importantly, the largest drawback of using your own voice over the radio is that if a sophisticated opponent is monitoring you, they now have a voice to record and exploit. Students in my Signals Intelligence course have learned exactly how dangerous that can be, creating a massive amount of confusion in a short period of time. After all, exploitation is the primary goal of intelligence- how can I use what I’ve collected against an enemy?

So that points us in the direction of digital communications. For most, one of two things will come to mind here. Either a digital handheld radio, normally a DMR, D-Star or Fusion, or one of the many modes found in a free program called FLDigi. FLDigi is normally thought of only for HF radio, but it has a lot of uses on VHF and UHF as well. And because it gets very little use in these bands, most folks won’t know what it is if/when they hear it. Not only that, with some of the wider band modes available, its transmission time is incredibly fast. A long message, such as a detailed CYRIL report, can be sent in just over four seconds. So if you’re following the other points of a solid communications plan, you’re going to be a hard target to catch.”

Will We Lose The 2-Meter Band?

Reader SOG sent this: No Strong Opposition to 144 – 146 MHz Reallocation Proposal at CEPT Meeting.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” – 1 Peter 3 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 13, 2019

On this day in 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance structuring settlement of the Northwest Territory and creating a policy for the addition of new states to the nation. The members of Congress knew that if their new confederation were to survive intact, it had to resolve the states’ competing claims to western territory.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  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.

Round 83 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.

A Primitive Tool For Modern Preppers, Part 2, by Rusty M.

15

(Continued from Part 2.  This concludes the article.)

Around the 1630s, somebody in Europe (I’ve seen it credited to Germans, Austrians, French,…) invented the most widely used ignition system prior to the development of cartridges as we view them now. The flintlock dominated the world of guns from the mid 1600s through the Texas Revolution. This mechanism was what fought in the Seven Years’ War (commonly known as the French and Indian War), won our independence in the Revolution, fought the British again during the War of 1812, was used innumerable times in skirmishes and for feeding families, and stood off Santa Anna at the Alamo. I’ve even seen Civil War portraits of Confederate soldiers holding flintlocks.

After loading, a priming charge (usually 3-to-5 grains of powder) was poured in the flash pan. Note: Don’t over prime that flintlock and singe an eyebrow off. Don’t ask… It was a steep learning curve, and I had complete dork-face with only one eyebrow.

Some of the flintlock’s parts are holdovers from previous generations. The iron frizzen is closed over the pan, and the hammer (containing a piece of flint) is cocked. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer strikes the frizzen, pushing it away and showering the pan with sparks, which causes the priming powder to burn through the touch hole into the main powder charge, leading to BOOM (hopefully; I’ve had a lot of hang fires, pan flashes, and no fires, plus these older generation guns have a lot of quirks, and I’m sure the matchlocks and wheel locks have their own set of issues).

In my less-than-humble opinion, this system is the choice for long term sustainability, as you don’t need anything but powder and balls to keep it shooting. Flint rocks are great for the ignition spark source, but can be replaced with anything that causes spark when struck against steel; obsidian is a rock that springs to mind.Continue reading“A Primitive Tool For Modern Preppers, Part 2, by Rusty M.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

4

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. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim & Lily Report:

Our family was traveling this week, so our only activities related to the blog and prepping was taking some wildlife and scenery digital photos that will eventually used in the blog.

Our neighbors kindly looked after our livestock and gardens during our absence.  They watered, weeded, and harvested and 3.5 gallons of strawberries and 1.5 gallons of yellow and green zucchini squash.  We feel so blessed to have such great neighbors!

This column will be back to its usual self, next Saturday.

In the interim, we look forward to hearing what SurvivalBlog readers have been doing, in the Comments section.

May you all have a very blessed and safe week.

– Avalanche Lily, Rawles

o o o

As always, please share your own successes and hard-earned wisdom in the Comments.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.

For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!

Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the Lord‘s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.

For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” – Habakkuk 2 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 12, 2019

1

On July 12, 1865, George Washington Carver, the African-American scientist whose numerous discoveries helped to improve agriculture in the South, was born. He died on Jan. 5, 1943.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  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.

Round 83 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.

A Primitive Tool For Modern Preppers, Part 1, by Rusty M.

15

I inhale deeply and hold, squeezing the rear trigger. Tic. Then I slowly exhale and gently touch the forward trigger. Tiff-FOOM. A cloud of smoke obscures my vision but I can hear the ball cut through my intended victim. What’’d I get? A buffalo? A “grizzly bear?” A Redcoat? No, just a cardboard box. I see that I am becoming more accurate with this gun.

Firearms and their accompanying accessories have evolved a long way from their origins; a long way. But that doesn’’t mean we should relegate old technology to the archives or the bone yards. At least not all of it. Firing an “old tech” gun can be very beneficial to those of us who are gun enthusiasts. From honing fundamental skills (‘because you only get one shot), to bringing a fun and new challenge to the game of hunting. Owning a muzzle loader and knowing how to make it work is very rewarding and always puts a smile on your face–not to mention instill a sense of patriotism and make you very grateful for repeating firearms. (At least it does for me!)

But what does a relic like my flintlock rifle have to do with prepping? I can see you out there asking that. Alright, I’’ll explain. We, as preppers, are mostly concerned with the newest, latest, and greatest in hunting and self defense weapons and / or gadgets. Many guns and bows are in that grey area between, where you could use it to knock down a bull moose today, then use it for counter-sniping tomorrow (after TEOTWAWKI). But why a “front-stuffer?” It’s all about sustainability. A muzzle loader makes perfect sense for a table-filler, if you plan on hunting to supplement your food storage supplies.

With a little research, you can find instructions to make your own gun powder. Most of these will be black powder, which is exactly what the doctor ordered. Honestly, it’ is just a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and salt peter, but that’ is a whole other article. And I can’t stress enough that if you try making your own powder, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK, and I am NOT responsible for your actions and outcomes.Continue reading“A Primitive Tool For Modern Preppers, Part 1, by Rusty M.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

11

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in rare vinyl record albums. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Over at Zero Hedge: The Golden Asteroid Worth $700 Quintillion

o  o  o

Back Up The Truck And Stack Silver Says Rich Dad’s Robert Kiyosaki

Economy & Finance:

Wolf Richter: And the US Dollar’s Status as Global Reserve Currency?

o  o  o

World Bank: Global Growth to Weaken to 2.6% in 2019, Substantial Risks Seen

o  o  o

Make America’s deficits great again

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 11, 2019

1

July 11th is the birthday of John Quincy Adams. He was born in 1767 and died in 1848. Not to be confused with his father–John Adams– the younger Adams also served as a diplomat, congressman, and as president.

—

Our small remaining supply of waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks is currently on close-out sale, at just $19.95 each.  This is just until we exhaust the annual supply. When I last checked, there were less than 25 left. This is your chance to order some extras, for gifts. I expect them to sell out in the next 48 hours. So consider this your last call!

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  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.

Round 83 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.