SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. Today, we focus on a recent bison birth, caught on camera. (See the Wyoming section.)

Idaho

Officials say 243 Command Fire could become the new normal

o o o

Case of Idaho woman killed in seed plant goes back to court

o o o

Bonners Ferry: Double graduation for local student

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

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”.  Today, we return to the topic of the growing Internet censorship campaign.

New Writing Contest Prize!

We’ve just added a new prize to the Third Prize package, in our bi-monhtly writing contest: Three sets each of regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This new prize is courtesy of the fine folks at Harvest Guard. Their products are made here in USA. This prize has a $270 value.

Millions of Pigs in Asia Culled

More about the current spread of African Swine Fever: Millions of pigs in Asia culled as African swine fever spreads. (Thanks to G.P. for the link.)

Medal of Honor Award Announced

Reader SOG mentioned this in The Army Times:  Medal of Honor announced for soldier who fought through three floors of insurgents in Fallujah. Here is a quote:

“The president will award the Medal of Honor on June 25 to a soldier who fought through a nest of insurgents during the second Battle of Fallujah in 2004, the White House officially announced Monday.

Then-Staff Sgt. David G. Bellavia originally received the Silver Star for his actions, but his citation was revisited as part of a review of valor awards and determined worthy of the nation’s highest combat award.

The award will give Bellavia one of now seven Operation Iraqi Freedom Medals of Honor, and make him the only living recipient from the Iraq War.

During the battle, Bellavia single-handedly killed multiple insurgents, including one during hand-to-hand combat.

A squad leader at the time, Bellavia, now 43, was clearing a block of buildings when his platoon was pinned down on Nov. 10, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq.”

Google Search Manipulation Update

Video: Google vs DuckDuckGo — Search engine manipulation, censorship and why you should switch.  JWR’s Comment:  I use Start Page as my default search engine, because it is has neutral, unfiltered search results and it maintains no search histories!

And here is a quite recent example, showing their ongoing manipulation: Google Protecting Jussie Smollett From ‘Disparaging’ Searches

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 17, 2019

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June 17th is the birthday of musician Red Foley (born, 1910, died September 19, 1968). His patriotic song Smoke on the Water topped the music charts for 13 weeks in late 1944 and early 1945, and charted for 24 weeks. This song, which describes the doom of tyrants, would be considered quite politically incorrect these days.

This is also the birthday of Libertarian economist Harry Browne.

—

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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. 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.

Ruger AR-556 Pistol, by Pat Cascio

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One of the hottest trends going these days, are AR-15 pistols, since the BATF in their finite wisdom re-decided that an arm braced pistol can be shouldered from time to time. (Prior to this, if you shouldered an AR-type of pistol, with an arm brace on it, you were deemed to be “redesigning” it and breaking Federal law.) But if you actually strapped on an arm brace, it was nearly impossible to get the AR pistols up near your face, for a proper sight picture. So, many folks were tucking the arm brace under their arm and firing it that way – sort of a spray and pray thing. This an ineffective a waste of ammo.

I’ve review a couple other AR pistols over the past year, and they are great shooters, with the arm brace installed. One had an adjustable arm brace, and one was fixed-position. To be sure, the adjustable arm brace is better. At first glance, you will think that these AR pistols have a buttstock on them – they do NOT! They are still designed to be wrapped around the forearm. However, some of these arm braces are outstanding in their design, and you can easily shoulder them.

Today, we’re looking at the newest offering from Ruger, and they call this one their AR-556 pistol. Many uneducated folks will think you are firing an SBR (Short Barreled Rifle) when they see the 10.5-barrel on the AR-556. But it is still classified as a pistol, because of the arm brace and this meets all BATF rules and regulations for a pistol. Keep in mind that, because this is still considered a pistol, you can NOT put a vertical forward mounted pistol grip on the forearm of this handgun, if you did, you would be breaking Federal law.Continue reading“Ruger AR-556 Pistol, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Mary L.’s Buttery Cornbread

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Reader Mary L. kindly sent us one of her favorite recipes. This is for a cornbread with a great buttery taste. This recipe works well with storage cornmeal and storage white flour. Note: This recipe does not work quite as well with freshly-ground whole wheat flour.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose white flour (a “spooned and leveled” cup)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted but cooled slightly
  • 1/3 cup (packed) of dark brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons of honey
  • 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 large egg, room temperature

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease and lightly flour a 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set that dry ingredients mixture aside.
  3. For the wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and honey together until completely smooth.
  4. Whisk in the egg until combined.
  5. Whisk in the buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the larger dry ingredients bowl and whisk until combined. (but do not over-mix.)
  6. Pour batter into a prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and the center is cooked through. (Use toothpick to test.) The edges should now be crispy.
  7. Allow the cornbread to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Serving & Storage

  • Serve with butter, jam, or honey.
  • Any leftovers should be allowed to cool completely before then being stored at room temperature in a plastic zipper bag or other airtight container for up to six days. It is rare for any to be left over any longer. But if there are, then they should be composted or fed to your chickens.

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. 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 the possibility of investing in a scarce M1A1 Carbine. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Price Going To $1,700 Soon Says Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones – Bloomberg

o  o  o

Indian Gold Demand Surged In April And May

Economy & Finance:

And at Seeking Alpha: The Risk Of A Market Crash Abates – For Now. JWR’s Comment: We are still witnessing an over-valued market.  Prudence dictates that you reduce your stock exposure to only recession-proof stocks, ASAP!  The clear, time-proven warning signal of an inverted yield curve should not be ignored. A recession is probably coming, soon.

o  o  o

From economic commentator Brandon Smith: The Trade War Is About To Become An Economic World War III

o  o  o

Federal Spending Tops $3 Trillion Through May for First Time; Deficit Hits $738 Billion

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — June 16, 2019

1

On June 16, 1980 the musical comedy film The Blues Brothers debuted in Chicago. It was very successful in its theatrical release, and has had a cult-like following as a home video.

—

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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. 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.

Prepared Off-Road Motorcycle Riding, by Jeff Hower

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Riding an off-road or crossover motorcycle into parts unknown can be an exhilarating experience. But these off-the-beaten-track areas can also lead to catastrophe if one is not prepared to deal with failures of body or equipment. Preparing yourself and your equipment prior to an expedition for any of many possible malfunctions is only common sense. Most of common sense is having experienced or seen it happen before, and learning from it.

Zip Code riders–that is, people who never ride out of their zip code, will probably not need much of the information presented here. But if you are one of the many riders that are out to explore, then hopefully some of this will be good information for you.

The area you ride will dictate to some extent what you need. Assuming your that  bike runs well, it needs fuel. Riding in the US and east of the Mississippi River you will probably never be more than 100 miles from a gas station. However out west, Canada, Mexico and most of the rest of the yet to be developed world will put you in a situation where refueling can be an issue. Get a big fuel tank if your bike doesn’t already have one. Carry a siphon hose and never pass a gas station if your tank is half-full. Carry some cash in small denominations. While on the Trans Labrador Highway in Canada there was one stretch where there is no fuel for 250 miles and even on I-70 west of Green River, Utah there is no fuel for 100 miles. Continue reading“Prepared Off-Road Motorcycle Riding, by Jeff Hower”

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”.  Today, we look at New York’s vague “gravity knife” ban.

Vague Knife Ban Case Goes to Supreme Court

Reader G.P. suggested this by attorney Eugene Volokh: Knife Ban and Vagueness Case at Supreme Court Conference

PG&E Cuts Power to Reduce Wildfire Risks

PG&E cuts power in Northern California to reduce wildfire risks. JWR’s Comment:  Of course without power, unless rural landowners have gravity-fed water (which is a rarity), they would be without water to wet down around their houses, to be ready for an approaching fire. This is all the more reason to have an independent power system!

20 Everyday Tasks that Nobody Does Anymore

Reader DSV sent this piece by Kim Komando: 20 everyday tasks that nobody does anymore.Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;

And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” – Acts 3 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — June 15, 2019

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Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John put his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter” on this day in 1215AD. This document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation’s laws. Although it was more a reactionary than a progressive document, the Magna Carta was seen as a cornerstone in the development of democratic England by later generations.

—

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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. 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.

Our Wildfire Evacuation, Part 5, by SoCal9mm

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

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT:
  1. Make sure you wait until the last moment to do your Christmas shopping – seriously, I never have to worry about “rescuing presents” when I procrastinate. Stupid “get-stuff-done-early”…
  2. Laundry – have enough clothes so that you don’t have to go commando next to the washer, waiting for your lone pair of choners to get clean. Trust me, not cool.
  3. Air – we worry about food, water, shelter, protection, etc., but we rarely worry about preps for air. Dust and ash are (relatively) easily removed from breathing air with particulate masks (or respirators), which are fairly inexpensive and easy to store. But most do have rubber elastic straps that WILL break if left in storage too long (like mine did). I need to pay better attention to personal protective equipment (PPE) rotation.

So that’s it right? Nothing else left to tell? Well, I still have a bit more to share…

Re-Evacuation & Different Types of Evacuation

After a thorough cleaning of EVERYTHING in the house we finally moved back in on Jan 4, 2018 – exactly 1 month after the fire. The only things that we hadn’t cleaned before moving back in were the HVAC ducts and the attic insulation – both were saturated with potentially toxic ash, and both eventually got replaced in the next few weeks.

On Jan 6, the weather service sent out a notification that a very large rain event would be coming through our area on late Jan 8 or early Jan 9; ~4-5 inches were expected within a 12-24 hour period. Great – we go from a drought that causes a huge wildfire to flooding rains that come right after everything that could possibly hold the hillsides together has been burned to ash.Continue reading“Our Wildfire Evacuation, Part 5, by SoCal9mm”

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. 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!

Jim Reports:

We had a busy week. One house guest was staying here, and we are making preparations for two more to arrive.

I kept very busy with my writing, but still carved out some time for some gunsmithing. This was assembling another AR for one of our grandchildren. I also had to transport some hay cutting equipment. And I helped Lily dry pack some bulk foods. Oh, and I shipped out some mail order boxes. All but seven lots of the more than 200 lots in my “HK Extravaganza” over at the FALFiles Marketplace have now sold. I also listed five HK 91 rifles for sale there, in a separate “WTS” post. And two of those rifles have already sold. One nice thing about the FALFiles Marketplace is that so many folks there like to trade. That is my preferred modus operandi, whenever it can be mutually beneficial.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”