Preparedness Notes for Monday – March 05, 2018

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Today is the birthday of Momofuku Ando (born 1910), the Taiwanese-Japanese inventor of instant noodles and Cup-O-Noodles, born in Wu Baifu, Taiwan. (He died in 2007.) His inventions have saved counted thousands of American college students from starvation.

This is also the birthday of Howard Pyle (1853-1911) an influential American book illustrator, painter, and author. He was the mentor of many great American artists including Thornton Oakley, Frank E. Schoonover, Allen Tupper True, and of course N.C. Wyeth.

Remington 1911 R1, Carry, by Pat Cascio

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We’re taking a very close look at the new Remington 1911 R1 Carry handgun today. It is quite a piece of workmanship.

Remington’s Track Record

Over the past several years, the Remington group, or the group that owns Remington, haven’t had a very good track record with new firearms. As a matter of fact, it has been one failure after another, in my humble opinion. We had the Remington REM380, and it had a lot of problems. Then, there was the R51, and I’m not totally convinced they have worked out all the bugs in this one just yet. And Remington took over manufacturing Bushmaster AR-15 style rifles. I had an early Remington “Bushmaster”, and it wouldn’t group at 25 yards; it patterned like a shotgun, no matter what ammo was used. Then the grand ol’ 1911, that was one Remington used to make during WW2. The early, new model guns were a failure. They would shoot loose inside of a couple hundred rounds. I kid you not.

Still, Remington is our oldest gun maker, and I’m not giving up on them just yet. I understand some of the newer guns had some bugs that kept them from working 100% of the time. However, the 1911s they were making and that were shooting loose inside of a few hundred rounds are not a good thing, if you ask me. Truth be told, I’ve read a number of reports lately that stated that Remington might be on the ropes financially and could close their doors. I sure hope not.

Continue reading“Remington 1911 R1, Carry, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Hearty Queso Cheese Dip, by Mrs. Latimer

This one hits the spot for family gatherings or even gathering around to watch movies or sports events on television. It’s a little heartier and tastier than the basic recipe. Another variation we sometimes make is to substitute a can of meat/beef chili for the sausage and salsa/milk. However, we prefer this version best.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cooked turkey sausage crumbles
  • 1 lb Velveeta cheese or Velveeta cheese substitute
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes and chile, undrained
  • 3 Tbsp salsa or 2 Tbsp milk, depending on heat preference

Continue reading“Recipe of the Week: Hearty Queso Cheese Dip, by Mrs. Latimer”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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 the differences between numismatic and bullion coins. See the Precious Metals section and well as the Tangibles Investing section.

Precious Metals (Numismatic and Bullion Coins):

Anyone new to precious metals must learn the differences between numismatic and bullion coins. Both have their purposes, for investors and for preppers. The values of bullion coins are based almost entirely on their precious metals content. Their melt value is tracked in real time in the global markets, all in terms of troy ounces. In contrast, numismatic coins have both melt value and collector’s value. Judging the market value of bullion coins is simple arithmetic. But the prices numismatics are far more difficult to gauge. This takes study of rarity and relative values, study of the science of coin grading, study of standard annual references, and consultation of current rare coin market prices in detailed publications such as the Grey Sheet and Blue Sheet. There are many complexities that I won’t delve into here in this brief essay. Just suffice it to say, the word complex is an understatement. My general advice is that unless you are willing to do considerable study, then skip rare coins altogether, and only buy bullion coins or pre-1965 non-numismatic “junk” U.S. circulated silver coins.

I’m a believer bullion silver, in part because of its utility for barter. Secondarily, I’m a proponent of silver because it is presently undervalued versus gold. In the long term I am confident that silver will outperform gold. Its only drawback is its relatively high weight and bulk, per Dollar invested.

I also generally shy away from mint state (MS) numismatic coins, but I do own a few. And nearly all of those are graded only MS60 and MS61–which do not sell at large premiums above their melt value.  I’ll leave the higher grades (MS-65 and above) to the advanced collectors.  There, they might indeed find great gain, but such investments also carry substantial risk, since the rare coin market is notoriously fickle.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – March 04, 2018

Today is the birthday of James Ellroy (born in 1948), an American noir novelist. He authored L.A. Confidential, which later became a popular film.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 75 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 Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 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 75 ends on March 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.

Speak Easy, by LRV

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The emergency management meeting is moving right along. A special “thank you” was given to a retiring officer who had done a superb job. New action plans were presented and deliberated. While you may have had ideas, information, and experiences on the topics, all which were worthy of sharing, you remained silent. Perhaps you thought that after the meeting you would speak to just one person and contribute your ideas then.

Public Speaking Is Challenge For Many

Public speaking is a challenge for many people and pushes them way beyond their comfort zone. Many people are more afraid of speaking in public than they are of death. As the comedian Jerry Seinfeld quipped, “People at a funeral would rather be in the casket than standing over it giving the eulogy.” Aside from an innate shyness, most of the pressure associated with public speaking is a lack of training or perhaps, poor training.

People will often look back with resentment or embarrassment at the times that, as preschoolers, they had to repeat a poem for company. Or, in the early school years, having to do “show and tell” when it seemed as though the child before you always had a fantastic item to show. Then, of course, there were all the years that followed where you memorized a two-minute speech. Never however, were students taught how to prepare a speech or how to make a spontaneous speech.

Continue reading“Speak Easy, by LRV”

Letter: South Africa and Public Opinion

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Hi Hugh,

I noticed that the recent Odds and Sods mentioned the crisis that White South African Farmers are faced with.

The new president of South Africa has publicly stated that white South African farmers will have their land seized without compensation. This means zero money given to them for their taken land. Many of those farmers have been on their land for six generations or more.

The South African government has recently passed a motion, by a three to one margin, to allow this will happen and they have called for an amendment to their Constitution. This resolution will occur by August 30th, 2018.

This is clearly Racism, yet the mainstream media have given this zero coverage. If there were Black Farmers lands being seized, I believe we would hear an uproar in the so called “major” news.

I can imagine that this will result in real Bloodshed upon the White Farmers, because many of the 73 percent South African Farm owners being classified as White, will be cornered into fighting for was once considered their land.

Continue reading“Letter: South Africa and Public Opinion”

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 “HJL”. Today’s video on South African farmland is a must see. This is a country in a serious crises.

Active Shooter Training

Have you ever wondered what you would do in an active shooter situation? Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large sent in this short active shooter training video he ran across on YouTube. It gives you a taste of training and some scenarios to think about. thinks are radically different that what you see and hear on TV. In real life, gun fire does not sound like it does on TV. Shooters do not act like they do on TV and not every bad person is stupid or makes stupid mistakes. If you are in a public situation, you need to know what your capabilities are beforehand and you need to have the proper frame of mind to act quickly and decisively. Watch this video and make the decision as to whether you need to seek further training.

Gun Free Utopia

Reid Henrichs, another one of my favorite vloggers, has a video out explaining the gun free utopia that the progressive left so desires. In this utopia, only the authorized representatives of the government have access to firearms and all people live in peace. so what is the reality of that utopia? Parkland. In that situation, a “bad guy” came on scene and only an authorized representative of the government had a firearm where he could respond effectively. He didn’t have a vested interest in protecting those kids as the authority to carry that weapon was only a “job” to him and he allowed the massacre to continue without getting involved. So now you know. What is the true gun free utopia? It’s simple a victim rich location. thanks to T.J. for the link.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.” – 1 Timothy 5:17-22 King James Version (KJV)

 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – March 03, 2018

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Today is remembered by trekkers as the birthday of James Doohan, born in 1920. He passed away in 2005. He played Montgomery (“Beam Me Up, Scotty”) Scott in the Star Trek television series and films. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.

This is also the birthday of bluegrass musician Doc Watson. (He was born in 1923 and passed away in 2012.) His guitar work was phenomenal.

 

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 75 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 Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 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 75 ends on March 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.

Bleeding Control and First Aid Training, by Doctor Dan

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For a little background, I teach ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) and BCON (Bleeding Control) training courses frequently. I’m an anesthesiologist in a rural community hospital. I also completed a year of residency training in General and Trauma Surgery during my journey to becoming a physician. Additionally, my family and I are advocates for personal and community preparedness.

SHTF Life-Threatening Scenarios

Many topics on this forum deal with “WTSHTF” scenarios. Of course, these emergencies, whether short-term or long-term are certainly not outside the realm of possibility. However, I’d also like to challenge all who read this to become better prepared for more likely medical emergencies that can still be tragically fatal, yet often preventable, in our day-to-day lives. The emergencies we see today may not be regional, national, or worldwide in scope. Yet, if there is a life-threatening emergency affecting your loved one, the SHTF has happened in your personal life and you might want to know how to help increase their chances of survival.

Become CPR and Bleeding Control Certified

For starters, I would encourage everyone to become CPR and Bleeding Control certified. Both of these courses are offered in many communities, and they are usually free or offered at low cost. These courses provide many important pieces of information that just might save your life, or the life of a friend, relative, or coworker.

Continue reading“Bleeding Control and First Aid Training, by Doctor Dan”

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!  This week’s emphasis is on small arms mechanical training.

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,

We had light snow showers off and on for most of the past week. Here we are in March, and winter is dragging on.  Grumble, grumble. We’ve been focusing on indoor projects, getting things better organized.

Now that there is some room in our main wood shed, I took the opportunity to split a new batch of kindling from cedar rounds and a some scrap lumber tag ends.

We have a big batch of chicks on order, but they aren’t due to arrive until mid-April.

My wife (Avalanche Lily) is getting all of the trays and pots set up and filled with soil and within the next week will begin planting seeds.  These seeds will be started in the house in a spare room under grow lights.

With the denizens of D.C. starting to make serious gun grabbing noises again, I thought that it was time to re-assess our family firearms preps. Now that I have grandchildren, I’m increasingly looking at this situation multi-generationally. I did some counting and “per rifle” calculations. That led me to order a few more magazines and some spare parts for one rifle that I’d previously overlooked.

Note that if you ever find that you have too many magazines, they are always useful for barter, or as a speculative investment.

This past week I also ordered a few more Franklin Armory BFS-III binary triggers. If I’m right about the pending BATFE ruling and about the necessity of the inclusion a Grandfather Clause, then this could prove quite profitable. But if I’m wrong… Well, I’m ready to take the loss. But I still think that the odds are in my favor.

Please continue to post comments about your own preps. They are fascinating.

Thanks, – Jim Rawles

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

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. Today’s focus is on roasting coffee beans at home.

Roasting Coffee Beans at Home

A consulting client asked me about coffee storage, in various forms.  Unless you want to drink icky freeze dried coffee, then the three remaining options are: Storing ground roasted coffee, storing whole roasted coffee beans, and storing green coffee beans. These each have their drawbacks, but in terms of flavor, nothing beats freshly roasted coffee.

Rather than “re-invent the wheel”, I will defer to a great primer that was posted by The Art of Manliness site, a few years back. Here, they wisely did their roasting outdoors, using a gas grill and a steel popcorn popper with an agitator.

Coffee can indeed be frozen, with varying degrees of effect on flavor. You can freeze whole beans green, whole beans roasted, and ground roast. Most experts seem to agree that a fast freeze to a sub-zero temperature (“deep freeze”) is best. – JWR

HJL adds: I just use a dedicated cast iron skillet and a flat edged small metal spatula to roast my coffee. It takes a little skill to get an even roast this way, but that is quickly gained. The trick is to keep the beans moving in the skillet. If doing this over an open gas flame, I usually have to wear a leather work glove to protect the stirring hand from the heat. A great series of primers can be found at Sweet Maria’s

One thing to note when buying green coffee though is the political biases of many suppliers. Look at what the company openly supports on their website before you spend your hard earned money with them. Most companies do not stay neutral and lean hard left.

 

o o o

President Trump’s Back-Stabbing

President Donald J. Trump (DJT) delivered multiple stabs to the back of his voting base this week: 1.) He asked Senator Feinstein to add her ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban to the planned omnibus School Safety Bill. 2.)  He asked Congressman Steve Scalise to remove his National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill from the Toomey-Manchin ban on private party guns sales bill, 3.) He spoke in favor of a law that would deprive “suspected unstable” gun owners of their guns before due process, and 4.) He also said that if Congress did not enact legislaiton to ban bumpfire stocks (and presumably and fast-resetting or light triggers) that he would ban them himself — I assume with either an Executive Order or rulemaking from the Justice Department, through the BATFE.

Words cannot describe my level of disappointment with DJT!  If he thinks that “compromise” with the Democrats is going to wing him Brownie Points or salvage the upcoming congressional mid-term elections, then he is horribly mistaken.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.

This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.

I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.

Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;

There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.

So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.

He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.” – Psalm 81 (KJV)