Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

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Editor’s Introductory Note:  We have been posting Retreat Owner Profiles since the early days of SurvivalBlog, in 2005. Although the archive of these profiles is now essentially static, we always welcome more to add. In particular, we are looking for profiles of families living outside of the United States, or families that have unusual locales or ways of living off the land. For example, we still haven’t seen a profile of someone who lives full time on a sailboat. Nor a profile of someone who has an operating mine on their property, or of a fish farmer, or someone who lives up in the Arctic or the subarctic. Keep those profiles coming! And, as usual, please be sure to edit out any details that could compromise your anonymity.

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Profile: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Present home/retreat: Rural Southern California

Ages: Retired

SOs: Daughter/son-in-law, grandson, son

Annual income: Social Security, IRA disbursements

Profession: Mr.: Retired retail sales Home Depot. Mrs.: Retired manager for pharmaceutical wholesaler

Investments: IRA, Gold, Silver dollars, junk silver coins. Hard goods including firearms.

Vehicles: 2003 Dodge 2500 4wd diesel, added 80 gal on board tank, winch, ham radio(s), 2005 Jeep Wrangler 4wd, winch, ham radio, 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4wd, M100 BOV trailer, 2 electric bicycles (one is a folding model) rear racks and bags, 2 mountain bikes, 1 folding bike, 2 child trailers, 27’ travel trailer, and 27’ equipped travel trailer for bunkhouse

Annual Property Tax: $3000. (House and all vehicles are paid off.)

Firearms Battery: To numerous to list; .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor long distance shooter almost every Monday morning, reloads numerous calibers, stored reloading components, bullet casting equipment and components, starlight scopes for two weapon platforms, head and body armor, load bearing gear and camo clothing for 6 adults.

Stored ammunition: 10,000 rounds of various calibers

Fuel storage: 250gal diesel fuel stabilized, 150 gal gasoline stabilized, 500gal propane, usually 2-4 cords wood

Home/Retreat Property: We built this off-grid house on 5 acres 15 years ago, it has a well, an 240AC well pump @40gpm, 24VDC booster pump, 10,000gal water storage, 75% gravity fed to gardens. 100×100 garden, raised bed kitchen garden, orchard, medicinal garden( for making tinctures) and a greenhouse, 5-75gal propane tanks for house, 8kw off-grid solar panels/1kw wind turbine, 4-6vdc deep cycle Rolls/Surrett batteries, 2-4000w Trace inverters, 2-80amp Outback charge controllers, 8.5kw propane genset.
One story 2200sf ICF block home, HEPA-CRBN-UV whole house filter system, CRBN clothing and gear, 2 wood stoves, Ham shack. 500sf wood, metal and electronic fabrication workshops, outside IR DVR cameras with added IR spotlights, viewable from any TV in house.
Sealable 150sf shelter with same HEPA-CRBN filter with added CO2 scrubber, AC power from house and sealed gel solar battery backup charged from solar panel, ham radio, food and water storage, bunks/storage shelving, pump up toilet, outer entrance shower/cleanup area, CRBN clothing and gear, 2m transceiver.
40’ ¾ buried CONEX container, steel and fiberglass reinforced entrance door, AC power from house and sealed gel solar battery charged from solar panel, ham radio, 60’ tower, bulk food storage 2 years for 8 adults, bunks, water, sink, stockpile of meds and supplies, porta-potties, CRBN clothing and gear.
Communications: 1 mobile all band transceiver, 1-2m and 70cm transceiver and 3 band handheld in truck, 2m/70cm in Wrangler, all band transceiver and Grecom Multi trunking scanner, 30’ tower for home shack, 3-2 band handhelds, two can be plugged into ballistic helmets. 2 FRMS radios. Wired comms to house, shop, shelter and container.

Food storage: Self canned from garden, dehydrated, freeze-dried and commercial canned goods for 10 adults for 2 years. Cases of empty canning jars and lids.

Animals: Male and female heritage hogs, chickens, bee hives, and dogs.

Retreat is for MAG members and families. Each member has at least 90 days of most needed preps here. We have regular monthly meetings, and a trigger event comm. system.

Hobbies: Shooting, reloading, Ham radio and prepping.

Background: Mr. Smith has a BA in Public Administration and a minor in Criminal Justice, born and raised in So. California, 4 year USAF flight control system specialist veteran, plans to stay put and continually prepping since the mid-1970s.

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!

JWR Reports

With the snow receding, I was finally able to get into part of our woods this week to clear deadfallen limbs and trees.  There were also some of the usual small pines and firs that had been bent over by the snow with no real chance of growing back to normality. Just quick swipes of the chainsaw dropped all of those. This year I’m hauling quite a bit of the deadfall a longer distance than in previous years. This is because Lily plans to expand the fenced area of our main garden. Burning that and then spreading the ashes and plowing them under should help neutralize the natural acidity of our local soil. I plan to burn those piles later this spring. Typically, I burn slash twice a year: May and October.  But since the goal this year is getting extra ashes for the new garden plot, I’ll try to get most of this year’s slash burned in May.

I was summoned on short notice to California to help an ailing relative, so I will be away from the ranch for a couple of weeks. At least this came at a good time: that is, Mud Season. So I’m not missing much productive time in our woods. By the time I get back home, the snow will be off the ranch entirely and I’ll be ready to clear deadfall, and get the annual firewood cutting project in high gear.  My travel also came just before a California magazine law change, so the timing was propitious.

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 from “JWR”.  Today, we focus on Venezuela.

A New Ebola Outbreak

The Reuters news service had this: Congo Ebola outbreak spreading faster than ever: WHO

US Army Orders 9mm PDWs from B&T

Trader G.P. spotted this: US Army Selects B&T as New Sub Compact Weapon.  Wow. $8.1 million divided by 350 is $ 7,359 per weapon. So I assume that B&T got some sort of sweetheart deal to cover their developmental costs.

Many Venezuelans Without Water, Food, Medicine

Over at Sean Hannity’s site a link to a Yahoo News article: CRISIS DEEPENS: ‘Millions’ of Venezuelans Without Water, Food, Medicine. Here is how the article begins:

“A series of crippling blackouts are rapidly escalating Venezuela’s severe humanitarian crisis this week; with local media reporting “millions” are coping with a lack of water, food, and medical supplies across the impoverished country.

“Millions of Venezuelans were left without running water Monday amid a series of massive blackouts, forcing President Nicolas Maduro to announce electricity rationing and school closures as the government struggles to cope with a deepening economic crisis,” writes Yahoo News.”

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

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.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” – Isaiah 1:4-18 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 5, 2019

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the first entry for Round 82 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 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. 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 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. 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.

Round 82 ends on May 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.

The Myth of Stored Food, by Pete Thorsen

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Many preppers think if they merely store food then they are done–that they have saved their family. And that might be true if they experience a natural disaster in their area which does not allow shopping for a week or so. They have their stored food and just use that during the emergency. Later–if they remember they buy replacements for the food they used–they made their family much more comfortable during that emergency by having that stored food. Plus one for the prepper family. But what about a long term nationwide disaster? What if it is a total economic collapse, or something similarly widespread and enduring? What if it is like Venezuela, which is lasting ten years? Will the prepper family’s stored food save them then? Certainly it will; until it is gone. Stored food is great to have because storing food gives a prepper something he cannot store, time. By that I mean time to produce his own food. Time to find food sources. And obviously no one can store time.

So by all means do store food. And in a short length emergency situation you will be very glad you have that food. Actually, during any length emergency you will be happy to have stored food. The trouble with stored food is that it runs out. If you store a month’s worth of food then it’s gone in a month. If you have a year’s worth then after a year it is gone. So when you store food you are really storing time. So, yes, store food but also have a plan.

Continue reading“The Myth of Stored Food, by Pete Thorsen”

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 focus on investing implications of the nascent recession.

Precious Metals:

Tyler Durden, at Zero Hedge: Why Russia Is Dumping Dollars And Buying Gold At The Fastest Pace In Decades.

o  o  o

SurvivalBlog reader “Doc Savage” wrote to offer two prescient observations: “For those who are considering investing in mining stocks, be aware they are very volatile. An alternative is to use royalty stocks. These companies pay mine owners for the right to sell part of their gold output. They are often more stable, tend to be less risky, and some of them pay dividends. These include, but are not limited to, Royal Gold, Franco-Nevada, and Wheaton Precious Metals. With respect to all the articles on the yield curve, there are many different parts of the curve. The most cited one is the 10 year-2 year Treasury — and it has not yet inverted, although it’s close. Historically, when this part of the curve inverts, we have 6-18 months before a recession. And note, a recession is not a national disaster, although it’s not pleasant. Everyone needs to take a breath and understand that the Democrats are shifting to the recession issue from the collusion issue because “OrangeManBad.”

 

Economy & Finance:

Global Trade Takes Sharp Turn With Biggest Drop Since 2009

o  o  o

Percentage of yield curve inversions surging globally; 15 economies now have 30-year yields lower than LIBOR overnight rates.

o  o  o

At Seeking Alpha: How To Retire: Don’t Go To College.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 4, 2019

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On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the first entry for Round 82  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. 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 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. 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.

Round 82 ends on May 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.

Commercial Ammo: The Untold History of Springfield Armory

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The following article first appeared at Ammo.com. It is re-posted with permission

To understand how American citizens today can get their hands on ammo, which rolls off the same factory lines as those that supply the world’s largest militaries, it’s important to first understand how munitions technology developed. Starting in medieval Europe, on a battlefield where a mounted knight in armor could defeat almost any number of peasants, the development of more advanced and accurate ways to destroy enemy personnel and equipment by launching a projectile is one which combines trial and error, scientific ingenuity, and private enterprise. It’s a story of power and technology dating back to the 13th century, at the height of “the divine right of kings,” and tracks the subsequent diffusion of that power held by a chosen few as the individual became capable of breaking the state’s monopoly on violence.

The first recorded use of gunpowder appeared in Europe in 1247, although China had used gunpowder for centuries before that, mostly for fireworks. The cannon appeared nearly 100 years later in 1327, with a hand-sized version making its debut in 1364. The first ordnances were made of stone, and while it might have been theoretically possible for anyone to own one, this would have been outside the financial reach of anyone but the nobility.

Stone was quickly discarded as a source of materiel for one simple reason: It wasn’t effective against stone fortifications. Thus did the first ever arms race begin, as medieval armies sought ways to fire heavier and heavier projectiles. The first recorded example of a metal ball being fired from a hand cannon came in 1425, with the invention of the hand culverin and matchlock arquebus, which led to lead balls becoming the gold standard for projectiles. This is where we get the term “bullet” – boulette is French for “little ball.”

Continue reading“Commercial Ammo: The Untold History of Springfield Armory”

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 focus on SB 978: Oregon’s Monster Anti-Gun Bill.

Midwest Flooding Aftermath

Billions in flood damage, delayed or lost planting opportunity, and killed cattle: Midwest Apocalypse: Satellite Data Show “At Least 1 Million Acres Of US Farmland” Devastated By Floods

California Man Get 20 Years for Fatal ‘Swatting’

Reader J.C. sent us this: 20 years for man behind hoax call that led to fatal shooting.  Here is how the piece begins:

“A California man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for making bogus emergency calls to authorities across the U.S., including one that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man following a dispute between two online players over a $1.50 bet in the Call of Duty: WWII video game.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Tyler R. Barriss, 26, under a deal in which he pleaded guilty in November to a total of 51 federal charges related to fake calls and threats. The plea agreement called for a sentence of at least 20 years — well over the 10 years recommended under sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors believe it is the longest prison sentence ever imposed for the practice of “swatting,” a form of retaliation in which someone reports a false emergency to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to descend on an address.”

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

Magazine Ban Victory for Californians — Stock Up!

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UPDATE — April 4th: Comrade Becarra got a stay issued, that goes into effect at 5 PM Pacific Time on April 5th.  See my April 5th blog post about this.

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There was some great news late last week, when we heard that California’s onerous 11+ round magazine ban was overturned by a Federal judge. The California law had been in effect since January 1, 2000. Finally, a magazine ban victory!

The 86-page Duncan v. Becerra court ruling itself is worth reading, since it includes a lot of historical and legislative background.

Note: I am not a licensed attorney, so the following is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal advice.

Null & Void

Thankfully, California’s magazine laws have been effectively rendered null and void. The Duncan v. Becerra  ruling puts the state government in an awkward position: If they challenge it with an appeal to the Ninth Circuit court, then they might lose. And even if the liberal Ninth circuit sides with them, then it would surely be appealed to the  U.S. Supreme Court. And that of course would have wide-reaching effects. Negative rulings are now much more likely, since the California governor signed an outright ban — that would have banned the magazines that had originally been grandfathered in 2000. That ban had been scheduled to go into effect in 2017. But its was delayed by a court order, and now the Duncan v. Becerra has effectively invalidated both the 2000 and 2017 magazine ban laws.

Given the new court precedent, the California legislature would have to craft some sort of weasel-worded ban that would work its way around the strictures of Duncan v. Becerra. Anything more than that would probably be struck down by the Federal courts. What I predict is that the California legislature will attempt to enact some sort of behavioral ban vis-a-vis magazines, rather than a outright possession ban. I’d rather not go into detail about this, for fear of giving those tyrants any ideas.

Continue reading“Magazine Ban Victory for Californians — Stock Up!”