Cold Steel Bush Ranger, by Pat Cascio

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In a most fitting tribute to Jim Bowie, Cold Steel recently came out with the Bush Ranger. This is a folder that sure does remind one of the Bowie fixed-blade knife, with its deep clip-point blade.

Cold Steel Always In Demand

Anyone who has been around the cutlery field for any length of time surely knows the name “Cold Steel” and their outstanding line of knives. To be sure, the Cold Steel line-up is always in demand, and quite often they will be out-of-stock on many of their knives. It is difficult for them to keep up with supply and demand. That’s a good thing as well as a bad thing. It’s good that their knives are so popular and bad if you can’t find the knife you want. However, you can sure do a web search, and with any luck you’ll find the exact knife you are looking for.

Many readers have asked me to review more “expensive” knives, instead of lower priced imported knives. Well, I’m here to tell you right up front that the Cold Steel Bush Ranger is also an imported folding knife, and it isn’t on the low end of the scale, when it comes to cost. I’ve repeated this hundreds of times, especially for all you haters of anything imported. You get as good as you want from overseas, and overseas doesn’t always mean China or Taiwan either. To be sure, Cold Steel does not have any of their knives made in a slave labor camp, far from it. They are made in modern factories, with all the modern machinery you’d expect to only find in the USA.

Continue reading“Cold Steel Bush Ranger, by Pat Cascio”

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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Palladium (See the Precious Metals section.)

 

Precious Metals (Palladium):

The spot price of palladium is still looking strong. But if you see the global economy start to turn downward, it would probably be a good time to cash in and take your profit on palladium.

o  o  o

But all is not well for all of the platinum metals group. Platinum itself–which has a price more closely tied to general industrial production and passenger automobile sales– is just now crawling up out of the dumpster. But it is bound to bounce back, so I consider it presently bargain priced.

o  o  o

And then there is Ruthenium, which I recommended to my consulting clients, back in 2016 and 2107. The spot price of Ruthenium has more than doubled in the past year. I really doubt that it is headed to another 2007-style price spike, but time will tell. Ruthenium has always been very volatile and difficult to predict.

o  o  o

Lastly, I should mention Rhodium, which I recommended publicly in late February of 2016. It was then spot priced at just $670 per Troy ounce, and at around $850 in coin form. The Spot Rhodium price is now around $2,200, and the scarce Baird Rhodium coins now sell for as much as a $340 per ounce premium over spot!  Just as with palladium, if you see the global economy start to turn downward, it would probably be a good time to take your profit on Rhodium.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“If Man retained faith in God, he might also retain faith in Man. He remembered words which for four months he had not heard, read, or uttered, the most beautiful words in the language – faith and hope.” – Pat Frank, in his novel Alas, Babylon

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – November 04, 2018

November 4th is the birthday of Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone. He was born in 1916 in Buffalo, New York.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 79 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 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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, 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).

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 79 ends on November 30th, 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.

Utilizing Military Tactical Planning- Part 2, by Last NJ Conservative

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Military tactical planning has been used formally for a long time by fighting and maneuver elements. This article is a combined overview of the ground combat units’ frameworks. In part 1, We began using the BAMSIS acronym as a framework and are in the “B”, which stands for “Begin Planning”. Using the METT-TC acronym, we have gone through the M for Mission, the E for Enemy, and the first T for Terrain and Weather. Now, we will continue on with this military tactical planning framework.

Troops and Fire Support- Second “T” in METT-TC

Part D is Troops and fire support, and they are the second “T” of the situation estimation analysis key words acronym “METT-TC”. Will we be operating in the smallest tactical unit of a cell or knot or perhaps up to the largest likely encountered formation of a platoon or company? More often we will probably operate as a fire team or rifle squad, but which one for this mission? What fire support is available to us, if any? Do we have a scout-sniper cell as our bounding overwatch? Do we have any crew served weapons? If so, are they direct or indirect fire types?

Are we a knot of Professionally Instructed Gunmen (PIGs), riflemen, on a reconnaissance patrol or a fire team of Hunters Of Gunmen (HOGs), snipers, laying in ambush? Are we a rifle squad sized element on a combat patrol? Are we a platoon sized element, which can use a squad as our base of fire and the other squads as maneuver elements? Do we have any anti-vehicle or anti-air capability? Are we seeing a direct attack such as a frontal assault or perhaps a flanking maneuver? What appears to be the enemy’s apparent objective through their Point Of Main Effort (POME)?

Continue reading“Utilizing Military Tactical Planning- Part 2, by Last NJ Conservative”

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, another FBI terrorist arrest is profiled. However, this one seems more like an alphabet agency justifying itself again.

NexGen Warfare

Reader G.P. sent in this article on the next generation of warfare – genetically engineered viruses. Apparently, DARPA is already working on a project that will use insects to infect crops with genetically modified viruses that edit the crops DNA to make them more resilient against disease. Another project receiving DARPA funding was the project to use genetically modified mosquitoes to deliver a sterilizing agent to their malaria-carrying counterparts. Of course both of these programs are being carried out under the auspices of helping people, but it’s not hard to see why DARPA is involved. It would be the exact same technology used to deliver weaponized viruses and diseases.

Seed Vaults

Reader H.L. sent in this article outlining a new study that shows that a full 36% of critically endangered plants produce recalitrant seeds which cannot be dried and preserved. The standard method of preserving seeds is to dry them and then freeze them and these type of seeds cannot handle that. Plants that fall in this category include oak trees, mango trees, avocado trees and horse chestnut trees. Once those plants are gone, they are truly gone. Plant diversity across the globe is facing declines and while there are other methods of preserving these plants, they are expensive and do not extend the life indefinitely. It would appear the best way to preserve these plants is to make sure they are growing. This can be challenging as genetically modified plants are deployed for various reasons, often pushing the native and heirloom plants out of the way.

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

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – November 03, 2018

On November 3, 1903, Walker Evans, the American photographer best known for his portrayal of America during the Great Depression, was born.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 79 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 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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, 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).

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 79 ends on November 30th, 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.

Utilizing Military Tactical Planning- Part 1, by Last NJ Conservative

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Military tactical planning has been used formally for a long time by fighting and maneuver elements. This article is a combined overview of the ground combat units’ frameworks. Not all branches of our armed forces use all of this together in this format nor is the terminology exactly the same. Obviously the Army and Marine Corps, whom have organically most of the ground combat units, utilize significant amounts of these doctrines.

A Solid Foundation When Group Has To Combat Evil Doers

This planning is not all inclusive nor the be all to end all. However, it does provide a solid foundation and basis upon which to build when the time comes that your group has to field a force to combat evil doers.

You Will Be Able to Read About…

There is a goal in mind with this foundational framework. Described in written narrative format, you will be able to read in succinct fashion about:

  • the six troop leading steps (key words acronym BAMCIS),
  • the situation estimation analysis (key words acronym METT-TC),
  • enemy forces reporting (key words acronym SALUTE),
  • actions against the enemy (key words acronym DRAW-D),
  • terrain tactical issues (key words acronym KOCOA),
  • the five paragraph operations order (key words acronym O-SMEAC),
  • friendly and enemy troops and fire support projections attempts (key words acronym POME),
  • friendly and enemy forces status (key words acronym HAS), and
  • organizational supply (key words acronym the 4 B’s).

Continue reading“Utilizing Military Tactical Planning- Part 1, by Last NJ Conservative”

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

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:

Another week raced by at the Rawles Ranch. This is always a busy time of year for us.  Not only is it deer and elk season, but we are usually wrapping up the preservation of our fall garden harvest.  We’ve had a lot of rain in the past week. Thankfully, I had completed all of my fall slash burning before the heavy rains arrived.  If the current Jet Stream path continues and all this rain transitions to snow, then we will be in for a very snowy winter!

Avalanche Lily Reports:

This week in the American Redoubt, the weather was all about rain.  The weather has definitely shifted into fall rains and high mountain snows which will soon to descend to our valley, perhaps during this upcoming week.

For me, most of the week’s activities were inside: organizing, cooking, and schooling.

I spent the early part of the week going through our homeschooling books, culling out our double copies. That was either the fault of Amazon (very slow delivery) or me not remembering well what we’ve already got when at book sales. There were also texts we no longer need or will not use. I’ve already placed them into our new Classified Ads. While searching for un-needed books, our bookshelves were reorganized.  We have boatloads of books!  I found about thirty books that I still want to read.  I wish there was more time in the day.

The chickens that were down in the Annex garden for two weeks suffered a predatory loss of two from their population by what we suspect was a raccoon, so they were brought back up to the hen house.  We need to butcher many of the remaining birds.

On Thursday, I harvested more broccoli, carrots, and cabbage in the main garden. Now that we’ve had about eight days of rain, our night time temperatures are back above freezing, for now, thus the broccoli has begun to produce tiny flowerets again.  Broccoli’s hardiness is amazing!

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 “HJL”. The UK proves yet again the futility of banning weapons. Even after their recent knife bans, the knife violence continues to escalate.

.22 Long Rifle vs .223 and .40

Reader W.W. sent in this article on a domestic dispute that escalated to a gunfight. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything extraordinary. One guy doesn’t like his girlfriend hanging out with the other guy’s wife. He finds his girlfriend over there and brings a rifle to take her home. The scene escalates and he ends up killing the other guy. Of course Alcohol is involved. But then you start getting into the details. The first guy shows up with a single shot .22LR rifle.

In the firefight, he gets off that single round and kills the other guy. However, the other guy has an AR-15 and and a .40 pistol. He gets of at least 15 rounds from the rifle and 12 rounds from the pistol and never touches the first guy. While the first guy is held 55 days on a $500,000 bond, the grand jury rules it self defense. The comments are as interesting to read as the article too.

Change Your Default Password!

Yet again, we have a story of a family that didn’t change their default password on their video home monitoring system and it got hacked. Apparently, the five year old son came running out of his room to the mother stating that someone was talking to him and it wasn’t his daddy. The hacker then addressed her when she entered the room. She called the police, but of course they couldn’t do anything. The mother is now left with that sinking feeling of violation and wondering how long her family had been monitored. It’s a good reminder for everyone else. Change that default password to your web cams and security system! Thanks to DSV for the link.

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

Guest Article: Six People You Do Want In Your Group, by Kit Perez

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Editor’s Introductory Note: This article is a follow-up to Seven People You Don’t Want in Your Group.

We’ve talked a lot lately about who you don’t want in your group, and the general consensus when I teach these concepts is usually that the list of undesirables leaves out 90% of people who otherwise would have been included. The bottom line response to this is, “yes, and?”

You don’t want undesirables in your group; it’s that simple. It’s about risk — you decide how much you’re willing to take on, and if you decide to bring on someone on the “should not have” list, then you better have a plan for mitigating that risk.

There is, however, a pretty solid list of people you should be on the lookout for. If through your long-game recruiting process you come across one of these, snag them up, because they’ll be assets to your group and your cause. Many of these are merely the opposite of the “who you do not want” list, but they are worth specifically talking about. Keep in mind that you won’t generally find these guys from an internet forum or comment pool; then again, you shouldn’t be recruiting from the internet anyway, right?

The Teachable Guy

People who want to learn are worth something, because they WILL learn if taught. They’re hungry for knowledge, and they don’t allow their ego to get in the way of their training. If you know more than they do on a subject, they’ll want you to show them what they don’t know, regardless of who you are. You won’t hear their arrogance drowning out the mission; instead, you’ll see someone who is humble and willing to work. Even someone with no skills, who is eager to put in the work and learn is better than someone with a skill who refuses to learn anything new. The flip side of that is someone who brings better skills than you have to the table in a certain area. If they’re willing to teach you, be willing to learn yourself as well.

Continue reading“Guest Article: Six People You Do Want In Your Group, by Kit Perez”