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”. You might want to look at sorghum as a sweetener on your homestead.

Freeze Drying

Valley Food Storage, a SurvivalBlog advertiser, has posted an article on freeze drying food without the aid of a large expensive machine, using equipment that you probably already have. I will note that this is entirely possible and I have actually performed such an operation myself, though not intentionally. I will attest to the fact that it does work. However, be aware that since it is a long term process and not in a hermetically sealed and controlled container, there is a far greater chance that something will affect the food. I have never had food that came out of this process with an acceptable taste. Still, if you are looking for something that works without spending thousands of dollars and you don’t need a high volume, this can work.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Ironically, by transferring the risk of a widespread mortgage default, the government increases the likelihood of a painful crash in the housing market. This is because the special privileges granted to Fannie and Freddie have distorted the housing market by allowing them to attract capital they could not attract under pure market conditions. As a result, capital is diverted from its most productive use into housing. This reduces the efficacy of the entire market and thus reduces the standard of living of all Americans. Despite the long-term damage to the economy inflicted by the government’s interference in the housing market, the government’s policy of diverting capital to other uses creates a short-term boom in housing. Like all artificially-created bubbles, the boom in housing prices cannot last forever. When housing prices fall, homeowners will experience difficulty as their equity is wiped out. Furthermore, the holders of the mortgage debt will also have a loss. These losses will be greater than they would have otherwise been had government policy not actively encouraged over-investment in housing.” – Congressman Ron Paul, in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Subsidies Distort the Housing Market, September 10, 2003

Round 78 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

Round 78 of the Non-Fiction Writing Contest has ended and the editors have picked the winners. If you are one of these winners, please make sure that you send us your USPS and your UPS/FedEx mailing addresses. Any article submitted, but not published in the August and September 2018 time frame have been automatically rolled over to Round 79 of the Contest.

First Prize:

First Prize goes to JBH for “Survival Fitness and Health-Part 1”, “Part 2”, “Part 3”, and “Part 4”, published on September 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th. He will receive the following prizes:

  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:

Second Prize goes to BIF for “Making a Living as a Reseller- Part 1”, “Part 2”, “Part 3”, and “Part 4”, published on September 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st. He will receive the following prizes:

  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 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:

Third Prize goes to The Grumpy Gunfighter for “Thirsty Are Those Who Do Not Prep- Part 1”, “Part 2”, “Part 3”, “Part 4”, and “Part 5”, published on August 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, and September 1st. He will receive the following prizes:

  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).

Honorable Mention:

Honorable Mention Prizes ($30 Amazon.com gift certificates via e-mail and an autographed hardback copy of JWR’s novel Survivors) have been awarded to the writers of these fine articles:

Sig Sauer P229 “Legion”, by Pat Cascio

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It’s almost like belonging to an exclusive club, with the Sig Sauer “Legion” line of handguns. They are custom in many ways, and we’re checking out the P229 Legion model today.

Sig Sauer

Anyone who knows even a little bit about firearms, knows that the Sig Sauer line of firearms are some of the best-made guns, period! The workmanship is second to none, and they are all super-accurate, too. I’ve never had any Sig that passed through my hands, used or new, that had a problem of any kind. The Sig Sauer Legion line of handguns are as close as can be to being custom-made. Additionally, they have some features that can only be found on the Legion lineup.

The Legion P229

The Legion P229 has a proprietary Legion gray PVD coating on the frame and slide, and it’s some tough stuff. It also comes with custom G-10 grips, and there is a Legion medallion in the middle of the grips that’s nice looking. In addition, the Legion comes with something Sig calls Electro-Optics X-RAY high visibility night sights. They are different from the SigLite night sights and are hard to explain, but they are better than the SigLite night sights. Each Legion also ships with three 15-rd mags, and it comes in a standard polymer Sig carrying case. However, once you register your Legion, Sig will send you a challenge coin, and another custom molded carrying case for your Legion and the three mags.

Continue reading“Sig Sauer P229 “Legion”, by Pat Cascio”

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 Fed’s Great Unwinding. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Economy & Finance:

At Wolf Street: The Fed’s QE Unwind Reaches $285 Billion.  JWR’s Comment:  That $285 Billion represents a reduction of only about 17% of the QE bubble.  Remember: Debt money creation has a multiplying effect. The destruction of debt money has a reverse multiplying effect! (Credit implosion.) Unless the Fed Board of Governors unwind their balance sheet very slowly, they are likely to burst the credit bubble and crash the global financial system. Politically, this may be just they want: Turning President Trump into another President Herbert Hoover.

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A primer from Wells Capital Management:  The Fed’s balance sheet normalization plan

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Back in October, 2017, we read: Unwinding QE could trigger financial crisis, warns JP Morgan

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I began teaching my son how to shoot when he was two, starting with the basics of a BB rifle. My theory is that kids get into trouble because of curiosity—if you don’t satisfy it, you’re asking for big problems. If you inform them and carefully instruct them on safety when they’re young, you avoid a lot of the trouble. My son has learned to respect weapons. I’ve always told him, if you want to use a gun, come get me. There’s nothing I like better than shooting.” – Chris Kyle, American Sniper

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – October 07, 2018

October 7th is the day that we remember the 96 American POWs from Wake Island that were executed on the orders of the commander of the Japanese garrison on the island, Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara. The execution of those American POWs who were blindfolded and shot in cold blood, remains one of the more brutal episodes of the war in the Pacific.

Survival Notes from Canada for October 7th, 2018, by Clint Ekert

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First off Ol’ Clint would like to thank the readers and the editors for reading this and giving me a voice.

A Foundation of Christianity

This country, your country, and my country was built on the Christian faith. Is this to your liking?

Your best, number one prep number above all is to “get right with God”, a Christian God. Why? It’s about a connection to the Creator beyond the material.

“I have never heard of a man who would staunchly face a firing squad for the sake of defending the truth of the Law of Gravity or 2×2=4. But FAITH in the seemingly irrelevant (at the time) and immaterial teachings of Jesus Christ generated such tremendous MORAL FORCE in MILLIONS of human beings for the past TWO THOUSAND YEARS, that people willingly and happily accept violent death and tortures rather than deny their belief in Christ!” – Thomas Schuman/AKA Yuri Bremenov

I helped build houses before. I do know at the very least one thing about building a house, and that is that once the foundation is set, if you break that foundation in any way, or try to replace it with another material, the house will fall. It’s plain and simple.

Continue reading“Survival Notes from Canada for October 7th, 2018, by Clint Ekert”

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”  — this week with JWR filling in.

More About the Baofeng Dual Ban Transceiver Import Ban

To follow up on a couple of previous posts, here is some recent video commentary from a ham operator: FCC DA 18-980 Chinese BaoFeng Radio Ban Will Regulate Amateur Operators. JWR’s Comment: This is a serious ban, folks! Buy your five-pack box of UV5R handie-talkies now, while they are still both available and affordable!

More Levi Strauss Anti-Gun Politicking

Reader DSV sent us this: A Month Ago, Levi’s Wanted Your Guns. Now They Want You To Elect People To Take Them.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” – Revelation 22:17 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – October 06, 2018

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October 6 is the birthday of Thor Heyerdahl. (Born 1914, died April 18, 2002.) Although his east-to-west theory of Pacific Ocean transmigration was later disproved by genetics studies, his many adventures were still remarkable.

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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 transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 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 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.

Smoke Grenades – Any Utility?, by T. in Virginia

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I’ve participated in a few discussions recently about the utility, if any, of smoke grenades and similar devices to an average person, or even a reasonably trained and equipped prepper, in a SHTF situation. There are certainly some valid points to both sides of the arguments. So, this short article is intended to share a few thoughts to help SurvivalBlog readers make up their own minds.

Smoke grenade use generally falls into two areas— signaling or obscuration. Large scale smoke, such as from vehicle-mounted or stationary military-style generators, can also have other applications that are beyond the intended scope of this article.

Signaling

Signaling is fairly self-explanatory in that a specific smoke signal is used to visually transmit a pre-arranged message. This application most often uses the smaller volume, slightly lighter military M18 colored smoke grenades, or their commercial equivalent.

Pre-arranged Wording in Use/Message

That “pre-arranged” wording in the use explanation is critical; yellow smoke is meaningless, unless both the sender and observer know what that yellow smoke is intended to mean. Does that yellow smoke mean “Yes, I’m the one telling you to come over here and that it is safe”. Or does it mean “Emergency! Flee now!”? Only an agreed-upon SOP can answer that, which diminishes the real world, real time value to many people.

Continue reading“Smoke Grenades – Any Utility?, by T. in Virginia”

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:

I was finally able to burn my slash piles this week. I waited to burn the three largest ones on a rainy day, for the sake of safety.  Those briefly had flames going 30 feet in the air. Only two of the piles had any stumps. As usual, those were the ones that took several days to tend. The other piles were completely consumed in less than eight hours each.

With a tractor, we hauled more manure in to the main garden.  After rototilling that in, the garden will be ready for winter. The greenhouse is still producing well.  We presently have tomatoes ripening in too great an abundance to can them all before they would start to spoil.  So we are giving a lot of them away to neighbors.

To get ready for winter, I’ve been busy stowing two of our three ATVs in an outbuilding. Sta-Bil was added to their fuel tanks, per my seasonal SOP. I’ve also been draining and bundling garden hoses. There is now possible snow  forecast within two weeks, so I will need to pick up the pace of my pre-winter preps!

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”