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 High Cost of Socialism

Reader H.L. sent in this article showing that under the guidance of Maduro’s socialism, over 40% of Venezuelan business have closed. Maduro imposed a mandatory wage increase of nearly 60 fold, making it almost impossible for these businesses to survive. Adding insult to injury, Maduro has also imposed price controls so that the business cannot increase their prices to accomodate the wage increases or account for runaway inflation. This is minimum wage on steroids.

Mosquito-Borne Illness

Eastern equine encephalitis is rearing its ugly head again. A Michigan resident has been infected with this deadly mosquito-borne disease. the CDC reports that nearly a third of those who are infected with the diseas end up dying. it is primarily tranmitted by mosquitos near swamps and wetlands, though it has been found in other places over the years. This is the first case in Michigan since 2016. While named after horses who are vulnerable, the disease is actually most often carried by birds. Human infections are pretty rare wiith only about 7 cases reported every year. Thankts to G.P. for the article.

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – September 19, 2018

On September 19th, 1778, the Continental Congress passed the first budget of the United States. While the budget may have passed, the states responded poorly to the call for taxes to fund the government, and the government resorted to printing paper money to cover debts. In effect, the first budget was a failure, due in large part to the states not responding to the demands of Congress and the depreciation of fiat paper money. Are we talking about 1778 or 2018 here?

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 78 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 78 ends on September 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.

Making A Living As A Reseller- Part 2, by BIF

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For those of you wanting to make the move towards self-sufficiency in a career, or for those who are just looking for extra income, I am writing about buying and selling as a source of income. I think with a little practice, anyone can learn to make money by reselling things. So far, I’ve provided some background on reselling from a theory perspective and information on my experience reselling, too.

Now let’s get started with details. Let’s compare your efforts buying and selling to that traditional institution, the pawn shop.

The Pawn Shop

Over the years, I have spent a fair amount of time in pawn shops looking for bargains. I have made friends with some of the owners, and they shared with me insight into the business. Most pawn shops I am familiar with tend to try to buy for about 25% or less of what they will price the item at for resale. (This results in a 400% or higher profit target.) This is true for the more “durable” goods, such as firearms, cameras, bicycles, tools, et cetera.

I was at a pawn shop recently when they bought a like-new Remington 870 shotgun from someone who walked in the door. They gave him $45 for it. A few weeks later, it was in their case for $325. Since that was more than the cost of a new one at Walmart, it stayed in the case a long time.

Continue reading“Making A Living As A Reseller- Part 2, by BIF”

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 rare precious metals. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals (Rare Precious Metals):

World’s Five Most Expensive Precious Metals

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The Most “Precious” Precious Metals in the World

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One company that sells very rare metals in semi-coin form (disk ingots) is Rare World Metals Mint, in Ohio. Note that the minting costs are high, so it is not cost effective to invest in base metals, in this form. Also note that the level of trust in these metals in a post-collapse barter situation is quite dubious. For barter, I recommend that you buy silver in its most recognizable forms. (Namely, pre-1965 U.S. silver coins and U.S. Mint Silver Eagles. )

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For those with an interest, Kitco sells Baird & Co. Rhodium coins.

 

Cryptos:

Circle Survey Finds Twice As Many Men Invest in Cryptocurrencies As Women

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Kidnapped South African Tycoon Released for 50 Bitcoins Ransom: Report. (JWR’s Comment: Hopefully, when paying the ransom, they thought ahead and slightly over-payed. (Such as: 50.00014359 BTC.) A distinctive number will be easier for detectives to track through the blockchain with any hope of identifying the recipient.

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on Ammunition Storage. (See the Gear section.)

Books:

Fall and Winter Gardening: 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant and Grow for Late Season Food

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Recommended by reader A.D.: The Complete Yacht Security Handbook: For skippers and crew

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Recommended by reader “Captain Nemo”: Bardin & Marsee Waterproof Bible – KJV

 

Movies & Television:

1984. This is the 1986 remake of the classic George Orwell story, starring John Hurt. It is “…set in a world where absolute conformity in action, word and thought including loyalty to Big Brother is demanded.” Warning: Has full frontal nudity. Available on DVD, or for free streaming for those with Amazon Prime.

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Beirut.  The filmmakers did a good job of making contemporary Morocco stand in for Beirut, Lebanon, three decades ago. Available on DVD, or for free streaming for those with Amazon Prime.

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“If we refuse to forgive, we have stepped into dangerous waters. First, refusing to forgive is to put ourselves in the place of God, as though vengeance were our prerogative, not his. Second, unforgiveness says God’s wrath is insufficient. For the unbeliever, we are saying that an eternity in hell is not enough; they need our slap in the face or cold shoulder to “even the scales” of justice. For the believer, we are saying that Christ’s humiliation and death are not enough. In other words, we shake our fists at God and say, “Your standards may have been satisfied, but my standard is higher!” Finally, refusing to forgive is the highest form of arrogance. Here we stand forgiven. And as we bask in the forgiveness of a perfectly holy and righteous God, we turn to our brother and say, “My sins are forgivable, but yours are not.” In other words, we act as though the sins of others are too significant to forgive while simultaneously believing that ours are not significant enough to matter.” – Reverend Voddie T. Baucham Jr., Joseph and the Gospel of Many Colors: Reading an Old Story in a New Way

 

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – September 18, 2018

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The 18th of September is Chilean Independence Day. On this day, in 1810, Chile declared independence from Spain.

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Bill Ruger, Jr. passed away.

JWR’s Comment: Unlike his father, Bill Jr. did not try to appease the Democrats in Congress. It was under Bill Jr.’s leadership of the company that Ruger again began selling 20 and 30 round magazines to the general public. He was a good man, who will be missed.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 78 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 78 ends on September 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.

Making a Living as a Reseller- Part 1, by BIF

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JWR is a proponent, with good reason, of living at your retreat and living your preps. He has also pointed out from time to time that it can be a challenge to obtain a job in the American Redoubt. They are available, but sometimes a job require special skills or a willingness to take a step down in your salary or career path. One thing he suggests is finding a way to make a living that is compatible with your lifestyle and available at your retreat location, whether it is in the American Redoubt or not.

Buying and Selling As a Source of Income

For those of you wanting to make the move towards self-sufficiency in a career, or for those who are just looking for extra income, let’s talk about buying and selling as a source of income. I think with a little practice, anyone can learn to make money by reselling things. Buying and reselling goes back to prehistoric times before money existed.

Stone Axes Versus Steel Axes

Years ago, I read a doctoral dissertation on the trade in stone ax making materials in pre-historic Australia. The best material for ax heads was available only in a few locations. The interaction of indigenous peoples across Australia to obtain materials, distribute the materials across the continent, trade, and manufacture the ax heads was incredible. That trade and the related social norms and structures, which had evolved over thousands of years, was destroyed (inadvertently?) by missionaries who disrupted the traditional way of life by giving steel axes away to anyone who did some work for them. However, that is a different story.

Continue reading“Making a Living as a Reseller- Part 1, by BIF”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on the trike flying videos made in the Redoubt region by SurvivalBlog reader TTABS. He is an amazingly skilled pilot who often flies his Experimental class trike–imagine a powered hang glider–at nap-of-the-Earth profiles. (See the Idaho section.)

 

Idaho (Trike Flying Videos)

A recent video from trike flyer TTABs: A Flight Through History to Salmon Idaho. “This is a X-Country trip from Stevensville, Montana to Salmon, Idaho. Come along as we explore new country, chit chat about things, and touch on a few historical topics on our way to Salmon.”  And for some even more scenic beauty, see this, also from TTABS: Flying the Knife Edges along The Bitterroot Mountains. JWR’s Comment: Simply gorgeous scenery. He also has great taste in choosing accompanying music.

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Here is some more of his nap-of-the-Earth flying on the eastern fringe of the Palouse Hills: Floating Population – Trike Flying

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And here is a flight down in the Clearwater River area: Flying Elk River to Deary to Juliaetta to Craigmont, Idaho (and back).  Note: The dam seen near the end is Dworshak Dam, near Orofino.

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Also from TTABs, here is much-viewed 2011 route fly-over of the key Redoubt locales in my first novel: Patriots – Surviving the Coming Collapse – Trike Flying

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Idaho boo-hooing: Not enough refugee workers arriving (Thanks to TZ for the link.)
Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”.

FNS-40

Reader DSV sent in this article that details the problems some police departments are having with the FN FNS-40 service pistol. Apparently, the weapons are occasionally discharging on their own with no shooter input. Several officers have been hurt by weapons that have discharged while still in their holsters and a few others have been hurt by other situations. At his time, no incident has been reported where the weapon discharges while in active use. the Arizona Department of Public Safety has issued several warnings over the issue to police departments that use that weapon. If you own one of these, you may want to follow this story closely.

Hunger

A recent poll of Venezuelan citizens has some interesting results. Despite other polls that have determined that Venezuelans do not want foreign intervention, hunger seems to be a major motivator. Nearly 30% of people are eating only once a day and almost 75% of the population is having trouble feeding themselves on a daily basis. These same people are willing to tolerate foreign intervention as long as it brings food into the country. A significant portion of the people are also willing to expatriate if Maduro stays in power and the economic crises continues. thanks to H.L. for the link.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

Political language – and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” – George Orwell

S&W M&P .22 LR Compact – By Pat Cascio

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It’s just hard to go wrong with a really good .22 LR pistol. Specifically, the S&W M&P Compact .22 LR pistol is a winner in every respect. This is a great little gun for trail, plinking small game hunting, or target practice.

The One Gun For Survival

Many years ago, and we are talking close to 40 years ago, I used to get asked the same question over and over again. People would ask, when it came to buying one gun for survival, and one gun only, based on a limited income, what did I choose. My pat answer used to be to buy a good pump-action 12-gauge shotgun and then add a variety of different 12-gauge ammo. I told them it would take care of all their needs. Well, I don’t know of any single firearm, no matter who makes it or what caliber it is, that will take care of all your needs, period!

So, my thinking and firearms education have grown and expanded over the years, and while many may disagree with this, I think either a .22 LR handgun or .22 LR rifle will serve many of your survival needs, if you’ll take some time to think about it.

Continue reading“S&W M&P .22 LR Compact – By Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Sam’s Potato Cassarol

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Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of thinly sliced potatoes (leave the peel on)
  • 1 lb ground hamburger meat
  • 1 (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Brown the ground beef in a skillet, then drain the fat.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine the condensed mushroom soup, onion, milk, salt and pepper.
  4. In a 11×7” baking dish, alternately layer the potatoes, soup mixture and meat.
  5. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until potatoes are tender.
  6. Top with cheddar cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 servings.

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