Stevens Model 320 Security Shotgun, by Pat Cascio

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Not all shotguns are created equal. Some are meant for sport hunting, and some are designed for self defense. Today we’re checking out the Stevens Model 320 Security shotgun.

Shotguns

A lot of people find most shotguns pretty boring, and I might just be in that crowd these days. There are so many different models and makes of shotguns out there, and many look the same as the next one or the one before it. Most folks who purchase a shotgun do so with the thought of upland bird hunting or water fowl hunting. I have no problem with that at all. It’s a great sport to get involved in.

Home Protection

Then there are preppers and just plain ol’ home owners who want something a bit “more” for home protection than what a handgun affords them. They chose to go with what we used to commonly call a “riot shotgun”. I’m not quite sure how the short(er) barrel shotgun earned that title, other than I know more than a hundred years ago police were using the short barrel shotgun to quell some labor involved riots that turned into street warfare. Still, many police departments issue a short barrel shotgun, usually with an 18-inch barrel for officers to carry in their patrol cars. It is a force multiplier when you are in a solo patrol car. And it is comforting to have this “partner” close at hand.

Continue reading“Stevens Model 320 Security Shotgun, 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 investing in restored tractors. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

 

Precious Metals:

First up, at Zero Hedge: Gold Surges To Record In Turkey and Other Emerging Markets as Currencies Collapse

o o o

Gold & Silver Are Up On The Week But Was It Enough Or Was It Too Weak?

 

Forex:

Next, at Newsmax: Jim Rogers: Dollar Losing Global Status as US Debt Soars

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – May 27, 2018

On May 27, 1813, former President Thomas Jefferson wrote former President John Adams about the loss of their mutual friend, Dr. Benjamin Rush. Reflecting upon the loss, Jefferson wrote, “We too must go; and that ere long. I believe we are under half a dozen at present; I mean the signers of the Declaration.”

Dr. Rush was instrumental in the reconciliation of Jefferson and Adams by initiating correspondence between the three of them. Both Jefferson and Adams continued to correspond until their deaths on July 4th, 1826– the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which all three had signed in 1776.

Also on this date, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney of Maryland issued Ex parte merryman, challenging the authority of President Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. military to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 76 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 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 76 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.

Hitchhiking After SHTF, by J.B.

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Many of us have spent a lot of time thinking about how we would get home if things hit the fan while we are away from home, and hitchhiking hasn’t been on top of the list. The majority of us would have our vehicle there to hopefully drive ourselves back. What many people have not spent much time thinking about is how they would get home if the car wouldn’t start, if the car broke down on the way home, or if you had flown to a location and can’t get a flight back. I want to share my experiences that could be useful to some of the readers.

Dangerous

Disclaimer: I do not suggest using these methods unless necessary. They could be extremely dangerous. The risks should be weighed, and the decision should be made after much thought and prayer.

Who I Am

Let me tell you who I am. I’m a college student attending a school for gunsmithing. I attend a college that is three hours away from my parents’ home. Previous to starting college here, I bought and sold cars. After starting college, I still had one back home that needed to be sold. I decided to bring it back to sell here and decided to hitchhike back, to avoid anyone having to make the six hour round trip. It was not the safest or best idea to make, but I took precautions and tried to be careful.

My Hitchhiking Adventure

In my hitchhiking adventure, I started my trip back after getting out of class at the end of the week. Having never done this before, I soon learned that it is much harder than in the movies. I had a small sign that I tried a few different things on. At first I didn’t have much luck. A classmate brought me the first 30 minutes of the trip and dropped me off. I walked about a mile to the interstate where I waited for around two hours before I got the first ride.

Continue reading“Hitchhiking After SHTF, by J.B.”

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”. A reminder to pay attention to OPSEC today.

OPSEC

Reader D.S. sent in this reminder about maintaining OPSEC at all times. Thieves in Huntersville, North Carolina have been scouting parking lots for NRA decals in local car thefts. The local sheriff is saying it’s a good idea to remove any form of gun or hunting sticker from your car because the sticker alerts potential thieves that you may have a firearm. While most of the time, a person with a concealed carry will probably have that firearm on their person, there are certain places that you just can’t take it (bank, post office, court buildings) and the thief will expect you to leave the firearm in the car. Even if you have a lock box that you keep it in, the thief won’t know that until he has already broken into your car.

Sweden’s Preparedness

Reader M.R. sent us an English copy of Sweden’s new civil defense and preparedness brochure, “If Crisis or War Comes”. The brochure has some good, simplistic information in it on preparedness. Of particular note is the civil defense portion though. The brochure makes it clear that the population has a significant responsibility to work with the government in maintaining the security of the country. I particularly like the callout on page 12: “If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.” This is obviously targeted at a military invasion, but I wonder if the government would be surprised if the population took that tactic over the current Muslim immigrant invasion that is destroying the country?

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

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – May 26, 2018

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May 26th is the birthday of Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams, Jr.) He was born in 1949. When not touring, he lives Somewhere in Montana, so he qualifies as a Redoubter. He reportedly has a large gun collection which is heavy on Sharps rifles and rifles that have factory letters showing that they were originally shipped to Montana. His song A Country Boy Can Survive is of course practically a survivalist anthem. His father was just 29 when he died, and despite a couple of close calls, Hank Jr. is now well into his golden years, so he may yet live to a ripe old age.

o o o

Ready Made Resources is having an awesome weekend sale on their HP+ ITT 3rd Gen autogated PVS-14 Night Vision for $2,895. (This unit has manual gain.) They are also having a sale on their Photonis White Phosphor 4G unit with a 10 year warranty for only $3,175. This sale ends soon, so don’t delay in ordering!

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 76 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 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 76 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.

Homesteading or Prepping with Very Little Money- Part 2, by M.C.

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Now that you have begun your prepping with very little money to buy the basic survival rations, let’s make your food a little more varied and palatable. You may be surprised how you can do this.

Edible Weeds

Go to the library and find a book on the edible weeds in your area. Collect them, and dry them. You can use a window screen to dry them on, after spraying it with water to remove dust and debris and allowing it to dry. Those dried weeds will add flavor and nutrition to your meals. Some, like Lambs Quarters which grows almost everywhere, are absolutely delicious and in pretty much unlimited quantities every year. To a couple cups of boiling water, you could add some dried “weeds”, a handful of rice, and some salt (or any other seasoning you have), and you have soup.

Water

Also, don’t forget to add water to your stores. Save your gallon or liter bottles and store water in them. Store purified water, if you can get it inexpensively or purify it yourself, but tap water is better than none. Water can be purified in #2 plastic bottles (like soda bottles) in the sun for several hours. Here, we have well water. What do you think happens with my well pump when the electricity goes out for an hour or a day (or two)? Yep, there’s no water. So, yes, I keep several gallons of water in the house, and more bottled water in the well house. Additionally, I managed to find one of those food grade 275 gallon totes real cheap, and we use that to store water as well.

Gardening

Prepping is as much learning new skills as it is storing food for emergencies. Gardening might be one of those new skills. Make sure you have a garden and plant it, even if it is tomato and pepper plants in 5-gallon buckets. Maybe it’s lettuce or kale in window boxes or planters on your deck. Even though I now have a very large garden, it gets bigger every year. (It grows by baby steps.) Each year I add beds to my garden, and I experiment with new types of plants to see if I can grow them. I live in the Pacific Northwest right up against the mountains, where we have a very short growing season.

Continue reading“Homesteading or Prepping with Very Little Money- Part 2, by M.C.”

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:
We were quite busy at the ranch this week. We hauled a couple of our cattle on the hoof to the butcher. As usual, we used our gooseneck three-horse trailer. That trailer has already more than paid for itself, since it has also been used to haul horses  and other livestock, fencing supplies, stock tanks, countless tons of hay and straw, and much more. Part of the “much more” seems to be helping our now adult children move from dormitories into apartments and subsequently from apartments into houses.

My other major task this week was repairing and reinforcing a portion of our perimeter fence, where one of our cows decided “the grass is greener” on the National Forest side. That Bovine Delinquent will not be able to get over those welded steel cattle panels.

This week I’ve been preparing for the gun show in Helena, Montana, where I plan to have three tables. I plan to be there with my #2 Son, just on Friday and Saturday, June 1st and 2nd.

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”. Alexa is caught in the act with a spectacular invasion of privacy this week.

Memorial Day

As we move into the Memorial Weekend, SurvivalBlog is asking it’s readers to remember why we have this holiday weekend in the first place. Yes, there will be picnics and camping along with shopping excellent sales, but we must not forget those who made these efforts possible. The Daily Wire has an article suggesting 10 movies that you can pick from to help you remember and celebrate the lives of the courageous men and women in all branches of the military who have sacrificed everything so America can be free. I’ll be watching three of my favorites: “We Were soldiers”, “Saving Private Ryan”, and “The Alamo” myself.

Another Large Failing Nation

Brazil has not seen much media exposure in the last year, but the nation stand in the crowd of nations with massive natural resources who are failing due to political and economic policies. The looming danger this time is over 1 billion chickens and 20 million pigs that are in danger of starving to death because of a nation-wide truckers’ strike. The strike, which has prevented critical supplies like animal feed from reaching their destinations, is over soaring fuel prices. With government forces moving to unblock the highways, the stage is set for anti-government protests that have been simmering just below the surface. Here we go again. Thanks to H.L. for the link.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.  Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:  for, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” Judges 13:3-5 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – May 25, 2018

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On May 25th, 1787, The Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia with George Washington presiding. The task of the peaceful overthrow of the new American government as it had been defined by the Article of Confederation eventually led to the United States Constitution that is so abused today.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 76 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 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 76 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.

Homesteading or Prepping with Very Little Money- Part 1, by M.C.

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I’ll readily admit it; I’m a prepper, survivalist, homesteader, or whatever the current term is for someone who wants to be sure in an emergency that I can take care of myself and family. That to me is much better than standing by wringing my hands in the hope that FEMA can get to me with provisions before I (or worse yet– my husband, children, or grandchildren) starve to death.

The Words “Prepper” or “Survivalist”

I know for some of you, the words “prepper” or “survivalist” may bring visions of Doomsday Preppers with the fall-out shelters, bug out buses complete with goats trained to load up on command, discussions of polar shifts, rogue planets, and zombie apocalypses. Well, maybe I’m not in that group. However, I can see possibilities of needing more than a few days, weeks, or months of ability to live off of my food stores and be totally self-reliant.

Many Things That Can Go Wrong

I’m of the mind that there are many things that can go wrong. These range from several day power outages, auto accidents that require long hospital stays and multiple surgeries, an unusually cold winter complete with 4’ of snow and frigid temperatures for weeks at a time (winter of 2016/2017 here), to loss of a job, a nasty flu epidemic where you need to stay home to keep yourself and your family safe, and even up to an EMP missile shot at us from a hostile government. There are many things that can go wrong. So, a little preparation can go a long way to keep you calm, comfortable, and secure.

Lot of Month Left Over at the End of the Money

Some of you may be thinking that you would love to prepare for hard times, but there is just a whole lot of month left over at the end of the money. Many of us can certainly identify with that.

Continue reading“Homesteading or Prepping with Very Little Money- Part 1, by M.C.”