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”. Another no-log VPN is busted again for doing what they say they don’t!

Graduation Gift

The 8th grade graduation give given to Philly middle-school students is raising eyebrows. As these students prepared to join the ranks of American high-schoolers, they discovered that their “welcome to high school gifts” was a bullet resistant shield that can be slipped into their backpacks like a book. Parents and guardians told the news outlet covering the event that the gift might be considered extreme, but was necessary. Of course, the shields were provided by a maker of bullet-resistant backpacks, probably as a publicity stunt and it’s pretty obvious that the kids were less than thrilled with the gift. I used to wonder why there was even such a thing as an 8th-grade graduation till I became a teacher. Then I realized that this was probably the last graduation that many of these students would ever see – Not because of bullets, but because they would drop out. Thanks to S.M. for the link.

Civil War Era Wound

Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large, sent in this link showing the X-rays of a bullet wound created by a replica of a Civil War era projectile. The .58 caliber minié ball struck the arm of an individual who was hunting, but slipped and fell while carrying the loaded firearm. The wound is devastating and judging by the number of titanium screws and plate along with modern medicine, the wound would have required amputation of the arm if it occurred during the civil war. To the victims credit, he applied the tourniquet himself and walked out of the area he was hunting in to get help. Note that this link is on Facebook.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Don’t listen to NPR this morning. Richard Clarke is an uninformed douche.” – Snippet from one of more than 500 pages of mostly unredacted text messages between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative team, recently released by the U.S. Senate. They illustrate the obviously biased investigation and the underscore the illegal the FISA-warranted wiretapping of Donald Trump during the election campaign, before his inauguration, and even after he was seated as POTUS.

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – June 06, 2018

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On June 6th, 1949, George Orwell’s novel of a dystopian future, Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. The novel’s all-seeing leader, known as “Big Brother,” became a universal symbol for intrusive government and oppressive bureaucracy.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 77 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 77 ends on July 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.

Essential Survival Skills You Should Learn, by B.T.

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Life is a game of survival. Everything is possible. Anything can happen. Preparation is the key, but what if you are struck unaware? What if you are left with nothing but the clothes on your back and a flashlight?

Getting lost in the wilderness or being stranded on an island can be tough, but you will live if you have the will and courage to tackle the unknown and make do with what’s in front of you.

The Art of Survival

When it comes to events of a catastrophic scale, there’s nothing more important than staying alive and focusing on survival. In order to survive, you need to learn essential skills that will prepare you for the hardship and frustrations, especially when you’re not only up against circumstances but are also at the mercy of nature.

Cold and rain can increase the risk of hypothermia. Then there’s the problem of providing for your basic needs, including drinking and eating. Aside from that, you may meet danger in the form of avalanche, flooding, and wild animals.

Making sure you’ve researched and learned about survival skills that can aid you every step of the way, even if you’ve been lucky enough to get through a lifetime without encountering anything remotely close to peril. At some point, these skills may be able to lead you home safely or keep you alive long enough to wait for rescue.

Continue reading“Essential Survival Skills You Should Learn, by B.T.”

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 war on cryptocurrency. (See the Cryptos section.)

 

Precious Metals:

Commerzbank: Expected Fed Hike To ‘Keep The Gold Price In Check’

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Reader S.W. sent us this: Nine surprising things worth more than this shimmering metal

 

Stocks:

June 2018 Stock Considerations

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Opinion: Apple is the new Microsoft, and that’s bullish for the stock

 

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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 books and movies related to the June 6, 1944 D-Day beach landings, paratrooper drops, and glider landings.

Books (D-Day):

The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan. Also see the far less scholarly film of the same name, in the Movies section.)

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The Glider Gang. This is a fascinating history of British and American combat landing gliders of WWII, and the men who flew them.

 

Movies (D-Day):

Saving Private Ryan

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The Longest Day.  The classic film fictionalized from the book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan. Starring John Wayne and a huge cast of Hollywood’s great actors of the 1960s.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Lieutenant Welsh remembered walking around among the sleeping men, and thinking to himself that ‘they had looked at and smelled death all around them all day but never even dreamed of applying the term to themselves. They hadn’t come here to fear. They hadn’t come to die. They had come to win.” — Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest

Accuracy Testing, by Pat Cascio

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Readers contact me all the time about how I conduct my accuracy testing. Even though I spell it out in my articles, I still get the same questions. I make no claims to having any special power, when it comes to shooting. I just shoot a lot, and I’ve been professionally trained in long gun and handgun shooting.

What I Do With My Handgun Tests

Here’s what I do with my handgun tests. After I’m about halfway through breaking-in a gun for an article, I’ll conduct my accuracy testing. For this I use a rolled-up sleeping bag (usually) over the hood of my pickup. The target is at 25 yards. I’ll load five rounds in a magazine, hunker down as best I can, and fire those five rounds for accuracy. If I feel I pulled a shot or two, I’ll do the shooting again.

I Have Some Really Bad Days

Quite honestly, I just have some really bad days. When this happens, I’ll come back another day to conduct accuracy testing. I don’t want to report a gun/ammo combo is giving me 10-inch groups, when I know I’m at fault.

Accuracy Testing Takes a Lot of Time

Honestly, the accuracy testing takes up a lot of time, especially if I’m shooting maybe ten different loads through a gun. All of the loads get tested, and it’s very time consuming!

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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 Bison in the American Redoubt. (See the Idaho, Montana Eastern Oregon, and Wyoming sections.)

Idaho

Tribal Buffalo –All About Bison

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Ada County Sheriff’s deputy charged with DUI after crashing into teen’s car
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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”. Finding your roots is all the rage at the moment with a number of companies providing the service, but did you know that if your not careful you may be placing your DNA for sale.

Wikipedia Nonsense

Phillip Cross is an editor for Wikipedia who constantly attacks and undermines the reputations of those who are prominent in challenging the dominant corporate and state media narrative. He is especially active in the realm of editing articles on foreign affairs. There is just one major problem. Wikipedia records the time spent on edits and Phillip Cross has been editing all day, every day since August of 2013. Every waking hour, seven days a week without significant variation. The man is a machine – or more likely a group editing under either a false identity or one persons identity with the sole intention of making sure you only read the “official” information. Interestingly enough, the views of Phillip Cross happen to be exactly the same as those of Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. #LeftistCabal

Homesteading

Reader S.Z. sent in this article on the differences between homesteading and prepping that is an interesting read. Both groups are concerned about survival, but while almost all homesteaders can be considered preppers, not all preppers are homesteaders. Homesteading is a lifestyle that is generally concerned about renewable resources. It’s a lot of work, but can be very rewarding and self-reliant at the same time.

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Preparedness Notes for Monday – June 04, 2018

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On this day, June 4th, in 1944 United States Navy Task Group 22.3 captured U-505, a German submarine and with it an intact Enigma cypher machine. This was the first time since the USS Peacock seized HMS Nautilus in 1815 that the USN had captured an enemy vessel at sea. The sub, reunited with its periscope a decade ago, is displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

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Ready Made Resource is having a sale on the new Goal Zero Yeti 3000. This system features lithium batteries, includes a true sine wave inverter and uses an MPPT charge controller. It’s big enough to run your refrigerator and you can save $150 this week.

Kershaw’s Vedder, by Pat Cascio

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Kershaw Knives never ceases to amaze me each new year, with the number of new knife designs they come up with, most of which are designed in-house. Today we’re taking a look at Kershaw’s Vedder assisted-opening folder.

No One Knife Can Take Care of All Cutting Tasks

Many people, and I mean many people, just don’t seem to understand that there is no one knife that can be designed to take care of all the cutting tasks we expect a knife to do. It’s just impossible. Ditto is true with firearms. There is no one firearm or caliber that can do everything we expect of it. That’s why there are so many different knife (and gun) designs on the market. Plus, there are many knife collectors out there who, rightfully so, simply love the different knife designs and the artistic talent that goes into designing knives. They are, every last one of them, a work of art. I would love to own just one knife and one gun that could take care of all the tasks I would ask of it. However, no such products have been designed, nor do I expect they will be.

I Am Not a Collector

I am not a knife or gun collector, far from it. I’m an end user. Besides, I couldn’t afford to be a collector like my late mentor, Col. Rex Applegate, was. He had the funds to collect any guns and knives he desired. I was merely his right-hand man for close to three years. During that time, I constantly drooled over his collections.

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Recipe of the Week: Corn Pudding, by C.L.

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Ingredients:

  • 3 slightly beaten eggs
  • 2 cups cooked or canned whole kernel corn, drained
  • 2 cups milk, scalded
  • 1 tbs instant minced onion
  • 1 tbs melted butter
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions:

  1. Combine ingredients and pour into a greased 1/12 qt baking dish.
  2. Cover with foil or lid (do not use plastic).
  3. Set baking dish on oven rack with a pan of water below it.
  4. Cook on 250 degrees for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until done.

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Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

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