Editors’ Prepping Progress

15

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. While Lily was busy in the gardens, I did some more firewood cutting, here at the ranch. Most of what I cut was deadfallen Western Larch–the tree that most folks around here call Tamarack. The majority of those trees were small enough that each of the larger rounds will only have to be split in half–one stroke of the splitting maul, if done properly–to fit in our wood heating stove. And the rounds cut out of the upper portions of those trees can be burned as-is, as full rounds. That makes for easy hauling and easy stacking. No muss and no fuss.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

13

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”. StingRays make the news yet again. One might expect that law enforcement would be more cautious about their use. But apparently, the data gathered is worth the risk to them.

The Tradesman Channel

By way of Cody (Wranglerstar) we hear that Jim of The Tradesman Channel suffered a multiple fracture his ankle. Please keep him in your prayers, and please help out, if you can.

Siege Stoves

If you are looking for a lightweight stove to put in your get-home bag that can work with just about any size of food can, you should check the Siege Stoves out. These stoves fold flat, are low cost and can use anything from a common food can to a gallon paint can as the burn chamber. The stove basically consists of four universal cross members that store flat. You can take two cross members and put them together to form the base of the stove with the remaining cross members forming the top of the stove (where you would put your cooking pot.

All you need is some method of poking air holes in the can serving as the burn chamber. Since you know large fires are to be avoided, this allows you to have one just big enough to efficiently cook your meal and not give your position away.

StingRays

Reader DSV sent in this article on the state of StingRays in active use in Washington D.C. Apparently, there are dozens of these devices in use within the beltway and no one really knows who is running them. While you may not be a target, someone near you may and your data will be caught up in the data collection. A News4 team loaded special software on three cell phones and drove around the capital region and found many suspicious incidents during their drive. The Department of Homeland Security has called the StingRays a real and growing risk.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.” Hosea 1:10-11 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – May 18, 2018

1

On this day in 1769, George Washington launched a legislative salvo at Great Britain’s fiscal and judicial attempts to maintain its control over the American colonies. He brought a package of non-importation resolutions, drafted by George Mason, before the Virginia House of Burgesses. This initiated a chain of events that led to Britain’s House of Lords demanding that men involved in the extra-legal Massachusetts convention of towns be tried in England. Britain’s plan backfired and created an American identity where before there had been none.

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.

Getting Home In The Event Of An EMP- Part 1, by B.M.

30

I want to open by saying that this is not a blueprint for long-term survival or preparedness, nor is it the same as a bug-out-bag scenario. This is a guide for getting home in the initial stages of a grid-down scenario. I served in the USMC,  worked the streets of this country for 25 plus years and I have also traveled extensively (to 60 plus countries). I have dealt, on a regular basis, with human beings from all walks of life, and there is no accounting for the ignorant and irrational behavior that they display.

The One Thing You Can Trust in Dealing with People in Duress

The one thing that you can trust in when it comes to dealing with people who are in duress is that you cannot trust them! They are self-serving and will not act or think rationally when under extreme strain. Learning how to limit your interactions with them while moving rapidly out of an urban environment in a grid-down scenario is a must for all those who have to work in the major urban areas of the United States.

Normalcy Bias An Advantage in the Beginning

Most people will adhere to the rule of law for as long as they can. Obviously different places with different cultures have different dynamics, but in the end most people (not all but most) will follow the norms of society in the beginning stages of TEOTWAWKI. The normalcy bias will be an advantage in the beginning, so it is incumbent upon you to capitalize on it by moving rapidly and intelligently. Pre-planning is the most important factor. All the great gear will not save you or your family if you don’t have a clue where you are going or what you are doing. Honing your survival skills, including but not limited to, physical fitness (this is priority one), marksmanship, fire starting, knot tying, and terrain knowledge, is more of an aid in survival than all the gear in the world.

Continue reading“Getting Home In The Event Of An EMP- Part 1, by B.M.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 REIT Farmland Investing.

Precious Metals:

The gold-to-platinum ratio is back near an all-time high. It would be silly to buy gold at $1,288 per Troy ounce when you could be buying platinum for $888!  The best performing commodities investments are made when you buy at historic low points. As of this writing (May 17, 2018) I believe that we are now witnessing one, with platinum.

o o o

Gold Is Getting Closer To A Solid Entry Point

 

Cryptos:

How To Play The Bitcoin Bust And Crypto Crash

o  o  o

Warren Buffett Just Doesn’t Get Bitcoin Says Crypto Pioneer

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Maybe I’m not in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame like so many of my baseball buddies, but I’m happy I had the chance to play pro ball and am especially proud of my contributions to my country. Perhaps I could not hit like Babe Ruth, but I spoke more languages than he did.” – Moe Berg

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – May 17, 2018

1

On this day in 1769, George Washington launched a legislative salvo at Great Britain’s fiscal and judicial attempts to maintain its control over the American colonies. He brought a package of non-importation resolutions, drafted by George Mason, before the Virginia House of Burgesses. This initiated a chain of events that led to Britain’s House of Lords demanding that men involved in the extra-legal Massachusetts convention of towns be tried in England. Britain’s plan backfired and created an American identity where before there had been none.

o o o

Dick Casull, the designer of the .454 Casull, passed away in Star Valley, Wyoming on May 6th.

o o o

Tom Wolfe, (pictured), the author of the book “The Right Stuff” also passed away.

Dial T for Tyranny: While America Feuds, the Police State Shifts Into High Gear, by John Whitehead

33

This article originally appeared at The Rutherford Institute

“Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth. When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; a culture-death is a clear possibility.” — Professor Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Discourse in the Age of Show Business

What characterizes American government today is not so much dysfunctional politics as it is ruthlessly contrived governance carried out behind the entertaining, distracting and disingenuous curtain of political theater. And what political theater it is, diabolically Shakespearean at times, full of sound and fury, yet in the end, signifying nothing.

Played out on the national stage and eagerly broadcast to a captive audience by media sponsors, this farcical exercise in political theater can, at times, seem riveting, life-changing and suspenseful, even for those who know better.

Week after week, the script changes—Donald Trump’s Tweets, Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, Michael Cohen’s legal troubles, porn star Stormy Daniels’ lawsuit over an alleged past affair with Trump, Michelle Wolf’s tasteless stand-up routine at the White House correspondents’ dinner, North and South Korea’s détente, the ongoing staff shakeups within the Trump administration—with each new script following on the heels of the last, never any let-up, never any relief from the constant melodrama.

Continue reading“Dial T for Tyranny: While America Feuds, the Police State Shifts Into High Gear, by John Whitehead”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

10

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 features a number of anti-gun inititives across the U.S. as well as Switzerland.

Ruger’s Response to Shareholder Vote

Ruger has responded to it’s shareholders vote to force it to create an annual report detailing how the company monitors violence associated with their guns and develop safer products. Hmm, how do you develop a safer tool whose primary purpose is to kill? Ruger promises that while they are bound by the proposal to create this report, that is as far as they will go. They will not alter their firearms or change their practices in any way. It’s worth noting that another proposal to force Ruger to distance itself from the NRA was voted down at the shareholder meeting. Interesting that liberal organizations like the “Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary” of Marylhurst, Oregon are taking the tact of purchasing large shares in gun manufactures to attempt to force change from the inside. Thanks to DSV for the link.

Why Police Carry Guns

For those who think that Police shouldn’t carry guns, Reader M.B. sent in this video of 11 British officers facing one man with a knife. The video has been sped up and the sound track has been replaced with the classic Benny Hill chase music making it quite enjoyable to watch. While funny to watch, it is dead serious because these men have no way to stop this guy from hurting anyone. Remember that London’s mayor and England’s medical society want to ban Kitchen knives. London’s murder rate surpasses that of New York City even without the guns.

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – May 16, 2018

1

On this day in 1868, the U.S. Senate votes against impeaching President Andrew Johnson and acquits him of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

In February 1868, the House of Representatives charged Johnson with 11 articles of impeachment for vague “high crimes and misdemeanors”. (For comparison, in 1998, President Bill Clinton was charged with two articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice during an investigation into his inappropriate sexual behavior in the White House Oval Office. In 1974, Nixon faced three charges for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.) The main issue in Johnson’s trial was his staunch resistance to implementing Congress’ Civil War Reconstruction policies. The War Department was the federal agency responsible for carrying out Reconstruction programs in the war-ravaged southern states, and when Johnson fired the agency’s head, Edwin Stanton, Congress retaliated with calls for his impeachment.

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.

Gun Issues, by Survivormann99

59

I was in a Social Security office today that is located in a city that is regularly ranked by the FBI as being one of the “top five safest American cities” (with a population over 100,000). I do not believe that the city has ever fallen out of the top ten safest American cities in the last 20 years.

Social Security Office Security Guard Armed with 9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol

There to maintain order in the Social Security office and to keep a careful watch on the gray-haired, white-haired, and blue-haired sexagenarians, septuagenarians, and octogenarians was a security guard armed with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Of course, these Baby Boomers and this crowd from the Silent Generation are widely reported and well-known to be a boisterous, rambunctious, and unruly segment of the population, one that routinely poses a clear and present danger to public safety and the foundations of the Republic. This group is a composed of “sly and cunning creatures who bear watching closely”.

Children, Most Precious Resource, But Senior Citizens Get More Protection

I was surprised. I have been told by so many “talking heads”, since the shooting in Parkland, that our children were “our most precious resource”. Yet, this crowd of senior citizens gets more protection than local elementary schools and high schools? Seriously? If so, why aren’t they better protected? Judges and lawyers are protected by armed security in courthouses, even in the courthouses where no criminal courts are contained. I just dropped the missus off at the airport. I passed cops in front of the terminal, and, of course, there is always armed security at the metal detectors.

Continue reading“Gun Issues, by Survivormann99”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

5

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 “Neccos Futures”. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Video from Mike Maloney: The Silver Coil Is Tightening

o o o

Powerful Greenback Hammers Gold and Silver Prices Below Key Support

 

Cryptos:

Rough run for cryptos gets worse

o o o

And H.L. spotted this at Zero Hedge: German Bank Allows Users To Transfer Loans Anywhere In The World Using Bitcoin

o  o  o

GoTenna Launches a Bitcoin Wallet That Works Without the Internet

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

4

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

Books:

The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook: Make the Most of Your Growing Season

o  o  o

Back in print!  Total Resistance.  (This book was formerly published by Paladin Press, a company that sadly went out of business, a few months back.)

o  o  o

Navy SEAL Sniper: An Intimate Look at the Sniper of the 21st Century

 

Movies:

This is a “must watch” documentary on personal liberty narrated by Larken Rose, available on YouTube:  It Can’t Happen Here.

o  o  o

And here is a fascinating documentary about the late Jake Korell, a trapper who lived near Riverton, Wyoming. When this was filmed, he was still active in trapping, in his late 90s: Trapper Jake. (Available on DVD. Or available for free streaming, for Amazon Prime members.

 

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week”