JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books:

The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects: 76 Useful Things You Can Build to Create Customized Working Spaces and Storage Facilities, Equip the … Animals, and Make Practical Outdoor Furniture

The Complete Guide to Sharpening

@WAR: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex, by Shane Harris

Movies:

The Road (starring Viggo Mortensen. It is a favorite with both preppers and survivalists.)

Captain Fantastic (also starring Viggo Mortensen). This movie is marred by copious foul language, brief nudity, and absurd politics. But it makes a compelling case for home schooling and self-sufficiency. It is rated R, and is definitely NOT for kids! (It is now available through Amazon Prime)

BTW, here is a sad addendum: Viggo’s father, V. Peter Mortensen, passed way in early March. Our condolences to the family.

Instructional Videos:

From “Russian Daycare”: AMAZING CAMPING HACKS #2

Max Velocity Tactical: Anatomy of a Peel (JWR’s Comment: Max’s training is very highly regarded and recommended. It appears that for quite rational live fire safety reasons they set this up as a 90-degree offset engagement and withdrawal. Normally, in a meeting engagement with a superior force, a “withdraw by fire” takes a 180-degree exit route.

Box Van Stealth Tiny House Tour & Interview

Element Van Life: One Year Living in a Van What I’ve Learned

Also see this from the same young man: Tour of Honda Element Camper

JWR adds these safety notes: DO NOT depend on spring–loaded battery terminal clamps! Any arcing can spark fires. Use proper bolt-on terminals. It is also important to vent the battery compartment of any un-sealed batteries!

Online Sermon Videos:

ReformedSermons.org

Pastor Bob Boone (Mt. Hall Community Church, Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho)

Pastor Don Bergstrom (Grace Baptist Church, Columbia Falls, Montana)

Podcasts:

The Shrugging Out Podcast

Stuff You Should Know Podcast

Blogs:

Zero Hedge

The Appalachian Messenger

Gear:

A must for every well-prepared home: Knife Block Set

Philips 60 Watt Equivalent Soft White A19 LED Light Bulb, 16-Pack

AA Performance Alkaline Batteries (48-Pack)

Odds ‘n Sods:

Paul Joseph Watson: The Truth About Sweden (Video)

JWR’s Comment: It is noteworthy that YouTube has attempted to censor Watson, simply for reporting the truth—when that truth exposed the lies of leftist apologists for radical Islam.

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My friend Commander Zero just posted a very useful link: Glock Pistols- What Breaks and How to Fix It – JWR

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Thousands Of Americans Are Fleeing The Big Cities. Why are so many people suddenly moving away from major U.S. cities?

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Health Ranger awarded U.S. patent for breakthrough anti-radiation formula that eliminates Cesium-137 from your body

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SurvivalBlog reader J.S. sent in this link showing how the CIA uses standard commercial products to indicate tampering with their USPS mail. If you still use the USPS, this is definitely worth knowing.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Philosophers should consider the fact that the greatest happiness principle can easily be made an excuse for a benevolent dictatorship. We should replace it by a more modest and more realistic principle – the principle that the fight against avoidable misery should be a recognized aim of public policy, while the increase of happiness should be left, in the main, to private initiative.” – Karl Popper

Notes for Tuesday – March 28, 2017

This is the birthday of Marlin Perkins, Carthage Missouri, television host (Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom). He was born in 1905.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 69 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 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 that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 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 with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel 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, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  6. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  7. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $2,400 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 Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. A selection of canned meats containing a 10 pack of 28oz cans of Premium Beef and a 5 pack of 28oz cans of Premium Pork from Wertz’s Farm Market (a $300 value),
  9. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  10. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  4. 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,
  5. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  6. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  7. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  8. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
  9. 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), and
  10. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).
  11. A $250 gift certificate to Tober’s Traditions, makers of all natural (organic if possible) personal care products, such as soap, tooth powder, deodorant, sunscreen, lotion, and more.

Round 69 ends on March 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.

Every Day Carry for Today’s World- Part 1, by N.M.

Let me premise this article with a few points you need to consider: First, you must research local laws for yourself as some items or actions discussed may be illegal in your location. Additionally, while carrying some items may be generally legal, there may be places that prohibit these items from their building, et cetera, such as airports or government buildings. Again, know your local laws. Discussion of specific items does not constitute an endorsement; I may mention them because I have them, may have used them, or may know people who have. Again, do your own research before buying or carrying anything.

We Have Increasing Organized Unrest and Violent Protests

If you have been paying attention, you can’t have failed to notice that there is increasing unrest, protests are becoming more violent and more frequent, and it will continue. Read the article ”Operation HYPO After Action Report: Infiltrating Violent Protest Organizations”, and you will understand some of the thoughts and planning of these groups. People are calling for the assassination of POTUS or hostile overthrow, including some who are high profile. Assassination of LEO’s and attacks on anyone who appears to support POTUS are commonplace. If you search out video that is being posted of the disorder and riots, some posted by the protesters themselves, you may notice some things. They are getting more violent, and they are more organized. They are wearing the same type of clothing, all black with no insignia, and scarfs over their faces to make it much harder to identify them. They are carrying items to use for assaults and for causing damage, such as road flares so it is easier to light a fire; they burn hotter and longer than matches.

“A general who attacks with fire is demonstrating his intelligence” Sun Tzu.

They are carrying crowbars to smash windows and sticks or baseball bats to attack people. They are carrying mace to spray counter protesters and police. They are prepared with shields and not just improvised ones from trash can lids. They are using smoke grenades improvised from smoke distress flares, as well as fireworks. They are throwing liquids to include urine, and there is reason to think that they will escalate to gasoline, caustic chemicals such as acids, et cetera. They have improved their methods for communicating and coordinating their activities at each successive event, and their levels of violence have increased with each successive event. Their activities are right out of the playbooks for guerrilla warfare and insurgency and The Rules of Radicals.[1] Someone is funding them; if you track the various groups back many lead back to George Soros.[2] Someone is also training them. In addition to these activities there are large groups of government employees who are so outraged, scared, or for whatever other reason anti-POTUS who are conducting activities to counter the agenda or instructions of the government, some overtly and some covertly. Add to all this that the mainstream media is either misreporting or under-reporting what is really occurring. All this we are seeing in the first couple of weeks of a POTUS who is against the globalists and who completely upset their plans by winning the election.

“A protracted campaign depletes the state’s resources,” Sun Tzu.

What is their end game? It is to create a divide, a very large divide. The continued attacks on LEO’s may cause some to question if they want to continue in that line of work. Attacks may escalate to other responders. We have seen firefighters being attacked when they respond to put fires out during riots, and we have also see firefighters attacked presumably because their uniforms resemble police. They are trying to push a conflict, trying to get law enforcement to become more heavy-handed in dealing with them, to draw the National Guard in, to create a martial law so they can create a “bad government versus we the people”, trying to get the citizens enraged enough to draw them into direct conflicts. I hope I’m wrong, but with snowflakes looking at four years of “a new Sheriff in town”, how far are they going to go?

In discussing these events with people far more knowledgeable than me, these are the same tactics and sequence of events that led up to the civil war in the Bosnian war as well as a number of other civil “Dirty War[3]” conflicts in various parts of the world. Who wins in these wars? The people banking them, the people who own the companies who manufacture weapons, and the international banks behind them. Add this to the number of these groups who support Islamic migration and what their end goal is. Look what is happening in Europe; they are doing all they can to grind countries to a halt so they give in to their demands of Sharia law, including trying to stop commerce by blocking the movement of goods along highways. It’s only going to get worse.

“A general who recklessly underestimates the enemy is sure to be captured.” Sun Tzu.

So what should you be doing? Many people thought that once Trump was President they could relax a bit on the preparedness and training activities. Wrong! If anything, your activities need to increase. The purpose of this article isn’t to go into what you should be doing for those activities, although that could be another article at a later date. This article is about what you need to be doing so you can go about your everyday activities with confidence that you are prepared in case you find yourself caught up in a protest.

“Foreknowledge cannot be found by consulting the spirits,” Sun Tzu.

Do Your Intelligence Work

First, you should be doing your intelligence work. You should know what is going on in your community that could impact you. To get advanced notice, monitor such things as who is applying for permits to hold protest. Most towns/cities require some kind of permitting process, whether you agree or disagree with paying to exercise your First Amendment right. For our purposes right now it helps, because many agencies post these applications on web sites. Search their web pages and social media sites; they usually post/advertise their rallies, et cetera. Know exactly what the First Amendment rights are and the actions these groups are going to deny you of your rights. These activities will give you some advanced warning, and you can plan your activities to avoid those areas. However, there is now a new twist, as a group in Denver are filing a lawsuit against the City because the permit notice requires a seven day advance application[4]. Know who these groups are and those that are in your area. For example, in Colorado we have Rocky Mountain Antifa, Four Corners Antifa, Denver Anarchist Black Cross, Denver Autonomous, 5280 BLM, Denver Justice League, La Raza, and Occupy Denver Anarchists; all these groups are active in our universities and probably yours. In addition, you have the Anti-Antifa group, which are neo-Nazi, and Sovereign Citizen and hard core biker gangs, such as the Outlaws. Of course do not forget the Mexican Mafia and cartels, who have influence in most major cities, especially those close to our southern border, and all the other gangs who may align or make allegiances with some more radials groups. MS13 is known to use other gangs to do most of their “front line” activities. If you have a group of like-minded folks formed into a group someone should be your intel person– someone who knows how to find, track, and keep intel on the groups in your area.

“The ultimate achievement is to defeat the enemy without even coming to battle.” Sun Tzu.

The highest form of warfare is to out-think the enemy; next is to break his alliances. They are conducting a psychological war right now, as well as small battles each time they “win” by blocking access to places where people are speaking– blocking people from exercising their First Amendment rights. We need to be conducting our own psychological warfare. The Secret Art of War, The Thirty-Six Strategies, is a collection of ancient Chinese proverbs (from around AD 489-537) that describe some of the most cunning strategies devised. There isn’t a definite text, as it appears they were handed down verbally. The earliest book that lists them was found in a stall in 1941. There are a couple of source books listed in the references at the end of this article, and I did find this listing of them all on the web5. They are utilizing some of these strategies: “When the enemy is too strong to attack directly, then attack something he holds dear. Know that in all things he cannot be superior. Somewhere there is a gap in the armor, a weakness that can be attacked instead.” In other words: You may try to attack the relatives or dear ones of the enemy to weaken him psychologically. Threats have been made to the children of reporters and others who are outspoken and reporting the truth of what these activists are doing and planning to do, and who is behind them.

References


[1]Rules For Radicals : A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals, Saul D Alinsky


[2]https://www.oathkeepers.org/former-nazi-george-soros-now-connected-every-major-protest-since-november-election/


[3]https://mountainguerrilla.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/skull-stomping-sacred-cows-reality-isnt-nice-its-a-2×4-to-the-teeth/


[4]http://kdvr.com/2017/02/06/trump-protesters-file-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-denver-2-police-officers/

Letter Re: Survival Prospects for Gun-Toting Liberal Protestors

These people may not know how to fight. Lots of right-wingers don’t know how, either, including those who have been to a lot of spray-and-pray classes. The point is, when the fighting starts, you either learn how to fight or die, or find a way to escape from the front line.

The thing to remember is that none other than Karl Marx called for the “universal armament of the proletariat.” The point being, that once the “proletariat” do the job of massacring the right-wingers, they can easily be disarmed. Europe has demonstrated that.

Remember that the leftists are most decidedly of the “gimme” persuasion, and the Marxists are happy to “give them” the guns and ammo they need to wreak havoc. That is why reports keep drifting in of semi-loads of AK’s going to the street gangs and similar conveyances.

On the right-wing side, the real strength is in the geographic distribution and in industrial and agricultural power. Pull the power grid or the financial grid, and the leftists will starve. Everybody will starve, but they will starve better.

I wish I could boast of the moral power of the right-wing, but I can’t. It is probably a modicum better than the left but still absolutely pathetic. May God have mercy on His children. – cf

HJL’s Comment: It is also very revealing to note that many, if not most, of those in this video were wearing some sort of identity protection, such as masks or scarfs. Hmmm…a public show of force with a protected identity. Who do we know that regularly uses such tactics? They group together in packs, carry (and often use) lethal force, and hide their identities just like the radical Muslims. I think that they are very dangerous, especially when running in packs.

News From The American Redoubt:

I heard about a company in Boise, Idaho that makes some innovative AR family rifle parts: 2A Armament. – JWR

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Idaho company approved to fly with night vision goggles

JWR’s Comment: If this goes well, this may become a trend for use in landings at other remote airfields. Later generation NVGs that use two light amplification tubes can overcome the depth perception problems that are inherent with single tube designs.

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Rural Idaho: Population Decline to Reduce Available Labor Source in Next Decade

JWR’s Comment: The good news for Idaho-bound preppers is that this demographic shift means there will be less demand for rural real estate, keeping it affordable for retirees and folks who are self employed. I still strongly recommend developing a home-based business or working your way into a telecommute position before moving to The American Redoubt.

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Landslide risk across Inland Northwest increases with warm temps, rain in forecast

JWR’s Comment: Even though the natural disaster risk in the American Redoubt is relatively low, some risk is unavoidable anywhere on the planet.

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Pistol and sheath knife owners should check out these two companies: ArmoryPlastics.com (in Idaho) and Dale Fricke Holsters (in Montana) and one of my consulting clients recommended this real estate agency: Northwest Montana Real Estate – JWR

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Nine additional air refueling tankers to be based at Fairchild AFB

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Muslims Furious After What Americans Just Did to Them in Montana – D.S.

Economics and Investing:

Mexico Sees Its First International Offshore Drilling Success. Eni has drilled the first well by an international oil company in Mexican waters, finding a meaningful volume of oil.

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Podcast: Urban Agriculture (Peak Prosperity). Those living in cities/suburbs may find this podcast on urban agriculture of particular interest.

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Warning: Three Major Bellwethers Are On Red Alert. I’m not much for charts in these turbulent economic times, but this is interesting.

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It’s time to start believing in the Impossible (Article but includes a podcast.)

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Second Amendment Attacked by Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court – Scary stuff! – G.P.

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File under “Only in California”: Stone Brewing creates beer with recycled water. The use of treated sewage water can only be a source of pride in the Mickey Mouse State of California.

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Foundation And Empire: Is Donald Trump The Mule?

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Reader C.F. sent in this article from the BBC: The milk that lasts for months.

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Robert Griswold, from Ready Made Resources, sent in the link to this article for our readers: The Civil War Is Here. The left doesn’t want to secede. It wants to rule.

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Finally! An AG who will get tough on those who enable illegal aliens: AG Sessions Makes Surprise Sanctuary City Announcement; Vows To Withhold Funding – D.S.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.” – Plato

Wertz’s Farm Market Canned Meat, by Pat Cascio

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I’d like to clear up a misconception that some readers have. Number one, I’m still not Jim Rawles; many readers just refuse to understand this. I am who I say I am, and you can Google my name if you’d like. Secondly, neither Jim Rawles nor Hugh Latimer have ever once demanded that I write an article on any product or, for that matter, ever asked me to not write about any product. Third, I am not an employee of SurvivalBlog. I am an independent journalist. I write articles for SurvivalBlog, and if Mr. Rawles or Mr. Latimer like my articles then they accept them and I send them an invoice for my work. So, I’m not under the control of anyone. I’m a freelance writer, and Jim and Hugh kindly awarded me the title of Senior Product Review Editor, which was very nice of them.

So, when you are reading one of my articles, it is my words, the article was submitted by me, and no one associated with SurvivalBlog asked or demanded I review the products. With that said, I sometimes see a new product being advertised on SurvivalBlog that catches my attention and I request a sample to test for the readers. Other times, perhaps Jim or Hugh will alert me to a new product or advertiser and I take it upon myself to test their product. I’m sincerely appreciative that they keep me alerted to some products I might have otherwise not paid any attention to.

Some time back, Hugh Latimer told me about Wertz’s Farm Market canned meats, and it caught my attention. Now, understand this; this is not freeze-dried or dehydrated meats or meat substitutes. It is genuine 100% meat– pork and beef products that are shredded and cooked and canned, and it has a 15 year shelf life. You have to do nothing, except open the can and eat it as-is or use it in some other dishes. This is federally inspected meats, and it can be shipped across state lines.

The Wertz Family has been raising beef and other products on their farm since 1852. Yes, you read that correctly; I said 1852! Since 2002, they stopped using hormones and all other drugs on their calves to raise only drug-free beef! Some of the beef cuts they sell consist of porter house, t-bones, rib steaks, rolled rump roast, ground round, sirloin, and ground beef patties. Their pork cuts are whole hog sausage, smoked pork chops, bacon, hams, kielbasa, polish sausage, smoked sausage, Cajun sausage, and baby pig links.

I know a little bit about beef. When I was a teenager, I used to work after school in my uncle’s janitorial business, and part of what he did was clean meat packing houses in the Chicago area. To be sure, they had contracts with many of the major meat packing houses, and I worked in many of them. This took place after business hours, and we had to clean the meat-cutting rooms and stainless steel cutting tables, plus the floors and walls. Many of the meat packing houses would leave us some cooked meat to eat; it was outstanding. So, I’ve had more than my fair share of beef products, fresh from the meat packing houses.

Don Wertz was kind enough to send me some of their shredded beef and shredded pork, canned and fully-cooked, to sample and do a possible article on for SurvivalBlog readers. My mother-in-law, who passed some years ago, used to can beef fresh from her farm and give to my wife and me. It was the most tender beef you’d ever eat. It was in big chunks in glass canning jars, and you could pull it apart with a fork; no knife was needed, ever! It made great beef stew and a savory gravy to put over mashed spuds. The moment I opened the Wertz’s canned beef, the aroma of my mother-in-law’s canned beef can rushing into my mind. Yum!

We used to raise and train German Shepherds. I gave it up some years back because it was a lot of work, but we still have three German Shepherds in our home. They all were going absolutely crazy from the aroma of the canned beef. I drained off the little bit of juices from the beef and set it aside, and it made a welcome addition to their dried kibble meals. They surely gobbled it down and were looking for more. To be sure, it only took a tablespoon of the juices over their kibble to make it disappear in short order.

I do a lot of to cooking around our homestead, because my wife still works full-time and I’m home. However, I always try to find as many “heat n’ eat” meals as possible, because I don’t like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. While I do have some really great dishes I cook, they take quite a bit of time and clean-up, and I prefer something that is really quick to prepare with an easy clean up but is still tickles the taste palate!

After opening the Wertz’s shredded beef, I thought about making some Mexican dish, but I didn’t want to start mixing too many ingredients, so I went with some pulled beef sandwiches. I just added some of my favorite BBQ sauce, mixed it in the bowl with the beef, and tossed it in the microwave oven to heat it up. Five minutes later, my wife, our oldest daughter, and I were enjoying the most tender BBQ pulled beef sandwiches we’d ever eaten. Add in some chips or whatever your favorite side dish is, and that is good eating, if you ask me. Or course, all the dogs were sitting around the table, like they always do, hoping for a taste of whatever we were eating. They all got a small taste of the BBQ beef sandwiches, too; we treat our dogs too well.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the canned pork, but I wanted a quick meal. During a SHTF scenario, you might not want to spend a lot of time cooking or using your precious propane stove and propane supplies. I love Mexican food, and I’m a fair hand at preparing many of our favorite dishes. One is a Chipotle burrito. I have a secret Chipotle sauce ingredient that I pried out of the hands of the fellow who used to manage and cook at our favorite Mexican restaurant before it was sold and he moved on. It only takes a few minutes to prepare, and we keep a good supply of it mixed and ready to go in the refrigerator. So, I heated up the canned pork, added it on tortillas, rolled it together, and heated up my Chipotle sauce. It, took a few minutes to grill some onions and mushrooms. Then, I added the onions and mushrooms over the top of the rolled burrito, and poured the Chipotle sauce over the entire thing, tossed it in the microwave with some grated American cheese over it so it would melt, and it was ready. The total prep and cooking time was less than 10 minutes, and it was as good as any Chipotle burrito we’ve ever had.

You can use shredded beef, chunked beef, sliced chicken, pork, or any kind of meat you want for this burrito, with the magic Chipotle sauce over the top of it all. We are talking eating as good as it gets, and it all takes but a few minutes to prepare. The Wertz’s canned pork made it just that much easier to prepare and eat.

There are any number of places selling freeze-dried or dehydrated meats, and they are pretty good, once you get them re-hydrated. Then, there are the TVP Textured Vegetable Protein canned “meat” substitutes. We have a lot, and I mean a lot of this TVP in our survival food supply. For me, I have to let it “cook” for a long time on the stove, or it gives me a lot of gas. While it tastes okay, don’t kid yourself; it is not the same taste as genuine meat. Still, it’s better than nothing, right?

If you want genuine meat in your survival food supplies that has a long shelf-life, you really need to check out the Wertz canned meats. It is ready to go right out of the can, and it tastes delicious. You can use it in some of your own recipes. I think you’ll be as impressed as I was with the canned samples I tested for our readers. Check out the Wertz website for their full menu of canned meats. You are getting a lot of meat for the money, and it is prime cut meats, not end or leftover cuts. Be sure to add some to your stockpile!

– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio

Saying Goodbye to the Worst Camo Pattern, Ever

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In 2015, with the rollout of Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP)—a slight variation of the Crye Multicam pattern, the U.S. Army announced that it is nearing the end of issuing the much-hated Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP, also known as the Army Combat Uniform or ACU), a conspicuous grayish blob pattern that is actually prominent against most natural backgrounds. The transition from the UCP to OCP Multicam is taking four years. The last day that the UCP uniforms are still authorized for wear for the U.S. Army will be September 30th, 2019.

All that I can say is, good riddance to the blob! In my estimation, the UCP is about the worst uniform issued since the French used sky blue tunics and pants in World War I. In the context of survivalism, the grayish UCP utility uniform is suitable for use perhaps only in sagebrush country. Because UCP uniforms and packs will be hitting the surplus market in huge numbers in the next two years, they will be bargain priced. I fear that some preppers might be tempted to buy them, just to “look military.” But unless you live in a region that is dominated by sagebrush, I must warn you: Don’t buy them! And if you think that you might be able to re-use them by adding more appropriately colored spray paint, then choose your paint very wisely. Many varieties of spray paint (even some “flat” types) on cloth are reflective to infrared (IR) and show up like a beacon to both active night vision equipment and to FLIR scopes. A study by HyperStealth Biotechnology Corporation found that one exception that has low near-IR reflectivity is Krylon Ultra-Flat, sold as “Krylon Camouflage.”

If you live in a forested region, the tried and true M81 Woodland BDU pattern is probably best. Alternatively, the British DPM 85 or 95 pattern or the very similar pre-2014 Dutch (a DPM-ish woodland pattern) also works quite well in the woods. But if you live a region with a mix of grasslands and woods, or even in arid country then the OCP Multicam is probably the best all-around choice, short of buying or making a ghillie suit to match your local flora.

A Horse of a Different Color

Preppers and survivalists who anticipate a breakdown of law and order need to think in terms of more than just the absolute ability to blend in to the background. They should avoid looking “just like the military issue”, because every Tom, Dick, and Harry out there will have access to that pattern. To explain: In a perimeter security situation where you need to rapidly distinguish friend from foe, retreat groups will need to set uniform standards that are fairly unique and hard for anyone else to replicate without considerable planning. This will minimize the risk of infiltrators just strolling into your perimeter. One such solution is easily sourced and cost effective: Simply standardize with wearing the pants from one camouflage pattern, and the shirts and jackets from another pattern. So, for example, you might standardize with OCP Multicam pants worn along with Woodland pattern shirts and jackets. This will provide effective camouflage yet also provide reliable friend-or-foe recognition at a distance.

Perhaps some SurvivalBlog readers would like to chime in with some other suggestions. – JWR

Recipe of the Week: Deer Stew, by ALC

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 pound deer roast
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 can of tomato sauce
  • 2 onions, chopped coarsely
  • 1 lb baby carrots
  • 4-5 medium potatoes, quartered

Directions:

  1. In a slow-cooking crock pot, combine deer with salt, pepper, garlic, and onions.
  2. Add cream of mushroom soup, tomato sauce, and enough water to cover meat.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. (I usually cook overnight.)
  4. Add potatoes and carrots, cook an additional 3-4 hours until carrots and potatoes are tender.

o o o

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Letter Re: Making a Bible

Hugh,

I have long wanted a homey Bible, one that I don’t have to be careful with, something to take when traveling, on camping trips, accidentally left in a hotel room or airplane, or just something comfortable to read while sitting on the easy chair. The typical Bible, being a book, is bulky, and I don’t always want the whole works, from Genesis to Revelations, there with me. I only want the books that I am going to be reading at the time. I’ve tried digital versions, but no matter how developed they have become, and there are some good ones, they just don’t fit my criteria for easy access.

What I want, ideally, is a notebook-sized Bible in easy-to-read Arial font, no italics, in a 3-ring binder. Such a Bible was something that I was going to have to compile myself as to my knowledge there isn’t anything like this to be had on the marketplace. After sampling numerous formats and styles I decided upon one with the help of several apps, programs. The first one is E-Sword, a free Windows-based Bible software program, also available on the Mac from the iTunes store for $9.99 by Rick Meyer. Although it is free for the Windows version, it requests a donation, which I did. There is a variety of Bible translations, versions, that you can download to E-Sword for free, but I have gradually settled upon the King James Version, KJV. It’s the poetry.

Within E-Sword you can copy an entire book of the Bible to the clipboard and then to a word processing program. I use Libre Office, which uses the ODT format (open document text). After getting it to look the way I want, the document can then be exported (converted) to a PDF file (portable document file– an Acrobat Reader format from Adobe.com) by clicking the icon on the tool bar. I have skipped over a multitude of steps in both of these programs to get to this point, all of which can be accomplished in a couple of hours, starting from scratch.

But here you’re not starting from scratch, you’re just going to print a copy. To print a 2-sided copy I have to be hardware and software specific. Unless you know of another way, you will need the Safari.app and a laser printer capable of 2-sided printing. To print, open it with the Safari.app, not Acrobat reader, and choose to print it 2-sided for efficient use of paper. The default is to print the page at 93% of original document size;, don’t change it. I have individual books of the Bible that can be printed out or a file called “Romans-Philemon” that eliminates half-filled page or blank page at the end of some of the books when printed.

I found a heavy-duty 3-hole punch that will do 30 pages at a time. Although this printed document can be fitted to a 3-ring paper folder, I prefer the 88 cent plastic folder with metal rings that can readily be opened to remove or add pages as need be. I like to add in some ruled notebook paper for notes, scribblings, and bright ideas.

PDF files can be uploaded to a Kindle@ reader and read as individual books, eliminating indexes and navigation chores in other Kindle@ reader Bibles. But here is a real treat; you now have a homemade audible version of the Bible! You have the option of listening to your PDF Bible, and it is very good quality narration. If you do not want to hear the verse numbers, you can choose to leave them out when formatting them in E-Sword. My use of this homemade Bible is the reason why my other big leather covered Bible now sits on the shelf dust-covered. – R.T.