The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There is … a clever maxim which bears upon what I was saying to you some little while ago, and that is, that unless wicked ideas take root in a naturally depraved mind, human nature in a [[right] and wholesome state, revolts at crime. Still, from an artificial civilization have originated wants, vices, and false tastes which occasionally become so powerful as to stifle within us all good feelings, and ultimately to lead us into guilt and wickedness…” – Alexandre Duma, in The Count of Monte Cristo

Preparedness Notes for Monday – March 12, 2018

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Today is the birthday of science fiction author Harry Harrison, who is best known for his Deathworld trilogy. (He was born in 1920 and died in 2012.)

On March 12, 1850, the first U.S. $20 gold piece was issued. The current bullion (melt) value of a $20 gold piece (not even considering any numismatic value) is about $1,185. Lesson learned: Trust gold, not paper.

Smith & Wesson Model 66, by Pat Cascio

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Today, we are looking at the S&W Model 66 stainless steel 2.75-inch barrel handgun on the popular K Frame. With so many requests from SurvivalBlog readers, we are covering this, another good ol’ fashioned revolver.

Early Years Carrying a Revolver

Truth be told, in my early years as a police officer, private security contractor, and private investigator, I carried a revolver for the simple fact that in Illinois, at least at that time, you were required to only carry a 4-inch barrel revolver when doing private security. As a police officer in various areas of the country, I was pretty much allowed to carry just about any type of handgun I wanted. Still, more often than not, I’d reach for a Smith & Wesson revolver in .38 Spl or .357 Magnum.

Back in the day, the two most popular revolvers were the S&W K Frame with a 4-inch barrel for a full-sized duty handgun or a Colt revolver, once again with a 4-inch barrel. It’s hard to go wrong with either one of those choices. The S&W K frame revolver design is well over a hundred years old and has a proven track record. And, I always found it was easier to get a better double-action trigger pull on the K frame as opposed to a Colt.

Continue reading“Smith & Wesson Model 66, 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 greenback cash.

Precious Metals:

Spot silver took a 0.65% bounce on Friday, up to $16.608. But it is still grossly under-valued vis-a-vis gold.  For the time being, I recommend that you make any new precious metals acquisitions in the form of either silver or platinum, not gold!

 

Stocks:

Over at MarketWatch: The stock market will remain glued to the inflation story

 

Commodities:

Next, at FarmFutures.com: Grain market week in review – March 9, 2018

o  o  o

India may see record sugar production of 29.5 MT in 2017-18: ISMA

 

Economy & Finance (Greenback Cash):

With all of the recent talk about digital currencies, I want to spill a little e-ink and extol the virtues of greenback cash. By that I mean printed Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs.)  While still subject to the invisible taxation of general price inflation, paper Dollars still have a few advantages over competing currencies–including electronic currency. The first of these is the most important:

  • Privacy.  (Cash transactions in and of themselves do not create a paper trail or electronic trail.)
  • Readily recognizable.
  • Good design features that have kept a low rate of counterfeiting
  • A fairly low inflation rate.
  • Acceptance beyond our shores. (Dollars are de facto currency in several other countries. They can also be traded for local currency in nearly every country.)
  • Compactness (versus barter goods, which tend to be bulky.)
  • Light weight (versus barter goods, which tend to be heavy.)
  • Legality for settling “all debts, public and private”. (Although this is now slipping away.)
  • Utility in the midst of a power failure.
  • Utility when away from cellular phone coverage.
  • Utility for conversion into precious metals.

Of course there are just as many drawbacks. For example, the inclusion of a metallic thread in FRNs now makes them capable of being detected if sewn into clothing. But I am thankful that I’m not now carrying a pocketful of Bolivars!

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – March 11, 2018

Today is the birthday of author Douglas Adams (born 1952). He is the author of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Also on this day, the Great Blizzard of ’88 struck the northeastern United States (1888).

March 11th is the birthday of the late actor Anton Yelchin (born 1989, died June 19, 2016). He is remembered for his portrayal of Kyle Reese in Terminator: Salvation, and as Ensign Pavel Checkov, in the most recent Star Trek movie series. He died in a freak accident wherein his parked Jeep Grand Cherokee unexpectedly rolled forward on an incline, pinning him to a security fence. He is greatly missed.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 75 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 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. 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 75 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.

No Man Is An Island, by J.S.

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“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.” – John Donne

Compared to the seasoned veterans of the preparedness camp, I am a rookie. I have no specific training in any field or category that would make me specifically qualified to write an article on preparedness, but that is why this is so important.

Majority of Preparedness Individuals Are Not Specialists

Odds are the vast majority of TEOTWAWKI preparedness-aware individuals are not specialists in any specific category of emergency or end of societal type skills. Yes, they have a few specific things that they can lean on, as do I. But, in general, they are just the “average Joe” that realizes being prepared is a smart thing to do, and it is fun to learn new things. The reality is that they had to learn from someone else, just like I have had to do.

But nothing I have learned, read, or found discusses the difficulties of dealing with family dynamics. Yes, there are small discussions of how there needs to be plans and everyone needs to be on board and “trained”. What happens if your wife is not part of the plan and your kids are too little to be help, or too old to listen anymore?

Continue reading“No Man Is An Island, by J.S.”

Letter: Post-TEOTWAWKI Refigeration

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Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:

Consider the impact on your diet after a major societal disruption if you still had the ability to refrigerate food.

Work with me here. Open the door to your refrigerator and figure out which foods you could do without.

Then figure out how many bottles, jars, and other containers have labels that say, “Refrigerate after opening.” Could you live without most of them. Sure. Would you prefer not to give them up. Sure.

Then consider how in a crisis the ability to save food from one meal to the next would extend the life of your food storage. Not having to worry about spoilage and food poisoning would mean that you would not need to toss uneaten food at the end of meals.

If you bought the 100 watt Harbor Freight solar panel kit or a similar item, and a deep-cycle battery to use with it, you could use a 12v cooler like this one. While it certainly won’t replace the fridge in your kitchen, you would likely consider its 40 quart capacity to be a Godsend in a crisis.

Continue reading“Letter: Post-TEOTWAWKI Refigeration”

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”. Today features and interesting article with a monetary breakdown of the west. It is definitely worth a read.

Fix NICS – Gun Control in Disguise

Please contact your congressional representatives today and insist that they oppose H.R. 4909, which includes the horribly flawed “Fix NICS” bill that targets veterans. For some details, see this brief announcement from Congressman Massie.

Firearms – Time and Energy vs Money

Reader T.J. sent this video link in to Reid Henrichs of Valor Ridge talking about just purchasing guns vs actually training with them. We’ve all been with friends (or in a gun store) where people talk about the various firearms that they own. How many conversations have you had with these same people about what kind or how much training you’ve done with those firearms? Just from the standpoint of practicality, if you don’t train with a firearm, what good does it do you? A defensive weapon is more likely to be taken from you and used against you if you don’t know how to use it. A long distance platform is worthless if you can’t hit anything with it. Take the time to train. Spend money on it if you need to!

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
 
It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” – 2 Timothy 2:8-16 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – March 10, 2018

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On March 10, 1910, China officially ended slavery. But unofficially, China now has one of the world’s largest slave populations. These are mostly political prisoners, working in prison factories. Sadly, there is no way of reliably knowing whether or not most of the “Made In China” merchandise that you buy might originate from these prisons.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 75 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 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. 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 75 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.

Board Games in TEOTWAWKI, by Gridley

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In “Sleeping With the Friendlies, by Heidi C.”, the author mentions some of the problems of group integration and building group cohesion, and the author touches on a point that I would like to expand on– board games. In this article I will discuss how I feel board games have uses in:

  • Finding like-minded people
  • Building group cohesion
  • Maintaining morale in a retreat location or shelter-in-place

I will take these points in reverse order.

Board Games?

Why board games? First, let’s imagine the following scenario. The fall has happened. You’ve reached your retreat location and found with relief that the rest of your group has as well. Stockpiles have been inspected, defenses set up, et cetera. And then that first rush of excitement and adrenalin fades. Routine sets in.

There’s plenty of work to do– patrolling or guard duty, farm or garden work, cooking, cleaning, but there’s also a lot of tension. Is a gang of bandits forming just beyond your patrol radius? Is severe weather coming? What happened to your friends and relatives who aren’t with you?

Continue reading“Board Games in TEOTWAWKI, by Gridley”

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! This week’s emphasis is on small arms mechanical training.

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,

I was very busy writing this past week, so I didn’t have much time for prepping activities.  But I did find some time to do some more gunsmithing. I also segregated another model-specific tackle box of spare gun parts.  I already  had separate tackle boxes variously labelled: “Glock”, “HK”, “AR”, “Bolt Actions & .22s”, “Misc. Shotgun”, and “Picatinny Bits.” I  have now further divided the “Misc. Shotgun” box, creating a new box that is labelled “Saiga-12”.

Avalanche Lily has begun planting seeds in our sprouting trays. They will be started in the house in a spare room under grow lights. Their transition to the greenhouse will have to wait until the snow comes off and the nighttime lows inside the greenhouse are consistently above freezing, probably during the second week of April.  Indoors, she planted a full tray of broccoli; tomatoes: yellow sweet, orange cherry, purple, Beef Steak, Siberian, and Black Krim, Three six packs of celery, Peppers:  orange, green, yellow; Butternut Squash, Burpless cucumbers, the middle eastern cocktail cucumbers, and Straight Eight. Also some Brussels Sprouts.

She also planted three large packages of four year old spinach seeds in one of the greenhouse beds.  She is curious about what the percentage of their germination outcome will be?  The temperatures are mostly holding above freezing in there, and the Kale and spinach that were planted in the “greenhouse within a greenhouse” last fall are continuing to grow. This coming week the temperatures will be in the high 40s with sunshine, so we expect that the growth rate of the seedlings will go exponential.  We’ll be harvesting Spinach and kale by the third week of April, I expect.

I also heard from a friend last week that peanuts can be grown in the north!  I love peanut butter!!  So I bought 225 feet worth of Virginia peanuts.  This will be a major experiment for this summer.

Spring is coming!

Please continue to post comments about your own preps.

Thanks, – Jim Rawles

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”. Smartphone security is in question again as the iPhone Security has apparently been breached in even the latest models.

Gun Confiscation in America

You have always known that the ultimate goal of gun control extremists is total gun confiscation. Chuck Baldwin writes about how the plan is not to control, but to prohibit private ownership of firearms. With the latest statement of Trump to “Take the guns first, go through due process second” you have to wonder if he even has a clue what the phrase “due process” is. Despite these words becoming a rallying cry for gun control proponents, the current Republican congress is holding Trump’s illogical thinking in check, at least in part. With mid-term elections on the horizon though, there is reason to be concerned.

Traditionally, the party in power loses seats in the mid-term elections. Imagine a Trump making statements like these along with his statements about signing anything Congress sends to him when Congress is held by the most radical, liberal party ever to hold significant power in the U.S.. Thanks to H.L. for the link.

iPhone Security

Reader D.B. sent in this article that outlines how Cellebrite, a company specializing in security is most likely able to unlock any iPhone. A warrant unearthed by Forbes shows that the U.S. government hired them to break into an iPhone X owned by Abdulmajid Saidi, a suspect in an arms trafficking case. Apparently, the data was successfully extracted. The details are not known, so we don’t know if Saidi didn’t have his phone properly locked or if Cellebrite can actually break the robust security on the iPhone X, but there is significant question as to your privacy on these devices. While we won’t condone the criminal activity that led the government to seek that data, it is concerning to us that anything you might keep on your phone can be accessed.

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