The Editors’ Preps for the Week

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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 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’ve had a lovely week of seasonal temperatures and sunny weather.  Most members of our family caught the colds that are making its rounds in our region.  Thus, we kinda laid low, resting, until Friday. However, this week we moved a few large potted vegetables from the greenhouse into the house in anticipation of some hard frosts.  These are the plants I want to try to keep growing through the winter: a dwarf lemon tree, celery, green peppers and oregano.  We picked, blanched and froze a gallon of broccoli. I harvested seeds from cantaloupe, Hubbard squash, pole beans, green beans, and black beans for next summer’s garden.  I also reorganized one of our chest freezers. (We have two–one is electric and one is propane.)

Vegetables in the greenhouse are continuing to grow well despite some observed temperatures just below 32°F in the greenhouse according to the thermometer.  Despite these temperatures the tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and butternut squash show no signs of damage and continue to grow. I surmise that the ambient moist air surrounding the plants or warm air coming from the raised beds themselves must be warding off the cold air above the plants.

Continue reading“The Editors’ Preps for the Week”

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’s focus is on the recent Las Vegas Massacre.

Climate and Weather

Reader H.L. sent us this: US winter forecast: La Niña to fuel abundant snow in Rockies; Bitterly cold air to blast Midwest

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

Preparedness Notes for Friday – October 06, 2017

October 6 is the birthday of Thor Heyerdahl. (Born 1914, died April 18, 2002.) Although his east-to-west theory of Pacific Ocean transmigration was later disproved by genetics studies, his many adventures were still remarkable.

Today is also the birthday of science fiction author David Brin. (born, 1950.) He wrote The Postman, which was very loosely the foundation of a movie by Kevin Costner.

Continue reading“Preparedness Notes for Friday – October 06, 2017”

Sweet Spot For the 21st Century With Calibers Beating .308- Part 4, by Alpine Evader

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Today, I’ll wrap up this series by writing about fire teams and our planning and training regimen. Also, I’ll outline some of our desires for the future.

Fire Teams of Four (or Three)

In SHTF, two fire teams of four would be absolutely fabulous, but we practice with one less person. This factors in SHTF reality, when we’ll suffer injuries, illness, homestead security, et cetera, into our planning and training regimen. A command element of four people– a squad leader, radio, two NCOs– would round this fantasy of a full-strength fire team out. We aren’t into fantasy, but that’s what we would wish for, four-man fire teams.

Fire Team Option A

Fire team option A is the best and most efficient fire team. This team consists of two 12.5″ or 14.5″ 5.56mm operators and two 6.8 SPC operators, one with a DMR of 18″. The fire team is most cost and impact effective with two 16″ 5.56mm rifles and at least one 18″ 6.8 SPC rifle. For primarily MOUT and mounted patrols, three shorter 12.5″ 6.8 SPC SBR rifles and one DMR with 6.8 ammo all around would provide the best kill to barrier ratio. Lose the rifle weight and add up the SAPI armor within a vehicle or as a QRF. Shorter barrel options for the 6.8 SPC and our Christian philosophy of operations within a community at high elevation, particularly as a QRF against marauders of our “neighborhood protection team” members in mutually supporting maneuver elements, are key differences between Grendel and 6.8 SPC.

Continue reading“Sweet Spot For the 21st Century With Calibers Beating .308- Part 4, by Alpine Evader”

Freeze Dried Friday:

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Welcome to Freeze Dried Friday on SurvivalBlog! We’ve been making so many things in the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer that we want to share some of them with you. If you have something wonderful you’ve prepared in your freeze dryer that you would like to share with SurvivalBlog readers, take a photo of it and send it in along with a description. We might just feature you here!

Asparagus Chicken Alfredo

The Latimer family is still camping this week so the freeze dryers have not been in production. However, Mrs. Latimer gave me permission to share one of our favorite meals this campout, made using the Harvest Right Freeze Drier. You can make this meal completely, then freeze dry the results if you desire, but it will not be as satisfactory. I highly recommend that you freeze dry the individual components, then re-hydrate and make the meal.

The primary reason is the Alfredo Sauce. Creamy things like sour cream, cream sauces, et cetera, do not reconstitute well. While the flavor is good, the texture is not. Since texture is a significant source of pleasure with food, it makes sense to cater to it’s strengths. To start, the meat and vegetables are all pre cut and freeze dried, the Alfredo is canned, and the pasta is dry. Obviously the oil is separate. When you are ready to start, reconstitute the meat and vegetables as you normally would.

Continue reading“Freeze Dried Friday:”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on investing in original movie props.  (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

First up at Seeking Alpha: Precious Metals Q3 2017 Review And The Outlook For Q4

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Slide in gold prices halts as dollar eases

Stocks:

Spanish tensions bar Europe from global stocks party

Commodities:

LME zinc prices strengthen; aluminium, copper consolidate

Economy and Finance:

No U.S. Bailout for Puerto Rican Debt, Trump’s Budget Chief Says

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – October 05, 2017

October 5, 1703 is the birthday of Jonathan Edwards. He died March 22, 1758 and was a prolific Calvinist theological writer. Many of his writings were later collected in the multi-volume book The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards, edited by John Gerstner.

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Seed for Security, LLC is having a sale. Their Colossal Security Pack is now 15% off. This pack is a total of 7 pounds of vegetable, grain and herb seeds. All are open-pollinated, and non GMO. Included are their most popular collections: Super Survival Pack, 4 Grain Collection, and Heirloom Herb Collection. This offer is for a limited time.

Continue reading“Preparedness Notes for Thursday – October 05, 2017”

Round 72 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

Any article submitted but not published will automatically be rolled over to Round 73. Here are the winners:

First Prize goes to J.F. Texas for “Recognizing and Resolving Common Vitamin Deficiencies” published on August 6th, 2017. He will receive the following prizes:

  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. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Continue reading“Round 72 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!”

Sweet Spot For the 21st Century With Calibers Beating .308- Part 3, by Alpine Evader

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Yesterday, in part two of this “sweet spot” series, I moved beyond telling about my high altitude survival group and our plans and I began telling about my loadout long-term results and recommendations. I’ll continue with this by recommending some ammo.

115 Grain 6.8 Ammo

You’ll find that 115 grain 6.8 SPC Sellier & Belliot (S&B) ammo just got undercut by 115 grain American Eagle; both are about $0.62 per round. 6.8 ball ammo will crush cinder blocks within 200 yards far more effectively than any 5.56 ammo. That’s true even if you include green-tip SLAP rounds out of either a short or long barreled rifle. Try it out yourself on a few cinder blocks and tell me I’m wrong.

I find that 6.8 SPC consistently provides about 50% more sectional density than the best 5.56mm semi-auto round. And within 300 yards, it drops CXP2 game up to black bear size with a single hit, consistently DRT (dear right there). You get better smackdown than 75 gr. 5.56mm and don’t have to buy new ammo carrying MOLLE gear. You get more power close with shorter barrels than 6.5 Grendel. If you’re going to have to go inside a house, 6.8 at 16” or below is your friend.

Continue reading“Sweet Spot For the 21st Century With Calibers Beating .308- Part 3, by Alpine Evader”

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”. More reasons why you really want to get your kids out of public school are in the news today. This type of reprehensible behavior is becoming almost a daily occurrence in the news cycle.

Socialism

Reader H.L. sent in the link to this article that accurately describes the relationship between socialism and a ruling oligarchy. the idiots who desire to overthrow the oligarchy in favor of socialism don’t understand that they are actually doing the bidding of that very oligarchy. It seems counterintuitive, but history bears it out. Every socialist revolution promises a better government. Of course, first you have to install the necessary dictatorship. Unsurprisingly, the socialist never makes it past that point. It’s the same old oligarchy, but under a different name.

Reason #5035 To Leave Public School

It’s difficult to add any commentary to these headlines. They pretty much speak for themselves. Remember, these are the authority figures that you entrust your children to when you send them off to school. These are the figures who are considered guardians of your child during the day. Thanks to reader F.M. for the links.

Ohio superintendent is SUSPENDED for 10 days without pay for pulling down a board member’s pants at a high school football game

Middle school teacher arrested for having sex with student — again

Married Maine teacher indicted on 14 sexual assault charges with student who tried to commit suicide

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Now those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth, and let me remind you they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyranny.” – Barry Goldwater

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – October 04, 2017

October 4, 1923 is the birthday of the late Charlton Heston, who was born John Charles Carter. He died April 5, 2008. He is often remembered for movies like Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, Soylent Green, The Planet of the Apes, and the survivalist classic The Omega Man.

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Tom Petty, a rock-’n-roll superstar, has died at age 66. He known as a perfectionist in his studio recordings, often working for weeks to achieve the perfect sound. Preppers will remember that he had an extended cameo role in the movie The Postman. His later life was a shambles, marred by heroin addiction and a divorce. But his music will live on, in perfection. I’d like to report that he came to Christ toward the end, but sadly, I’ve read that he did not. It would have be great to know that someday I’d meet him in heaven, with the greeting: “I know you. You’re… famous.” – JWR

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 73 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. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

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. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. 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,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. 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

Round 73 ends on November 30th, 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.

Sweet Spot For the 21st Century With Calibers Beating .308- Part 2, by Alpine Evader

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Yesterday, I began writing by telling the summary up front. I said we recommend against adopting the beautiful, survival standard of .308/7.62x51mm caliber semi-automatic rifles. Instead, I stated, “The least expensive and best upgrade to any existing AR-15 fire team for high altitude blended threats is to purchase standardized barrels and stock up on single-use, heavier bullets.” I also shared about our survival group’s location decisions. So, who am I to make these statements and recommendations?

Author’s Relevant Background

I climbed my first 14,000+ foot peak at the age of 12 in a summer camp located smack dab in the middle of the Colorado Rockies. I am a father who looks out (logistically, physically, and spiritually) for six children within a blended family. My age is between forty and fifty years old and I’m in moderately good shape. Twelve to sixteen mile hikes with lightweight packs are something I still do. Backpacking is something I’m introducing to the children gradually.

I have over 35 years of outdoor experience and between five and ten years of military service with multiple combat deployments. I’ve consulted with law enforcement at various levels for the past twenty years and grew up at high altitude as well as living at sea level. Formal training includes multiple military environmental survival schools and Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE) training as well as SERE staff time. I am not a Marine Corps or Army Infantry veteran, but I am a combat decorated armed forces non-commissioned officer (NCO) veteran with an additional five years of experience licensed in civilian law enforcement/investigations, performed within remote and urban regions of the Rocky Mountain Southwest.

Continue reading“Sweet Spot For the 21st Century With Calibers Beating .308- Part 2, by Alpine Evader”