Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, 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 your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This week I cleared out the 14 remaining pumpkins from our barn that we had not yet fed to our livestock. Those last few pumpkins had started to rot. On the day that I moved them, they were frozen solid. I set those in clusters of 3 or 4 on the ground along the treeline at the north side of our near-house pasture. Hopefully, those will sprout some new pumpkin patches. With successive wheelbarrow loads, I heaped manure that I shoveled up from the horse loafing areas on top of the pumpkins.  I thought that was a good use for the horse manure, because we don’t like to use it in our vegetable gardens.  (Unlike cow manure, horse manure can pass along viable seeds. The extra stomach in a cow’s digestive system makes a difference!)  Even if nothing sprouts from those pumpkins, they will form useful compost mounds for future squash.

I kept busy writing and editing. I also cataloged several recent arrivals for Elk Creek Company.

With the help of a local handyman, we finished installing three new propane kitchen appliances.  The old ones went to charity.  That leaves us with just two AC-powered major appliances at the ranch: a washing machine and a chest freezer in our garage. Our other two chest freezers and our refrigerator-freezer are now all propane-fueled. I can sleep better at night, knowing that we are less at risk of extended power failures. Now, all that we need is an additional “Granddaddy” propane tank — probably around 4,000-gallon capacity. But we’ll have to budget, for that.

I attached our snowplow to our pickup. From the forecasts, it looks like will belatedly be getting some substantial snow.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations.

He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.

So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.” –  Psalm 61 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 31, 2025

On January 31, 1616, Cape Horn was rounded for the first time by a Dutch expedition led by Jacques Le Maire and Willem Corneliszoon Schouten. They named Cape Hoorn after Schouten’s hometown.

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The Last Day! In honor of the birthday of John Moses Browning (January 23rd, 1855), we are running a 10-day sale at Elk Creek Company.  This January sale is always our biggest sale of the year. These discounts range from 10% to 40%. All of our gun and knife inventory has been deeply reduced until midnight, Pacific Time today  (Friday, January 31st, 2025.)  Don’t miss out on these Birthday Week sale prices!  Update:  I  just squeezed in one more piece of new inventory before the end of the sale:  A rare original “US”-marked Hale & Tuller Percussion Underhammer Pistol made in the late 1830s. This 187+ year-old pistol is in remarkable good condition, for its age.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the final entry for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 117 begins tomorrow, 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.

 

Circuit Breaker Panel Labeling, by Free Loader

Most people’s circuit breaker panels that I’ve seen (including my own) are poorly labeled regarding where each circuit breaker’s current actually goes. Many panel descriptions are either very vague about what circuits are on each breaker or they aren’t labeled at all. Usually, this happens because the person who installed the panel was in a hurry to finish the wiring and never returned to label them properly. When they did label them, it was often with something vague like “east half house” or “basement.” These descriptions aren’t very helpful when you’re trying to locate the specific breaker for a particular outlet or light fixture.

My first realization that my breaker panel needed better labeling came on a calm, sunny June day. It had been raining hard for the previous two days, with about seven inches of rainfall in total. As I sat in my living room enjoying the sun-filled room, I was startled when the usual background hums of the house fell silent. We had lost grid power.

Since the weather was nice, we figured the power company would fix the issue soon, so we decided to hold off on using our generator. I smiled, glad it hadn’t happened at night or during winter, and went back to reading my book. About 15 minutes later, a faint beeping sound interrupted the calm. We couldn’t figure out where it was coming from since the lights were out, and it wasn’t the smoke alarms.

We searched the house room by room until my daughter called from the basement, saying she found the source: a small battery-operated water leak detector in the basement bathroom. The basement floor was starting to get wet. I quickly realized the sump pump wasn’t running due to the power outage. With the ground saturated from the recent rain, I knew I had to act fast to get the pump working or risk the ruination of my food preps and other emergency items stored on the basement floor. Continue reading“Circuit Breaker Panel Labeling, by Free Loader”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at Government Spending and Deficit Reduction.

Precious Metals:

Spot gold just posted another record high, yesterday. It was up $51.20 to $2,844.70 per Troy ounce at mid-day. That was a 1.8% gain for the morning.   Meanwhile, spot silver jumped $1.02 to $31.77. That was a 3.3% gain for the morning. Platinum was up 4.9% to $994.50. I expect to see some profit taking on Friday. Hang in there for the long haul, folks. The bull market is far from over.  And FWIW, I still favor silver and platinum, over gold. I hope that you reallocated your metals portfolio as I suggested. – JWR

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China Continues Making Covert Gold Purchases in London.

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Global Silver Market Forecast to Remain in a Sizeable Deficit in 2025.

Economy & Finance:

The on-again, off-again FinCEN small business owner-reporting scheme (“Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting”) is back on again, after a Supreme Court ruling. JWR Adds: We’ll post the new self-reporting deadline, once it is firmly announced. (At last report, the FinCen gnomes were just accepting “Voluntary Submissions” and they hadn’t set a deadline.)

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AOL reports: China’s DeepSeek prompts global sell-off in AI-linked stocks.

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Wall Street Enters Darker Age With Most Stock Trading Hidden.

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Warren Buffett Sends Wall Street a Grim $127 Billion Warning: History Says the Stock Market Will Do This in 2025.

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Working Americans Turn to Food Banks as Fed Inflation Battle Drags On. JWR’s Comments:  If the Federal Reserve cartel really wanted to “fight” inflation, then it would simply stop expanding the money supply through fractional reserve banking.  We need to abolish the Fed!

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day: 

“One thing I hate about the New Deal is that it is killing what, to me, is the American pioneering spirit. I simply do not know what to tell my own boys, leaving school and confronting this new world whose ideal is Security and whose practice is dependence upon government instead of upon one’s self. All the old character-values seem simply insane from a practical point of view; the self-reliant, the independent, the courageous man is penalized from every direction.” – Rose Wilder Lane

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — January 30, 2025

On January 30, 1835 two single-shot muzzleloading pistols carried by Richard Lawrence both misfired when aimed at President Andrew Jackson in Washington, D.C.. This was the first recorded attempt at an assassination of a US President.

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“The Lone Ranger” debuted on WXYZ radio in Detroit on January 30, 1933. The masked vigilante lawman and his Native sidekick, Tonto, became a dynamic duo of multimedia fame.

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January 30th is the birthday of historian Barbara Tuchman (born 1912, died February 6, 1989). She wrote some very engaging history books.

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January 30th is also the anniversary of the 1945 Great Raid on Cabanatuan Prison Camp where US Army Rangers and Filipino Guerrillas liberated Allied prisoners. The book Rescue At Los Baños, by historian and bestselling author Bruce Henderson is fascinating reading. And the movie The Great Raid was loosely based on the history of the raid.

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Just one day left! In honor of the birthday of John Moses Browning (January 23rd, 1855), we are running a 10-day sale at Elk Creek Company.  This January sale is always our biggest sale of the year. These discounts range from 10% to 40%. All of our gun and knife inventory has been deeply reduced until Friday, January 31st, 2025.  I’ve just added two more antique guns to the inventory:  A Colt Model 1894 double action revolver and a W. Jeffery 12 gauge double-barrel  shotgun with new factory fluid steel barrels. Don’t miss out on these Browning Birthday Week sale prices!

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Today’s feature article is a guest post that was written by JWR’s #1 Son, Jonathan Rawles.  It is not part of the writing contest judging.

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We are now seeking entries for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. That round will begin on February 1st, 2025. More than $945,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st. Get busy writing and e-mail us your entry fro Round 117. 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.

 

 

Today’s feature article is a guest post that was written by JWR’s #1 Son, Jonathan Rawles.  It is not part of the writing contest judging.

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We are now seeking entries for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. That round will begin on February 1st, 2025. More than $945,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st. Get busy writing and e-mail us your entry fro Round 117. 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.

 

A Red State Manifesto: Two Americas in 2025 – Part 3, by Jonathan Rawles

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

Red State Prospects

It seems almost redundant to try to list the benefits and advantages of “red state living.” Red America is vast and offers opportunities for every climate, lifestyle, regional culture, and personal preference or situation.

Red State America includes something of everything of America:

– Mountain West logging and mining towns. Lakeside resort towns. Ranching country. Vast empty spaces. Arizona sunshine.
– Midwest and Plains Americana, from small farming towns to prospering cities. The Great Lakes. America’s historic manufacturing and agricultural heartland.
– Texas, a nation to itself. The economic center of Red America, in the Texas Triangle.
– The Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their many tributaries.
– Eastern mountains and farmland. Appalachia and the “Eastern Redoubt.”
– The South. Florida. The Gulf Coast and Southeastern Coast.Continue reading“A Red State Manifesto: Two Americas in 2025 – Part 3, by Jonathan Rawles”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, reports on a couple of Chinese cyber advances.

A Major Kansas TB Outbreak

Recently reported by USA Today: Kansas tuberculosis outbreak is now America’s largest in recorded history.

COVID Vax Has Psychological Effects

SurvivalBlog reader D.S.V. sent this: Major Study Confirms Covid ‘Vaccines’ Change People’s Personalities, Emotions.

China’s Escalating Cyberattacks on Japan and US

An Epoch Times article, by way of Zero Hedge: Experts Warn Of China’s Escalating Cyberattacks On Japan And US Defenses. The article begins:

“Chinese cyberattacks on Japan’s defense, aerospace, and advanced technology sectors are increasing at an alarming rate, indicating what experts refer to as a broader strategy to undermine the technological and military strengths of democratic nations, particularly the United States.

The Japanese National Police Agency (NPA) has reported 210 such incursions since 2019, fueling calls for tougher legal frameworks and closer international coordination to protect critical infrastructure.

The NPA identified the hacker group MirrorFace, which shares traits with Advanced Persistent Threat 10, or APT10, a group linked to China’s Ministry of State Security. The agency noted that the timing of the cyberattacks frequently coincided with standard working hours in China and excluded Chinese holidays, leading authorities to believe that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been supporting such attacks.”

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 29, 2025

On January 29, 1879 the Custer Battlefield National Monument was established in Montana.

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Today is the birthday of actor Tom Selleck (born 1945), best known for playing the title role of Magnum, P.I. He is an avid shooter and quite pro-gun.

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Today is also the birthday of journalist and inventor Thomas Paine (1737–1809.)

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Just a few days left! In honor of the birthday of John Moses Browning (January 23rd, 1855), we are running a 10-day sale at Elk Creek Company.  This January sale is always our biggest sale of the year. These discounts range from 10% to 40%. All of our gun and knife inventory has been deeply reduced only until Friday, January 31st, 2025.  Don’t miss out on these Browning Birthday Week sale prices!

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Today’s feature article is a guest post that was written by JWR’s #1 Son, Jonathan Rawles.  It is not part of the writing contest judging.

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We are now seeking entries for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. That round will begin on February 1st, 2025. More than $945,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st. Get busy writing and e-mail us your entry fro Round 117. 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.

 

A Red State Manifesto: Two Americas in 2025 – Part 2, by Jonathan Rawles

(Continued from Part 1.)

Political Migration: Origins of the Big Sort

In 2008, demographers Bill Bishop and Robert G. Cushing put a name to a trend that had been going on in America since the 1960s with their book The Big Sort. The authors’ contention is that Americans are sorting themselves geographically and that as a consequence, all areas are becoming more politically polarized.

In their model, people do not necessarily move for explicitly political reasons, but based on lifestyle and cultural choices, which tend to correlate with political outlooks. As they describe it: “People who move to Portland want good public transportation and city life. People who don’t give a hoot about those things migrate to Phoenix, suburban Dallas, south of Minneapolis, or north of Austin.”Continue reading“A Red State Manifesto: Two Americas in 2025 – Part 2, by Jonathan Rawles”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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This article was posted back in December: Costco now has truncated book sections at only 100 of their 600 stores. JWR’s Comment:  The good old days of book shopping at Costco (as pictured above), are over. I suppose this change explains why Costco did not place a repeat order for my book The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide from Thunder Bay Press, even though the first printings sold out very quickly. That book was primarily sold through Costco.

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Over at the WRSA site: Buppert Sends: Memo To DOGE. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog reader Tim J. for the link.)

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Legal Victory Secured for Young Adults in Pennsylvania Open Carry Case.

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PayPal Admits Freezing Account Over Covid Mandate Criticism.  JWR’s Comment:  Personally, as someone who was de-banked without any explanation or warning by my regional bank (headquartered in Las Vegas), I can relate to the experiences of those who were targeted by PayPal. De-banking is beyond just inconvenient. It is stifling!

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Blog reader D.S.V. suggested this: Limiting Ultra-Processed Foods This Year? Experts Recommend Starting With These Three.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 28, 2025

On January 28, 1813, Jane Austen‘s “Pride and Prejudice” was first published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom.

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January 28th is the anniversary of the rescue of General James L. Dozier from his Italian Red Brigades kidnappers. Tangentially, Colonel Jeff Cooper created a shooting drill in honor of those who freed him – The Dozier Drill.

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Today’s feature article is a guest post that was written by JWR’s #1 Son, Jonathan Rawles.  It is not part of the writing contest judging.

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We are now seeking entries for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. That round will begin on February 1st, 2025. More than $945,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st. Get busy writing and e-mail us your entry fro Round 117. 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.