Odds ‘n Sods:

Do magazine springs lose power when loaded for years?

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Among the more than 31,000 Wikileaked John Podesta e-mails, there is this gem, that shows the purely putrid perfidy of the Clinton camp. I think that is now time Mr. Podesta’s surname to become a noun. In honor of Washington DC’s new daily ritual, I’d like to coin a new word: Podestian. I define it as: “Clever political scheming, marked by back-biting, with nefarious ends.” – JWR

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The AMMRON group is promoting an upcoming MARS interoperability “Very Bad Day” test.

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Over at The Gabe Suarez Blog: Linking the “D” and “A” in the OODA Loop

Notes for Sunday – October 30, 2016

My special thanks to SurvivalBlog reader A.P., who kindly sent me the gift of an autographed hardback copy of Robert A. Heinlein’s 1982 novel titled Friday.
He sent me that book in lieu of a Ten Cent Challenge (10 cents per day) subscription donation.  I am humbled by the tremendous generosity of SurvivalBlog readers. Thank you!

October 30th, 1735 was the birthday of President John Adams. (Other sources cite his birthdate as October 19, 1735.) He died on July 4th, 1826–just a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson.

Safecastle’s October Mountain House Sale ends Monday. They are offering discounts up to 50% off the 30-year shelf life cans. Safecastle, as always, pays for the shipping.

Email server update: SurvivalBlog’s email server is now (mostly) back on-line and we are working through the backlog of emails. If you received a rejection in reply to email sent, you may now safely send it again.

The Fallacy of the Bugout Bag, by J.C.

I began my quest to become self-sufficient in a bug out situation sometime around the end of 2004 or the beginning of 2005.  My first purchase, if I recall was a gravity fed water filter and a small solar battery charger.  The old saying that one can live three weeks without food but only three days without water, in hindsight is what drove me to that purchase.  I don’t regret buying it to this day, but the chances that it will be with me in a true bug out situation, are slim to none.

Before I go any further I would like to state that there are numerous different scenarios in a survival situation and that each requires its own skill set and supplies in order to get through them.  In two of those three scenarios, that big gravity filter will be worth its weight in gold.

There is the shelter in place scenario, during which weight, bulk and duplication of gear and supplies mean very little.  In fact, during a shelter in place scenario, in nearly every instance, the more the merrier.  There is also a shelter in or near vehicle scenario.  Here bulk does become a problem.  If you can’t fit it into your bug out vehicle, what good are all of those supplies?  Are you able to fit those supplies in your vehicle, and if so, how long could you survive with those limited supplies? 

For those of us who don’t have or can’t afford a dedicated bug out property, this article is for you.  We might not have a dedicated place to go, but we all know at least someplace with extensive tracts of wilderness that would be a good place to extract to.

All of these scenarios must be planned and practiced before they happen not after.  The scenario that is the most misunderstood, under practiced and least likely for your survival though, is the situation where you must vacate your home, and your vehicle with nothing but the supplies you can carry on your back.

In this report, I will focus on bugging out, with only the items that you can carry on your back, for a 14-day trip into the wilderness.  As a backcountry Elk hunter who backpacks in, usually solo and often traveling more than 65 miles over fourteen days – what I have learned is that ALL, and I do mean ALL, of my original purchases for survival in that same sort of scenario, were for naught.

What I hadn’t considered was the weight that the end result would add up to be.  Even the bag that I had planned to put the supplies in was both undersized and not sufficient to haul the loads that, at the time, I had no idea that I would be hauling.  That bag was an old GI Alice (LC-1) Pack.  I remember when I purchased that pack and frame at a local gun show.  I thought I had hit the big time when it came to survival.  Little did I know that it didn’t have the capacity to fit, much less carry, the supplies that I would need to survive for 14 days off grid.

Even the type of dehydrated food that I had purchased was not ideal.  It required simmering, which many compact backcountry stoves are horrible at.  It required long cook times, another huge drawback. 
They required more water than is generally necessary for similar backcountry dehydrated meals.  And worst of all – they required a pot to cook them in.

I still chuckle when I think about my first elk hunt into the Colorado backcountry.  Instead of filtering water via a small handheld filter, we chose to carry it in, on our backs and with gallon jugs in our hands.  We certainly weren’t going to carry in something as big as a gravity fed filter, which coincidentally worked great at the base camp with the vehicles. 

Because of the limited volume in my Alice Pack that so many buy for bugout bags, I made several 7.5 mile round trips to carry in what the bag couldn’t handle.  By day 7 my shoulders were on fire due to the non-lift of the Alice packs nonexistent load lifters.  Just my tent weighed nearly 9 pounds.  Due to the  overly bulky and heavy gear combined with the fact that we made multiple trips, I have no doubt that I personally carried more than 200 pounds of gear no less than 12 miles. 

I was shocked.  All of what I thought were well thought out and well laid plans, would have proved to have been a disaster in a true TEOTWAWKI situation.  However, I was thankful for the learning experience that could one day save my life.

Embracing the suck of that experience and wanting to face that challenge again, I immediately began researching backpack hunting forums and backpacking in general, more so to learn from my mistakes and their experiences.

One of the first things that I did was purchase a proper pack.  To be more specific, a pack with over 8,000 cubic inches of storage space including the additional pockets and lid that I added to the purchase.  Not only did this pack prove to be able to fit my new bug out supplies, but it carried it with ease as well.  With a solid frame, belt and load lifters my burning shoulders were no more.  At least 60% of the weight in the pack rode on the hips instead of the shoulders. 

The next purchase was a pair of sturdy boots.  In mountainous terrain and while carrying heavy loads, your typical hiking boot will not cut it.  I would recommend an 8-to-10 inch tall boot with a strong shank, Vibram soles, and Goretex lining.  I would also strongly suggest that they be either made in America or Europe.  Even the most expensive of boots come with lousy liners so I immediately replaced them with a quality foot bed.  It’s important to keep your feet in good shape and a good pair of quality boots that fit right, along with a quality sock and sock liner, will pay dividends in the long run.

During that first trip into the mountains temperatures got into the teens, I quickly found out that sleeping bags were often overrated.  I nearly froze in what I thought was a decent “15 degree F.” sleeping bag.  My next purchase was a zero degree-rated bag, made in the USA bombproof bag.  Incidentally the zero-degree bag weighs less than the 15-degree bag and due to the fact that its highly compressible, takes up about the same amount of space.  It is probably the most expensive sleeping bag made, but a sleep system is not a place to try to save money.

I found that I carried too many clothes.  For instance, I carried multiple changes of pants which I later found was unnecessary.  I carried a softshell jacket which was heavy and neither warm or waterproof.  My rain gear was bulky, heavy and didn’t breathe well.  Rain gear that doesn’t breathe is as ineffective as having none at all because while moving you will get wet from the inside instead of the outside. 

Today the only change of clothes that I bring for a 14-day trip are multiple pairs of socks.  I wear in the clothes I will hunt in.  This consists of a synthetic or merino wool base layer depending on the time of year and location.  As with most things in life there are trade-offs for everything.  Synthetics dry faster than merino but merino keeps odors down and still functions when wet.  I wear a mid-layer which consists of my pants and a synthetic fleece type sweater.  Cotton is a killer in these types of scenarios as it doesn’t breathe well and holds in moisture.  So all of my clothing, including my underwear and socks are either synthetic or wool.

In my pack are a change of socks including an extra pair of sock liners, rain gear, balaclava, gloves, and probably most important – a puffy style jacket.  It is paramount to keep these packables dry so I keep them in ultra-light waterproof dry bags.  When the weather turns I put on my puffy jacket and rain gear and have been fine in single digit temperatures for days on end.  Including one nasty blizzard.

I replaced my nearly 9-pound tent with one that weighs just over three pounds.  Not only is it much lighter, but it is also much smaller, leaving important real estate in my pack for the bulkiest and heaviest subset in my pack list, and no it’s not my weapon but –

Food.  Out of all of the gear that I carry, food is by far the heaviest and bulkiest items in my bag.

Even with nearly 8,000 cubic inches of storage and my newfound minimalist approach to bugging out in a TEOTWAWKI situation, 14 days is as long as I can go without resupplying or supplementing my food.

I no longer carry para cord as it is bulky, heavy and has been replaced by smaller cord with higher tensile strength like Dyneema (braided Kevlar) cord. 
100 ft. of 1.8mm Dyneema cord weighs less than 50 ft. of paracord, and is stronger.

My first aid kit is about 1/10th the size and weight of the one that I carried on my first trip.  Duct tape and superglue can go a long way in a first aid situation.  My larger first aid kit stays in the truck.

Over the last six years, since I began the process of backpack elk hunting in the high country of Colorado, I have found the following processes and categories to be most efficient way of breaking down the necessities needed to survive off grid. 

This list has been refined and re-refined to the point that I know that I can survive for a minimum of two weeks over any distance, in any terrain, and nearly any weather situation.


Sleep System – Weight 7.5 lbs. – Shelter being one of the most important components of back country survival a proper sleep system should consist of:

1.     A small and lightweight (less than 4lbs) tent with a “footprint” groundsheet. In extreme weather the footprint groundsheet can be used as a tarp to cover firewood or to have a place to cook under. 

Some minimalists choose a tarp instead of a tent but a floorless shelter requires a ground sheet or bivy sack to keep your bag and pad dry and off the ground so at the end of the day the weight savings is very minimal. 

I prefer a tent.

2.     A warm zero degree sleeping bag that is collapsible and lightweight. (less than 3.5 lbs.)

3.     A warm sleeping pad with an R rating of at least 5 that is collapsible and lightweight. (less than 20 ounces)

Possibles Pouch – Weight 16.8 Ounces – Emergency and repair items:

1.     A Multi-Tool like a Leatherman or Gerber Multi-Plier.

2.     A butane lighter with about 3 ft of duct tape wrapped around it.

3.     Tenacious Tape made by Gear Aid to repair clothes and tent.

4.     A repair patch for my sleeping pad and/or tent.

5.     A mylar-lined olive drab survival blanket.

6.     A two-pack of chemical hand warmers.

7.     Fire tinder.

8.     A chemical glow stick.

9.     Stormproof matches.

Cook Kit
– Weight 39.2 Ounces:

1.     Small backpacking stove used only for boiling water.

2.     Two small packs of isobutane fuel for stove.

3.     Long plastic spoon that will fit inside dehydrated or freeze dried meal pouches like Mountain House.

4.     Titanium Mug.

5.     Field Wipes for cleaning my hands, mug and spoon.

6.     A microfiber washcloth.

Water–

1.     A small backpacking filter like the Katadyn Backpacker Pro.

2.     A 3 Liter Camelbak style water bladder.

3.     A 6 Liter Dromedary bladder to keep water around camp. (Multiple
trips to the water source uses valuable energy and can be
dangerous in a SHTF scenario)

First Aid – Weight = 3.6 Ounces

1.     Superglue

2.     Duct tape from possibles pouch

3.     Gauze

4.     3 single dose triple antibiotic ointment

5.     3 single benzocaine wipes

6.     Visine

7.     Leukotape to tape heels for blister prevention. (It does wonders.)

8.     8 Excedrin

9.     8 Benadryl

10.  2 x individual packets of Afterbite wipes for bee and wasp stings.

11.  2 x Small individual use Body Glide for chafing

12.  3 different types of small bandages, two each

Personal Hygiene

1.     Field Wipes

2.     Travel Size Toothbrush

3.     Small travel size floss

4.     Chapstick

5.     Washcloth

6.     Extra Small Wilderness Wash Soap

I carry two headlamps one with a flood type beam and another ultra-strong 700+ Lumen spot headlamp.  Make it a point to try to get all of your electronics to run on the same type of battery and plan on having to replace those batteries at least twice over a fourteen-day period.  I usually carry enough batteries to replace one of my electronic devices a third time if as necessary and those batteries can be used across several devices in the event that they are needed.

I carry a small knife with replaceable surgical style blades with a total of five blades along with a fixed blade knife for larger chores and batoning firewood.  I also carry a small folding saw.  One of my first purchases in my earlier days was a hatchet, in six years I have never had to use it and quit carrying one after my first trip out.

With all of the necessary items above, and 14 days of food your pack will easily be in excess of 60 pounds.  Add a sidearm, a long gun, magazines, two way radios, 100 rounds of ammo, and filled water bladders and you will easily be pushing 100 pounds.  Keep in mind, this is after years of dialing in my gear list and paying top dollar to cut ounces in every category imaginable with a minimalist approach.  I have no doubt that over that time I have cut a minimum of 50 pounds off of that total.

The idea of the bugout bag, in many cases is a poorly thought out and ineffective approach to survival. 

The good news however, is that the hundreds and even thousands of dollars one may have spent on survival type items have not been wasted.  They will prove to be valuable in a shelter in place situation.  They will prove to be valuable in a barter and trade situation.  But in a true bug out situation, where one will be off grid and without motorized transportation for long lengths of time, over varying terrain, distances and weather events – they will prove to be ineffective and virtually useless.

What I have learned is that the saying “ounces make pounds and pounds make pain” has never been more true in such a scenario.  I would urge everyone to rethink their bug out strategies, but even more importantly to get out there and dial in your gear lists.  

In these types of scenarios, instead of one is none and two is one, you should be thinking of gear that offers multiple uses.  The process of cutting weight off of your gear list is an expensive one.  However, it’s better to buy once and cry once.  This gives you comfort in knowing that not only will your gear will not fail you, but that you will still have the ability to be mobile due to its efficiency and light weight.

Separate your gear lists into the three types of scenarios described at the beginning of the article.  For shelter in place scenarios, the more weapons, ammunition, food, fuel and barter items that you have the richer that you will be.  In a base camp type scenario near your vehicle, no one is counting ounces but space becomes an important consideration.  When extracting to an area off grid and without motorized transportation, both weight and volume become important.  This is a situation that many have not considered, much less prepared for or practiced.

Whether you are hunting, preparing for bug out situations, or just want to enjoy nature – live off of your back for a week or more at a time to learn what it really takes to survive an extended situation off grid.  You will probably find that your survival purchases for just such a scenario were not as well planned as you may have thought.

Letter: Stock Up on Magazines!

Dear Editor:
The upcoming Presidential election is cause for concern. As an avid daily reader of your awesome blog, I would highly encourage those out there to buy those full capacity, or really any magazines that they need today. Not tomorrow, right now. Now! Stop reading the blog for a few minutes and find what you need. Some sellers are already selling out of AR-style magazines. Ruger factor-made 10/22 BX-25 (25-round) magazines are presently available at one of the major outdoor retailers online for less than $20 each.

As an example: HK G3 alloy 20  round magazines (for HK91 rifles and clones) were selling for just under one dollar each, a few years ago. I recently sold my extras at $10 each. Stock up on ammo too, y’all! – Jeff in Wisconsin

JWR Replies: I concur!  See my recent commentary on this subject.  If you decide to stock up on magazines, then please give SurvivalBlog advertisers (like GunMag Warehouse and KeepShooting.com) your business first. They have very competitive prices.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” – 1 Peter 3:8-12 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – October 29, 2016

Good News:  All Seven Defendants Found Not Guilty In Refuge Occupation Trial.  In retrospect, this headline makes today’s Quote of the Day (see below) particularly apropos.

October 29th is the birthday of fighter pilot Vermont Garrison, an American who fought in three wars– WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died February 14, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho.

This is also the birthday of World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin (born 1921, died January 22, 2003).

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Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First 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 $1,700 value),
  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. 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),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. 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,
  2. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 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 $245 gift certificate 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. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value),
  8. 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
  9. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).

Round 67 ends on November 30th, 2016, 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.

Prepare to Be Prepped – Sometimes You Have to Survive Daily Life, by Just-Do-It Jane

Most of us in the U.S. have been touched by winter storms. If you live in the South like I do, then you’ve probably tossed your hands in the air and said to yourself, “Wait a minute! What happened to mild winters?!”

Fortunately for me, my friend “Survival Messenger” has had the foresight to help me (and many others) understand why we should prepare for come-what-may scenarios. She has shared everything from her favorite high-tech gadgets to trusted and ingenious homemade solutions for everyday problems. I’ve been the thrilled recipient of handy buckets and bags filled with so many helpful goodies that it’s like Christmas each time she walks in the door. But her generosity doesn’t end with physical products. Almost every conversation we have contains a gold mine of valuable information I store for future use.  In January and February of one recent year, I came to know how important her preparedness values had become in my life.

Weather/Round I

After two years of searching, I finally found the homestead property of my dreams, which consisted of an old 1920s farmhouse and outbuildings on almost seven beautiful acres with trees, a spring-fed pond and plenty of room for gardens. Three months spent on needed renovations and it was time to move in. I relished the idea of domiciling happily inside, keeping warm by my toasty wood stove and cooking in my old farm kitchen. Reality isn’t always quite as fun as your mind would like to be.

Before I had moved a stick of furniture in the house, the weatherman informed us that the temperature was going to drop below 10 degrees for several days. If you’ve ever spent any time in old houses in the South then you know they weren’t built to withstand extremely cold winter. I was very concerned that my pipes wouldn’t survive without my influence, so I made the trek from the city to the farm to spend the night. I took my trusty survival bag with me. Good thing.

When I walked in the door, I knew it was going to be a long night. The old heat pump was hardly keeping up, and it was only late afternoon. My brain had been concentrating so much on inside renovations that I hadn’t stopped to think what might happen to the outside if it got extremely cold, so I didn’t have extra insulation or heat tape in place in the crawl space. The best I could do was keep the water dripping in the faucets, leave the cupboard doors open, and keep the heat up as high as possible. My beautiful wood  stove had yet to be installed; it was just a wishful thought in the mind’s eye of my cold body.

I decided to scope out the warmest place in the house. I thought it was the 5 x 12-foot utility room.  The heat pump sends warmed air through ducts in the ceiling and it felt the warmest in that smallest of rooms.

I know that hot air rises, so I’ll blame my decision to sleep on the floor of a house that sits just a few feet above the cold ground on my own befuddled thought process. I thought that I was smart to bring a camouflage air mattress to sleep on — the kind you stick in the water and float on. (What? Like fish won’t see you?)  I have a small, emergency air compressor that you can plug into your car to inflate things, but I imaged myself in a Lucille Ball moment,  sitting outside in the dark and near zero temperatures in the front seat of my car, fighting a slowly inflating mattress, so I opted to blow it up manually. Yep, you’re reading that right. I almost passed out trying to get that thing inflated (Okay, so I had a Lucy moment anyway.) After what seemed like two hours, it was full of my hot air.  I covered it with a sheet and a blanket and tried to snuggle in for the night with my trusty survival bag next to me.

Within five minutes, I was feeling like I was freezing. I used my solar LED light and pulled on a pair of wool socks Survival Messenger had given me.  I knew I had some emergency blankets somewhere in my bag. I did! I took one out, covered my body with it and tried to settle down. However, every time I breathed I sounded like a piece of popcorn flying around inside a Jiffy Pop bag. And the emergency blanket on top of me didn’t do much good for my underside. The floor felt cold underneath the air mattress that was slowly deflating with my weight. After a faucet check I decided to head up the stairs with all my supplies to the second floor attic. At least the hot air would rise to the occasion. At 2 a.m. I was blowing up the camouflage air mattress again and laughing out loud in my sleep-deprived delirium. I got out a second emergency blanket and put that one underneath me. Ahh. Much better. I fell asleep and actually woke up sweating because I was so hot. I ran downstairs at 6 a.m. to check the faucets. All was well. The only temporary casualty was a frozen drain pipe that was exposed to the outside. The plumber suggested pouring warm water over it, the ice melted, and I thought, “Okay, I can do this!”

Survival products used in Round I:

  • Wool Socks
  • Emergency Blankets
  • Solar LED Light


 Weather/Round II

By the time I was able to get some furniture moved to the farm, a new round of winter weather was about to move in. I packed up a few of my survival food packs and stopped at the store to stock up on bread, eggs, milk and chocolate. Again, I had my trusty survival bag chock full of good stuff when I trekked back out to the country. So what could possibly go wrong?

The first round of snow came overnight. The problem with snow in the South is that there’s hardly any infrastructure to deal with it. Only the busiest of roads get salt, and you’ll never find a fleet of snow trucks ready to plow the white stuff off to the side. Forget it if you live in a very rural area. The other problem is that those who didn’t grow up driving in snow should be
banned from driving in snow at all! There’s an art to it; it takes practice, which is why this transported Northerner usually opts to stay indoors when these storms happen. I’m fortunate enough  be able to do so because I work from home.

So there I sat on the only piece of furniture in the living room — a love seat. The rest of the world was enjoying their day off while I sat on stumpy couch and worked my brains out with my hot spot connection and a computer. The snow came and went. Then the wind roared in with freezing rain. But by this time, my beautiful little wood stove had been installed, EPA-certified and all. While the ice pellets banged against the chimney and echoed down, I hauled in some wood, wearing my Toggs rain gear and using my survival safety gloves, got the stove going and decided a can of soup might be in order. I had purchased a couple of cans of organic/non-GMO chicken soup. My mouth was watering at the thought of it until I realized I hadn’t packed up all my cooking utensils. I had no can opener. Or maybe I did! I got out the survival bag, because inside lived a multi-tool that Survival Messenger had given me years before. Hooray! Hot soup was simmering within three minutes. Sadly, I broke a nail getting the can open, but not to worry. The multi-tool had a nail file. And I didn’t have a soup ladle, or so I thought. But Survival Messenger had placed one of those in a food bucket she had given me. It also contained a bag of rubber gloves, boxes of matches, mouse traps and more wool socks — all of which were put to good use during the storm.

I was getting through one of the worst winters the South had ever seen. Cars were spinning out of control on the snow and ice within every news broadcast, but I was safe and sound, letting the wood stove serve the heat where the heat pump would not, cooking hot meals and doing dishes.

After five days of snow, rain and cold, on Friday night I decided to have a real survival meal. I broke out a pack of chicken alfredo pasta and was quite surprised by the tastiness. On the last bite, Survival Messenger checked in–as she had done all week. We laughed at the weather and planned things we’d do when everything got back to normal. Then I decided to do the dishes. Good thing I like clean dishes. At the very moment I was standing at the kitchen sink and patting myself on the back for getting through an entire week on my own, disaster struck. Suddenly, water was raining down on my head — inside my kitchen! In shock, I looked up to find it pouring through a hole in the cupboard.  The rain that had frozen all week long had turned into three inches of ice that started to melt, and the flashing that connected the main house roof to the back porch had never been installed correctly.

I swooped into action, grabbed some pots and placed them in strategic locations. I knew I only had minutes before really bad things were going to happen, and the freezing rain had started up again! There was only one thing to do: Call Neighbor Bob. Neighbor Bob decided to stop in a few months prior to offer his services on a plethora of possible projects. I have fantastic farm neighbors who make me feel like I’m living in my childhood again, because they really care. Neighbor Bob said, “I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”  He climbed up a ladder in slippery, freezing rain with a bum knee and chopped off blocks of ice and created a temporary quick fix to the flashing. He was up there for an hour and a half.  Disaster averted. (And a friend gained for life!)

Survival products/procedures used in Round II:

  • Gravity Water Filter (for daily drinking/cooking)
  • Canned Goods
  • Survival Food
  • Multi-tool
  • Soup Ladle
  • Matches
  • Mouse Traps
  • Safety Gloves
  • Heavy Rubber Boots
  • A Good Neighbor – Great to have around in a crisis!

Round III
This week? [While I’m writing this] Flood level rains are expected in the weather forecast. Hmm. It is a good thing that I chose a piece of property far from the river and up on a high plateau. But I may need to add a small boat to my emergency preparedness list! 

Economics and Investing:

Audio: Eric Sprott and RCM Precious Metals Forum October 5, 2016

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I was web wandering and stumbled into an informative blog that would be of particular interest to those considering expatriation: International Tax Blog. – JWR

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Speaking of expatriation:  HSBC’s top expatriate destinations for 2016 – in pictures

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Gold Republic: 10 Terrifying Charts

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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:

Reader Paula in Nebraska suggested this useful article over at the Homestead Moma blog: Ways To Take Care Of Your Animals If SHTF. – JWR

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Over at Prepper Journal‘s archives: How to Camouflage Paint Your AR-15

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This sounds like something out of a novel: Christian Homeland The Answer To Islamic State Violence? Christians In The Middle East Demand Sovereign Nation

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Video: How Many Magazines Do You Need? (Pre-Gun Ban Prepping)

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I’ve heard that the supply of Rawles XL Voyager knives is just about depleted at the manufacturer, Cold Steel. At last estimate, they had less than 100 of them still on hand. All of the profits from the sale of these knives are going to two Christian charities. (I don’t make a dime on them.) Because this was a limited edition knife, there will be no more produced, and prices on the secondary market are bound to increase. Oh, by the way, I also heard that Midway still has a few in stock, at a very competitive price. Don’t dawdle, folks!- JWR

Notes for Friday – October 28, 2016

This is the birthday of Eliphalet Remington (born October 28, 1793 – August 12, 1861), who designed the Remington rifle and founded what is now known as the Remington Arms Company.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First 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 $1,700 value),
  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. 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),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. 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,
  2. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 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 $245 gift certificate 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. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value),
  8. 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
  9. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).

Round 67 ends on November 30th, 2016, 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.

When and How Do We Fight? That is the Question, by X. Liberal

This message is more on a serious note. Before we get started I want to make an attribution to Lavoy Finicum. My wife and I had the privilege of being present in Utah to pay respects to him and his loved ones as we were driving back from our final Redoubt Property inspection in Montana while traveling home to Nevada. His sacrifice sparks this message:

“THEY” say Lavoy Finicum and his cohorts were illegally occupying the Wildlife Refuge in Burns Oregon. THEY say nothing about the Occupy Wall Street Movement illegally occupying City Squares. THEY say that it was unsanitary to be at the Burns Wildlife Refugee without running water and working toilets. THEY say nothing about Occupy Wall Street protesters using drugs, fornicating, defecating, and urinating on city property. THEY say the Bundys and their cohorts overstayed their welcome when they slept overnight at the Refuge. THEY say nothing when the Occupy Wall Street protesters occupy an entire city block while camping out for days or weeks in unsanitary conditions. THEY say that the Wildlife Refuge protesters were armed [lawfully I might add]. THEY say nothing when the Black Lives Matters protesters in Dallas are armed with assault rifles. THEY shoot bullets with a premise of lethal force to be utilized against protesting in a Conservative light. THEY send news bites out with the premise of agitating black rioters, even to the extent of causing a dozen causalities at the Dallas Police Department, have the premise to hire them onto the police force . THEY call out the Bundys as “anti-government” people and lock them up in jail. THEY call murderers of police officers Civil Rights protesters and give police escort to their Black Lives Matters rioters down city streets the very day after police officers are gunned down, and that murderous act is not labeled “anti-government.”

Who are “THEY”? THEY are the Progressives who are progressing societal conduct past the boundaries God has written in His word. If you are outside God’s limits in human conduct and call that new truth a human right—you are into moral relativism. These misguided souls have even infiltrated the ranks of our government organs and now crafting legislation to go after the right wing, conservative voter pool, military veterans, and American moral values. Did anyone see what happened to Hitlery after a meeting with the FBI Director Comey? More to come folks, as the FBI is pivoting to expunge conservative values (note Lavoy Finicum’s death) and overlook Progressive crimes (Hitlery’s private e-mail server top secret codeword information in a home basement.)

My question is where is the line drawn before WE THE PEOPLE fight?  The quest is not “fight or flight.” Rather, it is when and how to do we fight?

Let me set the table and walk you into this gently for sake of this being on the Internet…

What I am driving at, is this nation once looked upon anti-American principled people such as Communists as the enemy of the United States. The Communist Party USA started out in the middle of the last century and was infiltrated by the FBI at inception. THEY got smart and have changed their group identifier a few times over the years and here are some of the morphed changes:  their name changes away from having the word Communist in the title to now calling themselves Socialists, Liberals, Democrats, Left-wingers, and now Progressives. In a few years they will call themselves something else to outfox their critics, the FBI and other government agencies.

FIGHT – RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE
We as conservatives need to run for public office. If that means as Town Council, Mayor, Judges, School Boards, City Manager, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Congress (Senate or House of Representative), and anywhere a policy could be derived or written—do it. Don’t believe that you need to run on a Republican ticket because at one point in the nation’s history the Democratic Party (though a bit left at times) were Conservatives. You can run for Congress as a Democrat and as a Conservative –believe me that these Progressives have already got the Democratic Party in their back pocket but they are slowly turning up in the Republican Party too. We need to fight—or else don’t complain about all the new laws to remove your family’s human freedoms such as speech, guns, low taxes, religion, being patriotic, waving the American flag, and a host of other freedoms currently etching away. Personally I am running as a Democrat when our Redoubt relocation is completed. (I am a conservative). My family are called to FIGHT!
 

FIGHT – SERVE IN OUR COMMUNITIES
Gosh as a CPA and having worked for city, state, and federal government entities, I can assure you that the benefits and retirement are second to none for the role of government. I am speaking of serving in our military (Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard), police and fire departments at all levels, and even in not so visible roles in such organizations as in the FBI, CIA, or IRS. We need conservatives in these positions. I know their will be an outnumbering by about 10 Progressives to 1 Christian in government but at least God could use you as a whistle blower when an glaring bias is orchestrated on their behalf.

FIGHT – WRITE LETTERS
One of our favorite family times as now my wife and I set aside about four to six hours on Sunday evening which is coupled with our day of worship with the Lord, is to write letters to all types of entities. I am speaking about writing the utmost professional letters to organizations such as HBO, CNN, ABC, NBC, NPR, PBS, MSNBC, Disney, PETA, FDA, FBI, US military commands, Senators, Congressmen, the Oval office, foreign dignitaries, the United Nations, and a host of others that you are led by the Lord to write. Just turn on the 6 o’clock news and I’m sure the Lord might have you write to your local school board or university leadership. Let me caution you, in today’s age of a certain sect of people hijacking high leadership offices, they may paint you as “anti-government.” (just for holding an opposing view). So your salutation to a Senator in California would be “Dear Honorable Senator Diane Feinstein,” or “Dear Reputable FBI Organization—thank you for serving our country,” etc. You get the point. We always sign letters with “Anonymous” or “Concerned Citizen” [never our name or identifying marks such a certain letterhead of cinnamon smelling paper]. Never lick the envelope as your DNA is in your saliva, and never touch the letter, envelope, or even the stamp with un-gloved hands as I do not want Department of Homeland Security agents knocking on our door with our fingerprints in hand (even though the letters are written in the utmost professionalism Liberals are always boasting to be open to the opposite view, but then are offended and appalled that there is an opposing view). Lastly, keep the letters going and do not stop. I don’t like posting comments at blog sites, emailing, Tweeting, Facebook, Linked-In, or anything online / Internet as your IP address is always the same even in VPN logins which are traceable by authorities. Since I am like some of you, I travel out of town for my career and could be in New York City this week and San Francisco next week—so you can bet our letters are not mailed from our home town so the postage mark is foiled from pinpointing our home location. I know that this is tough to believe and maybe some of you are more risk takers than we are and wont go to all these measures to write a letter to a Liberal, but we actually had Department of Home Security show up at our doorstep—thank goodness we were on vacation and they never returned our voicemail from the business card they placed on our outside security door referring to call them back.  
 

FIGHT – CAREER AND JOBS
We live in a world were we no longer see the times of our fathers and grandfathers. That is, when they graduated high school, netting a good job, and whoa forty years later they are working and retiring from the exact same company they started. In those days the neighborhoods were stable because you knew all your neighbors for forty years and nothing changed. Families were stable with income, neighbors, benefits, community events, church fellowship, and it was a simpler time. It was also a time when feminists weren’t allowed into the workforce with leadership roles over men, but we won’t get into that here (I’m sure a liberal feminist is offended now—but true). Many of you readers have been fired, as I have been. Why? Because you don’t possess the correct signature in human conduct a Liberal is requiring at your place of employment. Just look at any of the mainstream media moguls and you would understand that they hire only employees that pull voting booth levers for Progressive candidates. Even the actor Tim Allen stated in and interviews with Sean Hannity of Fox news not to dispel that he is a conservative… his reasoning? He wont get any more work in Hollywood. It is a shame, but we need to start pushing through the ranks in Corporate America, Government, Military, and education and hire more Conservatives when we are in leadership. One glaring issue is Democratic donations out flank Republican donations for elections; this could be due to Progressives monopolizing the good paying careers. We need Conservatives to spread the wealth to other conservatives because we too need income to stabilize our families and also be in the fight! Support conservatives as you can rest assure Liberals are not! With Liberals allowed to have stable careers, due to their discrimination in Corporate America more and more now, they have disposable income to FIGHT. We Conservatives need that too, including full benefit packages for our families and retirement as Liberals do.
 

FIGHT – THROUGH INVOLVEMENT
When my family is settled in the Redoubt it will cost us about $400 a year in property taxes and another $1,000 per year in propane. Other than that it would be fuel for our vehicles and maintenance on our retreat. We will have a fruit orchard, garden, small and large farm animals for milk and meat and eggs, hunting and fishing galore, solar for electricity, septic for sewer, well for water, and a ham radio license for communications. It will be self-sufficiency as much as we possibly can. We will have disposable cash to join the fight! Hey Liberals have much disposable cash for their fights—why not us!  I am going to challenge myself that when I hear a Superintendent in a Mississippi Public School district expel a student for wearing an American Flag T-shirt, I will fly there and confront him fact to face, or I will file a lawsuit with a local attorney, or simply start a protest or rally outside the school district. One thing about Liberals is that when they see resistance coming, they back down right away. Remember these were the Tories during the Revolution that wouldn’t bear arms, fight for any just cause, and pleaded with the British that if they told them who the “rebels” were that the British would return a favor not to hurt them. They back down! Look at the NRA with the Obama Administration—it is one of the few wins in my opinion against this Liberal force to take America down a road of no return. We need to pray about what God would have us to do, but I believe He would like my family to FIGHT. That is fight with letters, hiring attorneys to sue, organizing pickets and protest, supporting financially conservative business and Made in America products, become politically activated, and physically getting into one’s face to drive home a point verbally and could even be in a private, such as a professional office setting.

FIGHT—BY KNOWING THY ENEMY
Progressives are winning through the advancement of their causes, due to hate. No, I’m not talking about them being a hate group or progressing society past the boundaries set in God’s word, but their HATE RHETORIC they pin on each one of us Conservatives. How many times did we hear Hitlery in her campaign speeches bring up Racists, Sexists, Xenophobic, Homophobic, Deplorable, etc.? We as Conservatives know that God is the one who is allowed to judge. DO NOT ever let a Progressive label you or your family as a hater. Because who’s definition of hate are they using? God’s or their own special concocted version? These individuals have no right to cast judgment on anyone in society. Be sure they don’t do it to you or your loved ones. Stop them in their tracks. Because they can push through any legislation if they demonstrate that Conservatives are full of hate!
 

FIGHT – EXPUNGE THY ENEMY
In her debates with Trump, Hitlery would utilize a Liberal tactic of offense referring to her as a woman and when Trump said something outlandish regarding a woman she played it as an offense against all women on Planet Earth. No! I’m sorry each individual is responsible for their own conduct and if a woman has no integrity or character you are allowed to call that out, and if we as conservatives are just supposed to respect her because she is a woman it is dangerous ground to stand on. We wouldn’t surely respect Jezebel in the Bible, as we would revere Mother Teresa just because they both are women. Be careful when they play this “group thing” on Conservatives. Liberals do it with the Black Group, the Woman Group, the Gay Group, and now the Islamic Group.  

FIGHT –THROUGH VOLUNTEERING
Understandable that the Republican Party is one that is more conservative but more and more members have been promoting the radical Leftist policies, which fall along the lines of the “isms”: Marxism, Communism, Feminism, Gay and Lesbianism, Socialism, Statism, Fascism, Environmentalism, etc. etc. etc. But we need to volunteer in our communities and in the political arena. Even placing a sign outside your home for a candidate (as long as you’re not fined by your HOA as we were—then this is a good time to fight your HOA especially if they don’t allow you to fly the American flag), handing out flyers, organizing community events, or simply discussing with a Marxist why they have that Democrat on their bumper sticker in the form of a destructive message (for instance: WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER. Tell that to the peace activists entering Nazi Germany- WAR WAS THE ANSWER! To stop the gas chambers). After witnessing the Tea Party identified as members assaulted by the IRS in the form of audits, shakedowns, and denial of non-profit status on corporations they filed, it is apparent we need to be in this FIGHT. If we continue to do nothing and watch Fox News we will all be fighting in another arena real soon.
 

FIGHT – WITH PHYSICAL FORCE
Folks I needed to cover this one as it about fighting in the same stance as our Forefathers. First of all, don’t think for one moment that these Liberals who have never held a gun in their hands, but are demanding your guns to be removed by their elected officials [Democrats but some Republicans now], is all about community safety. It is not! No, that maneuver of Obama who just ratified the Small Arms Treaty with the United Nations is all about removing any sort of FIGHT from an opposing view. Remember that our Founders placed freedom of speech and religion as the First Amendment and the right to bear firearms as the Second Amendment. I’ll even take it one step further and illustrate that our human freedoms were doled out by our Creator in Heaven and government embodiments are supposed to uphold those God given freedoms. Our Founders’ gun barrels obtained that premise and our freedoms have always been upheld through a threat from those barrels of guns we as citizens bear. The answer to 1984 has always been 1776. Some of you might say, “They won’t take my guns!” But so-called Assault Riffles will be all gone in four years if Hitlery is elected President. Also, Liberals would never go door to door to remove firearms since that would most likely start another Civil War. However, they will do what Liberals do and that is turn the heat up on the frog in the pot until it comes to a boil and the frog is dead. Meaning, gradually the guns will be removed. Once assault riffles, suppressors, and 30-round magazines are removed by Hitlery’s Executive Orders there will be a registration of your remaining firearms. This might not sound so bad, just letting the government have a database of gun owners, correct? Wrong! After this act, those registered guns would require a fee, much like your automobile annual registration, and lets say $50 per gun annually. The next year it would go up to $500 per gun annually and then the third year $5,000 per gun annually. You see they will take the guns without ever knocking on a door. Getting back to topic here, in my family we strictly believe, and this is just my family belief, that the Second Amendment is not written for home defense clause in human freedom but is written to subdue a tyrannical government. I will leave it at that. Also remember that with God all things are possible. Who would’ve believe that the outnumbered, outflanked, out-trained, out-supplied, Patriotic Continental Army would win by utilizing harassing tactics against the then modern day authorities.  Also, in moving up to the Redoubt and speaking with neighbors, they too are like-minded with my family, but some are not and don’t not want any part with firearms [or maybe they are just keeping a low profile]. Be sure you band together and know THY neighbor well.

CONCLUSION – TEAMWORK
In any rate, you need to befriend your like-minded brothers and sisters across this Union and understand that going about all this FIGHT by yourself is foolish. There was a talk in recent years, espousing the Lone Wolf who could do more FIGHTING than a banded pack. Is that what happens in the wild with Wolves? No! We need to band together as like-minded Christians and come to the aid of each other even if that means hiring someone or buying from their farmer’s market instead of Wal-Mart. Maybe some of us can just write letters, some can fly across the country to join in pickets, some can hire attorneys, some can run for public office, some can attend tactical training and defensive driving courses, but we can all pray and open our hearts towards our fellow Conservative—it is not going to get any easier for us Conservatives unless we FIGHT—and then it would be easier for our offspring. Let’s not forget what our Founding Fathers established for us and our American Freedoms which are currently on the chopping block by Progressives. Let’s not forget Lavoy Finicum who gave his life for this FIGHT and did it for all of us. Our Founding Fathers are proud of us! God Bless…