Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 22, 2020

 Print This Post Email This Post Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit Google LinkedIn LinkedIn

This is the birthday of Louis L’Amour. (Born 1908, died 1988.) Some of his novels have survival themes. One of particular interest to survivalists is Last of the Breed.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  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 $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 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 firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 87 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.


11 Comments

    1. Me too! Have kept them all, plus added Louis L’Amour audio for long drives, especially through western country. It makes me happy listening to them. One of my sons caught the love too, and does the same. When planning for a trip, gotta pack the Louis’s!

  5. My family grew up in the Great Lakes area, but my dad loved anything about the “wild west.” He loved watching TV westerns and Louis L’Amour had been his favorite author since he was a kid. in the 1980’s hubby and I moved to the desert SW for his work. My folks came to visit, and we took them for a drive to a few remote areas. My dad was ecstatic and kept exclaiming, “It’s just exactly like in the books!” He remembered that visit fondly for the rest of his life.

  6. I read ~The Last of the Breed~ years ago, when it first came out. [I read the book twice in a row; it was so good.] … It’s as though, Louis L’Amour was saving up his ~best book for his old age. … In the book, the American Indian escaping Russia is a ‘can do’ American, with survival skills of the old time American Indians, the Mountain Men, or the fictional Robinson Crusoe.

    Louis L’Amour must have understood the “The Precepts of Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy.” Especially this one:

    “Skills Beat Gadgets and Practicality Beats Style. The modern world is full of pundits, poseurs, and Mall Ninjas. Preparedness is not just about accumulating a pile of stuff. You need practical skills, and those only come with study, training, and practice.
    ……… Any armchair survivalist can buy a set of stylish camouflage fatigues and an M4gery Carbine encrusted with umpteen accessories. Style points should not be mistaken for genuine skills and practicality.”

  7. I grew up loving to read his books. During my college years, I got to see him in person at the local public library. He autographed one book and the news article mentioned the question I asked at the end. I enjoy his take on being rugged, working to get things done, and being prepared.

  8. One of my favorite JWR quotes: “Any armchair survivalist can buy a set of stylish camouflage fatigues and an M4gery Carbine encrusted with umpteen accessories. Style points should not be mistaken for genuine skills and practicality.”

    Thanks for reminding us, GGHD.

    Carry on, in grace

  9. I specialize in genre of Survival Lit. Haven’t met a student who did not enjoy this theme, whether college or lower grades level. Last of the Breed is one of the best. It’s timeless.

Comments are closed.