Writing Contest Winners, and a New Prize

We’ve completed the judging for for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize goes to Lockstich for Industrial Sewing Machines for Prepared Families which was posted on February 8, 2013. He will receive: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize goes to AERC for Insulin Dependent Diabetics When TSHTF which was posted on March 13, 2013. He will receive: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize goes to Mrs. Icebear for Staying Sane (and Happy) at Your Winter BOL which was posted on February 14, 2013. She will receive: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Honorable Mention Prizes

Honorable mention prizes ($30 Amazon.com gift certificates) go to the talented writers of these 19 articles:

Special note to all prize winners: I will need both US Mail and UPS addresses for the top three prize winners and current e-mail addresses for the Honorable Mention prize winners. Please let me know, via e-mail.

New Prize, Starting in Round 46!

A new prize is being added to the First Prize package, starting with Round 46. This is a roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225. (It’s value varies, depending on the spot price of silver.) Take a look at their web site with HTTPS secure ordering. You will find that they they have very competitive prices, quick delivery, and great customer service. They sell mint state PCGS and NGC encapsulated (slabbed) professionally graded coins as well as some “raw” (unencapsulated) Liberties, Saint Gaudens, Indians, Morgans and Peace Dollars, mostly in lower numismatic grades such as XF and EF40. They also arrange American Eagle precious metals IRAs for their clients. These can be set up from scratch, or rolled over from existing IRAs and some 401(k) plans. Our thanks to GoldAndSilverOnline.com for their generous support of the writing contest.

Round 46 begins today and will run for the next two months. Please write an article that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers 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.