For years I’ve considered buying a rifle or carbine for defensive use.  It never rated high on the priority list since I always considered myself a shotgun guy when it came to personal or home defense.  I’ve spent a few years looking at various rifles and carbines from a noncommittal standpoint and became pretty well [...]

One of the biggest benefits of living in a modern society is unlimited access to clean water.  We rarely even think about water quality when we can turn on a faucet and have millions of gallons of clean, safe water.  This seemingly endless supply of water relies on huge investments in infrastructure.  Most don’t realize [...]

  Before I get into a true review of the Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook by Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy, I need to send them a big thank you and an apology for not getting a review done sooner.  I had the pleasure of meeting them both at the Self Reliance Expo many [...]

It seems that preppers and survivalists are always talking about a possible pandemic.  Who can blame us after looking at history to see the horrible results.  To make matters worse, we had a hyped up “pandemic” a couple of years ago when the media felt the need to report every death related to the H1N1 [...]

When we first get in a preparedness mindset, it seems overwhelming on everything we need to do.  I remember when I first started.  There was all that food and water I needed stored.  All that ammo, too.  Of course I needed more guns to protect all that stuff.  Then there’s the need for the biggest, [...]

It should comes as no surprise that I have a bit of a gear addiction.  It’s also safe to say that my addiction includes knives.  I have knives of all sorts, types, and configurations.  So much so that I pretty much have a knife for every occasion.  I know better than to look at new [...]

There are a lot of lists out there on items that you should have in your preps. These include items for barter and items to have on hand even if you don’t know how to use them, “just in case” someone else might know how to use them.  I think stocking items like this will [...]

Gardening is a tradition that goes way back in my family.  I’m not sure how many generations, but I do know that my grandfather put in a garden so large that it required use of his Farmall Cub tractor.  That’s no surprise considering he had 8 kids to feed on a working man’s salary.  I [...]

Build a fire.  Sounds simple enough, right?  We can all agree that the skill of building a fire is an important one.  Whether it is to provide light and heat during a wilderness survival situation or just getting the fireplace going for a romantic evening at the house, everyone should be able to start a [...]

I know this subject has been covered at least two million times on the internet, but I’m a firm believer that there can never be too much information about it.  Jerky has sustained man for thousands of years, and even in modern times it is still a staple.  Second only to bacon as they best [...]