How I Spent $55 to Study for Two Ham Licenses, Pass the Exams, and Buy a Transceiver, by Allen C.

Until recently I thought of ham radio much like a boat or swimming pool.  Having known amateur radio operators most of my life, I saw it as something that was better to have a friend with one than expend the time and expense myself.  One of the first things I did after purchasing my retreat land was obtain the addresses of licensees in my area from the FCC database and plot them on a map just in case I need to seek their assistance later.  Having acreage in a secluded community deep in the wooded mountains of Appalachia means cell phone service is not available.  In the interest of OPSEC, I personally dragged all the materials over the mountain and through the woods to single-handedly build our retreat.  When I was assembling and setting the rafters for the cathedral ceiling and installing the plywood sheeting and metal roof, my wife became concerned I might fall and become injured (despite a safety rope and harness).  Unable to self-rescue by hiking or crawling out, if I were seriously injured on Friday, my wife not expecting me back to civilization until Sunday evening would not know to send the neighbors looking for me.  It finally occurred to me that even without a license, a 2 meter handhold radio would allow me to call for help because of the emergency operation provision. 

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(Source: survivalblog.com)

Vacuum-Sealed Bags and Their Many Uses, by L.E.

Late spring and early summer are the times to buy the Seal A Meal or Foodsaver machines. They are both made by the same parent company and can be found at any major grocery or department store in the kitchenware section-the Seal A Meal is the less expensive version that can be found for under $30 on sale, and the bags to go with it will cost you about the same again. You can make this a game or a family activity like an assembly line, just have all your items stacked in little piles, and start sealing—it’s actually fun to use it-I feel like a squirrel storing up nuts for the winter. See below for the myriad uses I have made of my unit. These also make wonderful gifts to your church for emergencies if they are given food items that may go stale.

1-Batteries-as we all know, moisture and air are the enemies of batteries, buy in bulk when they are on sale and seal them up airtight and watertight and keep them in your fridge.

2-Ammo—seal up your ammo/bullets in their boxes in individual sealing bags labeled with the date of purchase, that way if you have to ford any bodies of water (rivers, swamps, canals etc) or are caught in deluges, your extra ammo will stay nice and dry and untarnished.

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(Source: survivalblog.com)

When the SHTF which will you be? Leader, Supervisor, Mentor, by D. Hacker

Make no mistake, someone will fill the roles of Leader, Supervisor, and Mentor.  As we all know, power abhors a vacuum.  Leaders are considered to be in positions of power, in spite of the fact that many great leaders had little power and many powerful people were terrible leaders.  This article will refer to these roles as they pertain to survival situations.

While the Leader, Supervisor, and Mentor might be the same person, often each of these roles fall on different individuals.  A leader is someone who can organize a group of people to achieve a common goal.  It’s someone who people will follow, either because of coercion (power), charisma, intelligence, gained respect, or other characteristics.   A leader is often assertive and confident.  A leader must weigh their concern for others in the group versus the intended goal.  The situation will often dictate which style (coercion or charisma, for example) of leadership will work at any given time.  Because survival situations can often bring about depression, or a defeatist attitude, it is important that a leader be able to inspire others in the group.

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(Source: survivalblog.com)

Minimum Equipment For Standard Bug-Out-Bag by Talon

Many of the articles that I have read on various web sites are, in my not so humble opinion, not adequately addressing the equipment necessary for a Bug-Out-Bag (BOB).  Having had many years of experience in the survival arena, winter and summer, in the Arctic, mountains, tropic and desert regions, many times in hostile theaters, I have drawn up a list for a BOB, along with some accompanying information. There are variations for some of these items and the list of potential equipment and gear is nearly infinite.  However in my considerable experience, what I have listed below has proven to work.

Minimum Equipment

Weapons and Ammunition

• Semiauto handgun in .45 ACP, 40 S&W, in (A 9mm, is less desirable. The bigger the projectile (bullet) the bigger the hole and big holes and deep penetration.)
• Four loaded magazines for handgun
• Additional 50 rounds for handgun
• Fixed blade combat knife
• Folding tactical knife
• Tomahawk with sheath (excellent for bush craft & a formidable weapon)
• Compact weapons cleaning kit for weapon caliber (Bore Snake and CLP)

Other Tactical Equipment

• LED Key Chain flash light with green lens (to read maps)
• Compass
• GPS
• Holster for your handgun (see info below)
• Handgun Magazine Pouches
• Camel back style Hydration System with inline filter, 100 fluid. oz
• Multi-tool, black or OD in color
• Small SureFire (or other tactical-type) flashlight
• Six spare batteries for lights, GPS, etc.
• Six spare batteries for Surefire lights
• One (1) spare flashlight bulb for each style of light
• Appropriate first aid kit
• Small binoculars
• GMRS/FRS Radio
• Radio pouch for GMRS/FRS size radios
• Head set with push to talk for GMRS/FRS radio
• Wristwatch with covered dial/face.  Nothing that reflects.  (See SOP)
• Knee pads
• Ruggedized Cell Phone with spare battery

• Cell Phone charger for 12 volt and 110 volt
• Topo maps of your area of operation (AO)

Shelter

• Sleeping pad (Thinsulate)
• Good quality large size Space Blanket or Rain Fly, either camo in color or with camouflage net

Water / Food

• Water bottle with filter
• Several coffee filters to strain sediment from water
• Flint & Steel with Magnesium Bar (practice building fires in the rain)
• Zip Lock Bag of Dryer Lint (fire starter)
• Dehydrated food for at least seven days, entrees only
• Heavy duty Fork and Spoon
• A way to cook your food, i.e. MSR Multifuel stove or MRE cook pouch.  You probably will not always have time for a cooking/warming fires and there will be many times that you do not want to expose yourself with that type of a signature.
• P 38 can opener

Clothing

• 1 set of Camo appropriate for your location
• 1 pair of combat style boots that are well broken in to your feet
• Camo rain gear or winter gear as needed
• Hat
• Sun glasses
• Tactical belt for pants
• Dry socks (No socks with seams over the toes!  i.e. Smart Wool brand)
• Camo rain poncho
• Store everything that has to stay dry in heavy duty Zip Lock bags

Other

• If you wear prescription glasses or contact lenses you must have a spare pair/set
• Toilet paper and know a natural alternative in your AO.  Save the T paper for when you have to be quick
• Tooth brush
• 10—six inch black zip ties (to repair equipment in the field)
• 10—heavy duty 12” black sip ties to secure bad guys
• One roll black electric tape (UL listed)
• Partial roll of camouflage Gorilla Tape
• 100’ of 550 cord
• Potassium Iodate tablets
• Several one gallon size Zip Lock Bags (spares)
• Two leaf/yard size trash bags
• Two small roles of picture hanging wire for snares etc.
• Hooks, flies, lures, line, sinkers, swivels, weighted treble snagging hook with steel leader, all sized for your A.O.
• One small plastic container of cayenne pepper
• Mosquito repellent
• * Coagula XL, 2 ounces
• * Dysentery Stop, 2 ounces

SOP  (Standard operating procedure)         

No glow in the dark, shinny, reflective gear of any kind, including but not limited to:         

• Stainless side arms or Leatherman tools (unless painted)
• No glow in the dark sights (tritium type).  Black them out for night ops
• Shiny pistol grips
• Ink pens
• Watches and watch bands
• Rings and other jewelry
• Flashlights
• Eye glass frames

There will be nothing in your Bug-Out Bag that rattles or makes noise.
No perfumed products of any kind

GENERAL INFORMATION

After reading this list, I am sure that each of you has many different questions and I will try to answer some of them here.

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(Source: survivalblog.com)

How to Harvest Seeds for a Sustainable Food Source

How to Harvest Seeds for a Sustainable Food Source

Many of you have probably heard of what are called heirloom seeds. There is quite a debate on what constitute an heirloom seed. Some experts claim that the original “cultivar” must be at least 100 years old, others say 50 years old and still others use the end of World War II as a deciding factor.

For the sake of this article, and to prevent the discussion of the confusing definitions, which apparently no one can agree on, an “heirloom cultivar” will be defined as one nurtured and handled down (through its seeds) for the express purpose of maintaining the plants heritage (and to develop a sustainable food source). This means that at the end of every growing season plants are harvested for their seeds.

Hybrid seeds will produce a plant but the seeds produced from a hybrid plant will not produce a plant identical to the one from which it was harvested. This can be confusing, and this does have consequences if you are developing an alternative food source to sustain you in a survival situation. You cannot harvest hybrid seeds and expect to grow an identical plant, or any plant for that matter, from that seed. However, there is certainly nothing wrong with having a stockpile of hybrid seeds in your seed bank, but remember they would not be considered a renewable food source.

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(Source: prepforshtf.com)

Guerrilla Gardening, by Oregon Pat

Over the years our lifestyle of self-production has morphed from simply producing more of our own needs into an active learning, training experience for the whole family.  Our children have grown up working alongside us in the garden, enjoying our late-night “canning parties”, and lately helping to raise and pursue large animals for our consumption.  This last year our gardening has taken on a greater academic angle with more experimentation and trying new things.  We’ve done a fair amount of foraging in the mountains around our place, and we were wondering how our ‘domestic’ garden varieties would fair in the wild.  This is how our guerrilla garden began.

We already knew from years of experience with deer and elk in our garden that corn and other vegetables are a wildlife favorite, so we decided to see how potatoes might fair in various circumstances.  The internet is full of advice and experience, but our own personal efforts have been invaluable to teach what is possible and what is successful.  We chose potatoes also because of their valuable payoff in volume and nutrition for any emergency scenario.

Last spring we decided to see how potatoes would do in various conditions.  With lots of our favorites still in cold-storage from the winter, we had plenty of our favorite seed potatoes – Purple (“All Blue”), Reds, and Yukon Golds.  We decided on three main locations: 1) normal conditions in our regular, groomed garden; 2) ‘new’ garden conditions in land we recently cleared; and 3) rustic gardening in the wild parts of the hills around us.  We hoped each of these areas could teach us new things about growing one of our favorite foods.

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Sewing, Mending and Altering Your Clothing After the Ball Drops, Part 2, by Belle

Last summer I wrote an article on dealing with trash at your retreat and recently I wrote Part 1 of this article about sewing.  So I’m going to forego the usual introduction and description of my living style and just jump right into the topic.

I began to think about writing this article while watching the television show Jericho.  First of all, let’s just get this out of the way. I know that “Jericho” is a television show. I know that it is fiction.  I know that the conditions depicted are in no way realistic, etc.  It is a television show.  Okay, now that’s out of the way, I found myself considering events in the television show and how I would expect things in my community to go.  Would we share our food? Would we all get together at the pub for information? Who would come forward as a leader in our community since we have no local government?  I also thought about how my specific talents could be used community wide.  In the television show, the first winter was depicted as brutal. They give the idea that people were not prepared for the harsh winter without central heat in their homes.  Some people were shown as frozen to death in their homes, under single comforters and basic blankets.  Being a beginning quilter, I thought to myself, “Where were the quilting bees?  Where were the circles of women knitting and crocheting?”  Too provincial?   Too old-fashioned?   I imagine some people would say yes, but actually, these crafts remain very popular.  You have only to look online for patterns for quilting, knitting and crochet to see how popular these crafts are today.  The internet is overflowing with ideas, blogs and videos for today’s crafter.

So, in a TEOTWAWKI situation, what can you produce to keep yourself and maybe some neighbors warm if necessary?  Let’s start with quilting.  In our small community, I help a friend keep a small quilt shop open.   I quilt for her and sometimes watch the shop when she is gone.  The shop is full of quilts, not really fabric to quilt, but quilts made and sold on consignment.  I am by no means an expert quilter.  I still have much to learn, but I do know this.  You can make a quilt out of just about anything.  

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(Source: survivalblog.com)

Five Epidemics at TEOTWAWKI, How will You Deal? by Philip J. Goscienski, M.D.

In One Second After, William Forstchen describes a cataclysmic scenario, a widespread EMP effect that is only slightly less devastating than nuclear near-annihilation. The protagonists in JWR’s novel Patriots fare better temporarily because the physical infrastructure remains relatively intact for a few weeks after the nation’s economic collapse. In either scenario the five epidemics that are already under way in the United States give new relevance to TEOTWAWKI.

Epidemic (from the Greek: among the people): prevalent and spreading rapidly among many individuals within a community at the same time; widespread.

The five epidemics:
            Obesity
            Type 2 diabetes
            Osteoporosis
            Dementia
            End-stage renal disease (kidney failure)

Although it is the leading cause of death in the United States, heart disease resulting from coronary atherosclerosis is not an epidemic according to the above definition. It is not spreading rapidly but is well established and mortality
is actually decreasing slightly because of modern treatment.

Epidemic #1: Obesity
Obesity is the linchpin for the other four epidemics.
From 2000 to 2010 obesity increased by 80 percent or more in 39 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that by 2030 42 percent of Americans will be obese, nearly half again as many as currently bear that burden. A study from Duke University indicates that morbid obesity, a weight 80 pounds or more above standard weight, will affect 11 percent of the U.S. population. Obesity is clearly “prevalent and spreading rapidly among many individuals” as defined above.

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(Source: survivalblog.com)

Life or Death Choices: 35 Excuses That Will Doom The Non-Prepper

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One Year In Hell… A MUST READ Survival Story

I have seen the story below on multiple forums and posts. I have spent some time trying to verify the source of the story, but so far I have been unable to find the original source. (Though it may be an excerpt from Selco at the SHTFschool.com)

Even though I cannot verify the facts in this story, it is still very much worth the read.

The English is rough, as this was supposedly translated from the speaker’s native language into French (by Russian translators) before being translated to English.

Some things, especially the terror of war, are never lost in translation:

I am from Bosnia. You know, between 1992 and 1995, it was hell. For one year, I lived and survived in a city with 6,000 people without water, electricity, gasoline, medical help, civil defense, distribution service, any kind of traditional service or centralized rule.

Our city was blockaded by the army; and for one year, life in the city turned into total crap. We had no army, no police. We only had armed groups; those armed protected their homes and families.

When it all started, some of us were better prepared. But most of the neighbors’ families had enough food only for a few days. Some had pistols; a few had AK-47s or shotguns.

After a month or two, gangs started operating, destroying everything. Hospitals, for example, turned into slaughterhouses. There was no more police. About 80 percent of the hospital staff were gone. I got lucky. My family at the time was fairly large (15 people in a large house, six pistols, three AKs), and we survived (most of us, at least).

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(Source: personalliberty.com)

Be Better Prepared: 12 Brilliant (And Slightly Bad-A) Ways to Do It

Everyone wants to be better prepared. Today we will share 12 brilliant and slightly badass ways to do it. You and your family have to be ready and prepared for all scenarios. But what happens when you are forced to evacuate for an extended period of time? You will be forced to leave with only what you can carry. A situation may arise where you will be forced to improvise. This article will help you be better prepared for when the original plans fail.

Once you determine why you are prepping, you will have a better understanding of what you have to do. Prepping is life assurance and not life insurance; you are preparing to maintain life during and after a cataclysmic event.

What is required for life after the disaster? Surviving the crisis is one thing, but surviving in the aftermath is an entirely different scenario. You have to think outside the box because there really are no rules, and to survive you have to meet the challenges before they meet you because by then it is too late. People have survived natural disasters, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and so forth. However, who out there can say they survived a nuclear detonation in their city, a chemical attack where one drop of nerve agent on the skin is deadly in minutes and is there anyone that has survived a biological attack that spreads diseases and bacteria we only thought lived in nightmares. The next attack or disaster could break new ground in its intensity and devastation.

1. Have a Military Mindset

The military trains their soldiers to be mentaly tough. At some point, it may very well come down to survival of the fittest and of the smartest. You have to be physically able to do the tasks as well as have the metal fortitude to see them through to the finish. One hundred people can beat a large oak tree all day long with sticks and never fell the tree, nor even damage it. One person comes along and decides to put an axe head on one of the stout sticks and the tree is felled in a matter of hours by one person. This is how you must think as you begin to prepare for a disaster.

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25 Great Survival Uses for Duct Tape

If there ever was a miracle product better than spray-on-hair or the ShamWow, it is duct tape. Over the past 70 years of its existence, this staple product of fix-it-yourselfers has been used by virtually every walk of life, for jobs that I’m sure the duct tape developers never imagined. So how can we use it for survival?

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(Source: pakalertpress.com)

22 Plants NOT to Eat in the Wild, a “Guideline”, by Ben W

Use these guidelines to understand the basic risk assessment formula, and adjust accordingly to your specific needs.

In an extended survival scenario, food will become a primary concern, especially when attempting to cross large sections of land or water, which could take weeks or months before seeing someone who has the ability to enact a rescue.

What not to eat is about as important as what to eat, so this article will talk about the most dangerous wild plants that might be considered unknowingly for food.  Several of these don’t take more than a taste to kill a healthy adult.  Above all, know the area you are going into before you go, and if in doubt, DO NOT EAT!

Hemlock: Circutoxin is the reason this plant is so deadly, and it has many lookalikes in the plant world, as well as a habit for growing in areas one would ordinarily think are safe to obtain food or water from. It’s an untidy looking plant with smooth stems (green) that typically have instances of purple or red spots or even linear coloration farther down on the stem.  The root tends to look like a parsnip, but they have a foul smell, which can give it away.  Clusters of small white dirty-looking flowers and lacy looking conical or even triangle shaped leaves characterize this plant, which was once used as a poison administered to purposefully kill inmates and enemies of state in some areas of the world.

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(Source: offthegridnews.com)

52 Plants You Can Eat in the Wild

We all know our vegetables and fruits are safe to eat, but what about other wild plants, mushrooms and other types of edibles? Here are a few common North American goodies that are safe to eat if you find yourself stuck in the wild:

Blackberries

Many wild berries are not safe to eat, it’s best to stay away from them. But wild blackberries are 100% safe to eat and easy to recognize. They have red branches that have long thorns similar to a rose, the green leaves are wide and jagged. They are best to find in the spring when their white flowers bloom, they are clustered all around the bush and their flowers have 5 points. The berries ripen around August to September.

Dandelions:

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