Today is the birthday of Benjamin Tyler Henry. (March 22, 1821–December 29, 1898) He was an American gunsmith and manufacturer. On October 16, 1860, he received a patent on the Henry .44 caliber repeating rifle. The first Henry rifles were not produced for U.S. Army use until mid-1862. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 99 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than …

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Just over a year ago, I did a review on the Springfield Armory XDs Mod. 2 chambered in 9mm Parabellum with the red dot sight on it. I carried that for quite a while, until the red dot version of the Springfield Hellcat came along, and that became my current everyday carry piece. To be sure, there is nothing “wrong” with the XDs Mod. 2 9mm OSP. It is just that the Hellcat is a smaller handgun, and it carries a lot more rounds – hard to argue this point. More ammo on-tap is always better. I’ve never read of …

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This past week during a conference discussing Biden’s “Build Back Better” scheme House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was confronted with questions on skyrocketing inflation. After referring to higher gas prices as the “Putin Tax”, she went on to offer perhaps the dumbest (or most insidious) denial on the causes of inflation that I have ever heard. She stated: “When we’re having this discussion, it’s important to dispel some of those who say, well it’s the government spending. No, it isn’t. The government spending is doing the exact reverse, reducing the national debt. It is not inflationary.” Anyone with a basic understanding …

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Grid electricity down, WiFi down, Internet down! What to do? What kind of storm is coming? Are the stores open? Is my mother safe? Normally, you would tune into your local ham club’s repeater to communicate with fellow hams. A repeater is a dedicated radio (or set of radios) and antenna located in the highest spot available, such as a mountaintop or a building and can reach around 25-to-75 miles — depending on terrain. Repeaters receive signals from one frequency and transmit to another frequency using tones and offsets. They usually have a backup power system that can last a …

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in …

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This is the birthday of Józef Franczak (born 1917, died 21 October 1963), who was a Polish Army Corporal who fought in the World War II resistance against the invading Germans. He then carried on after the war, to fight against the occupying Soviets and their Polish communist stooges. Eventually, he was one of the last of the Cursed Soldiers resistance in Poland. His nom de guerre was Lalek.  In the photo above, Józef Franczak is in the center. — Today’s feature article is by Don Shift, the author of seven novels and nonfiction books including Nuclear Survival in the …

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March 8th is the birthday of famed revolver shooter, big game hunter, and gun writer Elmer Keith, who co-designed the S&W .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges. He authored the book Sixguns, which is still considered a standard reference. His fascinating life story is told in his last book, Hell, I was there! A Proto – Redoubter, Keith spent the second half of his life on a ranch near Salmon, Idaho. (Keith was born in 1899 and died February 12, 1984.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 99 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The …

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So much has been written by greater minds than mine about secure communication in a crisis. There are many publicly available resources and information on SurvivalBlog and elsewhere. Shifting letters in a message a certain number of characters is nothing new (Caesar Cipher, used in the last century B.C.). Using the SAME count to shift letters is a guaranteed way to have your encryption broken. Using different numbers to shift each letter in a message (a One Time Pad) – when your recipient has the same list of numbers to decrypt the message – is theoretically unbreakable, if you do …

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The following recipe for Traditional Welsh Mutton Stew is from reader E.J.: Ingredients 2-1⁄2 lbs of boned mutton or lamb. 4 large potatoes 2 large onions 4 medium carrots 1 sprig of fresh parsley 2 cups water salt (to taste) pepper  to taste) Directions Cut the meat into large chunks. Peel the vegetables and cut into thick slices. Chop the parsley. Choose a pot with a well-fitting lid and place the ingredients in layers, starting and finishing with potatoes. Pour in the water and season to taste. Cover and put on a very low heat for about 2 1/2 hours …

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