Month: August 2022

I was organizing my gun safes, and realized that I had somehow accumulated five single-action .22 rimfire revolvers. I thought that a short article about them, how accurate or not they are, and whether or not various brands of ammunition make an accuracy difference might be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. To preview the conclusion, yes, if…

I’ll start with the latest acquisition first. I was at a gun show earlier this year, not intending to purchase anything, and ran across one of the latest offerings from Heritage Arms. Heritage has been making the Rough Rider .22 single-action revolver in the USA since 1992. For many years, they had one offering, A small frame copy (or replica) looking like the classic Colt Peacemaker, with a 6.5-inch barrel. I have owned one of these for around 25 years. More on that one later. Today, the offerings from Heritage have expanded quite a bit. They offer revolvers from one-inch to 16 inch barrels, birds head and standard plow handle grip frames. Fixed or adjustable sights, quite a few grip and finish options, and many other variations. They even have a really interesting Carbine version. I had told myself that I didn’t need another “cheap” Heritage revolver, even if they were pretty sharp looking. Then I found a threaded barrel, tactical model complete with Picatinny rail, and just had to find out if a suppressor would really work on a revolver. Spoiler Alert:  Not really.

A great thing about Heritage is that they don’t sell what we used to call in the software industry “vaporware”. Quite a few manufacturers promote guns through ads or articles in gun magazines that are not really available yet. I have never seen that from Heritage, in fact, I had not seen an ad for the tactical model until after I saw this one on the gun show table.

Anyway, back to the gun. It has a 6.5-inch barrel, accessory rail and threaded muzzle. Plain black finish with carbon fiber grips. One unique feature of the Heritage revolvers is that they have a manual safety. I think it is a bit on the ugly side, but since there is no transfer bar on it, the safety is needed if you want to carry the revolver with 6 rounds. You can also use it to win a Facebook debate with self important experts who will tell you that revolvers don’t have safeties. The trigger pull is great. I can’t find my trigger pull scale (hence the need to clean out the gun safes), but I would guess it is well under 5 pounds and very crisp with no over travel. I had a Bushnell TRS 25 red dot sight that I had picked up years before at Walmart on clearance still in the box (another benefit of cleaning out the gun safes) and mounted it on the revolver.

My first step was to try it with a…

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Today, EPIC joined nearly 50 other public interest, consumer advocacy, and civil rights groups in a letter urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to move the “American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA)” to a vote by the full House of Representatives. The groups contend that this comprehensive federal privacy and civil rights legislation will create “real and lasting protections” for millions of Americans, shielding their personal data like never before.

“The time is now to pass a comprehensive federal privacy and civil rights law,” the groups wrote. “We fear that a failure to move the bill in this Congress will forestall progress on this issue for years to come. We urge you to move the bill to a vote as soon as possible.”

“This is not a perfect privacy bill, but we do believe it would establish critical protections for Americans and make much needed advancements for privacy rights at a time when those rights are very much at risk,” said Alan Butler, EPIC Executive Director. “This is not the end of the process, it is the start of the process. The law will be strengthened over time via rulemaking and litigation. But it is past time to pass a federal privacy law.” 

EPIC Deputy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald testified before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce in June in support of the ADPPA, and EPIC recently published a comparison between ADPPA and California privacy laws in Tech Policy Press. EPIC has been urging Congress to enact a comprehensive federal privacy law for over 20 years.

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Tyler White is one of those rare creators of online survival content who is amply qualified. Growing up on a ranch, Tyler learned about homesteading and preparedness as a way of life, taught by grandparents who had lived through the Great Depression. Although he had already worked at a guide in Alaska, served with U.S. Army, Tyler knew there was more to primitive survival than he could learn from military schools or other outdoorsmen. His passion for primitive survival drove him on a quest to track down the most knowledgeable instructors in the field, traveling from Utah to the Amazon to Canada and finally back to Utah. Like all competent survivalists, Tyler has experience in a broad range of subjects. Highlights from his background includes criminal justice, law enforcement, archery, small arms, amateur radio, farming, gardening, raising cattle, and poultry. He has attended classified schools, worked in law enforcement, studied too many martial arts to list, and achieved the rank of 2nd Dan in Shōrin-ryū karate.

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EPIC submitted an amicus brief this week in National Coalition on Black Civic Participation v. Wohl, a federal case concerning voter intimidation and privacy. The suit was brought by voters against several defendants who placed deceptive robocalls shortly before the 2020 election. The robocalls specifically targeted Black voters, falsely warning them that their personal information would be forwarded to debt collectors, law enforcement, and the CDC if they chose to vote by mail. The voters allege that this constitutes voter intimidation under the Ku Klux Klan Act and the Voting Rights Act. EPIC’s amicus brief explains the history of voter privacy in the United States. By showing how voter privacy is central to American self-governance, EPIC’s brief shows that the defendants’ robocalls fall into a clear pattern of intimidation that the Voting Rights Act and Ku Klux Klan Act are meant to prevent. “Voters must know that their voting decisions will not be used to subject them to economic, physical, or other types of harm in order to make a truly independent decision,” EPIC wrote. EPIC has a long history of working on voter privacy issues and in 2016 co-authored The Secret Ballot At Risk: Recommendations for Protecting Democracy.

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For thousands of years smoking food has been a way of preserving an abundance of produce for leaner times.

Even today you will see people in various countries around the world who do not have access to refrigeration smoking their food outdoors over small fires – most often it is fish, but a variety of meats are also smoked to make them last longer.

This collection is of smoker recipes for meat from domesticated animals as well as some more unusual wild game including alligator, and elk as well as smoked meat recipes from around the world like Turkish marinaded lamb, and Namibian Barbel (catfish) to name a few. They are really worth trying out.

Once people get into smoking their food it makes for interesting conversations as the pros and cons of various spice mixes, best cuts to smoke, and wood types for certain meats, are discussed and people share the results and the finer points of smoking certain cuts.

And now for the recipes!

Poultry

Smoked Chicken Breast

I find smoked chicken breast very versatile for sandwiches, wraps, salads, and even in Hawaiian poke bowls.

Bourbon BBQ Smoked Chicken Wings

The woods best suited to smoking chicken are hickory, apple, pecan, and cherry. This is a good way to use up those chicken wings. Here’s the recipe.

Smoked Chicken Drumsticks

This recipe is fairly simple and works for a variety of types of smokers. Although this recipe is sufficient for 4 people, if you have a larger smoker you can do a whole lot more as these are crowd pleasers.

Smoked Duck

Preserve the bounty from a good duck hunting season – smoke, then freeze for use later. Here’s the recipe.

Smoked Turkey

If you have tried barbequing a turkey and had poor results then try the slower smoking method for a more evenly cooked bird that is super tasty and moist.

Smoked Quail

After soaking in a buttermilk brine quail only take about thirty minutes in the smoker. Here’s the recipe.

Smoked Pheasant

Brining the bird first makes for a more tender meat. Pheasant is quite a rich dark meat so a little will go far. Here’s the recipe.

Pork

Smoked Pork Ribs – tender

Baby back ribs are prepared to tender perfection using the 3-2-1 method resulting in meltingly tender ribs.

Smoking Pork Ribs – competition style

Pork ribs for competitions should have the meat pulling away from the bone cleanly but not so tender it falls off the bone. This post gives guidelines on getting that crisp finish to the ribs without them turning black!

Smoked Ham Hocks

The process to achieve these smoked ham hocks involves brining for three days, drying for 12-14 hours, and then smoking, but the result will be worth the wait.

Smoked Ham

It’s not so hard to smoke your own ham – just quite a bit of waiting around time, but make sure you have something else to do while the ham cures in brine…

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Using less energy is the most reliable way to save money and cut costs on the farm. Try these energy-saving strategies to reduce your reliance on energy and improve your homestead’s resilience.

Several years ago, as fuel prices rose and I read that up to half of the average U.S. farm’s expenses could be attributed to energy, I decided to see how our farm compared.

Our energy consumption was only 8% of our total expenses, and that included two delivery trucks that we ran four days a week.

We calculated at the time that diesel fuel could cost up to $10 per gallon, and we’d still be fine. Although we still use a lot of fuel, we’re relieved to know that if everything goes wrong, we’ll be the last man standing.

While this percentage difference does not necessarily mean profitability, it does indicate a degree of resiliency. There are numerous advantages to reducing energy consumption and dependency.

But how do we go about it?

Here are some tips for saving energy use

Reduce the transportation of feedstock

You should never use fuel to transport bulky feeds, such as hay, to your animals. What you can do instead is to transport the animals to the hay. Ideally, we feed hay close to where it was harvested.

We outgrew our single barn many years ago and decided to build a second one. The new one would be built near the old one, clustering the farm’s infrastructure to take advantage of existing roads, water lines, and power.

However, on our farm, all of the farm infrastructures are not centrally located. As a result, we constructed the new barn at the far end of the property.

As a result, when we make hay, we have two storage options, greatly reducing transport energy.

We have close fields to receive the compost generated by the hay feeding when we spread it in the spring. This reduces run time even more.

Decentralized infrastructure that is strategically placed to reduce haul time saves not only energy but also time. Multiple structures located throughout the farm provide additional storage and usage options.

Coordinate your trips across the field

Trips with heavy machinery are costly. Don’t make empty trips and you should load the machinery both when youre going and when your coming back. By doing so you can plan your vehicle movements for maximum efficiency. This is why our pastured poultry farms have onboard or nearby mobile feed storage.

You can carefully plan refills for those times when you need to go out by stocking feed on-site. Alternatively, we can fill multiple feed boxes at once. We can begin, then make a loop around the various containers before returning home.

Saving more than 40 single-function trips and machinery starts over the course of a year adds up to energy savings.

The required trip to town is one of the most energy-intensive…

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People have started incorporating houseplants as part of interior design. This option is also best for you if you don’t have an outdoor garden or just wish to bring greenery inside. They tend to light up a room with their presence and beautiful colors. 

When growing houseplants, you need to care for them and ensure maintenance. Not all plants require the same type of care, but knowing the general rules and tips for indoor gardening are necessary.

Learn How to Water Houseplants

In the case of outdoor plants, it doesn’t matter even if you over-water them. But it’s not the case for indoor ones; it’s better to underwater the plants than overwater them. The reason is that indoor plants are better off when they are slightly dry rather than drenched in water.

The primary goal is to keep the plants moisturized with enough water. One trick is to slowly water the soil until it reaches the bottom of the plant pot.

Most indoor plants require watering once or twice a week. You can check if the plant needs watering by sticking your finger a few inches deep into the soil. If it feels dry, then it’s time to water.

Get the Right Amount of Light

As we know, all plants require light to strive, but the amount varies depending upon the type of plant. Most houseplants require indirect light than from a direct source. Place your plant near the windows and get custom window blinds by Stoneside to provide the right amount of light for plants.

Some plants, like pothos, grow well in shady and low-light conditions. In contrast, others require artificial lighting to help them grow well. The need for artificial light arises, especially in the winter and areas with few hours of daylight.

Buy fluorescent or LED bulbs that closely resemble the solar light spectrum.

Maintain Temperature and Ventilation

You need to monitor temperature using an indoor thermometer. Many indoor plants require temperatures around 65 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and around 10 degrees cooler at night.

You can search on the level of humidity required for your plants depending on the plant’s type. They grow best when their surroundings are matched to their natural growing conditions.

Some plants acquire water from the air, so spray water near them daily. Plants that don’t require excessive moisture need proper ventilation. You can place a fan near the houseplants to ensure proper air circulation.

Use the Right Soil and Pot

Don’t compromise on the quality of soil for your plants. Providing the best quality soil will ensure a perfect balance of nutrition for them. Buy a potting soil that is made for your houseplants.

Choose a pot size that can accommodate the plants easily and check drainage capability. Don’t make the mistake of buying a huge pot for a small plant, thinking that it will outgrow it later. You can just transfer it to a bigger pot. If you grow in the big pot before then, it won’t be able to absorb enough moisture.

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Tyler White is one of those rare creators of online survival content who is amply qualified. Growing up on a ranch, Tyler learned about homesteading and preparedness as a way of life, taught by grandparents who had lived through the Great Depression. Although he had already worked at a guide in Alaska, served with U.S. Army, Tyler knew there was more to primitive survival than he could learn from military schools or other outdoorsmen. His passion for primitive survival drove him on a quest to track down the most knowledgeable instructors in the field, traveling from Utah to the Amazon to Canada and finally back to Utah. Like all competent survivalists, Tyler has experience in a broad range of subjects. Highlights from his background includes criminal justice, law enforcement, archery, small arms, amateur radio, farming, gardening, raising cattle, and poultry. He has attended classified schools, worked in law enforcement, studied too many martial arts to list, and achieved the rank of 2nd Dan in Shōrin-ryū karate.

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In a follow-up letter to EPIC’s 2020 complaint against Airbnb, EPIC warned the Federal Trade Commission today about a newly announced Airbnb algorithm used to identify and block would-be renters who are deemed likely to throw a party. As with the “trustworthiness” algorithm targeted in EPIC’s original complaint, “the company has not disclosed the logic or full range of factors on which the system relies and has failed to establish that the system is accurate, fair, or free from the impermissible bias routinely exhibited by automated decision-making systems.”

If Airbnb’s “anti-party technology” determines that a user presents a high risk of hosting a party during their stay, the system may “prevent [the] reservation attempt from going through” and restrict the user to booking only a private room or hotel room. “The factors relied on by Airbnb’s ‘anti-party technology’ pose a high risk of disparate and unfair impact,” EPIC explained, because it makes housing determinations based on age, length of stay, and distance from rental properties “among many other[]” factors.

EPIC has filed complaints to the FTC and the D.C. Attorney general about opaque algorithms and unfair surveillance used in housing, education, and hiring; advocates for a ban on face surveillance; and routinely calls on state, federal, and international decisionmakers to privilege privacy and human rights over aggressive adoption of AI.

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Consider this: Approximately 92% of the top prescribed medicines come from plants or fungi.1  A huge amount of medications are plant-based, and there are numerous medicinal plants whose benefits we haven’t even studied yet.

Learning about medicinal plants can decrease your dependency on the pharmaceutical industry, improve self-reliance, and possibly save your life when traditional medicines aren’t available.

There are too many medicinal plants to talk about them all here. If you are interested in learning natural medicine, Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs book (Amazon Link) is a great place to begin.

In this post, I want to focus on a specific subset of medicinal plants: natural antiseptic plants. These plants can be used as a “natural Neosporin” for treating wounds and preventing infection.

An infection might not seem like a big deal, but it can lead to deadly sepsis.

When Small Wounds Become Deadly

Before we get into the top natural antibacterial plants, we must understand why antibacterial salves are important, especially in backcountry or survival situations.

When you get wounded, the body reacts by releasing white blood cells into the area. They cause the wounded area to become inflamed and form blood clots with platelets, so the wound is sealed off from the rest of the body.

Minor wounds usually tend to heal on their own. However, this largely depends on whether you can keep the wound clean. If it gets dirty, infection inevitably occurs (as you’ve probably seen when an injury starts to ooze puss).

If the infection isn’t treated quickly, the body can’t contain it. The inflamed blood vessels leak, releasing infection-fighting chemicals into the blood.

The result is sepsis, an inflammatory condition in which the body essentially attacks itself.

Dangers of Sepsis

The inflammation that occurs during sepsis prevents blood from flowing throughout the body. The blood pressure drop can become so drastic that it prevents nutrients from getting to organs. Without prompt intervention, organ failure can occur.

Septic shock occurs quickly and can be fatal. This is why it is essential to treat wounds – even minor wounds – with antiseptic ointments and keep them clean.

Risk of Sepsis

In unsanitary conditions – such as in the backcountry or after a natural disaster like flooding – wounds are easily exposed to harmful pathogens.

After virtually every natural disaster, we inevitably see an increase in skin infections and sepsis. After the 2017 flooding of Houston, for example, there was a surge in skin infections. Some of these developed into life-threatening sepsis.

Luckily, no one died from sepsis after the Houston flooding. Most cases of skin infections were easily treated with antibiotics at the hospital.

We might not always have access to antibiotics or medicines in the aftermath of a disaster, though, which is why it is so important to know how to…

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