The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 10, Issue 33
Hey folks, thanks for checking out this week’s newsletter. I’ve been quite busy the last few days, finally getting back into the groove, so to speak, with writing and editing. Here’s a snapshot of some of the things I crossed off the To Do list in the last week or so:
Finalize covers for Prepper Survival Guide 20 and Backwoods Survival Guide 24.
Figure out article lists for Prepper 21 and Backwoods 26 and 27.
Write and schedule several Patreon posts.
Write and submit two articles for Field & Stream.
By the end of this week, I’ll have another F&S article done. I also need to finish editing all of the submitted articles for Backwoods 25 so that our awesome designer can do the layouts. Next week, we’ll be planning a new special issue of Prepper Survival Guide that will come out next year.
And yes, I am still trying to take it easy. That’s why I’m saving the planned novel for the fall and winter.
* * *
I was reminded a few days ago that this week marks six years since I was tapped to head up what was originally planned to be a one-off single issue magazine then-titled American Prepper. I distinctly remember telling them in that first conversation that they were going to want to do more than just the one issue and actually make it a regular thing. I wasn’t wrong. We’ve done over 50 issues to date between the various titles, and I’m still having a blast. Huge thanks to everyone who’s picked up an issue or two over the years.
* * *
Writing for a living is largely a solitary endeavor. Meaningful feedback can often be in short supply. A few days ago, I was given a couple of compliments that truly blew me away. What was said was awesome, but it was who they were coming from that really hit hard, given his background and experience. I’m still gob smacked.
I tell you that to tell you this. When you have a second, please reach out to a writer whose work you’ve enjoyed. Hit them up on social media or find their website and send them a message there. Tell them you liked what you read. Just a sentence or two is enough. Trust me, they want and need to hear it. And no, please find an author other than myself for this. While I always appreciate hearing from readers, that’s not the point of this little exercise. I’m not fishing for compliments here.
* * *
It’s a time-honored discussion found in almost every prepper- and survivalist-oriented forum online – which is better to have, skills or stuff? Invariably, the votes for skills far outnumber the votes for stuff. The oft-stated reasons include the fact that skills don’t weigh anything and that skills can’t be taken from you.
All of that is undoubtedly true. However, what these debates seem to overlook is that this need not be an either/or proposition. It is possible, even preferable, to dip the proverbial toe into both worlds.
I look at it like this. If I need to make a fire, and I mean this fire could be critical to my very survival, I’d absolutely want to have a BIC lighter and some ready to go tinder. That’s far more ideal than needing to find the right wood to fashion together a bow drill or some other so-called primitive means of getting a fire lit. However, having the knowledge and experience in utilizing those primitive skills means that if my BIC won’t work or I’ve lost my gear, I still have the ability to get that fire going.
Other than perhaps due to some sort of personal preference, there’s no logical reason that one needs to only concentrate on one side or the other. I mean, I know guys who are really into the primitive skills arena. But almost all of them will tell you to carry a lighter in your pocket, as well as perhaps a ferrocerium rod, rather than just relying on rubbing sticks together.
* * *
While subscriptions aren’t quite in place yet, you can now order individual issues of Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide online. Here are the links to the issues they have available.
* * *
I’m used to getting some degree of push-back on my opinion that financial security absolutely falls under the preparedness umbrella. I run into a fair number of preppers and survivalists who insist that debt reduction, emergency savings, and the like are pointless, because “when the collapse happens”, money will be worthless and all debt will disappear. While I’d agree that if such a collapse occurred, those things would probably follow, I’ve been at this whole prepping thing for about 40 years now and I’ve been hearing “The End is Nigh!” for every one of those 40 years.
Yesterday was a new experience, though, when it comes to conflicting opinions on this subject. I’d posted in a Facebook group that financial security, health and physical fitness, and easy access to clean water should all be priorities as one works on their preparedness plan. A guy chimed in, saying that knowing how to fletch arrows and make your own bow is more important than any of the things I mentioned. I’ll never understand that sort of logic.
* * *
Our granddaughter came along on our hike over the weekend. She just turned one year old! Hard to believe it’s been a full year already. It was rather warm for the walk, so we only went a couple of miles.
Survival Tip – Non-Permissive Environments
When we talk about a non-permissive environment, what do we mean? The phrase may have had differing meanings in the past, but today it generally refers to not being allowed to carry a weapon in the specified area.
Story time: I recall visiting a county courthouse several years ago and I had a small flashlight in my coat pocket. It was the smallest Mini Maglite on the market at the time and wasn’t a whole lot bigger than the AAA battery that powered it. Going through the security checkpoint, I dutifully emptied my pockets. The deputy who went through my little bin grabbed the light immediately. I was told I’d either have to go back out and leave it in my car or have it confiscated, because it was considered an impact weapon. My counter-argument that many attorneys in the building were carrying Montblanc pens that were larger and heavier than the tiny flashlight fell on deaf ears, so off to my car I went.
I have little doubt that if that same flashlight had been found in the pocket or purse of an older woman, they’d have not blinked twice. But that’s sort of the point I wanted to make today. When it comes to non-permissive environments, those who enforce it are the ones who decide what is or is not a weapon. The deputy took one look at me, and admittedly I was looking a little rough around the edges that day, and that flashlight became a potential weapon.
[To be fair, he wasn’t not entirely wrong, as a small metal flashlight can be used in self-defense, quite handily if you know what you’re doing.]
We routinely encounter non-permissive areas in our daily lives. It isn’t just government buildings that can be problematic. Airports, as well as many workplaces, forbid the carry of weapons, at least in certain areas. Some stores, restaurants, and other private businesses might do the same. While it is absolutely a matter of personal choice whether you wish to do business with such entities, the fact is that not every person has other options available to them.
The other thing to keep in mind is that disagreement with a law or rule does not excuse us from the consequences of violating that law or rule. Going back to my experience with the flashlight at the courthouse, want to bet how things would have ended up had I decided to argue more and more about it? Think they would have finally given in? Yeah, not so much.
A firearm is the better self-defense weapon, in most scenarios. But it is important to give thought to what you could carry and use if the firearm isn’t an option. As the saying goes, if the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. Toss some other options into that toolbox so that you’re prepared for more than one type of situation, including one where a deputy says, “Hey, you can’t have that here.”
Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide
For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for both Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide magazines. Here are the covers for the current issues that are available in stores right now.
You can find them just about anywhere magazines are sold, including:
Walmart
Sam's Club
Costco
Publix
Walgreens
Rite Aid
CVS
Tractor Supply
Fleet Farm
Barnes & Noble
There are plans in the works to offer subscriptions and I’ll be sharing those links as soon as they’re available.
Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?
I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.