The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 12, Issue 16
Hey folks, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. I hope those of you who observed the Easter holiday had a great time. As is the standard routine for us, we went to my in-laws’ for dinner. Every year, my father-in-law hides plastic eggs for the kids. The eggs have a bit of candy or change in each of them. For the grown-ups, he hides a few of each person’s favorite beverage.
Everything is hidden throughout their 3-acre yard, so it can take a while to find it all. By the end, the last few stragglers are sharing hints on where they’ve seen cans or bottles hidden. It’s a fun time, though, and everyone enjoys it.
This week, I’m working on several product reviews for Gear Junkie and GAT Daily. I’m a bit behind on Patreon, so I’ll have that caught up by the end of this week, too. Next week, I’ll start in on the edits for the 2nd edition of Prepper’s Home Defense, which will probably take me a couple of weeks to finish. I’m also in the process of finalizing the contract for my first fiction project. More details on that soon.
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Something to keep in mind as you go about your various preps is that while YOU might know how to operate all of your carefully curated emergency gear, others in the home may not. Yes, you’ve shown them how to do it multiple times. We all can get confused or turned around in a bad situation.
In a grid down scenario, they may not be able to just call up a YouTube video to walk them through what they’re trying to do. It’s a good idea to hedge your bet and make sure you have printed manuals or instructions available. You don’t necessarily need to do this with everything, but it might be wise for some of the important stuff, such as:
· Generators
· Solar panels and power stations
· Water filters, including how to clean them
Take a good look at your gear and imagine you aren’t there to provide guidance on how to use it. Anything you think might not be intuitive for your family members to operate, maybe jot some notes.
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Here are a few of my recent articles for GAT Daily.
Door Security Tools – things you can carry with you to secure doors when you’re out and about
Rule of Threes – understanding the purpose behind them
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My good friend Kevin Estela has a new book out called Beyond the Field: Taking Wilderness Skills to the Next Level. It’s a great addition to the survival/preparedness library. I got an advance copy and it’s outstanding!
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Speaking of books, the two guys who put together this anthology are close friends of mine. I also know several of the contributors. If you liked Stephen King’s The Stand, you’re going to want to check this out. The End of The World As We Know It comes out in August, but you can preorder it now.
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If you have Amazon Prime, you should check out Jeremiah. The first season is currently available, not sure if they’ll be adding season 2 sometime soon. This is a post-apocalyptic show that ran on Showtime from 2002-2004. Because it was made for cable, there is a fair amount of strong language, some nudity, and such.
The gist of the show is that a mysterious plague wipes out everyone who had gone through puberty. All that are left are the kids. The show starts up about 15 years later and those kids have grown into adults themselves. Luke Perry plays the title role, with Malcolm-Jamal Warner playing his buddy Kurdy.
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For our hike this week, we went to Natureland County Park outside Whitewater, Wisconsin. We walked a couple of the trails there. After that, I spent a little time snapping photos of various knives I’ll be reviewing. This is one of my favorite places for doing that, as there are some great photo ops.
Survival Tip – Backyard Fire Practice
One of the most important survival skills is being able to make fire. Not just on a crisp, clear fall evening, either. Think driving snow, pounding rain, high winds, all that fun stuff. The thing is, the times when you really need to get a fire going fast are likely the times when the weather isn’t on your side.
When you know bad weather is headed your way, consider going outside and practicing your fire skills. Experiment with different fire lays, different types of tinder, and different methods of lighting. Learn what works best for you in various conditions.
Practicing these skills in the backyard or similar location allows you to perfect your techniques without exposing you to hypothermia or other hazards. While there is absolutely something to be said for a true “trial by fire,” no pun intended, just jumping headfirst into the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim might not be the best approach for everyone.
Backwoods Survival Guide Magazine
For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for Backwoods Survival Guide magazine. Here is the cover for the current issue available in stores right now.
You can find Backwoods Survival Guide just about anywhere magazines are sold, including:
Walmart
Publix
Walgreens
Rite Aid
CVS
Tractor Supply
Fleet Farm
Barnes & Noble
Subscriptions are available here.
Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?
I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.