Ballistol is a gun cleaning oil. If my sources are correct, it is composed of white mineral oil, potassium oleate, ammonium oleate, benzyl alcohol, amyl alcohol, isobytyl alcohol, benzyl acetate, and anethole. One key characteristic of Ballistol is that it emulsifies with water. This makes it an excellent cleaner for firearms that use black powder or corrosive primers. The best solvent for black powder and the salts left by corrosive primers is hot (almost boiling) water. Ballistol works well in conjunction with that hot water. Ballistol is also non-toxic, and can also be used on wood and leather as well…

On March 30, 240 BC, Halley’s Comet made its first recorded perihelion passage. (Photo courtesy of NASA, from the 1987 comet passage, photographed from Easter Island.) — March 30, 1856: The Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France, and the Kingdom of Sardinia signed the Treaty of Paris. This ended the Crimean War. — Today’s feature article is by our Field Gear Editor, Tom Christianson. Read the full article here

The Mossberg pump-action 500/590-series is the most widely produced shotgun of all time, used by everyone from sportsmen to police officers to U.S. Soldiers. Mossberg has not been satisfied to rest on its laurels, continuing to bring new and updated versions of the 590 to market. New for 2026, the company is adding two new models that use the innovative Chisel Machining folding stock. New for 2026, Mossberg is adding a Chisel Machining folding stock option to its 590R pump-action shotguns. The Chisel Machining folding stock uses a 7075 aluminum folding knuckle with a push-button locking mechanism. The stock locks…

In colonial America, it was firearms from other countries that armed soldiers, but for most of the civilian populace, American-made fowlers fit the bill. A “fowler,” so called because they were often used to hunt birds, or fowl, were constructed using smoothbore barrels, often of great length, that were capable of firing both shot and solid round ball for larger game and are of a type of arm that might later be called a shotgun in the modern vernacular. These firearms were used primarily as hunting guns to put food on the table, but also did double-duty as a defensive…

Editor’s Introductory Note:  This guest article was written by our friend and fellow blogger, Patrice Lewis. Her entertaining and informative Rural Revolution blog has been published several times a week since 2009. We highly recommend bookmarking it. – JWR — The price of beef has been on everyone’s mind lately. According to the USDA, the average price of beef jumped from $8.40 per pound in March to $10.10 by December 2025. A number of recent articles reflect these concerns: We haven’t bought beef in decades since we raise our own, so I wasn’t familiar with what kinds of prices people…

On March 28, 1535, the Cistercian Bloemkamp Abbey (Oldeklooster) in Friesland was attacked and destroyed by a group of millenarian revolutionary Anabaptists. — March 28, 1774: Britain passed the Coercive Act against Massachusetts. — Today’s feature article is a guest piece written by our friend and fellow blogger, Patrice Lewis, the Editrix of the highly-recommended Rural Revolution blog. — We are now seeking entries for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us…

For decades, the Savage Axis line has provided hunters and shooters with a range of options to fit their needs, from backcountry hunts to benchrest precision shoots. Now, the company has a whole new line of Axis rifles to suit the needs of a new generation of hunters and shooters, all loaded with premium features. Watch our “Gun of the Week” video above for a rundown on what Savage has included with its new Axis 2 Pro Western. “Now, in 2024, Savage did a whole revamp of its Axis rifle line. That’s really the foundation line, their budget flagship bolt-action…

00:00:05 Speaker 1: Welcome to this country life. 00:00:06 Speaker 2: I’m your host, Brent Reeves from coon hunting to trotlining and just general country living. 00:00:12 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a. 00:00:13 Speaker 2: While as I share my experiences in life lessons. This country life is presented by Case Knives from the Store More Studio on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends, grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I’ve got some stores to share. Knives, shotguns, and bears. 00:00:41 Speaker 1: Oh…

00:00:00 Speaker 1: There’s been an update in the Bob Christian case we covered last season and I have all the details, But first, if you missed it, here’s a quick recap. Bob Christian was an eighteen year old bowhunter from Wisconsin. On the eve of the opening day of deer season in nineteen seventy seven, Bob drove from his home in Madison to his buddy’s house in Barriboo, or at least he was supposed to. When he didn’t show up, his family, friends, and local law enforcement launched a search effort to try to find him, but all they…

Editor’s Note:  This is a re-post of a SurvivalBlog article from May, 2008.  Given the recent fuel price spikes and the many e-mails that I’ve recently received asking about fuel storage, I thought that it was apropos to dig up this practical article from the blog’s early archives. Given that liquid fuel costs are climbing dramatically, and likely to continue rising, I would like to share some of the practices for fuel storage we employ. For our homestead, liquid fuel equates to four items, namely: Propane, diesel fuel, kerosene and last but not least gasoline. For each fuel, there are…