We’ve announced the winners of Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, which ended yesterday. This was the final round of the contest. More than $989,000 worth of prizes have been awarded in the 20+ years that we ran the contest. My  congratulations to all of the prize winners, over the years. Your articles have been a key part of what makes SurvivalBlog such a valuable reference. Your articles will remain freely available in the SurvivalBlog archives. Note: Please continue to write articles for SurvivalBlog, to share your knowledge and experience. Reader-written articles are a key part of making SurvivalBlog…

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be…

Most shooters don’t need a “war belt.” While enthusiasts like the idea of preparing for every contingency, the vast majority of us need a reliable platform for a range session, a training class or a local club match. In a true emergency, a belt that we regularly use and train with is superior to a complex rig gathered only for a worst-case scenario. The war-belt concept gets complicated. Social media often suggests that anything less than a direct-action rig with a dozen pouches is insufficient. For the everyday marksman, we need to scale back to something simple, streamlined and effective:…

For the last six years, I have been supplementing my retirement income by working as a rideshare driver. At first, I was a little apprehensive about picking up complete strangers and all of the potential danger that might entail. After almost 20,000 rides, I can honestly say that there was only one experience where I thought my personal safety was at risk and it was relatively minor. Since those early days, rideshare companies have greatly improved their safety tools for both drivers and riders. Although I did not begin driving as an exercise in preparedness, it quickly became one. The…

On May 30, 1626, an explosion at the Wanggongchang Gunpowder Factory in Beijing destroyed part of the city and killed and estimated 20,000 people. Pictured above are ancient  Chinese cannon, near the Forbidden City. — And on May 30, 1806, future US President Andrew Jackson killed Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson accused Jackson’s wife of bigamy. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. There will not be a “Round 125”! — Take Note: Our editorial calendar is now filled…

Watch the full video on YouTube

Sportsmen in Oregon are facing an existential threat to our way of life: a ballot initiative seeking to outlaw all forms of hunting, fishing, and trapping, as well as the slaughter of livestock and poultry, rodeos, animal breeding practices, animal use for medical research, and more.IP28, also known as the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions (PEACE) Act, is a measure put forward by radical animal rights activists that would intentionally affect those widespread practices by removing exemptions in the state’s animal cruelty statutes. Last week, local outlets began reporting that the petition has gathered 120,735 signatures, exceeding…

00:00:05 Speaker 1: Welcome to this country Life. I’m your host, Brent Reeves from coon hunting to trotlining and just in general country living. I want you to stay a 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 that airways have to offer. All right, friends, grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I’ve got some stories to share Brooklyn Bradford and Butterflies. For all you folks who thought old Brentley was done telling turkey…

Watch full video on YouTube

Water is essential to all life. The human body can go three weeks without food but only three days without water before completely shutting down. Yet most of us find it much easier to store a year’s worth of food than a month’s worth of water. I live in the suburbs and while I have my beans, bullets and band aids pretty squared away, water has always been an area of concern for me. There is no way to store enough water for a long term outage, and I haven’t found many good options. Recently I have spent more time…