‘This is another installment of my series of articles on how to light up our lives in TEOTWAWKIville. This article covers the results of my week-long experience testing my lighting preps. I expected this preps test to be a fairly simple but, as always, it proved to be more useful and eye-opening than I would have guessed. As with other tests I’ve done, it showed where my preps were insufficient, but more importantly, I learned several things I hadn’t even considered with respect to lighting and therefore hadn’t even thought about preparing for. Another testimony to the importance of testing…

People carrying small firearms for personal protection is not a new concept, and in the middle of the 19th century, many pocket pistols were designed with self-defense in mind. One such gun, the Brown Manufacturing Southern Derringer, was among the earliest cartridge-firing self-defense guns. Watch our “American Rifleman Television: I Have This Old Gun” segment above to see the details of this diminutive derringer. “Derringers really reached the height of their popularity in the 1860s,” American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune said. “There is, of course, the infamous Philadelphia Derringer, which is the style of gun used by John Wilkes…

On May  20, 1875 the International Bureau of Weights & Measures was formed by the signing of the Metre Convention treaty by 17 nations, in Paris. The prototypes of the meter and the kilogram were selected. — May 20, 1916: Codell, Kansas was hit by a tornado. (Quite oddly, it was hit again on the same day in 1917 and then again in 1918.) — May 20th is also the birthday of my lifelong friend Brad C.  I wish him a happy 65th birthday! – JWR — Today we are starting a big sale on all of our blackpowder rifles,…

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has proposed an amendment to statewide hunting regulations that would require all harvested mountain lions to be reported in Texas.Currently, mountain lions are classified as non-game animals in Texas alongside species such as coyotes, bobcats, bullfrogs, and rabbits. Under current TPWD regulations, there are no closed seasons or bag limits for non-game species, and hunters with a valid license may take them year round by lawful means on private property.State officials began taking a closer look at mountain lion management back in 2022, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission organized a stakeholder…

Setting a healthy column of gunpowder behind a .22-caliber bullet is nothing new in the world of cartridge design. The .220 Swift has been around for nearly 100 years, and the .22-250 Remington existed as a wildcat cartridge long before Big Green standardized it in 1965. Double-deuce bullets are cheap and widely available, so it makes sense to neck down a bigger case, load a .22 projectile, and let ‘er rip.But as you’ve no doubt heard by now, maximizing velocity is no longer the Holy Grail of hunting cartridges: enter the 22 ARC and the 22 Creedmoor. Neither can compete…

For years, short-barreled rifles (SBRs) were a niche item within the NFA, as many firearm enthusiasts avoided the onerous regulations imposed by the ATF on their ownership, which included the payment of a $200 tax stamp, special serialization and approval requirements to transport the guns across state lines. In 2026, though, the landscape of NFA guns has changed dramatically. In January 2026, the price of an NFA tax stamp on SBRs dropped to $0, and in April 2026, the ATF announced a series of reforms, including the removal of the “maker’s mark” requirement for Form 1 SBRs, as well as…

00:00:01 Speaker 1: Famed cowboy artist Charlie Russell and fellow Montana photographer La Huffman had. 00:00:07 Speaker 2: A message for the future. 00:00:10 Speaker 3: But what was it? 00:00:12 Speaker 1: I’m Dan Flores and this is the American West. What were Charlie Russell and La Huffman trying to tell us? In nineteen oh eight, three years after the freshly minted state of Montana had passed a law requiring its veterinarians to infect any captured wolves that came their way with sarcoptic mange and then released them to spread the disease into the wild population in Great Falls,…

Opening caveat: A lot of what I describe below is highly illegal in normal times. It might even be frowned upon during semi-normal times. Only you, as a logical and thinking adult, can make a decision to take actions that could result in potential prison time. But this article is for those bad times, a true WWOTROL (World Without The Rule Of Law) scenario. Like many here, I’m an older gentleman, having retired almost 20 years ago after a 25 year law enforcement career. I’ve also been a faithful Survival Blog reader from almost the beginning. And like many here,…

On May 19, 1828 U.S. President John Quincy Adams signed the Tariff of 1828 into law to protect industry in the North. The bill was vehemently denounced in the South and escalated to a threat of civil war in the nullification crisis of 1832–33. The tariff was replaced in 1833, and the crisis ended. The Tariff of 1828 was called the “Tariff of Abominations” by most Southerners because of its drag on the Southern economy. It set a 38% tax on some imported goods and a 45% tax on certain imported raw materials. The South was also harmed indirectly because…

Despite the incredible array of polymer-frame, striker-fired, semi-automatic handguns on the market, the classic revolver not only refuses to die, it has seen something of a resurgence in recent years. Today’s revolver Renaissance has spurred the introduction of a wide array of designs, ranging from the most cutting-edge takes on this tried-and-true firearm concept to retro renditions of popular guns from years past. Whether you’re a defensive shooter looking for a dedicated tool with a simple manual of arms you know and trust to the casual enthusiast who just wants something classic to enjoy at the range, the array of…