Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 23, 2026

On May 23, 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was created out of the American, British and French occupation zones. Pictured above is East German steam locomotive 03 2155-4 in the West Germany city of Cologne. (A public domain photo by wwwuppertal, taken in 2013.)

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May 23 is the birthday of George Lars Kellgren (born 1943 in Borås, Sweden), the founder and chief engineer of Kel-Tec. He designed many firearms earlier for Husqvarna and Swedish Interdynamics AB in Sweden. He moved to the US in 1979 and his original US designs were for Intratec and Grendel brand firearms. He founded Kel-Tec in 1991.

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Take note that we will be switching to weekly postings on June 2nd. Thenceforth, you can look for SurvivalBlog “Fresh Every Tuesday.”

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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, and the editorial queue is full, for the round. There will not be a “Round 125”. Any entries received will be for guest posts — not for contest judging. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value).
2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
4. Heaven’s Harvest is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.