Prepography
The Art & Study of Self-Reliance
Situational Awareness – An Introduction (1,338)
Don’t Be ‘That Prepper Guy’ (880)
Fan of the Ammo Can – Top 10 Uses (635)
Prepping with Garage Sales (565)
Top 10 Preparedness Uses of Mineral Oil (507)
Top 10 Initial Steps to Preparation (496)
OCOKA – A Key Survival Acronym (492)
Snake Eater – How to Field Dress a Snake (376)
Prepper SALUTE Report – An Observation and Reporting Tool (332)- Difference Between .223 Caliber & 5.56mm (318)
- Best Prepper Caliber? (317)
Jefferson’s Top 10 Commandments for Living (312)
Snake Eater – How to Field Dress a Snake
Snake Eater is a slang term for a tough guy, or a special operations soldier. It probably derives it’s origin from a practical exercise of the skill we’re going to be talking about today undertaken by trainees of the U.S. Army’s Jungle Warfare Training Center. Light Infantry and Special Operations graduates of ‘Jungle School’ had a reputation…and they earned it. Today’s lesson on how to field dress a snake is taken directly from the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook, SH 21-76 and is for informational purposes only. Don’t try this at home, or abroad!
CAUTION
Take extreme care in securing snakes–the bite of some poisonous snakes can be fatal. Even after a snake’s head is cut off, its reflex action can cause it to bite, injecting poison. The best time to capture snakes is in the early morning or late evening when temperatures are low and they move slow. Kill or use a long stick to pin down its head and capture it. To pick up a snake, place the index finger on the top rear of its head with your thumb and middle finger on either side of the head behind the jaws. Keep your index finger on top of snake’s head to prevent it from turning inside its skin and biting you.
Continue reading
e-Foods Direct Offers Free Survival Meals
e-Foods Direct is offering its Food Planning Pack and 6 Meals (12 Servings) for FREE if you pay shipping and handling. Their offer includes:
- Three (3) Pouches of Quick-Fix Meals
- Food Planning Guide Helps Calculate How Much Food You Need
- 30-Minute Audio CD by Steve Shenk, e-Foods Direct Co-Founder
- 12 Servings including Tortilla Soup, Cheesy Chicken Rice Casserole, and Creamy Potato Soup
The Quartermaster’s Report – X CALIBER Shotgun Gauge Adapter System
Andrew’s Note: Today we introduce The Quartermaster and The Quartermaster’s Report. The Quartermaster brings us information on cool gear and equipment as well as the availability of cool gear and equipment. Today’s report is on the X CALIBER Shotgun Gauge Adapter System.
Ever wished you could carry one gun and have it shoot multiple calibers and guages? I’m not talking about .38 Special and .357 Magnum either…I’m talking about a tool that can hunt grouse as a 12 Gauge shotgun but quickly convert into to a 7.62×39 to drop a deer and even to .22 Long Rifle to bring down a squirrel…well now you can.
Building a Bug Out Bag – Part IV, Food
In Building a Bug Out Bag Part I we discussed why building a Bug Out Bag is important and what type of bag to select. In Part II we discussed the Transportation Items to consider, and in Part III we explored Water preparedness for your Bug Out Bag. Today we’ll discuss Food preparedness and Food items to consider including when building a Bug Out Bag. Remember, this is your last ditch, carry on your back, walk away from trouble Bug Out Bag…not what you hope you can get to your bug out location if your car, SUV, or EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle makes it.
Continue reading
Preparedness Uses of Baking Soda – Top 10 Uses
Today we add another article in our Top 10 series…this time it’s the Top 10 Preparedness Uses of Baking Soda
What is Baking Soda?
Baking Soda
Sodium bicarbonate, also known as sodium hydrogen carbonate is a naturally occurring compound but can also be produced using the solvay process.
Top 10 Preparedness Uses of Baking Soda
- Odor Neutralization: There’s a reason your mama kept an open box of baking soda in the refrigerator…it absorbs and neutralizes odors by neutralizing the pH of odor producing nastiness. It can do the same thing when sprinkled on odor producing garbage, spills or even carpets (let stand for at least 15 minutes). It can also be used to remove an odor from a container…use with hot water and leave the water and Baking Soda mixture in the container overnight. Add to animal litter or bedding to reduce odor.
- Personal Hygiene: Apply directly under arms or mix with warm water and apply with a cloth after bathing to reduce body odor smells during the day. Mix with hydrogen peroxide or use directly as a toothpaste substitute. Wash your hands with Baking Soda to remove odors.
- Medicinal: Soothe heartburn with a teaspoon of Baking Soda added to six ounces of water. Mix into a paste with water to soothe skin if mildly sunburned, bitten by insects or suffering from poison ivy. It can also be added to bathwater to soothe mild rashes. A paste made from Baking Soda will reportedly extract splinters. Mix with water and gargle to soothe canker sores (reportedly freshens mouth as well). Continue reading
Received the following note from Prepography Advertiser The Ready Store where they’ve been donating a can of food to children’s charities for every can of storage food they sell. Congratulations to The Ready Store and keep up the good works!
“We just wanted to drop a quick note wishing you and yours a merry Christmas! We are constantly amazed by our wonderful customers and want to thank you for the great generosity in participating in our Can-for-Can Program. With your help, you’ve donated an estimated 40,000 meals for hungry children across the globe!”
The prepper movement gets a bad rap sometimes from the ill informed who sometimes call us ‘selfish‘ and think that we’re only interested in ourselves…but I’ve found preppers and the businesses that cater to them to be extremely generous in every way imaginable.
Methods of Stalking – Camouflaged Movement
Andrew’s Note: Last week we presented an article from FM 21-76, The U.S. Army Survival Manual [Approved For Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited] on Personal Camouflage…today we continue that thought with The Survival Manual’s take on’ Camouflaged Movement’ or Methods of Stalking. Being able to remain unseen during movement can be a key element to both your security and putting food on your family’s table.
In a survival situation, especially in a hostile environment, you may find it necessary to camouflage yourself, your equipment, and your movement. It may mean the difference between survival and capture by the enemy. Camouflage and movement techniques, such as stalking, will also help you get animals or game for food using primitive weapons and skills…
METHODS OF STALKING
Sometimes you need to move, undetected, to or from a location. You need more than just camouflage to make these moves successfully. The ability to stalk or move without making any sudden quick movement or loud noise is essential to avoiding detection.
You must practice stalking if it is to be effective. Use the following techniques when practicing.
Upright Stalking
Food in Full Spectrum Preparedness
Today we return to the second in our series introducing each of the 10 Foundations of Full Spectrum Preparedness in more detail. In these articles we’ll start fleshing out the Fundamentals of Full Spectrum Preparedness. Essentially, this series will discuss each Fundamental’s place in our Full Spectrum Preparedness cognitive model and briefly discuss how each Fundamental interacts with the other nine. These articles are about the concepts, in later articles we’ll provide practical tactics, techniques and procedures for each Fundamental. We continue this discussion with Food in Full Spectrum Preparedness:
Why is Food Preparedness Important
While you can survive months without food in optimum conditions, there are physical and mental changes that begin to take place after even a short time without sustenance. Having adequate food supplies and the skill to turn them into nutritious meals is a life skill that takes on even more importance during and in the aftermath of a disaster.
You must plan for food preparation as well. Does your food require cooking to make it safe or palatable…if so how will you cook it if your electricity, natural gas or propane sources aren’t available or serviceable. If you had to cook over and open flame do you have the fuel and cookware necessary. Are your pans flame safe? We’ll discuss emergency and austere environment cooking techniques in later articles, but these are some considerations you should begin to think about.
Whole books and websites are devoted entirely to nutrition planning and we won’t try to duplicate that here… but you should spend some time planning well balanced meals for any preparedness plan lasting more than just a few days.
Aspects of Food Preparedness
Greely on Hunger – Today’s Quote
“I ate my boots and a pair of pants … tea and seal-skin gloves for dinner.”
First Lieutenant (Later Major General) Adolphus Greely commenting on a day in 1883, during his Arctic Expedition
Ammo Can Grill
Prepography reader MG recently gave us one more use for the multi-talented ammo can (see Fan of the Can, Top 10 Uses)…an Ammo Can Grill. I can think of a number of preparedness and recreational uses for this little baby.
Components of the Ammo Can Grill:
- One Ammo Can (.50 Cal/5.56mm)
- One Can High Heat Spray Paint
- Two pieces of grill top
- Two tent stakes or heavy wire
Ammo Can Grill Parts
Steps to make the Ammo Can Grill:
- Wash and dry the Ammo Can to remove any residue and prep for painting.
- Drill four holes, two on each size to match the diameter of your tent stakes. Drill the holes close enough to the top of the Ammo Can that the lips on the lid cover the holes when the Ammo Can is closed. Holes should be located 1-2 inches from the outside of the Ammo Can in parellel so that when the stakes are placed through the holes they’ll hold up the grill top.
- Paint the outside of the Ammo Can and lid with your high heat spray paint.
- Cut the grill top to be just slightly smaller than the interior dimensions of the Ammo Can. This is easily the hardest part of the project and you may want to farm this work out to a buddy that owns the proper tools. MG used a grinder to create his first two Ammo Can Grills but plans on having a machine shop cut the grill tops if he makes any more.
- Gather all your parts, throw them in the Ammo Can Grill, shut the lid and you’re done. You may want to add some matches, a lighter, a fork or spatula, some tinder or kindling, or candles to the Ammo Can Grill before you close it up.
Caution: MG says to ‘seasoned’ the Ammo Can Grill by firing it up for at least an hour before using it with food… to burn off any remaining residue.
Using your Ammo Can Grill: Continue reading
Only Three Days of Food – Today’s Quote
Grocery stores only keep about two to three day’s worth of items on their shelves. When everyone is clamoring for the same emergency items at the same time, there is a good chance that you won’t get what you need. The items that will sell out first are the ones that people know will help them get through a time of crisis.
37 FOOD ITEMS SOLD OUT AFTER CRISIS by Survival Products LLC
Dakota Fire Pit Infographic
Here’s something that doesn’t weigh a thing to add to your Get Home Bag or Bug Out Bag… a little knowledge about how to build a Dakota Fire Pit. While a fireless camp is the least likely to be observed there may be times when a fire is absolutely necessary…water purification by boiling (when you have no other methods available) or to avoid hypothermia are two possibilities that come to mind. Such situations call for a Dakota Fire Pit also known as the Dakota Fire Hole… the next most clandestine camp to a fireless camp.
Dakota fire hole (Figure VI-15). Use the Dakota fire hole for high winds or evasion situations
Essentially the Dakota Fire Pit is a fire pit with a separate tunnel built to supply airflow directly to the fuel. By keeping the fire below ground you reduce the light signature of the fire significantly and are able to get by with a much smaller fire than you would need above ground to accomplish the same cooking tasks.
Here are some additional hints to make your Dakota Fire Hole easier to build and less likely to be seen: Continue reading
Today’s Top 10 It’s Not This It’s That for Preppers
Sometimes preparedness is about seeing the potential alternate uses of everyday items, sometimes preparedness is about keeping the ‘end’ in mind while dealing with the ‘ways’ and the ‘means.’ These were the inspirations for this periodic column on Prepography called… It’s Not This It’s That (INTIT):
- It’s not a salt lick for livestock, it’s brining material for salting that livestock’s meat
- It’s not 550 cord it’s a solar clothes dryer
- It’s not a pile of old tires…it’s an Earthship (or maybe just an Earthboat) waiting to be built (thanks to PennyPincher for the tip)
- It’s not a flower garden…it’s a survival garden just waiting to have the flowers replaced with beautiful vegetables
- It’s not a dog…it’s an early warning system…or if it’s like mine it’s a ‘come and get my master we live over here’ system Continue reading
How to Field Strip A MRE (Meal Ready To Eat)
Many survivalists, hunters, preppers and outdoor enthusiasts buy commercial Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE’s). These commercial MRE’s are very similar to the military MRE’s that the Department of Defense (DOD) provides to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines for field use (for some reason the DOD doesn’t allow the manufacturers to sell the same meals to the public). In this short article we’ll discuss what an MRE is and an easy way to cut down on the size and weight of MRE’s…or as we call it in the military…how to field strip a MRE.
What is an MRE:
The MRE has been the primary field ration of our troops since the early 1980′s. It’s a self contained, calorie dense (over 1,200 calories), shelf stable (up to five years under optimal conditions) meal designed to keep you fueled during labor intensive activities. While it’s designed as ‘a’ meal I found that even during the toughest field exercises it was just too much food/calories to be consumed as ‘a’ meal. Depending on the nature of the exercise and work involved I usually carried and ate 1-2 MRE’s per day. I’ll leave the discussion of the culinary ‘delights’ of the MRE for another time but you should know that these meals aren’t just heavy, they’re also bulky.
Note: The MRE is heavy by backpacking food standards not in relation to the MRE’s predecessor the C Ration. Continue reading
Today’s Top 10 It’s Not This It’s That for Preppers
Sometimes preparedness is about seeing the potential alternate uses of everyday items, sometimes preparedness is about keeping the ‘end’ in mind while dealing with the ‘ways’ and the ‘means.’ These were the inspirations for a new periodic column here on Prepography called… It’s Not This It’s That (INTIT):
- It’s not your old army pistol belt with attached molle pouches…it’s your very own batman utility belt
- It’s not a gallon of unscented bleach it’s up to 3,000 gallons of potable water
- It’s not a .22 long rifle shell that cost you 3.9 cents it’s 1.318 lbs (583 calories, 111.46 grams of protein) of cottontail rabbit
- That multi-pound box or bag of salt isn’t food seasoning it’s a food preservative
- It’s not an out of date phone book for downtown Possom Trot, it’s 500 pages of outhouse cleanliness Continue reading
Top 10 Preparedness Uses of Diatomaceous Earth
What is Diatomaceous Earth:
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is the fossilized remains of waterborne diatoms and algae. DE is mined product…wonder if the job description is “fossil miner?” DE has the consistency of and looks like an off-white version of baby or talcum powder. DE is non-toxic and is sold in both food and non-food grades (see warning below about pool filter DE). While DE is mammal safe (even to eat if food grade) wear a mask while handling it as you wouldn’t want DE to get into your lungs. WARNING: Don’t use DE sold as pool filter media for any other purpose as the silica count is too high and breathing this DE in particular could create health issues).
DE’s primary use is for organic, non-toxic pest control. I discovered DE years ago as a heaven sent solution to keep my wife happy…you see she went back and forth on whether she hated the ants invading our house or the poisons I sprayed to keep the ants out more. The product works by scratching up the exoskeleton of insects so that they dehydrate and die. Here are the Top 10 ways to use (food grade and only food grade) DE:
- Grain Storage: Food grade DE has been used for centuries to keep stored grain pest free. According to Diatomite Canada the proper mix is 1 cup of food grade DE to 50 lbs of grain. It can even be ground with the grain into meal or flour and you’ll never notice it in the final product (bread, muffins, cereal, etc.).
- Construction: Any time I build a wall I spread a good amount of DE along the 2×4 base before closing up the drywall for permanent, non-toxic pest control. If I have to open up a wall or repair drywall I dump in a few scoops as well. We’re fortunate that we’ve never had a cockroach infestation…and I intend to keep it that way.
- Ant Barrier: My favorite use is as an ant barrier because it keeps my wife happy…and if the wife is happy, everybody’s happy. Simply sprinkle your DE around the foundation where you see the ants trooping in and your ant problems are over. You will need to refresh the DE periodically…I just wait until I see the little ant scouts inside the house again.
- Gardening: Keep pests away from your garden plants. You can dust your garden plants and spread food grade DE around the plant bases to keep bugs and slugs off. Continue reading
Prepography Columnist Roger Reality submitted the following online prepper references for sustainable and small scale agriculture for our Online Tools library:
- National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service: Online education and tools for sustainable and organic farmer & rancher…and that’s just scratching the surface of what’s available.
- Sustainable Small Farm Information Network: A site index for agriculture, sustainable agriculture and conservation for the upper Midwest.
Thanks for the info Roger, the references have been added to the library.
Roger’s most recent article is REALITY CHECK Preparing for Class Warfare – Battling the 47th Entitlement Corps.
If you see an online tool that would help the Prepography community…please pass it along.
Top 10 Items to Buy Before The Election
The economic, environmental, religious and political stressors on society are compounding in ways not seen since at least the 1960′s. These forces will have an affect on the prices (and likely the availability) of a number of the goods and commodities you use regularly as well as those important for preparedness. Of course, the big elephant (or donkey) in the room is the upcoming U.S. presidential election. I urge you to consider Prepography’s Top 10 Items to Buy Before the Election: Continue reading
Welcome Extreme Food Storage
As you may have noticed we’ve added a new advertiser this week, Extreme Food Storage. Please join me in welcoming them to the Prepography family.
Unlike many operators in the retail preparedness business, Extreme Food Storage is a small, family owned business founded by Bryan McLaren and his wife Amanda. As we were working out the details of their ad I was impressed to hear back from Bryan within just a few minutes each time I had a question…even in the middle of the night. I was also pleased to notice as I checked out their customer service clandestinely…Bryan is still involved with customer service on the individual level. When the owner of the store is waiting on you…you know you’re valued.
Check out Extreme Food Storage for your food storage, grab & go kits, survival kits, portable solar needs and water storage & purification needs.
Make sure to tell them Andrew sent you!
Survival Food Test
Rachel was cleaning out the kitchen cabinets today and came across a half used #10 can of Augason Farms Taco Flavored Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP). TVP is a high fiber, high protein meat substitute made primarily from soy that stores very well for long periods. I keep some of my storage food in these long term store-able dehydrated cans and buckets and from time to time I use some of this food to make sure I know how to prepare it and could survive on it if necessary.
Canned TVP reportedly has a shelf life of up to 30 years if stored properly and will keep for up to a year after opening (provided you put the little plastic can lid on it). This particular can ended up in the back of the cabinet and had been sitting there with no protection from moisture for almost two years. On hearing that she’d found it I only had one thought…’SURVIVAL FOOD TEST!’
Well, really I had two thoughts…the second thought was ‘nachos or burritos?’ I went with the burritos. Continue reading
