EMP Survival

Think about your 9 closest family and friends: only one of you is likely to survive. The government estimates that a single EMP bomb attack on the US could cause 90% fatalities making this one of the worst disasters behind an Asteroid Impact. or all out Nuclear War.  
So why is an EMP so deadly? An EMP will take out all electrical and electronic devices that are not isolated in a metal container (Faraday Cage).  The drastic dark results include:

1. Every Computer, the Internet, cell phones watches, clocks, radio, TV and form of modern Communications will be dead.
2. Every ATM, Bank, Stock Exchange, credit card, and most Financial Investments.
3. Every Car, Truck, Train, Tractor, motor cycle and ATV made after the 70's won't run.
4. Those who recognize the Red Flag Warnings will get out of town early before Gangs start door to door looting. 
5. This will stop all commercial farming that supports 97% of the US population.
6. Refineries that produce gasoline and diesel will be incapacitated.
7.  Existing stores of gasoline with ethanol added will become bad after about 6 to 8 months.
8. This will disrupt harvesting and transportation of crops to market.
9. Americans will begin to starve as crops rot in the fields.
10. City Survival will be impossible on your own.  Even with good Home Security.
11. Enemies of the Right to Bear Arms are many. Gun confiscation will occur in area's with high level of gun control while armed citizen Urban Security will be organized in states that respect the right to bear arms.  Country Security and Military Security will be in place in some regions. 
12. Electricity (except possibly off-grid solar power), and running water will be gone for up to 10 years or more.  
13. Mass hordes will begin exiting the cities in search of food and water.
14. For many it will be necessary to adopt a Nomadic life style.
15. Most forms of wild game become extinct in a few months as people turn to Wilderness Survival and cannibalism to survive. 
16. Terrorist will seek to take over our country.
17. China will invade and take over our US west coast under the pretense of providing humanitarian aid. The few remaining starving Americans will welcome them until they realize that Chinese colonization is occurring and their rights and freedoms are gone.
18. Europe, Russia and Saudi Arabia will be competing to provide "Humanitarian Aid" to the starving US East Coast. 
19. Canada will offer aid to the Northern Border and Mexico to the Southern Border, but these regions being more self sufficient will be harder to take over.  
20. Facing the End of Free America, the few of us that remain will have to fight to Protect America. like those in the Prepper Movie - Red Dawn.

So what can we do to protect our family from an EMP?

The answer is that it won't be easy, even if we are well prepared.  It will require more than Beginner Preparations. The Blue Highlighted Links will provide you more details on a particular subject.

We will need the following Advanced Preps:

1. A Step by Step Plan to build and protect your supplies.  
2. Know what to do on DAY ONE
3. Food and Water to meet your needs for 1 year.
4. A CRITICAL NEED will be security to protect your families and supplies as the Mass Hordes and Gangs seek to steal them from us. Click HERE for a list of security plans for City and Country groups.  About half of the fatalities from an EMP are likely to be from MURDER by other starving Americans.
5. We will need Sustainable Food & Water Supplies to feed us after the first year including Seeds for Barter, Gardening and Livestock for meat.
6. In a short period, there will be plenty of Guns available as much of the US population has been killed.  But Ammo will be hard to find. How much Ammo should you have?  
7. What do we do After the Ammo Runs Out?
8. Have BB guns to train beginners and save Ammo.
9. Books will be great sources of information and entertainment after the electronics are gone.
10. First Aide supplies, including Antibiotics, will be critical to survive the period of anarchy. 
11. Having Paper & Silver dollars will be essential.
12. Nuclear fall out is likely; underground shelter will be necessary if near heavy fallout areas. NBC suits are a huge plus.
13. Solar power equipment, communications, night vision stored in a metal container have a good chance of surviving an EMP, and providing highly valuable tools for survival and security.
14.  You need enough guns for everyone to carry a rifle and a pistol, and a good Security Pack.
    Even with all this, it will be difficult to survive, unless you are sustainable living already on am isolated island some where far away. 
    
    
    
    
    For additional information see the following links:
    
    
    Blog Table of Contents
    
    EMP Survival 
    EMP by Cheaper than Dirt
    Nuclear Survival
    Post Nuke Plan 
    The SHTF Day One
    
    
    Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time 
    List of Top 10 Lists 
    Top 10 Prepper Websites 
    Top 10 Posts
    
    
    Search:  EMP
    EMP Labeled
    
    
    See similar topics by clicking on the labels below 
    
    

Acorn Flour - Pancakes

The process for making flour out of acorns isn’t actually very difficult, but it is time consuming and a little tedious at times.

1. Gather the Nuts

A 1-gallon bucket of acorns

The first step is to gather up about a gallon of acorns. We have an abundant acorn crop this year in Minnesota (which means it will probably be a good year for squirrels, too). I had my niece Esther go around her yard and fill a one-gallon ice cream pail with fallen acorns. This was the easiest part.

2. Remove the Caps

A bowl of uncapped acorns
A bowl of acorns with their caps removed
Jamie Carlson
Remove the caps from the nuts. This took me about one whole Game of Thrones episode.

3. Shell the Acorns

Nutmeat of a shelled acorn

Place the acorns in the freezer overnight. This helps keep them fresh, and it also helps make it easier to crack them. There’s a paper-like membrane around the nut and inside the shell; when you freeze them, that papery layer comes off the nut cleanly and leaves just the meat of the nut. The nuts will oxidize quickly, so it’s important to toss the nutmeat into water so they don’t turn brown.

4. Blend the Acorns

Blended acorn nutmeat and water

After you have shelled all the nuts into water, transfer the water and the nutmeat into a blender. Blend on high for several minutes.

5. Leach the Tannins

Soaking acorns in water to leach out tannins

Then transfer the blended nuts and water to a large container. Place it in the fridge overnight. All the blended acorn paste will settle, allowing you to pour off the water. Add more water and stir the water and acorn paste. Place it back in the fridge and let sit for another day. Acorns typically taste bitter, so by changing the water every day for 3 to 4 days, you can leach out that bitterness.

6. Drain and Spread the Paste

Blended acorn paste on parchment paper

Pour off all the water one last time and then pour the paste onto cheesecloth, or use a clean towel and wring as much moisture out of the acorn paste as you can. Spread the paste out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place it in the oven at its lowest setting with the door cracked open. You need to dry out the acorn paste until it is absolutely dry. As it dries, you can stir it and turn it over to help speed the process.

7. Grind the Paste

A grinder or food processor to refine the paste
Use a grinder or food processor to refine the paste.

When the acorn paste is completely dry, it will be kind of clumpy. If you have a grinder you can grind the acorns into flour or you can use a food processor or blender. This should result in a fine flour, but you may still have some larger pieces.

8. Sift the Flour

Sifting ground acorns
Sift the ground acorns. Use a mortar and pestle to break up remaining large chunks.

Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour so that any debris or large clumps are separated. If you want, you can use a mortar and pestle to break up these remaining clumps.

9. Sift it Again

A second sift of the acorn flour
A second, finer sift of the acorn flour.

Acorn flour
The resulting acorn flour.

At this point, you should have roughly three cups of flour.

Acorn-flour pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup acorn flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons maple sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 ¼ cups whole milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
Directions

Combine all ingredients, then pour onto a skillet over medium heat and cook until bubbles form on top. Flip the pancakes over and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes more. Serve with butter and syrup, and enjoy.

To read the Original Story with all the pictures, click HERE:

For additional information see the following links:
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan
Blog Table of Contents
Acorn Flour Pancakes
Pemmican Recipe
Hardtack Recipe
Corn Bread
Sour Dough Bread
Corn Fritters
Apple Cider Vinegar
More on making Vinegar
Backing Soda vs Yeast
Baking Soda uses

See similar topics by clicking on the labels below 

Security Plans

Know what to expect:  

 

Urban Survival Perspective

Mass Hordes exiting the cities 

Red flag warnings its time to Bug Out 

City:

Urban Survival Plan

Sustainable City Survival

Home Invasion Response Plan 

Modern Home Security

Riot Preparations 

 

Country:

Country Home Security Plan 

Passive Layered Security

Security Patrol Pack (or Bug Out pack)

Group Security Drills

 

Common:

Intruder Detection 

Night Vision

Thermal Vision

Night Vision vs Thermal Vision   

The right amount of Ammo

  

Actionable Intelligence

Communications

Situational Awareness 

Double Barreled Defense

Guns in plain sight

 

For additional information see the following links: 
Blog Table of Contents 

 

Or select the labels below for other related topics

Prepper Livestock - Rabbits

Rabbits can be the best prepper livestock if you live in the city where "livestock" like chickens or goats are prohibited but "pets" are allowed.   Rabbits are good breeders and vegetarians eating grasses, plants, and hay. They produce some of the cleanest, healthiest meat (white) there is. Many rabbits can be raised in open bottomed pens and pastured to get their own natural food (grass). The most common rabbit breed used for meat production are New Zealand whites.  Some of our links below talk about other breeds.

In our Prepper Handbook  sustainable food plan chapter, three doe rabbits and one buck will feed us 4 pounds of lean healthy white meat every week or 208 lbs per year. Four weeks after mating, rabbits give birth to about 5 to 8 kits, which can be processed for eating in about 8 – 10 weeks. 

Ideally you would stagger breeding the does about 4 weeks apart which provides a steady supply of young tender rabbit for eating.  Two does and a buck, fed commercial food, can raise 180lbs / year of meat; I would figure about half to 2/3 of that for free range rabbits.

In the wild, there can be up to 3 to 5 rabbits per acre. However, I estimate that a fertile one acre pasture with good grass and strips of sorghum planted about 20' apart could sustain up to 10 rabbits.  Some of the sorghum would need to be harvested in the summer and saved for winter. 

We could raise 5-8 rabbits from 1 buck and 1 doe on 1 acre every 12 - 14 weeks and eat a 4 lb rabbit every second or third week. This would be your best place to start after you had a few chickens. and Basic Preparations in place.

Add a second doe and a second acre to raise 10 to 16 rabbits every 12 - 14 weeks to eat a rabbit almost every week. 

Add a third doe and a third acre to raise 15- 24 kits with 4 breeding rabbits (28 total) to eat a rabbit or more every week. Any extra rabbits will be great for barter.

The important thing is to get started now; don't wait!   

For additional information see the following links: 
Prepper Livestock
Blog Table of Contents 
Mother Earth News on Raising Rabbits
Raising Rabbits on pasture 
Omlet - source for rabbits and more
Complete Sustainable Living Plan

 See similar topics by clicking on the labels below

Top 5 Combat Rifles

 

The Mosin Nagant traces its roots back to 1891. During the past 120-plus years it has earned a reputation for reliability. Best of all, it is still available and one of the most affordable guns, so it fits any budget whether you are a collector or first time shooter. Packed with five rounds of 7.62x54R, the long-action bolt rifle has the knock down power for medium and big game, but is also ready to return to battle should the home fort need defending. Given the price, the Mosin Nagant is an ideal rifle to stash in the back of the safe, hunting cabin or even as an emergency truck gun.

M1 Garand, One Rifle to Rule Them All 

Choosing the M1 was only tough because I carried the M14 and it did not make the list, although it is very high on the honorable mentions. There is simply something about a rifle that you served with that earns it an eternal place in your heart. However, the Garand revolutionized a generation and the “ping” of an empty en bloc clip is as sweet a sound as a touch of Hoppe’s No. 9 is to the nose. The M1 Garand saw action in WWII and Korea and many GIs would not have made it back otherwise.

The M1 can be stoked with eight rounds of .30-06. The M1 Garand should rightfully hold a higher place on the list, however, many find reloading difficult at best, especially under pressure. I have never really experienced this phenomenon, but I have watched enough shooters to say it isn’t the easiest.

Springfield 1903

Dominant for the first half of the 20th century, the Springfield is another rifle chambered for the .30-06. Officially adopted as a U.S. military bolt-action rifle in June 1903, the Springfield 1903 saw plenty of action in WWI. Although it was officially replaced in 1937 when the M1 became standard issue, the Springfield 1903 still had a special place in WWII. In WWII as the battle lines changed and the sniper became a high-value infantryman, the 1903 was decked with a scope and viola! —instant sniper rifle. When you consider the 1903 Springfield’s history as a battle and precision rifle of its day, and the fact that it is chambered for the .30-06 how could you deem it any less than America’s penultimate rifle?

Click HERE to see #2 and #1

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

See similar topics by clicking on the labels below

Tax Facts

Looking at the facts demonstrates how unfair our US Income Tax system is.  Lets look at a hypothetical example. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

the first four men, the poorest, would pay nothing;
the fifth would pay $1;
the sixth would pay $3;
the seventh would pay $7;
the eighth pays $12;
the ninth would pay $18;
and the tenth man, the richest, would pay $59.

"That's what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement --- until one day, the owner threw them a curve (in tax language a tax cut).  Because they were good customers, he lowed their bill from $100 to $80.
How do you fairly split up the $20 tax cut?

As before, the first four men paid nothing;
now the fifth man also paid nothing;
the sixth man now paid $2;
the seventh paid $5;
the eighth man paid $9;
the ninth man paid $12;
leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of his earlier $59.
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free.

But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20 reduction,' declared the sixth man, but he, pointing to the tenth. 'But he got $7!'. 'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man, 'I only saved a dollar too; it's unfair that he got seven times more than me!'

'"That's true,' shouted the seventh man, 'why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!. 'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison, 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

"The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night he didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered, a little late what was very important. They were now Fifty-Two Dollars short of paying the bill. Imagine that!

And that, boys and girls, journalists, and college instructors, is how the tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.

"Where would that leave the rest? Unfortunately, most taxing authorities anywhere cannot seem to grasp this rather straight forward logic."

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

US Corporate Taxes - TRUTH

Free Trade vs Duties

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BB Gun

WHY should we get a BB gun?

1. It is a great gun to use when learning to shoot especially for beginners.
2. Ammo is cheap and it doesn't make a lot of noise
3. They are realistic and great for improving your aim 
4.  It is less dangerous when teaching young shooters (see NRA Shooting Rules) 
5. It can kill small game
6. You can make a pellet mold from a pair of pliers 

When buying your BB gun, get a quite, high fps (feet per second) velocity model that does NOT require CO2.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents
Prepper Training for Youths
Search: Children

Complete Sustainable Living Plan
Beginner Prepper List
22 LR for Defense
22 LR for Hunting & Survival
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time 
 

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Pemmican Recipe

Pemmican is a light weight nutritious food used by Native Americans and consists of a mix of rendered fat, dried meat, nuts and berries. Properly made, it has a long shelf life.

There are four common ingredients
1. Lean meat – beef, buffalo, goat, or venison
2. Rendered (cooked) animal fat
3. Fruit, nuts or berries
4. Salt

Step One
Grind trim lean meat with a meat grinder.  Or you can cut it into beef jerky thickness strips.  Use about 2 pounds of raw meat to get a cup of dried meat.

Step Two
Spread the meat evenly over a cookie tray or flat rock and heat at approximately180 degrees for 6 to 10 hours so the meat is crisp and chewy.  Sun drying or smoking is an alternative, but will take longer.

Step Three
Grind or pound (pestle and mortar) the dried meat into a powdery form.

Step Four
Prepare your fruit, nuts or berries in the same way.  Dry them and then pound or grind them in to a chunky powder.

Step Five
Combine the fruit/nut powder with the meat powder in a 1:1 ratio and add salt to your suit your taste.  The more salt you add, the longer the shelf life. 

Step Six
Cut the fat into one inch cubes and render (melt) it over low to medium heat in a little water.  Keep the heat low enough to avoid smoking. Experiment using a little honey, or even using honey instead of fat.

Step Seven
Pour the melted fat over an equal amount of meat/fruit power mix stirring it to get an even texture.  Spread this mixture out evenly in a thin layer (about 1/4") and allow it to cool and then cut in to 2" wide strips.  Then store it in a cool dark place, preferably in tightly sealed container.

Food preservation is an important skill that is essential to sustainable survival, so this is something you should practice.  It doesn't cost much

For additional information see the following links:
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan
Blog Table of Contents
Acorn Flour Pancakes
Pemmican Recipe
Hardtack Recipe
Corn Bread
Sour Dough Bread
Corn Fritters
Apple Cider Vinegar
More on making Vinegar
Backing Soda vs Yeast
Baking Soda uses

See similar topics by clicking on the labels below 

Prepper Livestock - Goats

When Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz in 1493 for his second voyage, he carried everything needed to colonize the New World including dogs, cats, chickens, horses, donkeys, cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. While we should expect to need no less, there are a few that are perhaps more essential and practical than others are are.

After storing food and water, calculating your garden food requirements and saving your seeds, look at eggs, chicken, rabbit, goat, cows, pigs, fish, etc. to be sure you have enough meat to eat. Goats are the most popular red meat around the world, especially in poor countries that live more sustainable lives. They are small (easily consumed before spoiling), hardy, can eat most anything and provide milk and meat. Once there is no feed store, goats will come in handy.

Seventy percent of the red meat consumed in the world is goat AND they can provide wholesome milk for a family. Goats can forage for food better than any other livestock and can reproduce every 6 to 12 months. For this reason, they are highly recommended as the best sustainable food supply source. They are also very mobile and can browse on the move if you are traveling, bugging out on foot, or living a nomadic life style. They are also great for bartering with.

It takes about 3 – 8 months after birth for the kid (baby goat) to be ready for butchering. The gestation period is 150 days or 5 months. Under ideal conditions, healthy young does can produce one, occasionally 2 kids per year. Older does produce 2 – 3 kids per year. A doe will continue to produce until about 10 – 12 years old. So if you want to eat one young goat per month, then you need 6 to 12 does in theory, possibly as few as 6, but have  extras to be safe and for barter. A goat will dress out at about 50% of their live weight. For example, a 100lb live goat each month will yield about 50 pounds of meat, or 11 lbs / week.  With chicken, this would be enough meat for 1 adult providing you have a good prepper garden. With six to twelve does and a buck to breed them, you can raise a 100 lb young goat to process each month, and probably more.

An alternative plan is to raise the smaller Nigerian Dwarf goats. Instead of having 6 large 120 pound Boer goats, have 12 small ones (60 lbs) and raise one (possibly 2) each month giving you about 30 pounds of meat per month or 1 pound per day for your family to eat, sell or trade. Nigerian Dwarf goats make good “pets” (smile) if you live in the city. Note some cities prohibit livestock, but allow “pets” that are named. You would need a city security plan to protect your livestock during hard times.

Most meat breeds like Boers (above, the most common US goat), Spanish, Fainting, and Pygmies and occasionally Nubian (most popular dairy goat) will breed all year around. In this case, you can breed one doe each month to have a regular supply of young goat (kid) to eat. They can be bred at 6-8 months of age when they reach a typical adult weight. Boer, Nubian & Nigerian Dwarfs are known to have multiple births, i.e. 2 kids at a time. Spanish goats and a New Zealand breed called Kiko are the hardiest, lowest maintenance & best foragers. These Kiko or Spanish goats are what I would want if I could only have one type animal and was on the move (nomadic). I'd lean toward Boers for a secure stationary retreat in a secluded area.

Dairy breeds are seasonal breeders, like deer, and have a limited breeding season, usually from about Aug. to Dec. The does will come into heat every 21 days and the bucks will stay in rut during the entire breeding season. These are slightly less suitable for Prepper livestock and maintaining a steady supply of food, although you can raise more (~12+) during the breeding season and process one each month as needed.  This means you must be feeding a lot more goats and for a longer period of time than birthing a new one each month and processing an older one (4-8 months old) each month.

Pygmy goats are small and good to eat. Nigerian Dwarf goats are small and good milk producers. After a few laying hens, this is what I would get if I lived in the city.

 

Goats consume about 4.5 pounds of grass or hay per day per 100 pounds of body weight. For example, a 100 lb goat would eat 4.5 lbs of hay and a 50 lb goat would eat 2.25 lbs (4.5÷2) of hay per day. In addition to hay, goats also need to eat some brush and feeding a little grain is good. You should plan to feed one pound of grain per day per goat. Keeping six goats on three acres of land should be sustainable, but they should be rotated to different 3 acre pen every 30 days. Considering this three does and three kids, we can expect to produce about 120 to 240 lbs of meat per year or 10 to 20 lbs per month. Note that a buck is also required for reproduction.

While a great sustainable food source, goats will eat anything and everything and can be a nuisance, especially if you don't have a good fenced area. But that is not a show stopper; just don't let them get in your garden.

For additional information see the following links: 
Prepper Livestock
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan