The Pragmatic Survival Blog

Scott responds with thoughts on End of the World Disasters vs "Limited Cataclysms", Big Picture Survival Mindset, and why we should reach out and help others prepare. Comment!

Scott shares a few of his main predictions for 2012, including: Rampant Crime, Systems Disruptions, Shortages, and more.
Then learn about what you can do to prepare. He talks about Heirloom Seeds, Junk Silver, and much, much more!
Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

A quick video Scott shot today, to with you a wonderful Christmas!

Wow, so much for slowing down and relaxing over the holidays. I’ve been going a million miles an hour, as they say. Plan to get a quick video update done next week, to let you know what I’ve been up to.

For now, enjoy your Christmas holiday!

In the final analysis, being able to relax and enjoy a very special holiday, hopefully with people you love, in reasonably good health with a roof over you’re head and food on the table is what all this survival planning and preparation are about.

At least that’s how I see it.

Today I look forward to sitting down with family gathered from all over this great country, to celebrate this oldest of our uniquely American holidays.

Having spend numerous instances of “Turkey Day” (I hate that sloppy, gutless term) in various dark places, or simply had to work it (like you might be today), it has been easy to pass off this great holiday as “just another day”.

But I’ve come to realize that all of our survival focus and efforts can be viewed as preparing us to enjoy this pinnacle of forethought, Thanksgiving.

Wondering what we’ve been up to, and why we haven’t been posting much recently?

Here’s the YouTube video to explain:

Hey, I just had my quarterly reminder to recharge the NiCd and NiMH batteries powering the emergency lights, radios, etc., and wanted to pass on the thought.

You know how it goes, those rechargeable batteries slowly discharge, even when stored. Which means bad-news-bears when you need ‘em!

My (very) rough rule of thumb is that the self-discharge rate is about 1%/day. Meaning that in 100 days the battery is completely discharged.

Now, fortunately, most of us have migrated to low self-discharge NiMH batteries, since they have become increasingly common after the turn of the millennium.

Check out that old OSS report look!

Finally, it here! Our 10 Massive Mistakes in Bug Out Bag Building report is ready! I know, pretty high-falutin’ title. All I can say is the web guy made me do it…

This new report covers 10 common mistakes in bug out bag lists, each of which could get you killed. But we haven’t just focused on what to avoid, we also give you the mental tools to fix both the apparent problem, and other hidden issues that might be lurking elsewhere in your bugout bag.

The bear died quietly, the loudest sound was the thud as he hit the ground.

Michael took the shot, sending the .308 bullet through the head of the treed black bear, where it entered just above the left eye and exited near the center of the skull at the base.

Thought you deserved an update on the latest project!

I’ve been working on a report discussing the Top 10 bug out bag mistakes to avoid. While there is some flat-out bad information regarding bug out bags out there, most of the time our BS-detectors successfully pick up on the really dodgy data.

More insidious is the incomplete and faulty assumption information. Sometimes that stuff slides right under the detector’s radar.

To help, I’ve culled 10 categories from my ‘bad bug out bag’ critique archive, since they seem to be the most prevalent. Not only do we tear down the misinformation, but give suggestions on how you can turn that bad advice on its head, and use it to make your bugout bag that much better.