The following article is a guest submission from in-house writers of Authorized Boots:

When it comes to survival, the more you know, the better. While you can’t possibly prepare for every single thing that is out there, you can try your best to be as aware of many of them as you can. Sometimes these bits and pieces of knowledge can seem quite like useless trivia at times, but don’t be fooled. The knowledge is there not to be useful ALL the time, but rather to be there when you need it the most. That is why we put together a massive list of 50 Survival Tips and Tricks for the outdoors.

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How to Create a Thick Fire Signal

1. Create a thick fire signal. A combination of fresh pine and spruce leaves produce a lot of smoke, which is what you want with the signal. Start out by building a small fire using dry leaves, twigs, or other tinder. Collect the fresh pine and spruce leaves and compile them into a bow. When the fire is up and smoking, put the leaves over the fire, making sure to cover it completely. This will cause the branches to burn intensely, producing even more smoke.

How to Stay Cool in the Desert

2. Staying Cool in the Desert. This may not be the best-smelling solution to preventing heatstroke when you’re out in the scorching desert, but it works. Take a piece of cloth like a bandana and soak it in urine. Wrap it around your head and it will keep your head from feeling the wrath of the sun. Heat stroke is the second leading cause of death in the desert, next to dehydration.

3. Learn to tell where North is without navigational survival gear! If you need the help of a compass but you don’t have one, you can use an analog watch to do that. Point the hour (short) hand at the sun and draw two imaginary lines between it and the 12 o’clock point. You will create an angle between the two lines. Draw an imaginary straight line bisecting the angle. The line point away from the sun is north, because the sun always goes to set in the west direction.

Disclaimer: telling time by sun doesn’t work as effectively when you are too far up north or south.

4. What if you don’t have a watch? Don’t worry. As long as you know what time it is, you can still tell where north is. Simply draw an analog representation of the time on the ground and draw the lines from there. Cellphones are particularly useful in telling the actual time regardless where you are because mobile tech nowadays uses GPS to be able to tell the time of the day regardless of location. Of course, it’s always advised that a survivalist have a watch with them at all times.

5. Always have char cloth ready. Take any small piece of cloth and place it inside a metal container. Make sure that the container has a cover. Burn the container (with the cloth inside it) for a couple of minutes. You know you’re doing it right if the cloth remains intact but is dark from all the burning. Char cloth is really great for starting fires because it catches fire with just a small spark. Tip: Try cutting or ripping a large cloth into really small pieces and neatly roll them inside a tuna can. You’ll have yourself an entire pack of char cloth!

How to Start a Fire Using Hand Sanitizer

6. Use hand sanitizer from your survival kit to start embers. Hand sanitizers may look like they’re only useful for cleaning your hands, but they’re also good for starting fires. This is because they contain alcohol, which is flammable. Simply use some of the stuff on a char cloth or some leaves or other tinder and they’ll easily catch fire from a spark. So always keep a small bottle in your pocket.

7. Shave off that fat wood! The resins from pine trees are very useful if you reduce them into tiny shavings. They easily catch fire and can therefore be used as an easy to find ingredient to starting fires because the can be found practically everywhere. But what makes them special is that the smoke that’s produced from burning the shaved fat wood makes effective mosquito repellents.

Insulation Against Cold

8. Learn basic body insulation. This is a life saver in many situations where you’re caught in really cold weather and you’ve got no means of starting a fire. Simply stuff newspaper, dry grass, and leaves under your clothes and you’ll be retaining significant amounts of body heat when you need it the most. You can do this to almost all of your clothing, from head to toe.

How to Get Water from Trees

9. Get water from trees. This works on any tree, but it works better with those with leaves that are directly exposed to the sun. Wrap a plastic bag around the leaves. When the sun forces the water inside the leaves to evaporate, the water will be trapped inside the plastic bag and settle into the plastic bag. With proper positioning, the water will be trapped in a way that you can simple poke a hole through the bag so that the water flows through. You can then keep the water in a container. Note: Make sure your plastic bags are clean.

10. Use toothpaste to relieve bug bites. This is a well-known home remedy for burns and some wounds, but few people know that their tooth paste can help treat bug bites as well. This is because they have properties that will help sooth any itchiness or pain that most bug bites cause. They will also help reduce any swelling that might result from the bites.

11. Put tampons on your survival first aid kit! Tampons are very effective in dealing with deep wounds because they were designed to absorb lots of moisture. They also gradually take the shape of the wound as they swell over time. You can bring lots of them because they’re small, lightweight, can be bought almost anywhere, and are pretty inexpensive.

12. Keep that used up lighter. If your Zippos or flintlock lighters have run out, keep them because you can still use it to make fire. There’s usually cotton inside these types of lighters. Take them out and use the flint to create a spark. The cotton is usually so dry it will catch fire easily. Alternatively, you can keep using the lighter to create sparks that could help you start a fire with other types of tinder like char cloth.

How to Make a Fire Using Aluminum Foil

13. Have aluminium foil handy. While you’ll always have this in your survival food kits to store your food, keep a separate sheet in your bag to always have a dry surface. This can come in handy as a dry surface to start fires on, especially when it just rained and the soil is too damp for you to be able to start a fire. Use this with your char cloth and other tinder you have with you and you’ll be able to start a campfire even when it’s wet outside.

Aluminium foil can also be used as a makeshift bowl. Simply place a rock on top of the foil and wrap around, using the rock as a mold. Tin foil can also be used as a reflector around a camp fire to maximize the heat. The uses of aluminium foil are endless.

14. Reduce excessive light with masking tape. Having too much light from your flashlight could be dangerous at night depending on your situation. Placing a masking tape over the light will lessen the amount of light enough to give you a low profile while giving you enough to be able to work with.

15. Always know how to find the North Star. The North Star always points to true north, which is great for when you don’t have a compass at night or when you want to check the accuracy of the compass you have. Try looking for the big dipper first, which is easy to find if you know your constellations. Then draw an imaginary straight line through the edges of the big dipper and this will lead you to the tail of the little dipper. This is the North Star.

16. Consider a guitar case as your choice of survival bag. This is a rather unusual but very useful alternative to the typical bug out pack. The shape of the bag will allow you to store an unbelievable large amount of things. Plus, it’s very inconspicuous, especially when a hiker’s or camper’s backpack is often the easiest way to spot a person who isn’t from around the area, which can have its disadvantages. It’s a good way to pack lots of stuff without sticking out in public.

19. Rocks around the campfire are very useful. Even after the fire had died, the rocks will still hold on to enough heat to keep you warm. The heat of the rock can also be used to purify water. Simply place them inside aluminium cans filled with water. It will cause the water to boil, purifying it enough to be safe to drink.

In some scenarios, it might be necessary to boil water underground. Authorized Boots has you covered; here is its guide to how to boil water underground.

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How to use Charcoal to Treat Diarrhea

20. Improve the taste of water with simple survival techniques. The water from swamps, even after they’ve been purified, can still smell really dodgy. To remedy this, add some charcoal to the water while it’s being boiled. Not only does this add to the purification process, but it also makes the water taste much more “drinkable.” It also takes away that bad smell.

21. Always wear a survival bracelet. More popularly known as paracord bracelets (because they’re made from the same material as military issued parachutes and equipment), these bands are more than just accessories. They’re actually cords that are woven together, which you can unravel and use partly whenever you need the cords to tie stuff up. Almost every single piece of the paracord bracelet is usable string – right to the small threads that are used to keep the end of the cords together. Use them to tie stuff, hang food, set up traps, and even as tinder to start fires.

22. Add aluminium sheets to your survival shelters. The aluminium blankets or sheets added to your shelter will significantly increase your shelter’s heat retention capacity. Aluminium facing outward of the shelter can also reflect sunlight, allowing you to stay cooler under the shelter. Among the survivalist community, these are referred to as “super shelters,” and rightfully so.

Using Glow Sticks for Survival

23. Carry glow sticks with you! These aren’t just for rave parties. Glow sticks make it easy for you to be spotted at night (i.e. by rescue groups). When needed, activate one of the sticks and tie them with a paracord outside your backpack, allowing it to hang freely. You will be very easy to spot even in pitch black darkness with these glow sticks.

Top 10 Uses for a Survival Poncho

24. Bring a poncho. These seemingly simple disposable raincoats actually have so many uses in the outdoors. Obviously, it’s best used as a raincoat, but here are some other things you can do:

     • Use it as a makeshift shelter. It’s big enough to fit one person.

     • Use it to desalinate seawater. Just boil seawater underneath a tented poncho to catch the vapour and produce the water through condensation. This will separate the salt from the water, making it drinkable.

     • Use it to collect rainwater.

Never Use Dirty Water to Wash out Wounds

25. DO NOT use unclean water to wash wounds. While this sounds like common sense, a lot of people will make the mistake of using water in rivers to clean their wounds without treating them first. Bodies of water, as clear as they may seem, will have bacteria from all sorts of matter, including animal feces. If your hand has any cuts or lacerations, don’t ever dip them into the water.

How to Use Water Purification Tablets for Survival

26. Always carry with your water purifying tablets. You can’t always depend on a fire source to be able to boil water, such as when it gets rainy and the ground and everything else is too damp to ignite. Also, you can’t always start a fire when you’re injured. In these instances, it’s better to pop a tablet into a container so you get the much needed water instantly.

27. Know what to do with animal entrails and feces. When it comes to stuff that animals leave behind, make sure you don’t dispose of the ones that you can use as fishing bait, repellents, etc. Some of these include:

     • Using bones to make tools/weapons

     • Using urine of female dead animals to attract other animals for food

     • Using pelts and skins to make small pouches, etc.

Don’t just throw these things away. Figure out if there’s some way you can re-purpose the excess parts after you capture your game.

28. Process food away from the camp. Remember that when you process food you catch (i.e. trapped animals or caught fish); you’re likely to leave stuff behind such as blood, bones, inedible parts, etc. If you process your food near you’re going to attract wild animals. They’ll be sniffing around the camp and around you, which could be dangerous. The same survival tips apply to disposing food remains.

Cutting Down Logs Without Saws, Knives or Axes

29. Save energy on chopping wood. Don’t bother using an axe. Just place the wood pieces diagonally between the ground and a tree. Give the pieces of wood a good kick (inspect the wood before doing this and assess the right balance between force and strength to avoid breaking ankle/leg). The last thing you want to do is have a broken leg, so do be careful with how you proceed with this tip. Using other tools will only waste your time. You’ll be using these as firewood, so they don’t need to be perfect when chopped. Of course, this doesn’t apply to the wood materials to be made into shelters.

30. Sleep on elevated surfaces. Sleeping on the ground will cause you to lose body heat faster, making it more likely for you to get cold. Sleeping on a poncho or a really thin blanket isn’t going to help this either. The best way to do this is to stack up leaves or logs to make a padded bed. Alternatively, you can bring a hammock with you and just set it up when you sleep.

How to Organize Your Bug Out Bag or Your Survival Pack 

31. Organize your survival pack efficiently. When arranging the stuff in your rucksack, follow these principles:

     • Heavier stuff should be on top and the lighter ones at the bottom. This will help maintain your balance.

     • Make sure the backpack is positioned to be on your upper back always. This will allow you to walk freely without your rucksack getting in the way of your legs.

     • Don’t forget to tighten those straps to prevent stuff from falling off. The wilderness can be full of snags, thanks to branches and bushes.

32. Minimize layers. Campers often think that you have to bundle up all the time to protect yourself from the cold. But if you cover up too much even when you don’t need to, you’re likely to sweat inside, which minimizes insulation. As long as you’ve got your extremities (i.e. hands, feet, and head) covered, you can go about in cold environments as long as you’re moving. Reserve those extra layers for when you’re sleeping, because you’re not moving around at all.

33. Bring around an extra pair of socks. Aside from the fact that they can help keep you warm, socks are really good for a lot of things, such as filtering water and suspending small objects off branches. Wearing socks when you’re in the wilderness will also keep you from getting blisters, which is likely to happen when you’re walking around and exploring the wilderness all day. Plus, these are pieces of warm clothing that are very easy to dry out in case they get wet.

34. Treat those blisters! Blisters can be a literal pain, and they happen a lot when you’re out in the wilderness. If you have a blister, take a needle and a string and poke a hole between two opposite ends of the blister. This will drain the water out and allow the blister to heal faster. If you think you’re about to get a blister, use duct tape to cover the area. This will prevent the blister from forming in the first place because it minimizes friction.

35. Balance food and water. Too much of either one can be harmful, if not fatal to your body. If you’re dehydrated, do not eat anything until you’ve had water because the food will only absorb the remaining water in your body and cause you to be dehydrated even more. Drinking too much water can also mess up your metabolism and cause lots of complications long term. Always make sure you have enough of both food and water.

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How to Send Out an S.O.S.

36. Learn how to do S.O.S, among other survival tactics. This signal is literally a lifesaver, so you need to know how to do it in both light and sound. The signal is represented by three dots followed by three dashes, followed by three more dots. In sound, this means having three quick taps followed by three slow taps, and then three more quick taps. The same can be applied to using light signals. Make sure you practice this before you go out there.

37. Know the universal “wave.” Stand up with your legs apart. Raise both your arms and wave them up and down. You’ll look like you’re doing jumping jacks, only without the jumps.

38. Setting up camp in the proper location is the first of all outdoor survivor techniques. The rule is to stay high and dry. Staying dry means you stay away from bodies of water, as convenient as it may seem. This is because water attracts both insects and animals; the presence of either near your camp could cause complications. Higher ground also means a better view of your surroundings while making it easy for rescuers to spot you. You can also work on picking a place that makes your camp easy to spot from the sky.

How to Use Fungus to Start Fires Easily

39. Use fungus to start fires easily. Coal fungus and horse hoof fungus have both very flammable properties. Break the fungus in half and you’ll reveal their flammable parts right in the core. They easily catch sparks. Most of these fungi are usually found in dead trees, which means you’ve got a good source of dry material there as well. What makes fungi particularly unique as tinder is that they smoulder – all you have to do is to blow into the ember to make the fire grow. Because of this, they make portable firelighters as well.

How to Make a Survival Torch

40. Make an easy torch. Torches are pretty useful to wave at a rescue team from above. It’s also a good way to light your path during the night if your flashlights die on you. To make one, take a long branch and split the tip in half. Take some tree bark and insert them between the split branches. Ignite it and you’ve got yourself a torch. Birch trees are pretty ideal for this because of their flammable material.

Make sure you invest in a handy flashlight to be safe.

Collecting Rain Water to Survive

41. Collect rainwater from all around you. After a rainfall, you can bet that moss, leaves, and all sorts of plants around you are wet. Collecting bundles of them and wringing them over a container can net you as much as a litre of water. Make sure you check out the tall grass as well. This is good for collecting fresh water because rainwater is guaranteed to be clean. This is also one of the easiest ways to collect water without having to purify it. Alternatively, you can also rub your clothes against the grass and wring out the moisture that gets stuck unto them.

42. Invest in waterproofing as much as survival tips and tricks. This means going for waterproof versions of equipment (i.e. watches and compasses) and getting equipment that will keep your other stuff protected from water. Always use containers that have waterproof seals and never mix anything damp with all your other drop stuff. This is especially important for food containers, because moisture can only hasten spoilage. Water may be essential for hydration, but for everything else, staying as dry as possible is a must for survival.

How to Make a Survival Water Filter

43. Filtering water is one of the most important survival skills. You never know what’s inside a stream or river. It has all sorts of stuff that you probably don’t want in your system. Grab a sock and fill them with charcoal. Follow it up with a layer of sand and then finally a layer of grass. The grass will catch the large particles in the water while the sand will filter out the fine granules. The charcoal will purify the water of any harmful chemicals.

How to Build a Fire Heat Reflector for Cold Weather Survival

44. Reflect heat around the campfire. Even without aluminium foil or space blanket, you can still conserve heat from a fire by creating a natural reflector. First, create four stakes that will serve as a rack next to the campfire. Stack green (as in fresh) stakes into the rack until they pile up into a small wall next to the campfire. This will reflect heat otherwise blown away by the wind, giving them all to you. This will work as long as you sit across the reflector.

How to Use a Signal Mirrors to Grab Attention

45. Always have two signal mirrors. Relying on one signal mirror isn’t a good idea because the sun always travels south. This means that a single mirror will not allow you to catch the attention of rescuers flying from the north. The second signal mirror will be essential to reflect the light you get from the south to reflect it into the northern direction. Simply hold one of the mirrors facing south and another facing north, making sure that the light bounces off both.

46. Learn about the medicinal properties of nature’s products around you. Crab apples, for instance, have healing properties in their raw form. They possess astringents that can be rubbed across cuts and lacerations, causing the wounds to tighten and heal faster. Pine resin, on the other hand, are great antiseptics. They can be used topically on wounds or gargled to clean the mouth. They’re usually found in solidified form within the tree, but you have to melt them first before using. If found fresh and still gooey, you can apply the substance immediately.

47. Fight intestinal infections with acorns! These, along with oak bark are rich in butyric acid that combats the effects of diarrhea, among other things. Additionally, you can make medicinal tea by brewing them in hot water. The tea alone will help you fight intestinal problems like dysentery and cholera. You can also use the tea to help treat mouth ulcers. This tip also applies to blackberry leaves. They have less butyric acid than acorns but they will help as well.

How to Make a Rose Hips Tea

For more information around best wild teas for survival, check out Authorized Boots’s guide: Top 10 Wild Teas for Survival

48. Fight constipation with other kinds of tea. On the other hand, the fleshy part of rose hips can be used to treat constipation. The outer shell, on the other hand, provides lots of vitamin C. You can also make tea out of dandelions. The plant is edible as well.

49. Dock leaves are instant antihistamines. For those who get bitten by bugs, simply take the sap of these leaves and mix it with saliva. Apply the mixture to help relieve some of the discomfort while effectively preventing the bite or sting from getting worse.

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How to Make a Willow Bark Tea

50. Willow barks are natural aspirins. Chewing on the middle barks of a willow tree are known to have helped with sudden headaches or colds. Don’t try this if you know yourself to be allergic to aspirin.

Remember, it’s always much better to know more than less of the best survival tips when you find yourself in the wilderness.

Here are Few More General Survival Tips:

• ​Always aim to memorize the map of the area. You should always aim to have a laminated or waterproof case of a map to ensure security of map. We highly recommend that you try to memorize major landmarks, rivers, roads, and other areas that stand out on the map
• Redundancy in the wilderness is your friends: always have extra knives, compasses, water gathering tools, and fire starting tools. Remember, surviving is all about making sure you have secured basic necessities to cook, stay warm, and self-defend.
• Fish tastes the best when it is smoked but when you boil it, it offers the most amount of nutrients. It saves the fat under and in the skin. If you smoke it, the excess fats evaporate.
• When you are getting really low on calories, never forget that insects are a source of protein. Look under logs, rocks, near trees to source them.
• If you have the luxury, catch a small fish with a hook and string and use that fish to catch an even bigger fish. Definitely want to fish during dawn and suck for the best bite in most locations.
• Did you know that animal organs like bladder and snake skins can be improvised to store water?

DISCLAIMER: the tips provided in this list does not guarantee survival. We are providing insights based on our own knowledge and experience. We simply sharing our personal ideas and opinions with our audience. Use the outlined advice at your own risk. 

For the most recent copy of Survivor’s Edge or American Frontiersman or to subscribe, go to OutdoorGroupStore.com.

 

In the aftermath of the most dramatic attack on Saudi oil facilities that we have ever seen, the price of oil has exploded higher.  The Wall Street Journal is calling this attack “the Big One”, and President Trump appears to be indicating that some sort of military retaliation is coming.  Needless to say, a direct military strike on Iran could spark a major war in the Middle East, and that would be absolutely devastating for the entire global economy.  Just about everything that we buy has to be moved, and moving stuff takes energy.  When the price of oil gets really high, that tends to create inflation because the price of oil is a factor in virtually everything that we buy.  In addition, a really high price for oil also tends to slow down economic activity, and this is something that we witnessed just prior to the financial crisis of 2008.  And if this crisis in the Middle East stretches over an extended period of time, it could ultimately result in a phenomenon known as “stagflation” where we have rapidly rising prices and weaker economic activity simultaneously.  The last time we experienced such a thing was in the 1970s, and nobody really remembers the U.S. economy of the 1970s favorably.

The damage caused by the “drone attacks” in Saudi Arabia was immense.  According to the Daily Mail, “huge plumes of black smoke” could be seen pouring out of a key Saudi oil facility…

Infernos raged at the plant in Abqaiq, Bugayg, and the country’s second largest oilfield in Khurais yesterday morning after Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a flurry of rockets.

Huge plumes of black smoke could be seen coming from the oil facility.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have publicly taken responsibility for the attacks, but they may or may not be telling the truth.

At this point, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is completely rejecting that explanation, and he is claiming that there is “no evidence the strikes had come from Yemen”…

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for coordinated strikes on the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, saying they marked an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.

The strikes shut down half of the kingdom’s crude production on Saturday, potentially roiling petroleum prices and demonstrating the power of Iran’s proxies.

Iran-allied Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen claimed credit for the attack, saying they sent 10 drones to strike at important facilities in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province. But Mr. Pompeo said there was no evidence the strikes had come from Yemen.

And according to Reuters, another unnamed “U.S. official” told them that the attacks came from “west-northwest of the targets”…

The U.S. official, who asked not to be named, said there were 19 points of impact in the attack on Saudi facilities and that evidence showed the launch area was west-northwest of the targets – the direction of Iran – not south from Yemen.

The official added that Saudi officials had indicated they had seen signs that cruise missiles were used in the attack, which is inconsistent with the Iran-aligned Houthi group’s claim that it conducted the attack with 10 drones.

Of course drones don’t have to travel in a straight line, and cruise missiles don’t either, and so we may never know for sure where the attacks originated.

But we do know that the Houthi rebels in Yemen are being backed by Iran, and we also know that the Shia militias in Iraq are also being backed by Iran.

So whether the attacks originated in Yemen, southern Iraq or Iran itself, it is not going to be too difficult for U.S. officials to place the blame on the Iranians, and we should expect some sort of military response.

In fact, President Trump posted the following message to Twitter just a little while ago…

Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!

Of course U.S. airstrikes against Iran itself could ultimately spark World War 3, and most Americans are completely clueless that we could literally be on the precipice of a major war.

According to the Saudis, the equivalent of 5.7 million barrels a day of oil production were affected by the attacks.  Saudi Arabia typically produces about 9.8 million barrels a day, and so that is a really big deal.

When the markets reopened on Sunday night, oil futures exploded higher.  In fact, according to Zero Hedge this was the biggest jump ever…

With traders in a state of near-frenzy, with a subset of fintwit scrambling (and failing) to calculate what the limit move in oil would be (hint: there is none for Brent), moments ago brent reopened for trading in the aftermath of Saturday’s attack on the “world’s most important oil processing plant“, and exploded some 20% higher, to a high of $71.95 from the Friday $60.22 close, its biggest jump since futures started trading in 1988.

As I write this article, the price of Brent crude is currently sitting at $66.89, although at least one analyst is warning that the price of oil could soon shoot up to “as high as $100 per barrel” if the Saudis are not able to quickly resume their previous level of production…

The oil market will rally by $5-10 per barrel when it opens on Monday and may spike to as high as $100 per barrel if Saudi Arabia fails to quickly resume oil supply lost after attacks over the weekend, traders and analysts said.

Saudi officials have already told us that they anticipate that a third of the lost oil output will be restored on Monday.

But because of the extensive damage that has been done, restoring the remainder of the lost output could take “weeks” or even “months”.

In the short-term, President Trump has “authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve“, and that should help stabilize prices somewhat.

However, if a full-blown war with Iran erupts, nothing is going to be able to calm the markets.  In such a scenario, the price of oil could easily explode to a level that is four or five times higher than it is today, and that would essentially be the equivalent of slamming a baseball bat into the knees of the global economy.

The times that we are living in are about to become a whole lot more serious, but most Americans are not even paying attention to these absolutely critical global events.

In fact, even the mainstream media seems to believe that the new allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh are more important.

That is because they don’t understand what is really happening.

Trust me, keep a close eye on the Middle East, because things are about to start breaking loose there in a major way.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

The post If You Think The Price Of Oil Is Skyrocketing Now, Just Wait Until The War Starts… appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

What you are about to read in this article is likely to make you very angry.  Once upon a time, the primary mission of our hospitals was to help people, but today they have become vicious financial predators.  Many Americans try very hard to avoid visiting the hospital because of what it might cost, but if an emergency happens there is no choice.  They often get us when we are at our most vulnerable, and they never explain to us in advance how much their services will actually cost.  And then eventually when the bills start arriving we discover that they have charged us 30 dollars for a single aspirin or “$2,000 for a $20 feeding tube”.  It is a giant scam, but they have been getting away with it for decades, and so they just keep on doing it.  And many hospitals go after those that are not able to pay their ridiculous bills extremely aggressively.  Just consider the following example which comes to us from USA Today…

Heather Waldron and John Hawley are losing their four-bedroom house in the hills above Blacksburg, Virginia. A teenage daughter, one of their five children, sold her clothes for spending money. They worried about paying the electric bill. Financial disaster, they said, contributed to their divorce, finalized in April.

Their money problems began when the University of Virginia Health System pursued the couple with a lawsuit and a lien on their home to recoup $164,000 in charges for Waldron’s emergency surgery in 2017.

I can’t imagine any surgery that should ever cost $164,000.  You can buy an entire house for that amount of money.  It is highway robbery, and those that are engaged in this sort of predatory pricing are literally crooks.

Sadly, Heather Waldron and John Hawley have a lot of company.  Over the past six years, the University of Virginia Health System has sued 36,000 patients…

The family has lots of company: Over six years ending in June 2018, the health system and its doctors filed 36,000 lawsuits against patients, seeking a total of more than $106 million, seizing wages and bank accounts, putting liens on property and homes and forcing families into bankruptcy, a Kaiser Health News analysis found.

Yes, the University of Virginia Health System saves lives every single day, but the way that they are running their operation is bringing great shame to the entire state of Virginia.

Of course there are many other hospitals all across the country that are behaving in a similar manner.  This next example comes from CNN…

When Donna Hernandez had the flu last year, she went to her local emergency room in New Mexico, where she received two IV bags of saline, a dose of antiviral medication and a drug to help with her nausea.

She says after about two and a half hours, she was on her way.

Hernandez recovered from the flu, but still hasn’t recovered from the shock of the bill she received afterward. It was for more than $6,000.

Are you kidding me?

Hernandez didn’t stay overnight and she didn’t have any surgery.

How in the world can that hospital possibly justify a bill for more than $6,000?

Like I said, they are a bunch of crooks.

But their racket is completely legal, and those participating are becoming exceedingly wealthy at our expense.  If you can believe it, the University of Virginia Health System has made a profit of $554 million over the past six years, and the CEO brings in an exceedingly bloated salary…

UVA Medical Center, the flagship of UVA Health System, earned $554 million in profit over the six years ending in June 2018 and holds stocks, bonds and other investments worth $1 billion, according to financial statements. CEO Sutton-Wallace earns a salary of $750,000, with bonus incentives that could push her annual pay close to $1 million, according to a copy of her employment contract, obtained under public information law.

Our “healthcare system” is deeply, deeply broken, and it is destroying lives all across America.

A single trip to the hospital can ruin you financially for the rest of your life, and one recent survey found that health costs are “the main financial worry” for Americans aged 25 to 45…

According to a survey of 1,000 Americans aged 25-45, financial stress and worries are quite literally making people sick. Respondents listed health care as the main financial worry of their lives, and three in four admitted to having a “negative experience” due to financial stress. Ironically, 39% said that financial stress has had a negative impact on their health; indicating a troubling cycle of financial stress brought on by health care costs, which in turn leads to more health problems.

And that same survey discovered that a substantial percentage of respondents have actually been avoiding the “healthcare system” because of what it might cost…

In fact, three in four surveyed young adults reported taking “risky” actions to save money on medical expenses. More specifically, 33% delayed seeking medical help in the hope that their condition would just go away, 27% considered avoiding medical attention due to high deductibles, and 22% scheduled a medical appointment but never showed after considering the bill.

In America today, 66.5 percent of all bankruptcies are related to medical bills, and most of those that go bankrupt actually have health insurance.

Those that follow my work regularly know that I have been writing about these things for a long time, and I am deeply frustrated that things just seem to get worse with each passing year.

At one time, the medical profession was a noble path, and those that sacrificed so much to help others were greatly admired.

But now the “healthcare system” in America has become a cesspool of greed, and for many of those that are attracted to it the main goal is to make as much money as possible.

Just because it is currently legal, that does not mean that the predatory behavior of the industry is moral.

The U.S. “healthcare system” accounts for nearly a fifth of our entire economy, and if it was a country it would have the fifth largest GDP on the entire planet.

But at this point it has become a great shame to the entire nation, and it needs to be completely torn down and rebuilt from scratch.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

With elections looming on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that Israel has “no other choice” other than to invade Gaza in order to overthrow the Hamas regime in power there.  In fact, the Jerusalem Post is reporting that on Friday Netanyahu said that war “could happen at any moment”.  The Prime Minister and other Israeli officials are sick and tired of rockets being constantly fired into Israel, and they have come to the conclusion that a peaceful resolution with Hamas is simply not possible.  Here in the United States many on the left will criticize Israel for taking military action, but how long would any U.S. president wait before taking military action against a terror group that was firing missiles at us?  The truth is that Israel has been exceedingly patient with the situation in Gaza, but now the time for patience has run out.

In recent days, Netanyahu has made it exceedingly clear what is about to happen.  Here is one example from the Jerusalem Post…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Thursday that Israel may have no choice but to embark on a military operation in Gaza to overthrow Hamas.

“It looks like there will be no other choice but to embark on a wide scale campaign in Gaza,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet Radio shortly before he boarded a flight to Moscow where he is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And here is another quote where he essentially says the exact same thing…

“There probably won’t be a choice but to topple the Hamas regime. Hamas doesn’t exert its sovereignty in the Strip and doesn’t prevent attacks,” he said. “We have a situation in which a terror group that launches rockets has taken over, and doesn’t rein in rogue factions even when it wants to.”

Netanyahu’s comments also came two days after a campaign rally in the southern city of Ashdod was interrupted by incoming rocket sirens after rockets were fired from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

I am not sure how Netanyahu could be any clearer.  Here is a third example…

“I do not wage war unless it is a last resort and I don’t risk the lives of our soldiers and citizens just to get applause,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet Radio. “We will probably have no choice but to set out on a big campaign, a war against the terror forces in Gaza.”

“I won’t start it one minute before we are ready, and we are preparing for a `different war’,” he added, shortly before flying to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu always chooses his words very carefully.  He is a gifted communicator, and we have never seen him talk quite like this before.

In the past, Israel has responded to rocket attacks from Gaza by conducting targeted airstrikes, and this is something that we witnessed yet again on Wednesday…

Early Wednesday, Israeli jets launched air strikes on 15 targets belonging to the Hamas terror group, which rules the Gaza Strip, in response to the rockets fired at Ashdod and Ashkelon, which were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, according to the IDF.

But it has become clear that airstrikes will never be enough to permanently stop the rocket attacks, and so the Israeli government is preparing to initiate a major ground operation inside Gaza.

Of course this could potentially spark a much wider regional war.  Israel and Hezbollah have literally been on the brink of war for months, and so if a major conflict erupts it is easy to envision Hezbollah jumping in to aid their allies in the south.

Right now, Hezbollah has approximately 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel, and their troops are battle-hardened after fighting for many years in Syria.

And if Israel and Hezbollah go to war, there is a very strong possibility that Iran could get involved as well.

Basically we are just a hop, skip and jump away from a cataclysmic war in the Middle East, and this is one of the reasons why Israel has shown so much restraint.

But at some point action must be taken.  No nation is going to allow terrorist organizations to keep firing rockets at their citizens indefinitely, and the Israeli government has had enough.

As IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi recently stated, there is “a moral obligation to defend the nation’s citizens against the armies of terrorism that surround them”…

“The changes in the enemy demand that the IDF make changes and adjust its forces and methods of warfare, so urban areas cannot shield the enemy. The firepower the enemy will encounter in the next war will be unprecedented, and a country that allows terrorism to entrench itself in its territory will be seen as responsible for it, and suffer the consequences,” Kochavi warned.

“The IDF has a moral obligation to defend the nation’s citizens against the armies of terrorism that surround them. When the Israeli homefront is under threat by thousands of missiles and rockets, we won’t hesitate to strike a massive blow to eradicate those threats. We will attack and preserve our values, but a main tenet of those values is the need to protect our citizens,” he said.

Personally, I doubt that the Israeli military operation will happen before the election on Tuesday, but I could be wrong.

And let us also hope that it can be postponed until after the upcoming Jewish holidays.

But it is coming, and once Israeli tanks roll into Gaza everything will change.  Global events are about to accelerate significantly, and so many of the things that we have been watching for are about to happen.

Both sides have been preparing for this war for a very long time, and the death and destruction will be immense.

Things are eerily quiet for the moment, but the fighting will soon commence, and when it does this will become the biggest news story on the entire planet.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

The post The Middle East War Begins: Netanyahu Warns There Is “No Other Choice But To Embark On A Wide Scale Campaign In Gaza” appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

How will history remember us?  As Americans, we like to think that we are a light to the world and that other countries should be using us as a model for how to properly do things.  But the truth is that we have become unspeakably evil, and after reading this entire article I doubt that there will be anyone that will disagree with me.  And while it is certainly true that there are quite a few other nations that are also tremendously evil, none have fallen harder or faster then we have.  At one time America truly was “the hope of the world”, but now just about every form of wickedness that you can possibly imagine is exploding all around us, and very few of our national leaders seem to care.

The first example that I would like to discuss is something that came out in court on Thursday…

The CEO of StemExpress essentially admitted in court Thursday that her biotech company supplies beating fetal hearts and intact fetal heads to medical researchers.

She also admitted at the preliminary hearing of David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of the Center for Medical Progress that the baby’s head could be procured attached to the baby’s body or “could be torn away.”

This is Nazi-level evil, and it is happening all across the United States every single day.

Of course the mainstream media is completely avoiding this story, because they fully approve of what is happening and they don’t want to cause any sort of an uproar.  And most “conservative” media outlets are avoiding this story as well, because the truth is that they aren’t actually very “conservative” at all.

Companies such as StemExpress are making a tremendous amount of money selling baby body parts to medical researchers, and the “research” that is being conducted is incredibly sick and disgusting.

So where does StemExpress get their specimens?

Needless to say, they get them from abortion clinics, and the “procedures” that must be done in order to extract such specimens are acts of unspeakable brutality…

“That is an especially gruesome admission, but it begs the question: how did they get these fully intact human children?” says Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, which is representing Daleiden at the hearing.

“If you have a fetus with an intact head and an intact body, and intact extremities, that is something that would indicate that child was born alive, and then had their organs cut out of them, or that that child was the victim of an illegal partial-birth abortion,” he told LifeSiteNews.

I am not going to go on and on about the horrific details, and so if you want to learn more I would encourage you to read the LifeSite article about this case.

But I do want to make a point that nobody else is really making.

Today, every single one of our political leaders in Washington knows that baby parts are being harvested, sold to the highest bidder, and used in some of the sickest scientific experiments imaginable.

So who is trying to stop it?

Even after the changes that have recently happened, Planned Parenthood will still receive more than 500 million dollars from the federal government this year, and those conducting this sort of “scientific research” will receive more than 100 million dollars from the federal government this year.

We all know that the Democrats are totally on board with what is happening, and so none of them are going to do anything about this.

But the Republicans control the U.S. Senate and the White House.  Every single year, the U.S. Senate has been passing bills that contain this funding, and every single year those bills have been signed by President Trump.

That makes them personally responsible for what is happening.

That is why it is so dangerous to run for public office.  Because if you know of the evil that is happening and you don’t do anything to stop it, then you become responsible for it.

No, there aren’t any excuses.  They have willingly chosen to fund these activities year after year, and yet they seem to think that they won’t be held accountable.

But let me ask you a question.

If the government of a nation endorses and funds the exceedingly sick and evil things that I have discussed in this article, what does such a nation deserve?

It may not happen this week or this month, but in the end America will reap exactly what it has sown.

Of course it just isn’t our government that is engaged in acts of great evil.  In an article that he recently published, Paul Joseph Watson discussed the fact that some people out there are actually purposely getting pregnant just so they can have abortions…

In a Reddit post entitled ‘Question regarding abortion and breeding fetish’, one user reveals how she has “a female friend who has a really powerful fetish for breeding” and never used birth control.

“She is with a male partner currently who is just like her, into breeding and they have been practising their fetish for quite a few abortions,” the post reads.

In response to that post, another Reddit user chimed in and excitedly admitted that he and his girlfriend “have the same fetish”.  In fact, he actually admitted that his girlfriend prefers to wait until “between 20 and 24 weeks of gestation” to abort the child…

“I know this fetish. My girlfriend and me have the same fetish. My girlfriend enjoys her pregnancies and she enjoys the abortion. Her preferred date to abort is between 20 and 24 weeks of gestation. I enjoy making her pregnant. And I enjoy the time of her pregnancy. She has no menstrual period and she is sexually very active,” he writes.

“In the last ten years in our relationship we have done seven abortions and my girlfriend is pregnant again with a little girl,” he adds.

And all of this is perfectly legal in the United States, because that is the sort of society that we live in.

Paul Joseph Watson summed things up very well when he made the following statement on Twitter about this story: “We live in hell.”

If we stay on the path that we are currently on, there isn’t going to be a future for America, and at this point it doesn’t appear likely that our nation will reverse course any time soon.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

Despite the fact that more money is being spent on suicide prevention efforts than ever before in our history, the suicide rate in the United States continues to rise dramatically.  As you will see below, one new study has discovered that our suicide rate actually increased by 41 percent between 1999 and 2016.  Even though we have the highest standard of living that any generation of Americans has ever enjoyed, we are an exceedingly unhappy nation and we are killing ourselves in unprecedented numbers.  This shouldn’t be happening, but unfortunately the forces that have taken over our culture have convinced multitudes of Americans that their lives are not worth living any longer.  In a culture where truth has been abandoned, it is easy for lies to run rampant, and it takes a great deal of deception to get someone to willingly choose to embrace suicide.  No matter what you are going through right now, there is always a way to turn things around, and we all have been given lives worth living.

Sadly, the suicide rate in this country has continued to escalate year after year.  According to the Los Angeles Times, 2017 is “the latest year for which reliable statistics are available”, and in that year the U.S. suicide rate hit a 50 year high…

Whether they are densely populated or deeply rural, few communities in the United States have escaped a shocking increase in suicides over the last two decades. From 1999 to 2016, suicide claimed the lives of 453,577 adults between the ages of 25 and 64 — enough to fill more than 1,000 jumbo jets.

Suicides reached a 50-year peak in 2017, the latest year for which reliable statistics are available.

These numbers come from a new study that was just released, and it claims that our suicide rate actually increased by 41 percent between 1999 and 2016…

The researchers evaluated national suicide data collected between 1999 and 2016, then created a county-by-county estimation of suicide rates among all adults between the ages of 25-64. In that time period, suicide rates rose an astonishing 41%; from a median of 15 suicides per 100,000 county residents in 1999 to 21.2 in the last three years of analysis.

And suicide is also a rapidly growing problem among our teens and young adults as well.

In fact, suicide is now the second leading cause of death for Americans from age 10 to age 24.

Everyone goes through very low times, and for many people it can seem like those low times will never end.  But when I was at my lowest points many years ago, I always had faith that better days were coming, even though at the time I couldn’t even imagine the absolutely amazing things that were ahead for me.  The point that I am trying to make is that we simply do not know what the future will hold.  No matter how dark things may seem to you right now, a miracle could literally be right around the corner.

This new study that just came out also discovered that suicide rates are significantly higher in rural parts of the country…

It was noted that suicide rates were at their highest in less-populous counties and in areas where people have lower incomes and diminished access to resources. For example, between 2014 and 2016, there were 17.6 suicides per 100,000 people in large metropolitan counties, noticeably lower than the 22 suicides per 100,000 people recorded in rural counties.

The quality of life in rural areas is so much nicer in so many ways, but there is also a lot of isolation and poverty as well.  Humans are meant to be social creatures, and when there aren’t a lot of people around that can feed feelings of depression.  And if someone is deeply struggling with poverty, it can be difficult to see a way out in an area with few economic opportunities.  According to Brookings Institution research analyst Carol Graham, many Americans living in such areas “see no optimism for the future”…

“These are the places that used to be thriving rural places, near enough to cities and manufacturing hubs,” she said. “They’re places that accord with a stereotypical picture of stable blue-collar existence — and a quite nice existence — for whites in the heartland.”

With the collapse of extractive industries such as coal mining, the departure of manufacturing jobs, and a strapped agricultural economy, “these communities just got flipped on their head,” Graham observed. “And the people in those places became unhinged. You’d have a sense of places where everything has left. And among those who stay, you see no optimism for the future.”

If this is happening now, while economic conditions are still relatively stable, what is going to happen to the suicide rate during the next major U.S. economic downturn?

There is never, ever, ever a good reason for someone to commit suicide, but unfortunately during the next recession we are likely to see the suicide rate rise substantially higher.

Another factor that is resulting in a higher rate of suicide in rural areas is a lack of health insurance…

Last but certainly not least, a lack of health insurance coverage is significantly associated with rising suicide rates in rural US counties.

Specifically, the researchers observed that the more people in a county who didn’t have health insurance coverage, the higher that county’s suicide rate was.

When you are buried in medical bills that you know that you will never be able to pay, it can be exceedingly difficult to envision brighter days ahead.  Our healthcare system is deeply, deeply broken, and this is something that I wrote about on Tuesday.

It is such a tragedy when people choose to end their lives because of financial circumstances, because financial circumstances are always temporary.

No matter how bad things are in your life right now, there is always a way to turn them around.  The best days of your life could still be ahead for you, but you have got to be willing to believe that this is true.

Life is an absolutely incredible gift, and don’t let anyone ever convince you that you should end it.

It has been said that life is like a coin.  You can spend it any way that you want, but you can only spend it once.  I would encourage you to spend it loving others greatly, enjoying each day to the fullest, and doing something that truly matters.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

The post The Suicide Rate In The U.S. Has Hit The Highest Level In 50 Years, And There Is Concern That It Will Go Much Higher appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

There are countless stories of folks getting stranded in the wilderness unarmed and with few supplies. And in many cases, their lack of preparation cost them their lives. There also are many stories of people who get lost and end up surviving. What’s the difference between those who survive and those who don’t? The vast majority of people who survived were sportsmen who came prepared with knowledge and supplies.

One tool for survival which can make the difference between life and death is the firearm. Food, defense and signaling are all possible with good survival guns.

Here are my top picks for survival guns.

 

 

Pistols

 

1. Glock 17/19

The Glock has arguably the finest reputation in the handgun world for reliability. I have carried a Glock 19 daily for a long time. It has never once failed me — not once. The 9mm is not a choice chambering for bear defense, but for hunting and defense against smaller critters it is plenty adequate. Magazine capacity is excellent with 15-round magazines standard for the Glock 19, and 17-round magazines for the Glock 17. Therefore, if you carry a couple extra magazines you should have plenty of ammunition to get you through. The Glock safe-action trigger may unnerve newer shooters, but it is completely safe if you practice gun safety.

 

2. Springfield XD Service model or XDM

Springfield has built an excellent polymer framed handgun in the XD model. The XD, like a Glock, has an excellent reputation for reliability. The XD features a grip safety similar to those found on 1911 model handguns and it has a Glock style trigger.

XDs are available in many different chamberings, including the big three for auto pistols: 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP.  Magazine capacity differs slightly between the service model and the XDM, but is comparable to a Glock.

 

3. Smith and Wesson Model 29

Go ahead and make your day. If you are in bear country and in need of a handgun that will give you a fighting chance against a brown or grizzly bear, my go-to handgun is a Smith & Wesson 29 chambered in .44 Magnum. Recoil is stout and most new shooters will shy away from such firepower.

 

4. Taurus Judge

The huge advantage of the Taurus Judge is the ability to shoot both .45 Long colt and .410 shot shells, including slugs, 00 Buck and bird shot. This gives you a wide variety of munitions and you will only be limited by what you pack with you.

 

5. .22 Pistol

I also want to say that having a .22 pistol in your pack is a great tool for harvesting small game for sustenance. Semi-auto or revolver — anything that is accurate to 20 yards and allows you to hit baseball-sized targets with regular consistency is a good pick.

 

 

Shotguns

 

6. Remington 870 or Mossberg 500

This is kind of a no-brainer, and survival shotguns have been argued to death in article after article. Either one of these shotguns will do the trick. Both are reliable and I wouldn’t hesitate to use either. In bear country, slugs and 00 Buck is the ticket, and you can keep shot shells in your pocket for small game. A slug from a .12 gauge will handle any big game in the world under 75 yards. It has put down elephants, hippos, water buffalo, polar bear and Kodiak bear. You will be limited to range, but not on firepower.

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Rifles

If you are out elk hunting and you get lost, you’ll be stuck with your elk rifle. A .30-06, .270 or just about any big game rifle makes a fine survival firearm as long as it is reliable, accurate and has some extra ammunition. I’m not going to list hunting rifles here, as the list would be longer than my arm. But my top picks for hunting rifles are both the Remington 700 and the Savage 11. Both are outstanding rifles. They would do well in a survival situation and are very simple in their operation and upkeep.

 

7. Marlin 1895G

The 1895 guide gun fires a .45-70 projectile. The .45-70 is a very old and very large hunk of lead that has been in use since the 1870s. With the right loads, it will put a grizzly in its place, put down a bison and bring home the bacon with any large game in North America. You’ll be limited to about 150 yards at most.

 

8. Ruger 10-22

The perfect lightweight carbine for small game is a great choice if you are not in grizzly country.  The rifle is chambered in .22 long rifle or .22 WMR. This small game rifle is utterly reliable. It uses a 10 shot magazine. And you can get it for about $230.

 

9. AK-47

The US semi-auto AK variants on the market are fine choices for survival. I would rather have an AK than an AR in a survival situation, as there are fewer moving parts. The 7.62x39mm round is capable of taking up to deer-sized game. It is perfect for a truck gun or in a disaster scenario. The rifle feeds from a 30-round, detachable magazine and has plenty of firepower.

What survival guns would you add to this list? Share your tips in the section below:

The post 9 ‘Survival Guns’ That Will Keep You Alive In Any Situation appeared first on Off The Grid News.

Let’s talk about these so-called self defense rifles. When I say self defense rifle, I am not talking about your main battle rifle. Your AR-15 is a good all-around rifle, but it’s best if you use it for self-defense. A self defense rifle in this sense is one that you can easily carry in your bug out bag and use for general survival measures with limited defensive capabilities.

These rifles are almost exclusively.22 long rifles, and while this limits defensive capability, it does still have considerable capability. The .22 long rifle is an excellent survival caliber for a lot of reasons. First off, there’s the sheer amount of ammunition you can carry. You can throw a 500-round brick in your backpack without a huge difference in weight, and it hardly takes up any room. The .22  rifle is often very cheap and common, except for the occasional ammo scare that dries up the supply. Because the rounds are cheap and easy to find, a person can get a lot of practice with their .22 rifle. These rifles are not only handy in a SHTF situation, but in any outdoor hunting and hiking situation.

These rifles will not replace your main battle rifle, but they will serve to complement your primary weapon. These weapons are designed to become very compact and disappear into a pack, making them very handy and very convenient to carry.

So, we will define these self defense rifles for the sake of this article as small, concealable, shoulder-fired, small caliber rifles. These rifles will be general-purpose rifles or even more like “jack of all trades” rifles.

Henry AR-7

We will start with an original rifle—a very unique, very odd looking little rifle. The Henry AR-7 was designed for Air Force pilots all the way back in 1959. Since then, developers have slightly upgraded the weapon throughout the years and it has become a camper’s best friend.

The AR-7 is a semi-automatic rifle that fires from an eight-round box magazine and comes with two magazines. The rifle is a takedown rifle and conveniently breaks down into three components. The rifle breaks down into the barrel, receiver, and buttstock. In addition, the barrel and receiver both fit inside the hollow buttstock. The buttstock is water resistant and has the ability to float (should it find its way into water), and if it takes a fall, it is impact resistant. The rifle only weighs three and a half pounds and is less than seventeen inches long when packed into the buttstock.

Putting the weapon together is incredibly easy and quick. The receiver attaches to the stock and the barrel screws into the receiver. Construction and take down is completely toolless. Both the barrel and receiver are coated with ABS plastic and Teflon to completely and absolutely resist corrosion.  Handling the weapon is odd at first, as you lack a forward grip and are forced to either grip the thin barrel or the front of the receiver. However, the light recoiling round makes it easy to control and shoot accurately. One of the key advantages I see for this self defense rifle is the price. In fact, for less than $300, this weapon can be yours.

M6 Scout

Now, this is another odd rifle that has been around for a few decades, but unlike the AR-7, the M6 Scout never made a huge splash in the firearms industry. This is probably due to the weapon’s odd appearance and limited capabilities. The M6 Scout is made by Springfield and has been around since the 1970s. Recently, the rifle has had a bit of a resurgence with the increase in people becoming more prepared for less-than-optimistic situations.

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The M6 Scout has the distinct advantage of being chambered in both .22 long rifle and .410 shotgun rounds. We’ve gone over the .22 long rifle, but the .410 is its own handy cartridge. Like any shotgun shell, there is a variety of different loads that the .410 can hold. The main three are birdshot, buckshot, and slugs. The .410 is capable of taking medium and small game at close range.

The .410 birdshot round is a proven snake destroyer, and the slugs have their place in self-defense and hunting. The M6 has one less than desirable feature: it’s an over-under double-barrel weapon. The top barrel is .22 and the bottom barrel is .410. The advantage of a .410 barrel is that gauge adapters will allow you to fire rounds like 9mm and 38/357 out of your shotgun barrel.

For compactness, the rifle breaks in half at the breech. Consequently, you can store the firearm in a very short package. The rifle is very lightweight and very Spartan. There is almost no furniture on the rifle, and this keeps the weapon lightweight and compact. The stock does open and it allows you to store ammo inside.

This is a very unique firearm that’s quite an interesting weapon to shoot. The ability to fire precision rifle shots or a wide variety of shot is something any backpacker or prepper can appreciate. This weapon may not match the firepower of the AR-7, but it does beat it in versatility.

Ruger 10/22 Takedown

The Ruger 10/22 needs no introduction. This self defense rifle has been the poster gun for all .22 rifles for the last 50 years. The Ruger 10/22 is an incredibly versatile rifle with more accessories than any rifle I’ve ever seen. This is America’s .22 rifle. The newest model combines the well-known Ruger platform with the ability for you to break it down into two pieces.

This rifle is probably the least compact of the three, but it offers the most comfort and reliability. The Ruger is an incredibly reliable weapon, and the amount of accessories available is staggering. The list includes high-capacity magazines, scope mounts, sights, and the ability to switch out the integral parts with easy-to-find match-grade pieces. Take this little .22 and load it with a BX 25 magazine and a red dot sight, and you’re ready to rock and roll all day long.

The weapon is probably easier to strap down than it is to pack. Even so, it’s still plenty easy to transport. Ruger even offers a backpack with Molle straps and a very prominent Ruger logo (not very discreet) that they’ve designed perfectly for carrying the weapon. You can never go wrong with a Ruger 10/22.

Bigger Bore Options

If you are interested in a larger caliber takedown rifle, I have recently come across two that are very interesting. The first is an AR-style carbine chambered in a variety or in pistol rounds. The next rifle is a full-sized Browning hunting rifle. These weapons are larger and heavier but considerably better for defense and hunting.

The Aero Self  Defense Rifle

The Aero survival rifle is designed to resemble the look and feel of an AR, but it is chambered in a pistol caliber. The little carbine accepts Glock magazines, so you know that plenty of high-capacity options will be available. The weapon is chambered in 9mm, .40 caliber, and .45 ACP. Moreover, the ammo can be interchangeable with your sidearm.

The rifle comes apart without tools, and it breaks into less than half its normal length. It drops easily into a backpack, giving you a close-to-medium-range hunting and self-defense weapon. This self defense rifle features some rail space for optics or folding iron sights as well as a flashlight or foregrip. The stock is an M4-style six-position adjustable.

Browning Lever-Action Takedown Rifle

Browning is a very well-known firearms maker of high-quality rifles, handguns, shotguns, safes, and just about everything else in the firearms world. Their lever-action takedown rifle is no different. This rifle is an excellent choice as a hunting rifle, and it even has some excellent defensive capabilities. For those poor folks who live in a less-than-free state like California or New York, this rifle is completely legal in either—for the time being anyway.

The weapon feeds from a detachable box magazine and can chamber full-powered rifle rounds. The weapon can be chambered in fourteen different calibers from 22-250 to .375. These options give you long-range and hard-hitting bullets. The lever action guarantees reliable and quick feeding.

The weapon weighs around seven pounds and is bulky compared to any other survival rifle that we’ve mentioned. Once the Browning is broken down, it still fits in a hiking pack though, and it is relatively easy to strap to the side or top. This rifle is an awesome choice when you need a full-sized and full-powered rifle to take game, especially at longer ranges. Browning has a winner with this rifle. I only wish it was easier to find.

You may also enjoy reading an additional Off The Grid News article: 10 Practice Drills Guaranteed To Make You A Highly Skilled Concealed Carrier

Do you have any other suggestions for survival rifles suitable for self-defense? Let us know in the comments below.

 

The post What Is The Best Self Defense Rifle? appeared first on Off The Grid News.

I’m not ashamed to admit it – I’ve been horrifically slow to adapt to solar power for my home survival preps. There, I said it. Maybe “slow” is an inappropriate term – “reserved” might be better – but the point of fact is that while I use and rightfully adore other solar-powered illumination flashlights and lanterns, when it comes to ramping up the scale to provide basic solar power to my home for illumination and charging capabilities, I was – pun intended – shamefully in the dark.

By Drew, contributing author to SHTFblog and Survival Cache

I will fully admit that my solar ignorance was due to my reluctance to dive into the maelstrom of information that falls under the general heading “Solar Power”. Start looking into home solar integration, and your mind will unravel and your eyes will slam open upon realizing the sheer quantity of possibilities for setting yourself up with some light powered by stored light. 

Fortunately, an innovative company called BioLite sensed a great disturbance in The Force caused by millions of voices crying out in unilluminated anguish, and has chosen to silence them with an outstanding solar start-up kit that checks all the boxes for a turn-key introductory solar setup. September has been decreed “National Preparedness Month” by FEMA, and in response, for the entire month of September 2019, BioLite is offering a series of full-blown solar survival kits to help bring easy solar power and illumination to the masses.

About BioLite and Their Bundles

BioLite has been at the forefront of the natural power and preparedness nexus for quite some time. You’ve probably heard of or seen the double-take-inducing thermoelectric CampStove that utilizes heat from burning locally-sourced fuel (read: twigs and sticks) to generate electricity and charge your electronic devices. Oh, yes, it’ll also cook your food and boil your water too. 

Expanding its footprint by dedicating the company’s ideals to helping eliminating carbon footprints, New York based BioLite has been cleverly expanding its naturally-powered tool line since 2009  to include a vast variety of well-engineered photon-collecting apparatus that ultimately will make your quality of life tenfold better after a grid-down event. 

To that end and in the spirit of being prepared, Biolite has introduced three pre-engineered “bundles” that take the guesswork out of introducing solar power to your life. Ranging from the $129 “Solo Prep Kit” for 1-2 people to the $309 “Apartment Prep Kit” for 2-4 to the full-on expansive $459 “Family Prep Kit”, these pre-made kits have been well thought out to help your individual situation improve when the chips are down and the lights are off. 

The BioLite Apartment Prep Kit Bundle

BioLite was kind enough to send me an “Apartment Prep Kit” to try out. This particular Prep Kit contains the following:

• One SolarHome 620 “microgrid” central charge controller hub, incorporating a radio with speaker, MP3 player that runs off a MicroSD slot, two USB charging ports, a 6 Watt solar panel, three overhead LED lights and one integrated light and display
• One AC adaptor for the SolarHome 620 so you can top off the battery when outlet power is available
• Two BioLite headlamps dubbed, appropriately, the HeadLamp 330
• Two small stuff sacks for the HeadLamp 330s to diffuse the focused light of the headlamps
• Two Solar-powered SunLight lanterns
• One LifeStraw Classic water filter, proving that hydration is possibly just as important as a charged iPhone and Led Zeppelin crooning when the power is down.

The other BioLite bundles are variations on the theme, with the “Solo” kit subsituting the SolarHome 620 Kit and its accessories for a Charge20 power bank, and promoting the on-the-go bug-out bag mentality with one each of the HeadLamp 330s, stuff sack, and SunLight. The “Family” Kit goes past the Apartment Bundle with four each of the HeadLamp 330s and SunLights, while keeping the SolarHome 620 on deck as well as upgrading the smaller LifeStraw Classic to the superb LifeStraw Family gravity water filter.

Let’s dig in to the provided Apartment Bundle, shall we?

Headlamp 330

Starting with the HeadLamp 330, we find that BioLite took the battery-bulb-band concept and streamlined it with a design that has some experience built right in. 

While I’m not a die-hard user of head lamps, I do know that my qualms with them are relatively constant: if worn on a bare forehead, my head sweats and the band gets funky while it abrades my skin. The battery packs are often placed in terrible locations and are of offensive size, meaning that a speedy turn of the head often has the battery pack continuing its revolving orbit around my noggin even after my head stops. Also, the headlamps I’ve used have too many options and not enough power, providing me with a practically useless strobe but not enough illumination to move through the nighttime woods at anything more than a brisk walk. The HeadLamp 330 addresses all these issues.

Also Read: How to Build a Solar Energy Generator for Backup Power

BioLite boasts the “3D SlimFit” construction, which, for ignoramuses such as myself, means that the headlamp is low-profile (9mm, or just over a third of an inch thick) and unobtrusive. The business end of the HeadLamp 330 itself is moulded right into the front half of the breathable, moisture-wicking fabric, so the lamp doesn’t require a bazillion adjustments to get it fitting properly, and it won’t bounce around on your melon while you perform your nighttime interpretive dances. The battery case has been located at the back of the strap in an effort to balance the whole works. The battery case is sealed except for its Micro-USB sealed charging port, and since it is unencumbered with the need to carry a heavy payload of alkaline batteries, is delightfully lightweight. As a matter of fact, the entire HeadLamp 330 only weighs two and a half ounces, or about the same as three alkaline AA batteries.

Going back to the lamp itself, the output is rated at 330 lumens at full-tilt. There are options for how that output works for you, including a spotlight, localized floodlight, and yes, that strobe function. A red output for preserving night vision hunting is available via button-clicking as well. The internal 900 mAh Lithium-Ion battery will keep the light going for you on high-power mode for about 3 hours in my testing; BioLite says that if you can use constraint and keep the output level to the lower levels – meaning the 100-lumen floodlight – you should be able to squeeze 40 hours out of a single charge. The HeadLamp 300 also has a memory, so whatever setting you were using when you turned it off will be the setting it resumes duty at when fired back up.

The LEDs themselves are housed in a simple tilting panel on the front of the HeadLamp 330. This panel can be tilted down out of the lamp band housing to provide the light where you need it the most. However, the panel and its extremely close proximity to the single power button is my only real complaint about the HeadLamp 330 – adjusting the light panel angle means that you’ll likely bump the power button – a situation made worse if you’re using gloves. Other than that, the HeadLamp 330 is brilliantly executed and a superb tool for providing hands- and hassle-free personal illumination.

Light Diffusing StuffSack

If you get a BioLite Headlamp 330 – whether on its own or part of this Apartment Kit – you need to procure a BioLite StuffSack as well. This ingenious little white fabric-and-drawstring joy is a simple solution to a larger problem: one light, multiple people. Its simplicity belies its elegance: simply turn your HeadLamp 330 on, drop it in the Light-Diffusing StuffSack, cinch the drawstrings, and hang. Instant lantern for area lighting! On a recent camping trip with my sons, the HeadLamp/StuffSack combo rendered outstanding service, spilling plenty of nicely diffused light inside our tent while we played several cutthroat games of Go-Fish and cribbage. As a bonus, the StuffSack is a great carrying case for your HeadLamp and its included USB cable. The Light-Diffusing StuffSack is a must-have, and BioLite absolutely did the consumer right by including them in the kit.

SunLight Portable Solar Light

The SunLight Portable Solar Light is a stellar example of BioLite’s legacy: high-quality, no-fuss, outstandingly effective tools for you and me. The SunLight doesn’t boast a lot of crazy options or doo-dads; it has one job that it knows how to do, and it does it well.

Measuring 3 ⅛” by 3 ⅛” x ⅞”, the easily-packed, 100-lumen SunLight is simple in execution and function. One side has a white plastic lens face, the flip side is where the full-size solar panel lives. There is a stunningly innocuous metal wire kickstand that one can use to stand the SunLight up in the best location for doing its job, or swivel the stand to the other side and prop the solar panel up to catch the best angle to catch sunlight and charge the SunLight. A brilliantly simple feature of the SunLight is the small hole drilled in one corner of the plastic housing; though some may infer that this hole is for a lanyard, it actually has another purpose as a sundial of sorts: Place the SunLight in the sunlight, and swivel its position around until you can see a small white dot on the inside of the nousing notch; this shows you that the SunLight is most efficiently positioned to catch solar energy and charge most effectively. 

The only features encumbering the smooth outside housing of the SunLight (aside from the stand) are the USB charging port and the single power button. The sealed USB port can be used to top off the SunLight’s sealed batteries when power is available. The power button obviously turns the lantern on and off, but it is also used via a morse-esque method of taps and holds to cycle between brightness levels and colors. First, though – you’ll need to get the SunLight out of its as-shipped “demo” mode lest ye be driven mad trying to get the device to work properly. To remove the cursed yet flamboyant retail demo mode, simply press and hold the power button for 10 seconds and the demo demons will be exorcised, enabling the standard functions of the SunLight.

The standard functions of the SunLight center around its sole purpose of providing illumination to you, the end user. A quick review of BioLite’s fantastic YouTube videos describing the functions of the SunLight are a Godsend, and I highly recommend watching them to show how the power levels work and the crowd-pleasing (for a few minutes anyway) “Party” mode can be enabled. 

Related: Survival Gear Review: The PSL Personal Solar Light

In my testing, with the illumination output at about the half-way point (or the best I could figure as being the halfway point), the SunLight provided all-evening nightlight duty for camping with my 5-year old. After a full 8 hours of glowing, the SunLight was still pumping out the lumens – though when I flipped it over and plunked it in the sunlight to charge, the light flashed red to describe the battery level as being low and in need of charging. 

The SunLight is an outstanding alternative to open-flame candles in your domicile or while camping, providing more than enough output to light up a small room for reading and working once the lights are out. When the sun peeps back over the horizon, simply align the solar panel with Sol and charge it back up for the next evening.

LifeStraw Classic

The LifeStraw Classic should be familiar to most readers of this page, but a quick touch on the details tells the story why the LifeStraw Classic water filter is the archetypical portable water filtration system of our day. A scant 2 ounces in weight and is 9 inches long by 1 inch in diameter. Its “straw” design means you can (if your nose is brave enough) stick the LifeStraw directly into a stagnant bog and (with effort) suck out clean, filtered water that won’t have you running for the bathroom a couple hours later. It does take some power to initially suck the water through the internal filtration system but once it’s flowing, the LifeStraw works like a charm and even my 5-year-old uses one with relative ease. While some in a survival situation may balk at using the same LifeStraw (only one is provided in the apartment bundle), its ability to filter about 1,000 gallons of water means that a 4-person crew can run one straw for over a half a year if everyone drinks a gallon a day. 

Also Read: Gear Review: Epic The Answer Filter System

  The LifeStraw Classic is easy to clean, takes up very little room, is effective, and makes an incredible amount of sense to include in this bundle. If you want each person in your crew to have their own filter, individual LifeStraw Classics can be purchased pretty much anywhere for around twenty bucks each.

SolarHome 620 and Charger

The last (but far from least) component of the BioLite Apartment Kit: The SolarHome 620. A very cool, relatively inexpensive rig that allows you to bring solar power, light, charging, and tunes into your home, camp, RV, etc., without expending a ton of dollars. As a matter of fact, BioLite has shipped tens of thousands of SolarHome 620 kits to Africa, where homes in undeveloped areas can have light and radio. The simplicity of the 620 along with the carefully picked list of features makes this setup a winner.

At the heart of this mini-grid system is the central charge controller. The teal-colored high-impact plastic box houses the brains of the operation, on which you can monitor charging rate, battery level, and sun strength on the solar panel via a screen that looks like it was lifted directly from my old legendarily durable Nokia 3360 cellphone. Also located on the control box are two USB ports for charging cords (a short, multi-ended cable is included, but it’s decidedly short on Apple-based plugs – so iPhone people need to provide their own cable here), a MicroSD card slot, two ports on the back for plugging in the lights, an input plug for the provided 6 watt solar panel, a DIN port for plugging in an expansion battery (not included), a hanging bracket, and a bafflingly-sized compartment which fits no cellphone I was able to scrounge up and try (maybe it was designed for that Nokia 3360 they took the screen from?). Also, on the face of the control box is a fixed light, the aforementioned screen, and the push-button controls for the radio, clock, and MP3 player. Regarding the controls: a bit of head-scratching, trial-and-error, and patience is required, since all you pretty much have is left and right buttons to get where you need to go when working with tunes stored on a SD card.

Also included with the SolarHome 620 are three hanging lights with cords that stretch probably 18-20 feet (I didn’t measure). Since there are only two light plug ports in the back of the control box, you’ll need to daisy-chain the lights together, much akin to stringing together Christmas tree lights. It’s all weatherproof and easy to figure out. The three lights each have a maximum output rating of 100 lumens, and each light has its own push-button controller to regulate the power output: high, low, off. One of these lights also boasts a motion detector that is enabled via a fourth click on its wired controller. The motion detector is quite sensitive, and turns on by default for 30 seconds when it senses movement in front of its sensor.

The included 6-watt solar panel is large-ish – about 11 ½” x 7 ½”, and is picture framed with sturdy aluminum framing. The wire to the panel is a bit longer than the light wires, so you hopefully have a bit of flexibility between the best location for the solar panel and the best location for the control box to be mounted. The solar panel is waterproof, but definitely needs to be positioned properly to avoid hail, falling acorns, and other gravity-driven paraphernalia falling from the sky.

Once you remove the whole getup from its box and take stock of the situation, the whole system is quite simple. Since the solar panel is the lynch pin to the whole operation, finding an appropriate location or locations for the panel should be tantamount. Generally speaking, here in the Northern hemisphere, keeping the panel facing South should give you the maximum amount of sunlight exposure throughout the day. However, if you have location flexibility, being able to adjust the position of the panel as the sun moves across the sky will give you the best results. Obviously, the brighter the sunlight, the faster/stronger the charge – and fortunately, BioLite has provided a meter in the display that tells you the strength of the incoming solar rays.

The lights are easily strung once you know where you want to place them, and BioLite has thoughtfully provided wire staples to securely run wires if your location has the luxury of permanence. A modicum of thought will need to be provided due to the fact that you have three lights and only two plugs. The lights themselves have small plastic hooks that can be slid up and down the wires as well, so you can fiddle around with the light angle presented.

I took my son on a separate camping trip in my 4Runner, and once we found suitable ground, proceeded to set up my makeshift awning. Once properly secured, I pondered the setup and started looking at a good way to promote the strengths of the lighting setup while maintaining quick takedown and portability – as one might do on a bug-out or mobile camping trip. I ended up hanging the control box on my roof-rack rod holder tube, where it hung steadily off a small bungee cord. I had charged the unit up before I left with the provided AC wall charger, and immediately turned on a local oldies station and let Buddy Holly and Neil Diamond caress my ears as Lil’ Dude and I set up camp and figured out the best lighting setup. 

We eventually found that the control unit light and the the two wired lights – one of them the motion-sensing unit – provided all the light we needed in our little area of backwoods Maine, so that’s all we ended up running. The wires ran over the top of my awning with a small strip of duct tape holding each of the wires in place, and I let the switches dangle free in unobtrusive areas. The radio kept our spirits high and the lights kept the moths and bugs distracted, leading to a lovely overnight camping experience. I had kept the motion-sensing light pointed towards the entrance to our tent for security, and it was a great help indeed when I got up in the middle of the night to take a leak – I didn’t need to grope around for a flashlight – I merely stumbled (okay, rolled) out of the tent, waved my arms a bit, and the light popped right on.

In the morning, I plugged my phone in and charged it while we made coffee and breakfast. The charging setup isn’t exactly a barn-burner: I registered a 9% battery increase over a 15 minute span, meaning probably a 30-40% battery charge per hour, depending on your phone’s battery.

Disassembly was a bit slow, since you have to account and neatly secure all the wires and accoutrements in the storage box; the jigsaw puzzle takes a few minutes to solve. Supposedly, the SolarHome 620 setup can be stored in a shoebox; I figure BioLite must have access to one of Shaq’s shoeboxes or have the most OCD dude in the world working for them, because storing the SolarHome 620 is a bit of an exercise in patience and rearranging. It’s perfectly feasible for lighting on the go, but just know going out the door that you’ll be swearing at the bird’s nest of wires you may be fighting on occasion.

Wrapping It Up

BioLite really did their homework when putting the pieces of this kit together. The BioLite Apartment Bundle is, as stated before, a pre-engineered, ready-to-go, turn-key solution to someone who wants to get their feet wet in the solar-driven world, or wants to be able to buy a ready-made kit and say to themselves, “Cool, solar is checked off and I have illumination and charging capabilities ready to go.” The sum of the Apartment Kit parts is indeed a package of thought-out products combined to provide a small dwelling (stationary or mobile) with off-the-grid light, power, and tunes. It’s an outstanding deal and a stellar performer, worthy of your attention if you’re planning on the end of the world or merely for your next camping trip in the middle of nowhere.

 

Locks – an essential tool for protecting your most prized possessions.

Why? Because since the dawn of human history, there are people who will steal what’s not theirs if given the chance to do so.

They are called thieves and they are despicable.

And one of the only ways to combat a thief is to use tools to deter their behavior.

Tools such as locks, safes, diversion safes, alarm systems, and in extreme cases booby traps.

But while locks are better than nothing, they’re not foolproof! With the right skillset, most locks CAN be picked.

Now, picking locks does sound nefarious – a skill only a thief would want to learn, right? Not true.

Lockpicking is a skill I believe everyone should master, especially if your into survival and preparedness.

So, today, let’s cover all angles of “how to pick a lock”. From the moral implications to the actual step-by-step “how-to” instructions:

• 5 Reasons Why You Should Learn How To Pick A Lock
• 3 Types Of Locks You Can Pick
• 9 Clever Ways To Bypass A Lock (including 3 ways on “how to pick a lock“)
  • 1 – Using A Credit Card
  • 2 – Using A Bobby Pin / Paperclip / Screwdriver
  • 3 – The Rake (“scrubbing”) Method
  • 4 – The Pin By Pin Method
  • 5 – Picking A Combination Lock
  • 6 – How To Pick A Tubular Lock
  • 7 – Removing The Door Hinges
  • 8 – Destroying The Lock
  • 9 – Bending The Door Frame

As A Way To Introduce You To Skilled Survival, We’re Giving Away Our Ultimate Survival Gear Checklist. Click Here To Get Your FREE Copy Of It.

5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD LEARN HOW TO PICK A LOCK

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Any thief with the right skill set and motivation CAN bypass most standard locks.

And their reasons for picking a lock is simple – they covet, it’s not rocket science. But today, dear reader, I’m going to assume YOU are NOT a thief.

Well then, why should anyone who’s not interested in the art of stolen goods want to learn how to pick a lock?

Here are a few examples of how this skillset can be used for good in the world – instead of evil.

1 – Lost The Key

Standard padlocks require a key. And what’s one of the most common items to lose? Your keys…

So, what are your options if you lose your padlock key? Well – you can either invest in a large (pricy) set of bolt cutters, call an expensive locksmith, or learn how to pick a lock!

Picking a padlock can be the most cost-effective way to become reacquainted with your valuables…

2 – Escape From Captivity

Or here’s an even better reason – escape. Let’s say you were taken as a hostage and locked inside a secure room…

If you have the skills and some basic tools, you may be able to escape. And while this scenario is unlikely, I believe it’s one of the most resilient skills anyone can learn and master.

You can quickly turn yourself from helpless victim to a hero with this one skill.

Plus, mastering the art of escape is one of the most valuable urban survival skills.

3 – Feed Your Family In A Dire Emergency

Let’s say your local area has become lawless. It’s a disaster – a free-for-all zone. Maybe it’s a local emergency (like the aftermath of a devastating hurricane) or a global economic collapse that’s gotten out of hand. OR perhaps it’s the aftermath of a nuclear attack.

The exact reason doesn’t matter, but if you find yourself starving and society is no longer functioning, you need a way to get some calories.

If you can positively identify a home that’s abandoned, then it might be an acceptable moral decision to break-in to survive.

Raiding a pantry can become a moral decision in a dire circumstance…

4 – Breaking Into A Building To Avoid Severe Weather

This scenario is a lot like the previous one, but in this case, it’s a storm, tornado, or blizzard that’s creating the urgency.

When it comes to survival, I’d rather break into a warehouse, or building to avoid flying debris or hypothermia than be a helpless victim and do nothing.

5 – Start A Small Business Venture

Finally, if you become a proficient locksmith, you can turn those skills into a profitable side hustle. Being a locksmith is a nice way to earn a living if you can get enough regular referrals.

Why? Because people don’t call you unless it’s serious.

They’re willing to pay well for emergency services rendered. You have what’s called leverage and urgency – two powerful forces in business transactions.

Which is another way to say, it has good profit margins!

These are just a few examples where your ability to open a lock without a key makes you a hero, instead of a villain.

As A Way To Introduce You To Skilled Survival, We’re Giving Away Our #78 Item Complete Prepper Checklist. Click Here To Get Your FREE Copy Of It.

3 TYPES OF LOCKS YOU CAN PICK

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Lock picking is an art as old as locks themselves.

And over the centuries, locks have become even more sophisticated. But so have the methods of breaking into them.

Sure, anyone with a paperclip can defeat the simple privacy pop lock on a bathroom door. But a modern deadbolt can prove a formidable challenge for even the best locksmith in town.

With such a variety of lock types on the market, it’s worth taking a look at several of them.

But there are a ton of lock variations out there. The good news is, while, there are many different locks, some are much more common and popular than others.

So, here are the most popular locks, and the ones worth spending time learning how to pick.

1 – Pin Tumbler Locks

The pin tumbler lock is the most common lock available today. For example, you’ll find them in key-based padlocks, standard exterior doorknob locks, AND Deadbolts.

So, if you’re interested in gaining access to a range of sheds, warehouses, and most homes, this is the type of lock you’re most interested in picking.

2 – Combination Locks

Combination locks are known for their use with gym lockers. They’re often built into school lockers. You’ll also find them on old-style safes.

So, if you lose the secret combination of numbers, you’ll want to learn how to “pick” the combination.

3 – Tubular Lock

You’ll find this unique type of lock on smaller containers such as file cabinets or RV compartments.

They are unique in how they work and take a special set of tools to pick them. But basically they use the same concept as a pin and tumbler lock but orient the pins in a circular pattern.

9 CLEVER WAYS TO BYPASS A LOCK (including 3 ways on “how to pick a lock“)

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All locks have the same goal. To secure stuff, be it behind a door, within a container, or the item itself (such as a bug-out bike or survival trailer).

And each lock application and type of lock requires different “picking methods” to bypass. So, let’s go over the most common ways to bypass locks.

1 – Using a Credit Card

The first method of lock picking uses a thin plastic card. This method is best suited to simple spring latch doors. These types of doors are commonly found on supply closets and offices.

Most people think that a credit card is the best option. But actually, a thinner, more flexible plastic card is easier to use.

Gift cards, hotel key cards, and store loyalty cards are great choices and easy to find.

There are three things to check before you try using a card to open a lock:

1. NO DEADBOLT: If the door has a deadbolt, you won’t be able to open it with a credit card.
2. NO HINGES: You need to be on the proper side of the door for it to work. If you can see the hinges, you’re not on the right side for a credit card to work.
3. NO OBSTRUCTIONS: You need to be able to slip the credit card in along the edge of the door. So anything that obstructs your access to the latch area will be a problem.

Once you have the right card and verified this method is possible, it’s a matter of three simple steps.

First, slip the card into the space between the door and the latch plate. It’s easiest to slip a corner in first, then straighten the card until the entire edge is inserted into the gap.

Next, bend the card towards the doorknob. This will force the card to bend slightly around the corner and toward the latch.

Finally, press the card further into the gap and slowly wiggle it back and forth.

This motion will walk the edge of the card back towards the latch and up the slanted face of the latch itself.

This forces the latch inwards and pops the door free!

2 – How to Pick A Door Lock With A Bobby Pin / Paperclip / Screwdriver

Many home interior locks are designed to provide privacy, not security.

This includes most bedroom and bathroom doors. So knowing how to open them is a must for most parents with small children.

These doors have a small hole in the center of the doorknob, which gives you access to the unlock mechanism.

While they usually come with a wire “key” those are almost always missing when you need one.

Instead, take a tiny screwdriver or a straightened paperclip and insert it into the hole.

At the back of the hole will be either a pressure switch or a small, straight-blade screwdriver slot. The pressure switch is more common and can be opened by merely pressing on the switch until it pops.

The screwdriver-style locks are less common. But they only require a slight twist to open the latch.

Picking A Tumbler Lock

With a more secure door, or one featuring a deadbolt, you must learn some real lock picking techniques.

Rather than defeating the latch, these methods all work on the lock mechanism itself.

These locks work on a rotating lock cylinder with several spring-loaded pins. These pins must be individually lifted to the right height to allow the cylinder to turn.

They take practice and some specialized tools. But can be mastered quickly with a practice lock and pick set.

Lock Picking Tool Sets

A good lockpicking toolset doesn’t need to cost you an arm and a leg.

You can get a set at a surprisingly affordable price AND they can last you a lifetime – making them a great investment.

Heck, I even recommend you buy several sets, one for each of your vehicles, that way you’ll never be without your lockpicking gear.

You should get The Ultimate Access Lockpick Set.

This is a reasonably priced set of high-quality picks that can open nearly any lock in the world.

You’ll also get a see-through practice padlock. So you can bypass the learning curve that most newbies get stuck on and rocket your skills to the master level fast.

3 – The Scrubbing/Raking Method

The how to pick a door lock method is called “scrubbing”. It’s a fast and dirty way to get the job done on most locks.

It’s an art – you need to develop a feel for the technique and how it works with each different lock.

Despite the reliance on feel, the steps are largely the same for scrubbing most locks.

1. Insert the tension wrench into the bottom of the keyhole and apply a little torque. The tension wrench slightly rotates the lock cylinder. Don’t press too hard or you risk binding up the lock cylinder and making it more difficult to pick.
2. Insert the pick rake at the top of the keyhole and slide it to the back of the lock.
3. Lift the rake upwards into the pins and draw it forward. As the pick slides across each pin, it will lift the pins upward into position. Hopefully, the lip of the slightly turned cylinder will catch and keep them in place.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 until all the pins are in position and the cylinder turns further.
5. Turn the lock cylinder with gentle pressure on the tension wrench and open the door!

4 – The Pin by Pin Method

While the scrubbing technique is a good first choice, it’s not always going to work.

When the lock requires more finesse, you might need to turn to the Pin-By-Pin method.

This is a good way to improve your lock picking technique. It allows you to feel for the delicate movements inside a lock cylinder as the pins slide into place.

Pin-By-Pin picking is similar to scrubbing. But instead of blindly pressing up on all the pins, you probe each pin one at a time. You meticulously search for the pin that’s currently binding up.

1. Insert the tension wrench into the bottom of the keyhole and apply a little torque. The tension wrench slightly rotates the lock cylinder. Don’t press too hard or you risk binding up the lock cylinder and making it more difficult to pick.
2. Insert the single hook pick into the top of the keyhole and slide it to the back of the lock.
3. Lift the pick upwards and test each pin individually. Do this until you find the one that’s binding the cylinder.
4. Press the binding pin upwards until the cylinder shifts slightly. This is something that you’ll have to do mainly by feel through the torsion wrench as the shift will be tiny.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until all pins are in place and the cylinder turns further.
6. Turn the lock cylinder with gentle pressure on the tension wrench and open the door!

Watch the following instructional videos to get a better overview of how this process works.

Here’s a video showing how to pick a lock with a hairpin. So yes, it’s possible. But if you’re going to become a master at picking locks, hairpins are not ideal.

5 – How To Pick A Combination Lock

Actually, you’re not technically “picking” this lock, it would be more accurate to say your “cracking the code”.

In this technique, you’re going to manipulate the lock to figure out what the combination code is.

The combination lock is made up of two basic components: the dial and the shackle.

The dial is the bulk of the lock and is the part of it that spins, the shackle is the bent metal that is locked inside the main compartment unless you rotate the dial in the proper number sequence.

Watch the following video to learn how to pick a combination lock:

6 – How To Pick A Tubular Lock

Now we come to a special lock you find used on small filing cabinets, and motor home storage boxes.

Tubular locks have a set of pins and tumbler but they’re set up in a circular pattern. So, you need a special tool to map these pins in order to pick it.

Without the right set of tools, tubular locks are nearly impossible to pick. However, if you have the proper tools, you’ll be able to map the pins and pick a tubular lock with ease.

Mastering this technique is best learned by watching an instructional video:

Other Bypass Methods

There are many ways to get around a lock. Sure, most people go straight to picking a lock, but there are other ways to overcome a lock.

Sometimes, you should “think-outside-the-box” to get around a locked door…

So before you spend lots of time and energy lock picking, make sure it’s even necessary. It may not be the best option available.

7 – Remove the Hinges

First, check the doorway for exposed hinges.

Most doors are installed with the hinges on the side of the door with the lock mechanism. But sometimes contractors don’t pay attention… Or the door has to swing outwards for safety reasons.

If the hinges are on your side of the door, it’s worth trying to remove the hinge pins.

Start by checking to see if the hinge pins are screwed in or simple straight pins.

If the pins are screwed in, you may need an Allen key or specialized screwdriver bit to remove them.

If they’re simple straight pins, you may be able to insert a flat screwdriver under the head of the pin. Try prying upwards slowly.

Stuck pins are often helped by spray lube. So try tapping gently upwards on the bottom of the pin with a pointed tool such as a Phillips screwdriver.

Once the pins start to move, be sure to remove the bottom ones first. This will help prevent the door from binding the lower hinges before you can remove the hinge pins.

After all the pins are removed, you should be able to swing the door open from the hinge side and remove it from the frame.

8 – Destroy the Lock

In the movies, it looks pretty easy to shoot the lockout of a door and open it.

While that may be possible, shooting at a metal doorknob is just asking for a wild and dangerous ricochet.

Instead, take a large hammer and smash down on the handle until it breaks free.

Once the handle is gone, you may be able to reach inside the lock mechanism. If so, just pull the latch back enough to open the door.

9 – Bend The Door Frame

If all else fails, you can always grab your vehicle jack and try bending the frame out of the way!

This is a method that law enforcement uses to open stubborn doorways.

To bend the door frame, a hi-lift jack or hydraulic bottle jack is usually best.

These are high-capacity jacks that allow you to put a lot of force on the door frame at very specific points.

First, place the jack sideways from the hinge side to the latch. You may need to add blocks if the jack is small to “raise” the jack. The point is you need the jack to press outwards on the door frame.

If the frame is wood or formed sheet metal (instead of solid steel or concrete), you’ll begin to see it bowing outwards under pressure.

Once you have enough of a gap, you should be able to pop the latch free and open the door.

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Lock picking and or bypassing a lock without a key is a great survival skill to have in your back pocket.

They don’t require much in the way of tools but do require dedicated practice.

Make a game of it, pick your own door locks and your friends (if they’ll let you).

So put the time in and learn how to pick locks and open doors. You may just find yourself able to get out of a sticky situation – OR into a locked cupboard full of snacks!

So here’s your 3 step plan to becoming proficient at picking locks:

1. Invest in a quality locking picking toolset
2. Watch all the videos in this article (at least once)
3. Practice, practice, practice.

That’s it. Just make sure you only use this newfound power for good. Don’t be evil!

– Jason K.

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The post 9 Clever Ways On How To Pick A Lock For Survival And Emergencies appeared first on Skilled Survival.