Author: Pat Henry

In previous posts, I have discussed home security concepts and how you could take steps to make your home more secure. Ideally, these steps would be ones we could all take to strengthen our home’s defenses but the sad truth is that most of us our modern home fabrication caters to aesthetics and not strength. We like light and windows too much and our homes while relatively strong are mostly built on frames that can easily be bashed in without too much effort and a sledge-hammer. Yes, I know they have plywood on the outside, but if I can drive…

On August 29th, 2014 President Obama presented a proclamation declaring September National Preparedness Month in the United States along with words designed to underlie the importance of bringing awareness to this event. I applaud the proclamation and I want to take a few snippets of the President’s words and augment them for the readers of the Prepper Journal. I am doing this, because the proclamation was all about the month and the inference is that you should go to Ready.gov for more information. While mentioning emergencies and “simple but important steps” in his proclamation he doesn’t offer specifics. To be…

When I purchased my AR15, I never really considered painting it and I loved the nice black finish. Over the years though I have come to realize that this beautiful black rifle really sticks out in the woods or anywhere else for that matter. All black has a habit of doing that unless it is dark. I finally came to the conclusion that it only made sense for me to paint my AR15 after considering a number of factors. For starters, I wear camouflage when I am hunting to blend in with the surrounding trees, brush, and vegetation, so why…

Bartering is the simple act of exchanging goods or services for other goods or services and it is how people have conducted trade since the beginning of time. Before there was money or even during times of a formal and regulated monetary unit, people have bartered with each other. When you have a bunch of chickens that produce more eggs than you can eat, you can trade your extra eggs for cloth to make new clothes, new shoes for your horses or in exchange for someone doing odd jobs around your home. Your chicken’s eggs or your cow’s milk, maybe…

For years, I have listened to people in prepping circles talk about “The Golden Horde”. What is that you ask? Well, the golden horde is a concept that as far as I can tell was introduced by James Wesley Rawles. I like Mr. Rawles – have several of his books in my prepper library and I have been going to his website for years. Mr. Rawles is the writer of several prepper fiction novels (Patriots, Survivors), and probably the first survival book I ever read How to Survive the End of the World As We Know it . He is…

I have heard it stated somewhere “intent plus capability equals threat”. I believe it is an old formula used by people smarter than me when they are planning how to distribute defensive resources. I actually heard that phrase again recently while listening to the radio and it caused me to consider this formula as a basis for planning your response to different potential threats. As a prepper, I believe it is vital to have a plan for security.  The world can be an ugly place in times of crisis and depending on the situation, once reasonable, kind and rational people…

If you have been interested in Prepping for more than two minutes, you have heard that you need to have a plan for food storage in case of disaster. Food is one of the most important items preppers can obtain that will keep them alive but so many people do not have more than a few days of food in their pantries at home. For this reason, a food storage calculator spreadsheet could help you prepare. We shop for food often and buying extra food isn’t viewed as odd or deviant (yet?) like some prepper purchases but for one reason…

Raised garden beds are one option for providing a source of fresh food to your family that are preferred by some people for a lot of very valid reasons. Some of the reasons raised beds are preferred are: Less weeds Better water retention in areas that have super-sandy soil Better drainage in areas with clay soils More growing space No soil compaction from human feet Warmer soil earlier in the season Warmer soil for a longer season Soil that has basically a neutral pH unless you add something to change it (because you’re filling it) Less soil erosion (especially, if…

If you watch Doomsday Preppers like me you probably saw this Thursdays episode that showcased two Preppers. The difference for me this week was that I have actually heard of two of the preppers on the show. Rick Austin is the author of the Secret Garden of Survival: How to Grow a Camouflaged Food Forest which is an excellent introduction and thought starter on the concepts of Permaculture guilds and how they can be incorporated into the Prepper garden plan. He frequently speaks at conferences and self-reliance expos. I reviewed his book on the Prepper Journal back in July of…

As we watch the events unfold in Ferguson, Missouri I am struck by how forces seem to be compelling this confrontation of police and protestors towards a violent catastrophe that has far reaching ramifications for our society. Instead of a de-escalation of hostility there is more aggression and provocation on both sides. Instead of openness and transparency with productive dialog, there are efforts to stifle free speech. Rather than protestors communicating without violence the righteous desire for their voices to be heard and grievances aired, innocent store owners are robbed and their businesses destroyed by rioters and looters. All of…

The central tenet of prepper websites is the unflinching belief that you need to be prepared for unexpected events. That statement on its face seems to be able to stand on its own, without receiving too much argument from anyone. Really who would say that it is ever better to be unprepared for disasters or catastrophic events? Common sense backs us believers up so the “be prepared” part of prepping is easy to digest and safe for almost everyone to get on board with. It is when we start discussing the “what” you should “be prepared” for that causes the…

There are a lot of articles geared toward preppers that have been written suggesting that in order to survive TEOTWAWKI (The End of The World as We Know It) you should have skills that would be in short supply and more importantly valuable if society is trying to rebuild itself that you could conceivably make a living with. I have heard examples of glass-making, blacksmith, electronics repair, sewing and leather-work to name a few. These are great skills to have, but I wonder how applicable they would be in a grid down society to preppers. I guess more to the…

In almost every post on the Prepper Journal, we talk of preparing for disasters or emergencies and the simple steps you can take ahead of time to become prepared. Being prepared for specific or even general instances is a worthy goal, but once you get beyond the basics of survival what else is needed? The basics of survival are food, water, shelter and security and we lay out a lot of ideas and recommendations for how to cover those four bases in our how to start prepping article. But does that advice make sense for you in your situation when…

If you have been wondering about the safety of your family but didn’t know where to start, this article will help you with how to start prepping. I believe that each of us has an inner voice. Call it what you will; instinct, hunch, feeling, foresight, or intuition – they are all the same. It is a compelling force within us that we feel on an almost imperceptible level when you are quiet and your mind starts to ponder things you normally don’t give a second thought. This inner voice or instinct might be ignored or blamed away on bad…

This week Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose announced legislation that would block civilians from purchasing “military-grade” body armor. Blocking this access will keep people safer he says and will prevent criminals from using this armor in battles with law enforcement. Honda said. “It would ensure that only law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders would be able to access enhanced body armor.” “We’re not talking about just a standard bullet-proof vest,” he said. “We’re talking about body armor that is designed for warfare, designed to protect against law enforcement ammunitions.” Honda said shootings by armored assailants are becoming a trend…

This article was taken from Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency (USDA). It offers some guidelines for keeping yourself safe when it comes to food in an emergency. Food can become contaminated and disasters can introduce bacteria and organisms that will make you sick. Its wise to make sure any practices you follow with respect to preparing and storing food don’t jeopardize your health. The article also covers when food goes bad after it has been kept out of refrigeration. Some of you may disagree with the specific recommendations on certain items but overall its good information. Did you know…

In a disaster our first instinct is to move as quickly as possible to safety or to the closest approximation we have to our ideal of safe. For me, if anything happens my goal is to get back to my home as quickly as possible. I have supplies at home specifically designed to help me and my family handle the aftermath of almost any emergency and logically this is our first/main rally point in any crisis. No matter where I am if something happens I will be working immediately to make it back to reunite with the rest of my…

For years I have been fascinated with hanging. Yes, I realize how morbid that sounds, and no I never tortured animals or smaller children in my youth or any other time for that matter. I am talking about the hanging you see in old western movies where bad guys are dealt with at the end of a trial. The act of hanging is both brutal and efficient. The quickness of someone simply taking a short fall into oblivion almost makes the act itself a little less horrific – that is if you can discount the cause of their actual demise…

You have to have been riding on a train across Central America for the last few days to be unaware of the latest Ebola threat in the news. Between people with illnesses crossing the border by the thousands daily and our flying infected people back here, you have to wonder what the odds are of a serious outbreak visiting us right here at home. As preppers, we have to be on guard for a myriad of threats. You may be prepping for one thing, but find out another disaster you didn’t even anticipate has occurred. This is the main reason…

When it comes to self-sufficiency, replacing the grocery store seems to be the biggest hurdle for most preppers. Gardens are most commonly thought of because we as humans collectively seem to think, ‘how hard can it be’ to dig a hole and put a seed in it? Regardless of how prevalent gardening and farming are and have been in our culture, most people do not have a garden or expect maintaining one will be quick and easy. The rude awakening comes the first year when the summer months cause weeds to grow like evil vines choking out everything that in…

Prepping is all about giving yourself a chance to survive. By preparing for disasters, you are proactively taking steps that give you higher odds of making it through or out of whatever circumstances you are faced with. If you have stored up emergency food, you will be less likely to go hungry if there are food shortages. If you have backup power, then you will not feel the same effects as your neighbors if the electricity goes out. These are actions you have to take in consideration of your family well in advance of bad times. FEMA or your local…

If you have ever bounced around backpacker sites, watched YouTube videos or researched hiking the Pacific Coast trail, you may have heard the phrase “cotton kills”. This stems from the fact that when wet, cotton is very poor insulator. This is usually only an issue when you are trying to stay warm though. To be effective at keeping you warm, clothing should keep a layer of air between your skin and the cloth to keep heat in. When it is wet, rather than keep the moisture off your skin, it clings to the skin as water molecules fill the fibers…

The Gray Man concept simply means blending in and not sticking out. You want to dress, move, and act in a way that is completely forgettable.

In Prepping circles there are a wide variety of voices, opinions and experience. This diversity of thought is one of the strengths of our little informal band of individuals with shared interests. This really comes to light when there is a healthy dialog on any given subject that is being discussed. It seems that almost anything I write or read about in prepper blogs has about 5% of the readers adamantly against the viewpoints of the article or the writer, another 5-10% in absolute agreement and the rest usually fall somewhere in the middle with a mixture of general agreement…

I wanted to address a few common misconceptions that I think some people have with how they plan to address a SHTF event in their lives. There are some that are more dangerous than others granted, but all of these prepping myths give us an opportunity to dissect various topics in the prepping community to better understand the risks and rewards of various approaches. In this article, I want to discuss the myth that some preppers have that if the SHTF they are simply going to don their brand new Bug Out Bags and quietly walk into the national forest.…

The crisis on the border has stretched on for weeks now and shows no sign of stopping. Our representatives intend to use this issue as a political football in the upcoming elections and as usual, in their strategy of posturing and deflecting blame which only seems to be focused on protecting their power, it is the American people who will suffer the consequences of their inaction. On the left side we see welcome arms from politicians posturing on the border with, lollipops and clean underwear for the thousands of illegal immigrants with  free travel further into the US and calls of…

I was talking to some friends the other week and the subject of bamboo came up. My one friend was discussing how much work he had planned to do the following weekend in order to keep his bamboo in check and shared stories of the infestation in his yard. The other friend who had seen the bamboo for himself described it as something out of the movies and visions of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fight scenes flashed though my imagination as I tried to picture my friend’s back yard. We talked about how quickly the bamboo would grow and the…

I was contacted by Amy Alton – better known as Nurse Amy of the prepper duo of Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy who just so happen to run the Doom and Bloom website about a review of their book, The Survival Medicine Handbook. I have had my own copy for some time and it has been sitting on my survival bookshelf for close to a year now with the intent of reviewing it on the Prepper Journal for all of you. Amy offered to send me a free copy, but seeing as how I already had one I asked if…

Chickens are birds after all and some can fly a pretty good way. If you are trying to keep your chickens in a fence but they keep escaping, we will show you how to clip chicken wings so they will stay put. Raising chickens is a relatively low-cost and trouble-free way to provide fresh eggs or meat for your family. Right now when everything is fine they not only provide more nutritious and flavorful eggs for my home, but they are cheaper than store-bought eggs as well. Should some disaster strike, we would be able to rely on our chickens…

I mentioned a few days ago how I felt compelled to speed up my prepping efforts. This was just another gut feeling that our time is running out which could obviously be chalked up to lots of different things. Maybe I had been watching too many movies, or reading the wrong news stories, or listening to the wrong talk show hosts. There are many of you who think I am foolish for prepping, but if you are, I can’t understand why you would be here reading this blog. Most of you are prepping for some reason too. You could be…