Preparedness Notes — October 13, 2026

This Week in History:

The Battle of Kappel was fought on October 11, 1531. Swiss Roman Catholic cantons defeated the Protestant forces of Zurich. In the battle, reformation leader Huldrych Zwingli leader was killed.

October 12, 1773: America’s first asylum opened for ‘Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds’ in Virginia.

October 12, 1901: Theodore Roosevelt renamed the “Executive Mansion” as “The White House”.

And on October 13, 1773, the Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier.

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I recently added more than 250 rifle and pistol magazines to the Elk Creek Company inventory. Many of these were dusted off from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR). Be sure to place your order while there is still a good selection.- JWR

The Newly-Released ATF NFA Guidance: Drill Baby, Drill!

I’ve had several more readers contact me in the past week, asking about the Guidance from the BATF regarding SBRs, SBSes, Suppressors, and AOWs, in light of the August, 2026 Silencer Shop (and related Jensen) decision.

For non-licensee private individuals, here is the the most portion of the new Guidance is (with emphasis added):

“Although the district court’s injunction applies only to plaintiffs and certain other specified persons, the Department has determined to exercise its enforcement discretion to create greater uniformity, consistent with the Attorney General’s statement today. Consequently, effective October 9, 2026, ATF will no longer require individuals to seek ATF approval under the NFA before making or transferring short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, and “any other weapon[s]” as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(e). ATF will also no longer require such items to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. These policies apply uniformly to anyone otherwise subject to these requirements, not just to the plaintiffs in the litigation.”

See the FAQ for details.

They have also dropped their engraving requirements.

Take note that “enforcement discretion ” means that the agency could reverse itself, at a later date.  But for now we have the green light to employ tubing cutters, drill presses, et cetera, as individuals, within our own states, IF state and local laws allow it. But beware: Be sure to consult your state and local laws before doing anything.  If there are no restrictions then you can, as Donald Trump likes to say: “Drill baby, drill!”

For example, unlicensed individuals living in non-restrictive state can now:

  • Shorten rifle and shotgun barrels and stocks to any desired length, or replace barrels with factory-made barrels of shorter length (i.e. put pistol barrels on rifles.
  • Replace pistol arm braces with buttstocks.
  • Add stocks and vertical foregrips to handguns.
  • Install stocks on shotshell-chambered “firearms” such as the Mossberg Shockwave or Remington Tac-14.
  • Make your own suppressor parts and/or complete suppressors.

Note that you cannot employ out-of-state help with tasks like machining, barrel-shortening, or stock installation, you’d be in violation of the NFA.  Also, you may not move SBRs and SBSes across state lines without completing an ATF Form 20.

Also note that the guidance does not spell out the ATF’s planned procedures for removing some NFA items from the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR — aka The NFA Central Registry). And clarifications is still needed on interstate travel and secondary transfers of formerly NFA items belonging to anyone who is in the Jensen Protected Class. Stay tuned.

And be sure to join the GOA so that you will be fully Jensen-protected, even if the notoriously fickle ATF decides to reverse their now quite generous enforcement discretion. – JWR.

Granberg 16 Inch Clip-N-Trim, by Thomas Christianson

Some SurvivalBlog readers may be familiar with “Grandmother’s Song” by Steve Martin. I heard that song for the very first time back in 1979. It was part of Martin’s album “Let’s Get Small”, played from a vinyl LP on a stereo belonging to one of my college roommates.

One of the lines of the song is, “Live in a swamp and be three dimensional.” I never dreamed that one day I would be living that line. But now, almost 50 years later, I find myself living in a home surrounded by wetland.

One facet of wetland life is the need to keep encroaching vegetation at bay. Along the driveway in particular, nutrient rich soil and plentiful water fuel almost explosive plant growth. It is a constant battle to keep the marshland from reclaiming it former domain.

I am happy to report that I have a new weapon in my ongoing campaign to keep the Christianson-Croft-Moor-Monster at bay. It is the Granberg 16 Inch Clip-N-Trim.Continue reading“Granberg 16 Inch Clip-N-Trim, by Thomas Christianson”

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: Sunrise lights up the Cirque of the Towers, Wind River Range, Wyoming. (A public domain photo by “gmiphone”, at Openverse.) The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

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If any SurvivalBlog readers have personally taken or otherwise hold the copyright to a particularly nice landscape photo or other photo of particular interest to preppers that is in a wide horizontal format (to match our blog template) then please send it in as an e-mail attachment, and I will consider posting it as a Graphic of the Week, or as a Top Note photo. I can of course credit you by name — or pen name —  if you’d like. Many Thanks! –  JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation, under your copyright or uncopyrighted in the public domain. Thanks! – JWR

Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Today’s graphic shows the relative size of teh U.S. and European economies.  The US GDP used to be smaller than Western Europe’s combined, but today it is larger than Europe’s entire economy. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

 

 

 

(Graphic courtesy of Reddit and GeoUniverse.)

Economics & Investing Links of Interest

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today’s column outlines some new cyber threats.

Android Malware Stealing PINs and Logins

Reader C.B. sent this alert, from FoxNews: RatHat uses AI to take deep control of Android phones and steal passwords, PINs and security codes.

Iranian Seedworm APT on Networks of U.S. Companies

Security.com reports: Seedworm: Iranian APT on Networks of U.S. Bank, Airport, Software Company.

U.S. Military Looking for FPV Drone Pilots

At ZeroHedge: “Are You An FPV Pilot?”: Pentagon Calls On Drone Operators For Next “Gauntlet” Showdown.

Car Mobile Apps are Leeching and Sharing Data

D.S.V. mentioned this, over at TechCrunch: Your car and its mobile app are probably handing over all kinds of data to tech companies.

2026 Malware and Vulnerability Trends

From Recorded Future: H1 2026 Malware and Vulnerability Trends.

Your Driverless Cab Is Spying on You

Reader D.S.V. suggested this article at Wired: Your Driverless Cab Is Spying on You.

Platforms Operated by China State-Sponsored Hackers Seized

This was reported in late August: Justice Department and FBI Seize Platforms Operated and Used by China State-Sponsored Hackers to Target U.S. Critical Infrastructure.

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You can send your news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

 

 

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Ukraine’s surprise robot offensive exposes a vulnerability in Putin’s war machine.

o  o  o

American Lasers Now Destroying Iranian Weapons and Infrastructure.

o  o  o

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. This week a map showing the population percentage increase between 2020 and 2025 in a few Northwestern metropolitan areas, and a few micropolitan areas. The image below, courtesy of Reddit, is click-expandable.

Redoubt Population Increase Map

 

Send Your Media Links

Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos that are posted or re-posted must be uncopyrighted. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

Lily helped me load up our two horizontal beehives on our electric UATV, so that I could haul them to our shop for winter storage.

I set up three hoop greenhouses for our winter garden.

I helped a consulting client move a large quantity of long-term storage food.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

If You Cannot See The Irony Of This, Then You Are More Dense Than Osmium:

Men, Armed With Guns, Sent To Disarm People Armed With Guns

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

Editors’ Quote:

“During COVID I watched the Democratic Party turn against every one of its essential values, its principles, and all of the policies that define my party. Democrats turned away from gold standard research and blindly defended industry-sponsored, agenda-driven science written by corrupt and captive regulatory agencies.

And the Democrats, which were once the champions of the American Constitution, systematically obliterated the Bill of Rights. And particularly beginning with the First Amendment, under the guise of combating misinformation, Democrats censored hundreds of scientists and physicians who questioned the government’s dubious COVID pronouncements and orthodoxies [Thirty-seven] hours after President Biden took the oath of office, he ordered Facebook and Instagram to remove my accounts…”

“Democrats obliterated the second leg of the First Amendment, the guaranteed right of assembly, by social distancing regulations that were completely un-science-based. Democrats violated the third leg of the First Amendment, the freedom to worship. They closed every church in our country for a year … Democrats torpedoed the 7th Amendment right to jury trial by giving liability shields to the giant pharmaceutical companies. No matter how negligent they were, no matter how reckless, no matter how toxic the ingredients, no matter how grievous your injury, you could not sue them. Democrats violated the 5th Amendment by shutting down 3 million businesses with no due process and no just compensation. Democrats shut down the 4th Amendment, protection from unlawful searches and seizures, by forcing Americans to disclose their medical information before they could exercise their constitutional rights. In a single year, my party obliterated 250 years of constitutional guarantees. The only Bill of Rights that they left unscathed was the Second Amendment, and probably only because there is a Second Amendment.

And then the party of my body, my choice forced citizens to wear masks and to submit to invasive and intrusive medical interventions against their own wills. The party of MeToo — remember that we were all supposed to listen to women and to believe women— they cruelly silenced the voices of tens of thousands of mothers who believed that their children had suffered vaccine injuries. The Democrats declared war on women’s sports, effectively destroying Title IX.” – HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., October 10, 2026

Preparedness Notes — October 6, 2026

This Week in History:

On October 4, 1535, The Coverdale Bible — the first complete Bible to be published in English — was printed in Antwerp, Belgium, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale. Pictured above is a Coverdale Bible on display at the Museum of the Bible, in Washington, D.C.

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October 5, 1274: Around 1,000 soldiers of the Mongol army landed on the Japanese island of Tsushima in the first attack of Kublai Khan‘s Mongol invasion of Japan /

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October 5, 1908: Bulgaria declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, and Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria; born 26 February 1861 – died 10 September 1948) became Tsar.

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October 6 1900: Britain annexed the Orange Free State, naming it the Orange River Colony.

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And on October 7, 1737,  a cyclone created 40-foot waves that are believed to have killed 300,000 in Calcutta, India.

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Take Note: To lighten the load for their upcoming move to Montana, the new owners of Ready Made Resources are offering some deeply-discounted food and gear packages.  Take a look, and place your order soon. Quantities are limited.

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The one-week sale on all of our shotguns at Elk Creek Company ends tonight (Tuesday, October 6, 2026). Many of these guns have modern fluid steel barrel sleeves and therefore can shoot modern smokeless shotshells.  The special sale pricing will end at midnight Eastern Time, so get your order in ASAP!  Also, be advised that I recently added more than 250 rifle and pistol magazines to the Elk Creek Company inventory. Many of these came from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR). – JWR

My Predictions for the End of the Year 2026, by Dr. Rick

I have always had an active interest in survival. I have always tried to look at the big picture without bias. Previously, I prepared for vague, generalized threats. Within the last year, however, the world situation has dramatically changed – threats have become more specific, easily identifiable, significant, and realistic. In other words, the present world situation makes prepping more meaningful, practical, and necessary than ever before. We need to cast off our “Normality Bias” complacency of “everything is going to be okay, just like it’s always been” and take measured actions to prepare for what is probably coming. I’m trying to be realistic and not “cry wolf.”

Based on what I have read and learned from current events, the world situation is becoming increasingly unstable and uncertain. I see the threats coming from: a) military conflicts, b) economic (the bond market, derivatives, inflation & oil), c) countries carrying unsustainable national debt, d) immigration, e) AI, f) politically (1. domestically: midterms, with possible civil disruption by the losers, and 2. globally: Mid East, Russia, Ukraine, and China), g) religious and culturally inspired civil unrest, h) cyberattacks on utilities from within and without, i) sleeper cells. The most significant threat, in my opinion, is economic because of its far-reaching consequences.Continue reading“My Predictions for the End of the Year 2026, by Dr. Rick”

Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Crockpot Venison Stew is from SurvivalBlog reader Tony D.

Ingredients
  • 3 lb venison stew meat cut into 1-inch or smaller cubes. (You can substitute elk meat or beef chuck roast.)
  • Salt (quantity to suit your taste)
  • black pepper, ground (quantity to suit your taste)
  • garlic powder (quantity to suit your taste)
  •  onion powder (quantity to suit your taste)
  • garlic powder (quantity to suit your taste)
  • paprika (quantity to suit your taste)
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 cup red wine (I use and inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
  • 2 cups carrots, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 lb potatoes, chopped into large pieces. (I use Yukon Gold spuds)
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic (or less, to suit your taste)
  • 6 oz tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 1/2 cups hulled peas (fresh or frozen)
Directions

Start by prepping all of the vegetables. Chop an onion. Chop about 1 1/2 cups of celery. Chop about 2 heaping cups of carrots (be sure to keep these in larger bite size pieces). Scrub 2 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes and chop them into larger bite size pieces. Set all the vegetables aside.

If you are not using stew meat that is already in cubes, cut a venison or beef roast into large cubes and season with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add 1/2 cup of flour to a large container and toss the meat in the flour.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add two tbsp of butter. Once the butter has melted add half of the meat and cook just until browned on all sides. Remove the meat from the skillet and add two more tbsp of butter. Brown the rest of the meat. Remove the meat from the skillet and add 1 cup red wine. Scrape all the browned bits from the skillet and turn the heat off.

Spray a large crockpot with cooking spray and add the meat to the crockpot. Pour the red wine over the meat. Add the chopped celery, carrots, and onion. Add the potatoes and season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika.

Next, add one tbsp of minced garlic, 6 ounces of tomato paste, 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, and 3 cups of beef broth. Stir as best as you can while still keeping the meat submerged in the liquid. Top with a couple of bay leaves.

Cook on your crockpot’s low setting for 8-to-10 hours. Once the meat is tender, add 1 1/2 cups of frozen peas and let them cook in the crockpot for at least 15 minutes.

SERVING

Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Serve in bowls with some fresh-baked bread. Enjoy!

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic shows the metropolitan areas in the United States projected to reach 1 million people within the next decade, if current growth rates continue. Also shown are those that recently crossed the 1 million mark. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail image below is click-expandable.

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If any SurvivalBlog readers have personally taken or otherwise hold the copyright to a particularly nice landscape photo or other photo of particular interest to preppers that is in a wide horizontal format (to match our blog template) then please send it in as an e-mail attachment, and I will consider posting it as a Graphic of the Week, or as a Top Note photo. I can of course credit you by name — or pen name —  if you’d like. Many Thanks! –  JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation, under your copyright or uncopyrighted in the public domain. Thanks! – JWR