2012? Why Does It Always Have to Be 2012?

Massive solar storm to hit Earth in 2012 with 'force of 100 million hydrogen bombs'

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20100826/981/tsc-massive-solar-storm-to-hit-earth-in_1.html

Wow, Even Paul Krugman Admits There's No Recovery? Uh-oh....

When even the bearded Noble-winning economist is turning against the idea of a "Recovery" we must be in dire straights:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/opinion/27krugman.html?_r=1

How to Build Emergency Wilderness Shelters

A while back I did a show on how to build primitive wikiups.  In tomorrow's show, I'm going to be discussing building "leaf huts", which are an even simpler form of short-term emergency dwelling. 
Along those lines, I found this site which covers some of the same concerns and might have useful information for listeners interested in this topic: http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/shelter/men71/index.html

Not quite the Marriot, but it'll keep you alive.

(Note: I didn't come across this particular web site until after I had recorded my episode, so some of the terms might be different but the basic idea is still the same.-Chip)

Economic Doldrums

Hey Folks,
I'm a little late to getting stuff posted today, but it seems like most of the stories out there relating to Survival/Preparedness are focused on the implosion of the economy.  Seems like investors are starting to wake up to the fact that nobody is hiring and large numbers of people are out of work.  This doesn't bode well for our consumer-driven economy:

Recovery Loosing Steam Fast
Economy in Depression, Not Recession

Hold on, as it could get bumpy on this ride. 

If you think this looks like the stock market of late, you're not alone...

Episode #40 1000 Subscribers!!!!

Hey My Favorite Loyal Listeners!
In recognition of my 1,000th subscribers I have recorded a Special Edition Podcast.  You can find it here: http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/21/episode-40-1000-subscribers-and-an-episode-on-small-game-traps/
But don't worry.... While I take a few minutes to talk about the future of this podcast and some of my hopes and dreams for it, I also spend time talking about practical matters like using steel traps for getting food and furs in a survival situation.  Check it out! :)

40 Episodes down and many more to go!

Recovery Summer?

How many times can the unemployment statistics be "unexpected"?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38768328

If these are the jobless numbers in the heart of summer when many additional temporary employment opportunities (summer camps, tourist destinations, etc.) are at maximum staffing, what are the numbers going to look like going into the fall and Christmas?

The "Poor Man's Survival Rifles"

Hello CMFSP Listeners,
I am beginning the process of uploading material to this blog that I hope will help you in your Survival/Preparedness planning.  This is the first article, submitted by a listener in Oregon, which also happens to be my home state.  I welcome other submissions and will credit each author however they want to be credited. :)

THE "POOR MAN'S" SURVIVAL GUNS

Darrell in Oregon

      At this time there is a tremendous amount of interest in survival firearms. I 
believe that for purely defensive purposes semi-auto rifles cannot be beat. I have a few 
SKS's and a Mini-14 for those purposes. I also have several bolt action rifles that could 
serve as dual purpose guns (defense and working). However,  many people who want to 
prepare for an uncertain future lack the finances to purchase M1-A's and AR-15's. Thus, 
the purpose of this article is to inform these people of what I consider to be a viable 
alternative.  

      The Harrington and Richardson (H&R)  firearms manufacturing company has been making 
weapons for more than one hundred years. Down through the years they have made untold 
numbers of handguns and rifles. Today, however, they make mostly single shot rifles and 
shotguns. They also sell pump and semi-auto shotguns. I want to write about their line of 
American made single shot firearms. The vast majority of the time a single shot should 
suffice for survival shooting. Michaels of Oregon makes a 9 shot sleeve that you can put 
on the stock to carry extra ammo. A plus feature is that these rifles don't carry the 
stigma of  "evil assault guns".
     One of the best features of  H&R products are the prices. You can purchase one of 
these rifles for less than $300. Although they are available in a number of calibers, I 
recommend what I call the "Big Six."  Having owned numerous guns for the past 
55 years, I have learned that the most popular rifle calibers are: 223 Remington, 243 
Winchester, 270 Winchester, 30-30 Winchester, 308 Winchester and 30-06 Springfield. 
Someday you may find yourself in need of ammo in some podunk village miles from the 
nearest city. If you locate a little store that sells any ammo at all, you'll probably 
find one or more of these calibers (if these shortages ever end). That cannot be said 
about exotic calibers such as 257 Weatherby, 300 Remington Ultra Mag or 308 Norma Magnum, 
etc. You get the idea. Stick with common calibers. H&R  shotguns usually sell for less 
than 150 dollars. They also have a line of low cost rimfire rifles (.22, .22 magnum and 
.17 HMR). 

     I recently purchased an H&R in .223 Remington. It uses the same cartridges as my 
Mini-14. I also wanted a rifle that shoots .308 Winchester, so I bought one of those. 
Another caliber that found its way into my battery was a 45-70. This caliber violates 
what I just wrote about having common calibers. But I always wanted a gun in that caliber 
to play with and it was very low priced so I yielded to temptation. I now have 3 H&R 
single shot rifles.
     But, get this! You can send the receivers back to H&R and have OTHER CALIBER BARRELS 
fitted to them! Then you can change calibers in a minute! For example, I plan to send in 
the receiver from my 45-70 and have 270 Winchester and 30-06 Springfield  barrels fitted 
to it. One Gun - three calibers! I also want to send in the receiver for my .223 and have 
a .243 barrel fitted. Inasmuch as I already have a Marlin 30-30, that will enable me to 
shoot ALL of the "Big Six" calibers. You can also have shotgun barrels fitted 
to these rifles.
     Furthermore, you could  buy one shotgun and have it fitted with several different 
barrels such as rifled barrels for slugs, long or short barrels, and different gauges, 
etc.
     And you could purchase one rimfire rifle and have it fitted for the 3 available 
calibers.
     So, how much does it cost for an extra barrel? According to the H&R website, extra 
barrels cost from $90.00 to $120 for rifle calibers. Shotgun barrels run from $44.00 and 
up. Rimfire barrels range from $61 to $70. There is a small fee for fitting the barrels 
and of course there are shipping costs. I figure that the cost of the two extra barrels 
plus fitting them to my receiver and shipping will go like this:

                                           Cost of Firearm (45-70)               $243.
                                           .270 and 30-06 barrels                $180
                                           labor to fit 2 barrels                     $30
                                           shipping and handling                 $20
                                                  Total                                  $473

Dividing $473 by 3 (the number of calibers), you find that it will end up costing me 
$157.67 per caliber! Can you get brand new guns for that kind of price anywhere else? 
These costs are from the H&R website and their Barrel Accessory Program brochure 
(effective February 1, 2007, so labor and shipping might be a bit higher today).

     Of course, these rifles are based on technology that has been around for decades. 
But, what's wrong with that? If they function well (and all three of mine do), sometimes 
the old ways are very acceptable.  A really good feature of these firearms is that they 
come with exposed hammers which must be manually cocked before firing. They have a 
transfer bar mechanism similar to Ruger revolvers. This insures that the hammer cannot 
contact the firing pin. It is neccessary to hold the trigger all the way back for the gun 
to fire. Without a finger on the trigger the gun will not go "bang"! I consider 
this to be very safe. Also, they all use the same type of scope mount base so you only 
need to purchase one scope and one set of rings which can be easily switched from gun to 
gun. I do it all the time.
     Just for the record - this author has NO connection to ANY gun company! 

 (Chip's note: The web site for the company that makes these rifles can be found here:  www.hr1871.com )

Motivational Speaker Encouraging Prepping?

You know it must be getting wacky out there when Tony Robbins (yeah, that Tony Robbins) is telling people to prep:



 

Hey Folks,
Still working hard to try to get this blog off the ground as a support site for the podcast.  I'm ramping up some articles that will add significant content to this site. 
Also, I've noticed it's been slow to download some of the episodes of the podcast (chipmonk.podbean.com) so here's an embeddable player that might (?) make it a little easier:

       

   
   
Powered by Podbean.com
   

   
    Thanks again for listening!

Updates Coming....

Hey Listeners!
I'll be out of town for a couple of days doing some training for one of my many employment efforts, but will endeavor to record and post a couple of shows during that time.  And as I get some time, I'll also start the process of getting some interesting information and links up here on the blog too. 
Thanks for your encouragement and patience as the process unfolds...
Chip Monk :)

Thanks to My Listeners

Wow.  I don't know what else to say.  A week ago I didn't have a podcast, blog or anything.  Now I have a podcast with 20 episodes up and running, I am answering multiple email "fan letters" (for lack of a better term) daily, and have hundreds of subscribers to my show.
I'm truly amazed.
I couldn't be more excited about this and will continue to do all I can to bring interesting topics and informative presentations for you listeners, because you're the reason I started doing this and you'll be the reason I keep it moving forward.
Again I say thank you.  I look very forward to facing our unknown future together.
Chip Monk :)

Thanks to all of you for making this effort worthwhile.

Chip Monk Family Survival Podcast available on iTunes

This is pretty nifty.  I don't know all that much about iTunes, not being much of an iPod-type person, instead choosing the inexpensive no-name mp3 players.  Still, it is cool to see the Chip Monk Family Survival Podcast listed in iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-chip-monk-family-survival/id385790177
I link to it here on the chance that it's an easier way for some of you to download the episodes.

"I-Tune, You-tune, we all tune for iTunes!"

DID HE REALLY JUST POST FOUR NEW EPISODES IN ONE DAY?

Yes, it's true.  I'm something of an awesome hero.  And really, I'm probably also the most humble person I know.  (You know I'm kidding, right?)  Anyway, tonight I uploaded several new episodes to the Chip Monk Family Survival Podcast site.  Yeah, that's a lot for one day.  But what can I say?  When you're an awesome hero, you...  just... are....  yeah.

Here are the new episodes, BTW...  ;)

http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/06/episode-19-movies-and-tv-shows-for-preppers-and-survivalists/
http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/06/episode-18-knives-for-survival/
http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/05/episode-17-the-500-survival-firearm-collection-challenge/
http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/05/episode-16-realistic-threat-scenarios-we-face-today/

What can I say?  I'm just awesome. :)

Putin bans Russia grain exports due to drought (Food Supply Issues?)

Things are starting to get interesting as far as the global food production scene is concerned.  This is the headline story on the Drudge Report as I write this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100805/ts_afp/russiaheatwavefiresfarmcropscommoditiesgrain_20100805162243

Coupled with the article I linked to a couple of days ago, it seems that we could be seeing the beginning of another "food supply crisis".  Keep an eye on developments as far as this story is concerned as it could be a precursor indicator of some other shortages.  Hopefully not, of course.  But it's good to be aware. :)

"Wheat.  Why does it have to be wheat?" (Spoken by the author who has a severe wheat intolerance)

TWO MORE PODCASTS UP AND RUNNING

I just posted to more episodes: One on getting kids engaged in the Preparedness lifestyle and another on Budget Foods for Survival.
Check them out: http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/05/episode-14-engaging-children-in-the-preparedness-lifestyle/ and http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/05/episode-15-budget-survivalism-part-1-food/

Two new episodes on kids and food?  What could be better?

 

NEW PODCAST POSTED-The Survival Kit

"Hey Charley, tell them what they've won!"
"Why Phil, it's another episode of The Chip Monk Family Survival Podcast."
"What's it about, Charley?"
"It's about how to make up a Survival Kit to save your rear!"

http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/04/episode-13-the-survival-kit/

Wow!  Now if only it had some sardines in there too!

NEW PODCAST POSTED: Indispensable Books, Magazines and Websites for Survival/Preparedness

 I just uploaded a new episode late tonight, and this one is focused on useful Survival/Preparedness non-fiction.  Check it out when you get a chance! :)

http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2010/08/04/episode-12-indispensable-books-magazines-and-websites-for-survivalpreparedness/

Ya just never know when you might get stuck out here and need something to read!

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down

Boy, this just keeps getting better and better doesn't it? 

Story can be found here:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/treasury-secretary-timothy-geithner-unemployment/story?id=11308157

 Wheat Soars; Rogers Sees 'Much Higher' Food Prices

The July rise in wheat prices, the fastest in 51 years, indicates that shortages in agriculture are coming, Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC.com Tuesday.

Wheat prices in Europe hit their highest level in two years, rising almost 50 percent since late June as Russia's wheat crop was affected by drought.

"That's the straw that broke the camel's back," Rogers, who has been warning about shortages coming in the agriculture sector for a while, said in a telephone interview.

"We're going to have much, much higher prices over the next few years," Rogers, a hedge-fund pioneer who started the Quantum Fund with George Soros in the 1970s, added.

Something to keep an eye on, for sure. 

The rest of the story is available here:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38533807

My Guest Host Episode on THE SURVIVAL PODCAST

Thanks to the kindness of Jack Spirko, I was able to record a fill-in episode for THE SURVIVAL PODCAST while he is on vacation.  The link is here:TSP Guest Host Chip Monk on Survival Firearms
He has a large audience, so this was a great opportunity to share with a lot of people and I'd appreciate it if you'd take a listen when you get a chance. :)

Here's the link to the Youtube version of my "mini-episode" on Lever Actions as Survival Tools:

Mini-Episode 6-Urban Survival

Hey everyone! 
Decided I wanted to try to embed videos here to see how it works.  This is my episode regarding Urban Survival.  Take a look/listen when you get a chance! :)

Five New Podcasts Posted

Oooo, I love it when a plan comes together.  Just today I uploaded five more episodes to my podcast page.  The topics are:

*Survival Sanitation (ewww...)
*Building a Wikiup for Emergency Shelter
*Alternative Ways of Making Bread on the Stovetop
*The SKS Carbine-A Survival Bargain
*Survival for Urban Dwellers

Check them out at: http://chipmonk.podbean.com/

No, the Chip Monk Family Survival Podcast is MY favorite!

Firearms for TEOTWAWKI

Back in April of 2009 I had the brainstorm of composing a book in an online forum, almost in a serial fashion.  Although not yet complete, the basic framework of the book can be found here: http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=4704.0
I'm in the process of adding in quite a bit of additional material and then offering the book for download at a minimal cost as well as printing some hard copies for those who really want to hold something tangible in their hands.
I'll let you know as soon as the final book is available. :)

No, Bears With Guns are not the subject of my new book, as interesting as that subject would be. ;)