Whether from neglect or from livestock and wildlife, soils deteriorate, producing less and less vegetation every year. On a large scale, this is called desertification and it's affecting over half of Earth's surface. On a small scale, it can dramatically reduce the value and useability of your land, and hinder your sustainability. Fortunately there's a cost effective and sustainable solution you can implement yourself.

In the wake of the re-election of history's most anti-American president, and the horrible events in Newtown that followed, we have received hundreds of e-mails and calls. Preppers across the nation are desperately trying to fill gaps in their preparations. Guns (all types, not just AR-15s), ammo, and magazines are in record high demand, and selling for record high prices. As prepared Americans, how should we view buying panics and price gouging, and what should we do about it?

Maybe you had a power outage that lasted a few days, or maybe you just pay attention to the news and the condition of our economy. Regardless of the reason, you've decided to make yourself more prepared and you don't know where to start. This doesn't have to be a daunting task if you know where to begin.

With the increasing popularity of AR-15 rifles among preparedness minded Americans, we are constantly asked about the capability of AR-15s and .223/5.56mm ammunition in general for big game hunting. Does it work? Is it ethical? Is it a good idea? To answer this, let's consider two other questions. First, what does a hunting bullet need to accomplish? Second, does .223/5.56mm ammunition accomplish this?

Tom: My hunting rifle isn't accurate enough. I'm going to get a nicer one.

Bob: How accurate does a rifle need to be? My rifle shoots three inch groups at 100 yards. That's more accurate than I am, so I don't need anything better.

Bob doesn't know it, but he has just committed the great fallacy of rifle accuracy. He somehow believes that because he isn't the most skilled shooter, he won't benefit from a more accurate rifle. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Whether you're an experienced hunter, or just starting to consider the idea of hunting to supplement your food stores, there are some things you should think about. Some are general hunting concepts, and some are more geared to survival hunting in hard times.

The primary applications of firearms for our customers are food gathering (hunting) and defense in a survival or preparedness context, so we'll discuss weapons suited to those goals.

My interest in edible wild plants began when I was ten years old running around in the woods “playing Army” with friends. My friend, Tim, had a book about Special Forces soldiers that said they were trained to live off the land by hunting animals and gathering edible wild plants. We got library books on the topic and began sampling more or less anything green.

A few years ago I started doing a lot of research into edible wild plants and became really frustrated with most of the books out there. After many library trips, hours on the internet, and spending way more money than I would like to admit on books, I have narrowed down my favorites to just a handful with one that really stands out:

For a long time I called myself a “grain mill skeptic”. It wasn't that I doubted the ability of a grain mill to do its job, I just had a hard time seeing the financial return on investment for an item that seemed so narrow in its use. But the more self-sufficient  our lifestyle became, the more I started to realize the value of a good grain mill goes way beyond just grinding wheat berries stored in buckets for bread.