In This Day and Age, Self-Reliance and Preparation Skills Are for Everybody

By Matt Deutsch, Guest Writer Let me tell you why, even though I don’t necessarily enjoy camping or relish the outdoors, I am actively working toward improving my self-reliance skills.In 2007, I was at the library and I saw a book that caught my eye. The book was titled Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse, and …

Adding Spices to Mead Wine

Adding spices can dramatically enhance the flavor of your Mead wine and there several ways to add those spices. The first way is to add the spices at the beginning in the boiling phase of the honey/water mixture when you are removing the protiens from the mixture.  After the all of the protiens are skimme off the top the mixture …

12 GA. Pistol Performance

The Diablo is a double-barrel legal 4″ long  12 gauge shotgun.  Its legal only due to the fact that its a muzzle loading gun and does not take standard shotgun shells. Pros You can legally own a “sawed-off” shotgun The rapid spread of the shot pattern due to the short barrel length makes this a good “close quarters” gun You …

Cinnamon Mead Wine

We had a successful Mead Wine making workshop this past weekend I promised to post a dynamite Cinnamon Med recipe on the site so here it is: Ingredients 2 or 3 cloves, lightly cracked 2 sticks of cinnamon, cracked dash of cardamom 2 to 4 teaspoons fresh lemon zest (just the thin yellow part, not the white part of the …

What’s the Best Flashlight to Buy?

With Flashlight technology is changing so fast I’m not sure what is the best flashlight to buy.  What is your opinion?   You absolutely right with you comment on the technology with flashlights changing very fast, however the industry is running into a wall that they may not be able to get past anytime soon….that wall is HEAT and POWER …

How to Make “Cowboy Coffee”

Many of us like a good cup of coffee when we’re camping in the morning, if not to wake us up, then as a nice morning ritual we look forward to. You can just take a few moments, get your thoughts together, maybe watch the sun rise, or just look at the landscape as it wakes up to a new …

Pro Tips for Winter Camping

(Editor’s note: Welcome to the next installment of our “Ask a Survival Guy” series of blog posts. We encourage you to submit a question. The founder of Midwest Native Skills, Tom Laskowski, might just answer it as part of this regular feature!) Question: When I’m camping in the winter, is there anything I can do to not wake up in …

Tricks to Make Yourself More Likeable and Charming (for when SHTF)

OK, SHTF, people gather up in small groups for safety, protection and sanity.  Your on your own but prefer to join a group.  It sure would be helpful if they “liked you” and found you “charming” on top of any skills or benefits you bring with you for their group.  Here”s how to get them to “like you” a little …

What’s a “Lumen” and how does it relate to Flashlights?

(Editor’s note: Welcome to the next installment of our “Ask a Survival Guy” series of blog posts. We encourage you to submit a question. The founder of Midwest Native Skills, Tom Laskowski, might just answer it as part of this regular feature!) Question: I want to buy a flashlight, but the advertisements I see all talk about something called “lumens.” …

Master Tonic Liquid

Ingredients 1 medium Ginger root 2 Cloves Garlic Horseradish Root (3″) 1/2 medium onion 3 Jalapino Peppers 1/2 C Tumeric 24 oz Apple Cider Vinegar Directions Cut up above solid ingredients and place in blender Blend in blender until very smooth (approx. 1 minute) Add the apple cider vinegar Continue to blend for an additional 2 minutes Pour into mason …

Master Tonic “Antibiotic” Pills

Ingredients 1 medium Ginger root 2 Cloves Garlic Horseradish Root (3″) 1/2 medium onion 3 Jalapino Peppers 1/2 C Tumeric 24 oz Apple Cider Vinegar 32 oz of Colloidal Silver water (as high of concentration of parts per million (ppm) as you can get. Directions Take the Colloidal Silver water and place on medium heat and reduce it until 6 …

Picking the Right Survival Gun for Your Bug Out Bag

There are a few topics that are so controversial and that they should not be discussed at the holiday dinner table. Those topics are politics, religion, and survival guns (including caliber and type of gun) you should carry.  The debate typically ranges from stopping power vs. weight of the extra ammunition, accuracy of the weapon vs. size, and ease of …

How Sayings and Proverbs of the Past Can Help You With a Weather Forecast

Today with the 24-hour news cycle, getting a current weather report is no more challenging than turning on the television. But how often are those forecasts wrong? Or what if there is NO television to turn on, like when you’re on a five-day hiking trip. Then what?  In a survival situation, knowing what the weather will be like tomorrow may …

What Should NEVER Be in your “Bug Out Bag”

Putting together a “bug out bag” is one of the most talked about topics in the survival and self-reliance world. In fact, there has been a host of books written about the topic, not to mention countless articles and blog posts on: What should be included How heavy the bag should be How many days it should be designed for …

Basic Sausage Recipe

Ingredients 4 lbs. pork butt (approx. 70/30 meat to fat ratio) 1 T dried Crushed Red Peppers 2 T Salt 1.5 t ground Garlic 1 t dry Thyme 1.5 t dry Oregano 1/3 C Red Wine Vinegar Natural Hog Casings (approx 10 ft. in length) Directions Mix the crushed Red Peppers, salt, thyme. oregano together either in a coffee mill, …