Table of contents for OffGrid #30 2019 in RECOIL OFFGRID

You’re in that state between waking and dreaming, where you’re not quite sure if what you heard was imagined or not. It’s approximately 3 in the morning, and someone just entered your room. Since you’re spending the night at your friend Paula’s house, perhaps she’s looking for something. But at this hour? This doesn’t make sense. As you open your eyes and the blurriness fades away, you hear something that sounds strangely like duct tape being unrolled. Your heart rate begins to race as you realize whoever is in the room with you isn’t Paula at all. It’s someone who shouldn’t be in the house. As you turn your head to get a better look at the situation, the stranger realizes you’re beginning to wake up. The man immediately jumps…

When you hear Rudy Reyes talk about his 47 years of existence, it makes you wonder why he isn’t being passed around like a hot potato among VA hospitals or slamming heroin under a bridge somewhere. He was the product of a father he never really knew. He was raised in a big city surrounded by gangs, crime, and drug abuse. He was shuffled around between relatives, abused mercilessly, and ultimately ended up in a boys’ home. He’s been in warzones where the worst aspects of human nature are seething and raw, leaving an indelible imprint on the souls of those who live through it. The odds didn’t favor him living long enough to tell his story, but odds are something that Rudy’s understood how to control and use to…

We each have our own reasons for wanting to hunt instead of buying meat at the grocery store. For many of us, those reasons are values that we take pride in passing down to the next generation. But teaching a kid a new task, especially one as serious as taking an animal’s life, can be as stressful as it is rewarding for all involved. We’re going to break down how to prepare your child for their first hunt. And much of that same preparation can be used for any first-time hunter. The anticipation of a first hunt can be nerve-racking, but with proper planning, your child will be confident to pull the trigger. These lessons come from my experiences with my daughter; all kids are different, so don’t take our…

If you’d like to learn more about gear management, maintenance, and repair, check out the following web-exclusive articles: Learn how the concept of FIFO (first in, first out) can help you manage your stockpiles of food, medicine, and other perishable items. http://offgridweb.com/?p=11100 In this overview of knife sharpening methods, we discussed purpose-built and improvised options for keeping your blades in good condition, and used a poll to ask readers about their favorite technique. http://offgridweb.com/?p=9657 Ever noticed a light on your car’s dashboard and wondered what it means? This infographic explains more than 60 vehicle warning lights so you can promptly repair problems before they get worse. http://offgridweb.com/?p=6107…

1 MAKE & MODEL Zenbivy Zenbivy Bed TEMPERATURE RATING 23 degrees F (EN Lower Limit) MSRP $269 URL zenbivy.com NOTES The makers of the Zenbivy Bed call it the “world’s first freestyle sleeping bag.” Initially it might seem like a mummy-style bag, but it’s far less restrictive and more innovative. It consists of a quilt, hood, and fitted sheet that can be zipped together in various ways, allowing you to lie on your back, sides, or stomach and with your arms or legs in or out. The convertible footbox is easy to adjust, while on the opposite end the hood’s pocket can house a phone, watch, or flashlight. It features YKK zippers, 700 fill-power duck down, and a 20- denier nylon taffeta shell with durable water repellent. The Zenbivy Bed…

Morgan “Rogue” resides in Texas with her husband, daughter, and two dogs, with their second daughter on the way. Her family is always venturing into the wilderness and challenging themselves, as well as others, to love the outdoors. Through Rogue Preparedness, she works toward making the world a more prepared place, where people can feel confident in knowing that they possess the skills, knowledge, and items to get them through any emergency or disaster. She educates and entertains on her YouTube channel, website, and social media platforms, as well as in-person events held in Texas. You can find Morgan at roguepreparedness.com Sheena Green is a perpetual student, prior manager at CrossRoads Shooting Sports, and certified firearms instructor. She has attended many shooting, edged weapons, and self-defense classes by well-respected instructors…

You can’t grill it until you kill it. This expression sends anti-hunter types into full-triggered mode. To some, there’s a preconceived notion that living in the woods will only require eating nuts and berries. The reality of the scenario involves a much larger buffet line of small game and rodents that pack nutritious calories in little fur-bundled packages. Running around trying to hunt them expends more calories than will be returned — so the logical answer to the survival question is developing a series of traps that’ll work for you when you rest or attend to other survival needs. Check out the most popular survival books in your local bookstore or library, and you’ll find any number of elaborate trap illustrations. Creating these traps may seem like a daunting task,…

Hygiene is an important part of any survival scenario, especially the long-term situations. Without the ability to clean your hands and body, skin infections and the transmission of bacteria and pathogens are increased. As a survival-minded individual, you’ll probably have a knee-jerk reaction to the realization that cleanliness is a survival priority; and that reaction is probably to go buy a case of soap. There’s nothing wrong with that. Soap can last for decades, if you store it out of the reach of rodents (yes, mice and rats love to eat it). But there’s more to self-reliance than just storing the goods that someone else made. The truly independent will learn how to make things for themselves as well. In the event that you don’t have access to off-the-shelf soap,…

Whether your objective is getting back to your family after a large-scale event throws the local population into chaos and anarchy or fending off a home invader in the middle of the night, when it comes to close-range combat, there are few weapons more formidable than a shotgun. It's hard to surpass the simultaneous injection of eight .33-caliber pellets at 1,500 fps or a one-ounce piece of lead at 1,200 fps. While the shotgun is a platform that’s often unaffected by the Draconian laws meant to specifically target ARs, it has always had three major limiting factors: accuracy, range, and ammunition capacity. The accuracy issue has been mitigated through better barrel and ammunition technology over the years, and range isn’t a big issue when we’re talking about close-quarters confrontations, leaving…

Shock has many different possible meanings. You could be shocked at the turn of events in a movie. You could be shocked by touching a live wire. You could be in shock after receiving news of the death of a loved one or due to trauma. For me, shock is a chilling term that portends poor outcomes despite our best medical efforts. Mortality can be 40 to 50 percent, despite the best medical care in the best hospitals. What will you do if your partner or family member has an accident or heart attack and goes into shock? Perhaps the most important part of treating shock is learning to identify it as soon as possible. The earlier the identification, the earlier the treatment can begin. What is Shock? First off,…

The Premise: Sometimes only imagery has the power to describe things with the poignancy that words often lack. While the subject matter of David T. Hanson’s Waste Land might deviate from the traditional coffee table book, it vividly and shockingly displays man’s apathy for the consequences of destroying Mother Nature. Hanson photographically documents various toxic waste locations across 45 states known as “Superfund” sites that require a long-term abatement plan. To get a little granular, in 1980 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) designated a list of sites that are ranked ranging from 1 to 100 of their actual or potential release of hazardous substances. A score of 28.5 or greater puts a site on the National Priorities List, which makes it eligible for “long-term remedial action”…

Imagine waking up in your bed from a dead sleep only to find yourself blindfolded and unable to move, with a stranger on top of you holding you down. Your hands are tied, and you’re being told not to talk. If you think this would never happen to you, you may someday learn you’re very wrong. This is exactly what Kim Corban thought until her life was unexpectedly turned upside down. Kim is a daughter, sister, wife, college graduate, accomplished business professional, and above all a fierce mother of four wonderful children. When you first meet Kim, you can’t help but admire her determination and positivity. Kim doesn’t portray herself as a victim of sexual violence, and without knowing her story, you’d never think she was the survivor of a…

A simple snare loop can be made from wire. Ideally, the wire should be the braided variety as it has greater resistance to breaking and the braid has a tendency to catch animal fur, adding a level of retention. Aside from the wire, the only other material necessary is a small twig or a stick that serves as a dowel. The process is easy. Step 1: Cut a small length of snare wire (approximately 18 inches). About 4 inches down from one end, place a dowel horizontally across the wire and loop the wire around three times. Step 2: With one hand pinching the dowel and the other the ends of the wire, twist it tightly a half dozen times. Step 3: Break the dowel in half and pull it…

MREs and emergency ration bars are fine examples of modern survival foods. These bug-out-friendly items can be stored for long periods and provide sustaining nutrition, two key requirements for survival food. And while there are many emergency meals and snacks on the market currently, today’s products aren’t the first foods of their kind. Look back into history, and you’ll see many hearty foods that our ancestors used for traveling food or emergency sustenance. Sure, today’s survival chow is ruggedly packaged and capable of lasting for years, but you can’t make your own MREs in a cave. When the last meal has been gobbled up, you’ll need to be able to make your own “survival food” to replenish your stores. Thankfully, our forebears did plenty of subsistence food experimentation, and they…

Whether you’d like to grow your own veggies for fun at your off-grid homestead or you’re preparing for a long drawn-out crisis that’d require the ability to harvest fresh produce for several seasons, you’ll have many problems to surmount. One of the most glaring issues is how to fertilize those crops when the Miracle-Gro runs out. Our forebears grew their own food without the help of any synthetic products from a garden center and in an ecologically friendly way. You too can sustainably create much of the nourishment that your survival garden will need. Feed the plants that feed you, with the simple process of composting. You can think of composting as “managed rot.” This is the procedure of collecting plant material (and possibly some animal materials) and assisting the…

Tools frequently separate those who can’t from those who can. Those who fancy themselves as self-reliant and prepared truly aren’t unless they have an assortment of basic tools to work with and the knowledge to use them. Whereas many take the low-cost disposable option, those of us bent on preparedness should choose durable, reliable, and repairable gear — this applies to items in your home, your vehicle, and your bug-out bag. Everything we do for preparedness is predicated on the belief that one day we may not be able to easily replace many of the items that are often taken for granted or have them serviced by an outside technician. While an assortment of basic tools is critical, some jobs require tools that are more specialized. Many times, a specialty…

The market for purpose-built survival gear is substantial and, it seems, growing by the day. From bracelets to backpacks, the “prep” or “survival” gear industry has taken on a life of its own. More often than not, we lean toward the right-tool-for-the-job philosophy: Buy a piece of kit that’s designed from the ground up to do what you need it to. If you need a vest or chest rig or assault pack to hold your bug-out gear, the natural choice would be to purchase from a company that specializes in that kind of equipment. But that’s not to say there isn’t good and effective crossover between end users. That brings us to the topic of this story — the Klim Arsenal vest. Klim doesn’t produce anything specifically for the tactical,…