Dear Claire,

I always enjoy your articles and agree with nearly everything you say, however I do disagree with your article entitled Sex, Drugs, and Good Deeds: Being Boldly Bad in a Good Cause .

I do pity poor animals who are mistreated, but not enough to boldly smash the most basic law of freedom – the Libertarian Non Aggression Principle or Axiom. As you might be aware that states that:

“The libertarian creed rests upon one central axiom: that no man or group of men may aggress against the person or property of anyone else.”

I care nothing for the state’s laws but your justification of this – admittedly with an extreme example to make us sympathise with the thief – opens up the door for wholesale theft of another’s property and can NEVER be justified.

Using your example, seeing a rancher’s cattle were not as fat as they might be, I might decide that they were suffering and in their best interest I should steal them all so that I might fatten them up or give them to someone else who might treat them better. I might believe that his wife was suffering and take her too and give her a better life with me! After all if you are going to ignore the state’s laws and also smash the most basic law of society, hey – anything goes!

If you don’t afford others the protection of the most basic law of freedom, then how can you expect that you yourself deserve that protection? Should others be able to steal from you if they thought it was in a good cause?

I believe that you have allowed a good heart to blind yourself to logic and the whole basis for freedom and justice for all.

Regards,

Mike

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I liked your article. But:

You said “Russell, Black, and their rare little ilk are sort of like theologians who can paint a whiz-bang picture of hell but who can’t even attempt to conjure up an image of a heaven that’s worth aiming for”.

I think this is not true. One of the Russell’s point was that many great minds of past were rich and idle people(Newton, Darwin) and if people work less they’ll have more free time, some of them will solve one or two big problems of society or science etc.

Best

Ramin

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Great article, the best I’ve ever read on the subject of preps.

Thanks

EN the Peasant
Sonora, CA

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Dave Duffy’s article, “Ron Paul is a disaster for Republicans and Democrats, but not for America’s freedoms” is posted today, Thursday, January 5th, at whatreallyhappened.com  (gee, I wonder who asked Mike Rivero to post this really good article….)

What Really Happened website has a vast readership (and listenership for his daily radio program on Rense radio) of people all around the globe.  So hopefully this will expand exposure for your truly cool website.

Ron Paul 2012 !!!!

Thanks very much. This is the article I wrote in my blog Dec. 28.

–Dave Duffy

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Ron Paul shows up in the coolest, most unexpected places !!

I was standing in the checkout line at my local health-food store and discovered your magazine.  And there on the cover was listed an article about Ron Paul.  Pretty amazing!

Mr. Duffy has written a clear and concise article recapping why we so desperately need Ron Paul as president, one of the better articles on the subject (and I’ve read most of them …. a huge fan since 2008).

Thank you Dave Duffy.  I am going to forward it to Mike Rivero at whatreallyhappened.com in the hopes that he posts it and gives you and your writing the exposure you both deserve.

Thank you again.

T Quigly

RON PAUL 2012 !!!!!

(Now that I’ve discovered you, will be checking out your website as I am interested in ideas about living on the land)

Thanks very much. I’m a solid Ron Paul supporter, but the article you refer to was actually written by the magazine’s long-time senior editor, John Silveira. — Dave

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I read every edition cover to cover, I read all Jackie’s Q & A’s. I have you in my Facebook feed. But nothing I have ever read has been as important as this second amendment article. It should be required reading for every person in congress. All students should read it. The government needs to remember that they work for us and that we don’t NEED them to tell us what to do.

Thank you for this. If I ever think about cancelling (not likely) I’ll remember that this one gem of information is worth more than I would pay in my lifetime. You’ve just given me, if you’ll pardon the reference, all the ammo I will ever need to go against the tide of gun control idiots!!

Thank you,

Dixie Dever

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I’ve always picked up Backwoods Home Magazine issue by issue at the bookstore.  I don’t know why I’ve never subscribed, but I wouldn’t miss an issue for anything.

My husband got me a Kindle for Christmas (and gave it to me early since I couldn’t stand the wait). I saw BHM would be available for Kindle and checked daily for access.  The minute it was available, I subscribed.  I love reading BHM on Kindle.  My arthritic hands find a Kindle easier to hold than a full sized magazine.

So…thank you, thank you, thank you for making my Kindle experience so worthwhile.  Now…if we could just get the Hardyville Tales and the BHM anthologies on Kindle.

Ruth E. Brown
Pennsylvania

Terrific! We’re working on the anthologies, and I’ll talk to Claire about putting Hardyville on Kindle. For those interested in my ongoing discussion with readers about BHM going on Kindle, you can refer to my blog.

Dave

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WOW what a mag. John Silveira’s description of a Libertarian was great. He managed to hit all the bases in a very short article. And in ‘My view’ his treatise on Ron Paul true and accurate. I sure hope Claire Wolfe continues to write for you also. Apocalypse, when? was very eye opening. I’m retired and on a small budget, I’ve cut back on some of my magazines but yours is the best. All of your writers are great and Annie, you’re doing a great job.

I do have one request. How about an article on Pikeminnow fishing. I have heard some stories about some of those fisherman making a lot of money. If I could just pay off my mortgage it would really help. I almost went to try it myself this year but my wife is blind and would not go. Maybe if I could convince her it’s a real opportunity we might go in 2012. Or maybe it’s not?

Thanks anyway,

Keep up the good fight.

Dan Day in Tennessee (retired trucker)
Dolly says Hi

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Massad,

I always try to give credit when it is due, so I want to extend my thanks to you.

As a teenager and young adult the only handgun I shot was my beloved .22 Colt Woodsman, and there is no telling how many thousands of rounds I put through it.  Patting myself on the back, I was pretty darn good.  Later in life, however, I felt the need to graduate to larger calibers.  After a brief flirtation with a .357 revolver I transitioned to .45 1911s, and found that my accuracy had gone to hell.  All my rounds were hitting low to the left.  I figured out that I was pulling the trigger down to the left, and also pushing down with my hand in anticipation of the recoil, which of course greatly exceeds that of the .22 that I was used to.  I concentrated with everything I had and finally developed a decent trigger pull, but could not overcome the pre-recoil push.  A couple of days ago I was browsing the internet and came across your article you wrote in February 2004 for “Backwoods Home,” or something like that.  It was titled “How to Shoot a Handgun Accurately.”  After I read it a few times I decided I needed to concentrate on were hard grip, concentrate on the front sight, and continue to pull the trigger straight back.

Yes, I experienced the epiphany.  At 7 yards most of my rounds hit the center of my target (about the size of a coffee cup) and the others are grouped closely around it.  Not really world class yet, but I have only been to the range once to practice my new methodology, so at 72 years of age I don’t think I am doing so bad.  I intend to get back to the range more often (it’s a lot more fun when I’m hitting where I’m supposed to) and improve as much more as I can.  I’m not sure what hard grip and watching the front sight have to do with not anticipating the recoil, but it sure works. (Until it gets automatic, before each round I chant to myself “Grip, front sight, straight back.”)

I read all your stuff in American Handgunner.  Keep up the good work, and thanks again.

Jim Dorroh

And thank you for saying so, Jim.

I’m taking the liberty of passing your comments on to my bosses at Backwoods Home, who brought you the info.

Best for the holidays,

Mas

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Hello there,

I agree with all you said. I’ve been canning for over 40-years and I have lost only two jars of food in that time. That was in the beginning of my canning ritual.

It amazes me how little today’s young women are clueless as to canning, putting up any kinds of foodstuff. Today a lot of women in the age group from 50-80 are also drying much of their food and making jerky.

We’re living in trying times and having your own garden and fruit trees is a must if you have the room. With supermarkets pushing their gassed fruits and vegetables is it any wonder our families are finding themselves with Type 2 Diabetes or something else diagnosed in their bodies?

We all need to get out to our towns and neighborhoods the wonders of canning and preserving foods. I  gave away my chest freezer 25-years ago when I saw how much meat went unused because it slipped to the bottom.

Last week I ran out of jars and as I drove thru the countryside I spotted something shining on a table with a roadside sale. I pulled over and for $3.00, got two large boxes full of pt and qt. sized jars. That was a win-win as here in the North Carolina mountains the old-timers can and now many of the younger women do as well, so it’s hard to find second hand jars.

Ah, the miracles of canning.

Joan Merriken

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Dear Sir,

Thank you for writing this article. Words cannot describe the frustration I feel at the lack of attention this EMP doomsday scenario is receiving. (This lack of attention is tantamount to negligent homicide by our political leaders if we are subject to an EMP attack. They have commissioned studies and conferences on this scenario and are well aware of the consequences and yet do nothing.)

To my reason for writing: I have been studying this country’s preparation for many doomsday scenarios in an effort to better prepare myself and my family. The EMP attack scenario is by far the most scary for prepared survivors, even when compared to an all-out nuclear war. (With the nuclear war scenario, we will at least have a chance at maintaining a manufacturing base, with EMP we’d better learn how to make everything by hand first in order to rebuild a modicum of manufacturing infrastructure! Imagine making everything thing by hand to get ONE manufacturing plant back on-line, much less what it would take to get the power generating facilities and conveyance on-line to get power back to the manufacturing plant! By hand! without aid of anything electrical or electronic! And how would we get the fuel to the power generating plant? It’s a nightmare scenario!)

But there is one aspect to EMP attack that a nuclear war will not have that I cannot seem to get my head around. In my thinking the two scenarios that will cause people to become unrestrained looters without regard for common decency for a sustained period of time will be nuclear war and an EMP attack. In other scenarios we should be able to present to these roving hoards at least a road to a relatively quick recovery. With nuclear and EMP, it will be so devastating that “quick recovery” won’t even be in the vocabulary. But the “downside” (in regard to my family’s safety and well being) to EMP, is that it will leave a HUGE number of people alive to roam the countryside looking for food.

And there-in lies the rub: how can I keep these huge numbers of people away from my supply without resorting to massive violence? Any attempt at deception will eventually be found out when I appear well nourished. I cannot by any means store enough for everyone. And imagine the stampede when it is “rumored” that so-and-so at such and such place has a lot of food…I couldn’t live far enough away to prevent a migration to my front door. (And that is not to mention if an EMP attack is followed up by a conventional attack by a hostile country or countries…how could I feed and defend myself against an army or militia?)

I know that it is a bit more complicated than a simple email exchange can allow, but I’m at a loss here, so any direction/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you! And I love your magazine (I just cannot afford a subscription YET!)

John M.

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BHM Editors,

I recently read Rev. J.D. Hooker’s coyote gun article and I just want to second all of his sentiments. I own a Mosin-Nagant M44 and absolutely love it. That 7.62×54 cartridge packs plenty of punch and can bring down just about anything. I also agree about the ammunition. I tried to use some Czech made steel cased rounds in the gun and was having problems with them jamming  the bolt shut. But, once I started using the Sellier & Belloit rounds I’ve been plucking targets off at 200 yards with no problems. I only paid $85 for the rifle online and then had to pay a $25 FFL transfer fee to get the gun delivered to my local gun shop. This gun is very rugged and at $110 for the rifle and another $100 for a basic scope and mounts this rifle is a great brush gun for any homesteader.

Thanks for the great article.

Matt Shorb
West Virginia

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After listening to Clint Smith my son got me a youth model stock for my Remington 870 last Christmas. It’s my primary night time self defense/critter weapon. It’s much handier than the regular stock and I notice absolutely no difference when firing. After having it on the 870 for ten months I can’t imagine punishing someone with the longer stock.

My son’s girlfriend has an 870 youth model in 20 gauge and loves it.

Those that share our households are going to be the only ones we can count on in a pinch. Can their be anything more important than making them comfortable with the firearms they will be using?

Thanks to Mr Ayoob for a great article.

Frank Nelson

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RE: Put your garden to bed for the winter By Jackie Clay

I planted my first (personal) garden this year. (I grew up with a family garden). And I was a bit unsure how to proceed at the end of the growing season.

I just read the above listed article and it was very enlightening, a good, fun, easy read, and very helpful.

Thank you for posting it. And, if possible, please thank the author, Ms. Clay.

Many thanks!

Briana Rae

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Hello,

My grandmother had a friend back in a small town in Iowa.  She used to bake me a pie every time I would go visit my grandmother and spend the summer.

My grandmother told me that her friend’s secret was to use 7-up in the crust. She won many prizes for her pies and the locals loved them at their diner.

Just a thought for a different angle on crust.

I look forward to trying your recipes.

Thanks

Ron Moffet

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Propagating grapes  By Sylvia Gist

Very well written/edited. Kudos to all and thanks a million.

Meryl Logue

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It’s nice to see people trying out new things such as this cheap alternative to a more costly generator set.

My grandfather did similar things such as making his own string trimmer (weed eater) . This was back in the early seventies. He took an aluminum pole or something like that and attached a old vacuum cleaner motor to the end of it. Attached a pulley at the bottom and drilled holes along the perimeter of it and instead of weed eater plastic string he used sections of bailing wire. My dad said that thing would go through some pretty heavy brush. Heavy but it worked.

He also used to recycle bottles, cans, and scrap metal from his home, and bring it all in to town once a month in his VW van. He did all this before it was even a household word.

I remember working with him on his metal lathe in his shop and I noticed the lights getting dim then bright. I told him something was wrong with is light bulb and he just laughed and said that the light bulb was a 12 vdc type attached to a windmill he had built,and the power source was a 12 vdv VW generator. The cause of the flickering I guess was the wind was fluctuating.

I thought old Gramps was the coolest old dude. Glad to see other people try this stuff out and share with people so they might get an idea and try it out.

Kim Moe

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When I can a lot of meat I have a big pan I put oil in and heat it to 275 and can heat large quantity jars at a time. You do have to wipe the oil off the jars. But it’s not such a big deal. But I can do a lot more jars and it’s good when we do 250 to 300 jars.

We have a lot of fun canning our food. I believe this is one of the reasons people are sick, because the cans and the stuff added to the food. The safest way to eat is do it yourself. They are poisoning us and we keep finding out they have added something like MSG and trans fat and they know they cause us harm.

Steve

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The article by Dynah Geissal entitled Slaughtering and Butchering is definitely the best overall article available on the web that takes you from live pig to properly ready for consumption. Better than any, I searched hard and wide to find a perfect and easy to follow directive.

Super thanks and you now have a very happy family living in the backwoods of Oregon, slaughtering and butchering our kids’ greased pig caught at country fair. Now a couple of months and 100′s of pounds of food later he is skinned, split and cool from one night, ready to be processed.  We are very confident to move forward with Dynah’s instructions.

Roelle family

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I just wanted to say thank you for all your wonderful articles.  I found your site to be quite helpful and love reading everything.

I grew up in 4-H and we raised lambs every years.  I have always been into horses.  But with the economy and market the way it is other avenues have to be taken to keep the farm afloat.

I have had my own farm for last 6 years in Virginia and am looking to get into raising a few cattle to sell for meat and your articles are quite helpful.

Please keep all this information coming.  Love it!

Michele DeVinney Schmoll, P.I.

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