Home - Backwoods Home Magazine

Teach speed reading to your children even if you can’t speed read yourself

Jim Van Camp: Coffee roaster, painter

Cash in on your household junk

Practical Ideas for Self-Reliant Living

Boost your immune system with fast and easy fish dishes

By Linda Gabris When I was growing up in the rural woods, Grandpa and I did a lot of fishing from spring through fall so...

Grow some winter squash this year

Vitamins D and K — way more important than you thought

Clover — From Livestock Forage to Medicinal Tea, This Humble Plant...

By Eugene Mitchell Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 Whether young or old, lying in the grass and searching for four-leafed clovers is timeless fun. Sometimes they're...

Gardening with a Chicken Tractor

Converting a Gasoline-Powered Rototiller to Electric

Follow Jackie Clay-Atkinson and her husband, Will, as they homestead a 120-acre piece of northern Minnesotan woods entirely off-grid. Sharing their homestead are horses, beef cattle, a milk cow, dairy goats, chickens and turkeys.

Massad Ayoob on Guns

This blog, from a retired police captain and self-defense instructor, covers the use of different firearms, political musings, and self-defense tactics.

Building

Easy awnings

Shake update

Build a log crib

For summertime baking needs, build yourself an outdoor horno

Self-Reliance

New yarn from old sweaters

Cash in on your household junk

By Linda Gabris Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 If you think "Howdy Doody" has been holing up in your attic for too many years, maybe it's...

Get the most out of your vehicle and your maintenance dollar

By Len Torney Issue #116 • March/April, 2009 Let's face itwe all own vehicles. Our rural lifestyle pretty much leaves us dependent on our vehicles for...

Animals

The homestead cat

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson We have had at least one cat in our home ever since I was a young child. So it’s no wonder we...

Cheaper than Store-Bought Eggs

Raising your own beef

Fermenting Chicken Feed

Keeping homestead animals healthy

Science and Education

Gee-Whiz: Coffee

Science and truth. Are they related?

A brief history of health and medicine

The MTHFR mutation and why it may matter to you

Energy

Solar power for farm and ranch

By Jeffrey R. Yago, P.E. It may be surprising to learn that there are now all kinds of do-it-yourself solar powered devices specifically designed to...

Power-up bag

Amateur Ham Radio – The Ultimate Tool for Survival Communications

Keep the Ice On

Power Up

Americana and History

President George Washington’s Farewell Address

Emancipation Proclamation by Historical Document

From Martha and Abigail to Dolley and Louisa, America’s earliest First Ladies were fascinating

Fly it proudly and properly

Firearms

Cold weather shooting considerations

BHM hosts Appleseed marksmanship event

By Massad Ayoob Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Long a supporter of the Appleseed concept, Backwoods Home Magazine hosted one in Gold Beach, Oregon, in second...

Firearms handling refresher Part II: Shotguns

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • December, 2003 In Part I, we began a series of refreshers on safety and proper handling of firearms. This time,...

Firearms handling refresher Part III: Rifles

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • January, 2004 Our three part series on firearms handling ends with this installment. In Part I, we covered handguns and...

Preparedness

Stashing Junk Silver for Bad Times

Storm survivors

Frostbite — Don’t flirt with this sneaky danger

Emergency planning beyond the bug-out bag

Moving on: A small town can be a haven during a depression

With commonsense planning, you can survive hard times

Articles By Dave Duffy

My View: Call Me Miracle Man!

By Dave Duffy Issue #177 • July/August/September, 2019 Superheroes are the rage these days at movie theaters. Even I am fascinated by them. Old style heroes...