Was the first government gun confiscation attempt foiled by an unsung colonial heroine?

By John Silveira Issue #119 • September/October, 2009 Gun control people don't seem to get just how deeply etched into the American psyche gun ownership goes and that the resistance to being disarmed by their own...

Plant Once Harvest for Years

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #140 • March/April, 2013 Year after year we start seeds, till the ground, plant, weed, harvest, then tear it all out at the end of the season. It's a lot of work,...

French Onion Soup

Recipe of the Week  French Onion Soup& Julia Child's Beef Stock  Courtesy of Richard Blunt  Thirty-some years ago the publisher, Dave Duffy, the food editor, Richard Blunt, and I all lived in or near Boston. Butch, that’s Richard Blunt,...

Ginger beer

Recipe of the Week  Ginger beer  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 4 oz. dried ginger root 1 gallon water juice from...

Of guns and snakes

By Massad Ayoob Issue #151 • January/February, 2015 Mas safely kills a rattlesnake in a populated area. (Note angle of gun and trajectory.) Pistol is a Springfield EMP loaded with 9mm 127 grain +P+ Winchester Ranger-T...

Raising your own beef for your family

By Charles Sanders Issue #57 • May/June, 1999 For most homesteaders, the raising of livestock plays a crucial role in the home based economy. The types of livestock which you choose to include on your own...

The poor man’s ultra-light dual-fuel backpacking stove

By Rick Brannan Issue #124 • July/August, 2010 For as long as I have been venturing into the backcountry, which is a pretty long time, I have been on a quest for the perfect backpacking stove....

Easy, no-knead bread by Melissa Souza

By Melissa Souza Issue #156 • November/December, 2015 There is nothing more delicious than homemade bread hot out of the oven. This no-knead bread costs me about a dollar per loaf to make, and it's so easy...

Build an all-purpose ladder

By Robert L. Williams Issue #45 • May/June, 1997 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 The story never varies. If I am doing outside work and need a ladder, I spend nearly as much...

The Electoral College — How we elect the President

By John Silveira Issue #18 • November/December, 1992 I've been getting a lot of telephone calls from Oregon lately. My article is late — again — and Dave Duffy, the fellow who publishes this magazine, keeps...

Theories of the universe

By Dave Duffy Issue #66 • November/December, 2000 In a relatively short span of time, mankind has travelled from profound ignorance of our planet and the world in which we live to a rather detailed picture...

Old-fashioned baked beans

Recipe of the Week  Old-fashioned baked beans  Courtesy of Jackie Clay   You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here Ingredients 2 cups dry navy beans 1/4 cup ham or bacon 1/2 cup dehydrated chopped onions 8 Tbsp....

A survival key ring — Your everyday tool for emergency preparedness

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #117 • May/June, 2009 If you saw the movie, "Castaway" starring Tom Hanks, you might remember that his character always carried a small pen knife with him. Early in the...

The vanishing outhouse

By Tom Kovach Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 A person recently wrote to a large Midwest newspapers' advice column asking for information about outdoor privies. It seems that this person's family inherited a log cabin from...

Can your own tomato products

By James Kash Issue #148 • July/August, 2014 Tomatoes are the backbone for the homestead garden and pantry. These succulent fruits are great on quick sandwiches, mixed in a pasta salad, or (my personal favorite) sliced...

Pasteurizing milk

By Patrice Lewis Issue #123 • May/June, 2010 In the last hundred years of urban migration, the home or small farm dairy became a lost breed. Who needed to keep a cow when it was so...