After a major disaster, you never, ever want to rely on the government. But that doesn’t mean you’re in it alone. Check out the first of this week’s must-read articles for a great example of a community helping themselves by helping each other. Then read on to discover when the world will run out of food, a toxic side effect of floods and how to survive a plane crash.

Adding optics to your rifle can give you a major advantage. If you add a scope to your rifle, you need to not only understand the terminology involved but also know how to use it. With that in mind, here are the three most important considerations when choosing optics for your rifle.

Damian Ross, founder of The Self Defense Company, offers one of the freshest perspectives when it comes to training. Check out this article on the secret to packing powerful punches — plus, how you can apply it to your training.

In this week’s mailbag, Jason reveals a road safety solution every person should have in their car. You’ll also learn the best way to loosen up stiff tools, exactly how to shoot an FBI qualification step by step and why you should have more than one gun safe.

Now that you have a solid foundation for handgun shooting, it’s time to take your skills to the next level. Today, Cade Courtley adds some “real world” drills to help you train for “real world” situations.

The debate about whether the government has the right to access encrypted data on personal devices is not going away anytime soon. The FBI claims their actions are necessary to thwart terrorism, while tech companies (including Apple) maintain this practice raises serious privacy concerns. ​

Quality accessories are just as important as a good firearm and plenty of practice. In the following piece, Caleb runs down the three most critical add-ons for your rifle — so you don’t overspend on pointless attachments.

This week’s must-read articles touch on what to do when a crowd turns ugly. Read on to discover how you can avoid trouble altogether as well as ways to defend yourself if you have to put up a fight. Plus, how to protect your home and those you love.

Preparing for a nuclear disaster should be a top priority for you and your family. Remember, it’s not the initial blast that may harm you but the fallout from such an attack. This piece from Jeff Anderson over at Modern Combat & Survival runs down five steps to prepare for a nuclear attack and includes an offer for a detailed “Nuclear Survival Guide.”

The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. But the fact is customs and border patrol agents can seize electronic devices for inspection — without a warrant or probable cause — and there is simply nothing you can do to stop them. Except take this one simple precaution.

I am a firm believer that a firearm is the absolute best way to protect yourself, your family and your home. That being said, this week’s mailbag addresses alternative ways to defend yourself and deter home invaders — starting with the most powerful survival knife ever made.

As with many skills, if you don’t have the proper foundation, you will limit yourself and ultimately be ineffective. This couldn’t be truer when it comes to shooting. If you don’t start with the proper technique, you will develop bad habits and hinder your ability to be a “top shot.”

Even if you have a bug-out bag and feel ready to deal with disaster, do you also have a planned route to get out of Dodge? And perhaps just as important, do you also have a backup plan? Here are four things to consider when deciding on a bug-out route.

Take a look at the following article from our friends over at 4Patriots that runs down what to do before, during and after a nuclear strike. Plus, one critical step you should take to prepare for a different kind of attack — one that could be even more devastating. And we’d never see it coming…​

Each and every one of this week’s stories contains intelligence that is critical to your survival. Including what to do before the taps in your town run dry, an often overlooked — yet essential — aspect of emergency prep and how to choose practical protective clothing. But first, let’s take a look at one key item that may make the difference between life and death in a survival situation.

Today, I want to share with you four steps for breaking in a new firearm — which hopefully you’ll have time to do before ever having to use your gun.

Would you risk your life going to the store for a quart of milk? You wouldn’t have to if you had the necessary supplies to shelter in place. Check out today’s article for a list of items to have on hand so you and your family will be able to hunker down at home and outlast any outbreak.

This “best of” edition of the Weekly Drop is a collection of reader questions that focus on the best survival gear for a number of situations — from power outages to home invasions to nuclear attacks.

In the wake of the shutdown brouhaha in Washington, our resident former Navy SEAL sniper and platoon commander Cade Courtley has a message for our elected officials. Here it is in his own words.

There is no doubt in my mind that we will see cyberattacks increase in the coming year. Whether it’s stealing personal information or attacking a company with ransomware, these crimes are easy to commit from anywhere in the world, making them extremely profitable for hackers. With that in mind, here are the top three cyber threats I believe we will face in 2018.

There are a number of simple, affordable things you can do to protect yourself and your family from a violent home invasion. One of them is building a safe room so you and your family have a place to retreat until the criminal leaves or law enforcement arrives. Read on for specific instructions in today’s article.

Preparing for an economic disaster isn’t a simple matter of saving money at home or acquiring a stash of gold and silver (although you absolutely should). This week’s must-read articles feature another option you should look into.

In today’s featured article, Jeff Anderson shows you a super-simple move that will stop an attacker in their tracks no matter how big they are — even if they get you down on the ground. Best of all, it requires very little strength of your own and ZERO practice. ​

Violent gangs and vicious criminals have a new “go-to” weapon in their deadly arsenals: acid attacks. Known as “face melting” or “torture in a bottle,” acid attacks create immediate, searing pain on contact and massive, irreversible damage to a victim in mere seconds.​ Here’s how to prevent yourself from becoming a victim and how to what to do if you or someone near you is attacked.