Posted on 12/10/2013 7:24:30 AM PST by Carriage Hill
1.5.56x45
2.7.62x51
3.30-06
4.22lr
5.9mm
6.40 cal.
7.45cal
8.12ga. buck 00
All else is a waste of time and money-know what your enemy shoots and use his supply.
I was inspired by this thread to go buy some more ammo. Walmart still had the 3 box limit but was able to get 100 rd .45acp and .40 FMJ and also some .40 Hydrashocks.
On a rifle caliber thread? I agree with Lurker that you should stock .22 lr and a 30 caliber round. I would like to be able to afford an AR10 and use .:08 but can’t swing it so my SHTF plan calls for .22 and .30-30 just like the article states. I can’t shoot much out past 100 yards anyway and with flextip I’m good out to 200. I also planned on not having semi-auto since they rely on clean gas exchange and went with lever actions that are easier to maintain.
Don’t forget the 12 gauge slugs.
“I have more .22lr than I can count.”
Count with shoes on or off?’
I can count to 21 if I take my pants off..”
You mean you can’t count to 23 with your pants off?
....21, 22, 23,,
-hey you’re right!
.22 LR, you can put 10,000 rounds in a backpack and move!
That’s be a load.
Some’s better than nothing.
I have a lever-action Henry Big Boy chambered in .357mag, along with a pristine 1976 Colt Trooper Mk III 6” revolver in .357mag, too, so those two would be a good option. Both are a lot easier to maintain than the ARs and 1911s.
The best rifle is one that is accurate enough for your purpose, and which you can afford to buy 3,000 rounds for.
That’s darned good for any spray-and-pray SKS; too bad you didn’t get it from him. And ammo is cheap, compared to my ARs.
The choice of rifle is highly dependent upon environment, budget, and the owner. In an urban environment, the ability to rapidly engage multiple hostiles at ranges from across the room to about 100 yards is more important than long-range accuracy. Out in the country, the opposite may be true. And some people may only be able to afford a cheap Russian rifle.
Well said. The best rifle is the one which works best for the user, in any circumstance.
often arrows may be reused or made more easily than firearm ammo
Before jumping to that conclusion I’d suggest attempting to make decent arrows from recycled or raw materials. I’ve not tried it myself, but I suspect it’s not easy.
In my misspent youth I taught myself how to make an arrow from scratch both using some manufactured fletching and nocks and traditional Indian methods.
It’s not easy and take a lot of time to do properly. As my mentor told me once: When participating in the sport of archery more time is spent on choosing and working with the bow than the arrow. It should be the opposite, the arrow is the most important part. To prove it he literally made a bow from a fallen branch and although it was a piece of cr@p he still managed a good grouping with superbly made arrows before it broke.
Try to do that with a cr@ppy arrow and you risk it shattering on release and skewering your hand especially on these modern compound and cammed bows that are exceptionally powerful.
In conclusion, if you are counting on the bow and arrow in SHTF then learn all you can about the traditional techniques of making arrows. It can be fun, I can guarantee it will be educational.
Thanks for the input.
Few modern people realize that it generally requires more skill, not less, to produce a usable product with pre-industrial methods.
Anybody can grind a quite usable knife out of a truck spring.
Producing a decent steel knife from raw iron, much less ore, is a great deal more difficult.
Blacksmithing requires skill and experience, not just equipment.
Attempting to produce even a semi-usable flint edge is an amazingly humbling experience.
Yeah, point taken. Thank you for your kind reply. Others act as though I’m an idiot.
I understand the difficulties in reusing arrows and in making them. I also understand the difficulties in making pellets.
I am more than well aware of what it is like to live with all your worldly belongings on your back. People prepare for a SHTF scenario by having a tbest a change of close, their favorite weapon in their favorite caliber hanging out in their home existing on the rough. Not a likely scenario.
One will be lucky to carry enough ammo to last a year, assuming you do not run into trouble. You will not be able to carry enough food and water to last a week. Shooting to eat will attract unwanted attention. Feeding yourself with a bow or air weapon is a better alternative. In short ordder, you will walk your boots off, your clothes will be tatters.
One needs to look hard at the history of refugees. No matter their preparedness, it is a pretty stark situation. People think they can live like as a special forces operative. Most of the time, these guys do not live off the land. Yes they have the ability to do so, but they are very aware of how their condition rapidly deteriorates when they do. Also, we forget that special forces operatives are, well, special. Not every person is geared to do what they are capable of for exdtended periods of time.
I forgot to mention trapping and snaring, another reasonable alternative for feeding ones self, but that takes knowledge and practice as well.
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