Posted on 12/14/2015 1:47:21 PM PST by w1n1
What rifle calibers are you stockpiling?
If you were going to pick a rifle caliber for a long term SHTF situation, what would that caliber be?
For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about my 7mm express / 280 Remington, and how the panic buying back in the first half of 2013 caused a shortage in ammunition supplies.
When I got my Remington model 700 chambered in 280, I wanted something that was around the 270 or 30-06, and that would also work on heavier game such as elk and moose.
In all honesty I put too much thought into picking the 280 Remington. While it's a fine caliber, the price of ammunition has gone up so much that shooting has gotten downright expensive. With a box of 20 rounds costing more than $25, stockpiling is cost prohibitive.
And let's be perfectly honest, there is nothing the 280 Remington / 7mm express can do that either the 270 Winchester or 30-06 Springfield cannot do.
There comes a point when survivalists are stockpiling too many calibers. We need to get out of this "buy a new rifle, stockpile a new caliber, buy a new rifle, stockpile a new caliber" roller coaster.
During the great ammo panic of 2013, what calibers were available? Or maybe the question should be what calibers were not available? I'll tell you what, let's talk about both.
30-30 Winchester After its introduction in 1895, the 30-30 Winchester has won a loyal following for its reliability. There is a reason why the 30-30 is considered to be the gun that won the west. Excluding military calibers and the 22 long rifle, if I had to pick a single cartridge for a long term SHTF / TEOTWAWKI situation, it would probably be the 30-30 Winchester.
Why the 30-30 Winchester? Because it has a proven track record of over a hundred years on deer sized game. Chances are no other modern caliber has killed more deer than the 30-30. Read the rest of the story here. What are you all carrying?
I love my 30-30 Winchester (so much so that I have a couple). I love my .223 Mini-14.
...but neither are those qualify as “Long Term” survival weapons.
Short term, absolutely. Mid-term weapons. Absolutely.
...but “Long Term” survival means decades without 1st World ammo.
Re-supply is important, and becomes more critical over time.
For “Long Term” survival of decades without ammo, you need a hand-pumped air rifle...preferably something that shoots over 900fps.
An air rifle can shoot a BB, pellet, or even a small rock.
You could make your own bullets from car metal, iron girders, wheels, etc.
Hand pump it up, load your home made bullets. Fire away.
You can find such air rifles in .177, .22, and even .25 calibre. There is one such rifle that is called “THE BEAST” that shoots at 1,300 FPS.
Decent. About 32 joules of stopping power. Dependable/usable 80 yard range. In a survival setting, how much shooting would you be doing that’s longer than football field away??
http://www.gamousa.com/product.aspx?productID=288
...or if you are a cheap SOB, here’s 950 FPS for $200: http://www.topairgun.com/22-benjamin-titan-np-air-rifle
Now you are talking about a 70 yard useful range to still have varmint-stopping power. Not bad. Easier to cock than the 1,300 FPS air rifle, for certain.
OBVIOUSLY an air rifle is no match for a firearm, but for “Long Term” survival the air rifle will shoot pebbles that you pick up or hand chip...which a firearm won’t do when you can’t obtain gun powder, primers, or manufactured rounds.
Likewise, you can make an argument that a bow or crossbow has some “Long term” survival value because once again, you can easily hand-make arrows/bolts in a pinch with whatever is laying around.
“Long Term” is a different world from short term survival.
Another advantage to the typical lever action is you can keep them topped up with loose ammo in your pocket.
Shoot one, load one.
If tshf and there are still millions left alive, the woods will quickly be hunted out. Hopefully you can take enough meat to survive until the planting season. Also, you will to turn it all to jerky so it does not spoil, since I assume there will be no refrigeration.
Reload,reload,reload!
Cast your own bullets!
Buy .22lr by the 5,000rd case.
I’m all set for 22 hornet, 223, 6.5x47,7mm Mauser, 8mm Mauser, 30carbine,308, 30-06, 38/357, 9mm, 45ACP, 45colt, 45-70, 12ga, 22lr
In a SHTF scenario every team member (my family) will eithe be carying 5.54 / 9mm or 12ga / 9mm. If there is room we will grab the .22 rifle next. So we will go out with 3 ARs and 2 12ga and 5 9 mm pistols. That’s the load out. We have 3 rugar 10/22 that will be hard not to tie off somewhere. If by vehicle then the next choice is load in the Remington 700 in .270. Small squad tactics are enhanced by an over watch capability.
My guess is planning will go to shit and I will end up with a pipe ot a bat 1000 miles from home. So be it.
A world with decades of no ammunition implies a collapse that is so very hard, that I’m not sure I’d WANT to survive it. Besides, you and I are no spring chickens. In 30 years, even 20, we’ll be borderline old. Medical issues would claim us long before the ammo ran dry.
In fact, many people who have survived real collapses (in Argentina and Bosnia) warn us that the medical issues are the primary ones. A simple small cut that gets infected can kill. A bad batch of water and the subsequent diarrhea can kill. A tooth that abscesses. A broken limb. And so on, and so on, and so on.
I’ve done some experimentation by living on my survival food. A drastic diet change can give you the runs. Without proper hydration in that situation, you are done. While MREs and Freezedried foods are a good basis, a few fresh items can make it so your system adjusts better, and greatly improves palatability. You would be surprised how much difference adding chunks of a boiled potato makes to a freeze dried bag of (whatever).
Firearms are about fourth on my list of survival priorities. First is water. Second is medicine. Third is both environmental protection (against hot and cold) — and food. Fourth is firearms.
I’m pinging Kartographer because he loves Donald Trump.
I actually built the whole project and leave it intact. It’s got an 18 in bbl with mid length gas and it was the first AR I built with Midwest Industries full float fore end which I really like. I put a VLTOR stock with a nice pistol grip/trigger guard set up all in FDE. It’s very light, deadly accurate and so far very reliable.
I bought about 5 boxes of ammo; some Hornady and some PPU, and then Hornady dies, brass and projectiles. So far I’m only using 120-123 gr bullets and the trajectory out to 400 yards is impressive for not being a 3000+ fps round. I still have yet to CHRONY the stuff.
One thing I don’t like, not a big deal but, it dents the brass mid case I think against the ejection port.
half pint bottles of whiskey will be like cash on the barrel head.
Oh, and another issue that Selco (Bosnia) brings up is that a lot of us WAY underestimate the psychology portion of the survival test. Most of us are not used to killing or having people trying to kill us. Our reactions can range from the subtle, to the extreme, to the fatal. Some people could not stop shouting — didn’t even know they were! — even when quiet is called for, such as active military looking for you in the ruins. Others froze in place. Others would Bansai and be shot down. Some people could not kill. Some people acted very bizarrely — one fellow insisted on wearing bunny slippers. Selco speculated that this reminded him of the old times.
We don’t know how we will react under fire and when required to kill. The training the military gets makes most people so trained, react in predictable and professional manners. We are not trained thus.
It is an important consideration. One thing I feel I have going for me is a harsh lifestyle for a while there that taught me some street smarts, and taught me not to panic. When people try to surprise me (in fun or jest) in real life now, I usually look at them cooly and determine if they are a fatal threat, and if I need to neutralize it. That’s a good reaction.
See the above two posts I posted. I think you will enjoy them.
You can start with a lee loader for $24.00.
Reloading, you can produce ammunition you cannot purchase, and for better quality.
The cost of the reloading tools is quickly recouped by the savings. You can reuse cartridge cases many times, depending on chamber pressure.
Loading for 38 special, casting my own bullets from salvaged lead, I was reloading for cheaper than buying 22 shells.
It is easy to learn.
If you’re gonna go that far just reload 12 gage shotgun shells ... slugs are not that difficult to cast.
That there is a great point.
But I hate to think of having two or three hundred of them stored in my basement. Took me thirty years to quit the first time around!
lol
I have a 100 fps that has two barrels ... .177 and .22. I can drop grackels at 50 yds with it and a 3x9x40 scope.
;)
Make that 1000 fps ... darn keyboard.
Of course you can't have too much 5.56...which is a CARBINE round. Or .22, or 12guage.
The S just hit the F in Eastern Ukraine for the last two years. Hundreds of hours of open warfare footage on line and not a single clearance drill performed by either side.
Kalashnikov. Pick your caliber. It doesn’t matter.
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