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?
BTW, in another vein the 45 site above as a sidebar story called The Guns Of Frank Hamer that is worth a gander.
One weekend in the 70s my younger brother then in the Army brought a naphew of Frank Hamer to my place for the weekend. A quiet, nice, big strapping kid about 6’4”or 5”.
At the end of the article, he mentions that the common military calibers of 5.56 & .308 (7.62) are a given. And due to availability, that’s the route I took.
But if I had the budget for additions to the long gun/ammo stock (beyond .22, of course), I’d love a lever gun or two in 30-06 & an AK47 for economically frequent shooting.
Ah well, too busy payin the bills to hit the range anyways.
>>> For years, I’ve said a .38/357 pistol and .38/357 lever rifle would be the ideal combo for shtf.
LOL, you’re making me drool. Just as well I never bought the S&W model 60 I fell in love with, or I’d have felt obligated to buy it a rifle mate.
Shupnoob
.223
May not be long range but will hit and hurt humans out to 300 yards. And most people can’t hit that well beyond 300 yards.
It will take anything from small game to small deer
Re-loadable
Lots of .223 ammo will be available
All kinds of rifles and accessories for the rifles
5.56, 308 and 22LR. Takes care of most any situation I could imagine in the lower 48.
Shot placement is everything.
Banging away at the rib cage isn't likely to do anything but give a good meat source some nasty wounds which will fester and ruin the meat, and kill the deer eventually (slowly and painfully)--something to be scrupulously avoided.
The resulting blood trail, even if the bullet punches through an intercostal muscle and hits lung, or even the heart, will be minimal and the chances of recovering the carcass slim without skilled or extensive tracking.
A lung shot may produce frothy and bright red blood, but not until that works its way up the bronchial tree and is blown out the nose. With a small bullet, that can take a few hundred yards and will be a hard trail to cut, especially if there is dense undergrowth. Larger bullets do more lung damage and provide a better blood trail quicker.
In times of scarcity, it’s always best to go with the most widely available - .22, .223, .508, and .30-’06.
There’s a lot of 7.62x39 around, too.
For the platform, it’s best to be able to fix anything that might go wrong.
Sorry - that should be .308!
I don’t know what rock you have been hiding under. ACP and Long Colt have been around for a long long time.
I have always referred to my pistols with this caliber as such.
Give it up.
MFO
“Alas, Brave New Babylon,” a new dark age, is a real possibility if the power goes out for even one month.
.22LR
.223/.556
.38
.357mag
.44mag
.45ACP
7.62
7.65 BAM 1891 Belgium Argentine Mauser
7mm Rem Mag
.54 Roundball ... for black powder
12 ga
7 mag has brought down deer, antelope and elk, mostly what I hunt here in Montana. .45 is EDC. The rest are just for fun ... and I never seem to be able to get rid of anything so I’m still in the accumulating phase.
Been reloading for 20 + years and have my own range out to 150 yds.
Life is good.
However: Wondering if the PTB have decided -- partly to erase nations -- to import as many Jihadists to the civilized west as possible, to create chaos and burning cities, thus depopulating the masses.
That was just one example of many you can easily find on the net if you search for ammo sellers.
These are successful business people who sell ammunition for a living - they know their market.
The term 45ACP is still the most common term in use for that .45 cartridge.
If people didn't know what the ammo sellers meant by "45ACP" you can bet they would change the terminology.
They don't care about the dictates of some oversight organization - they care about writting ads their customers find useful in finding and purchasing the ammo they want.
Your obsession that others use a term that you consider proper but is not the most common or popular usage reminds me of Barack Obama.
Ever notice how Obama and perhaps two or three other people in his administration insist on using the term ISIL instead of ISIS like the other 7 billion people in the world?
I’ve been drooling for a SOCOM with 16” barrel. As you say, oh well, gotta pay the bills, can’t buy the toys. I don’t have a .308 round in the house, so it would be more than just buying the tool and the mags, the ammo would be that extra cost.
The tools needed will be different during the initial collapse, with wandering bands of half-starved marauders, as compared to the time when this turned to single or threes, stealthily searching for supplies and tools. Hi capacity magazines will be the need initially, to deal with a dozen or more marauders at a time. Revolvers and lever guns will do the job when the numbers thin out. In the end, tools that can get it done out to 300 yards or more will be treasures for long-term survival.
There is no “planning” that will matter once this process explodes.
“But honestly — I have no desire at all to be on foot, scrounging and constantly on the move, sleeping in the rain. If things get that bad, I’m making a stand right where I’m at for better or worse. I’ve lived a good life, blessed far beyond what I believe I deserve. If a mob or whatever comes at me, my goal will be to make it as expensive as possible for them before they knock me down.”
Why wait? Be proactive and join/organize your local militia. SHTF is all about what the Second Amendment is for. Local militias will self-organize in days.
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