>>> 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.
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.