OK FReepers, it's the zombie apocalypse. What battle rifle should I buy?

Me | 24 May 2014 | Me

[Drew68]

There's probably a few threads already but I've been here 14 years and rarely post vanities. So indulge me.

I've got about $1600 +/-$200 to spend. I certainly don't need to spend it all.

I want a good semi-auto rifle.

What to get?

Currently, I have a Maverick 88 12 gauge shotgun. I have a .45 1911. I have some Smith and Wesson Glock copy in .40 cal that a buddy needed money for. I have a Ruger 10-22. I have a Winchester 30-30.

I'm missing something. A semi-auto rifle.

Lately, I've been a strong proponent of something in .308/7.62 NATO and leaning towards a DS Arms FAL or a PTR-91. However, nothing beats a Kalashnikov. And AR-15s are the most popular rifle in the world.

What say you all on this Saturday night?

[OL Hickory]

what no love for the mosin nagant?
cheap rifle...cheap ammo and big bullet!

[Drew68]

You will never be shooting at zombies.

Of course not. I don't really believe in zombies. I just wanted to draw attention to my vanity thread. FReepers + zombies = posts!

Your $1,600 investment shoot reflect that reality first and foremost. I think the .308 is pretty much the king of the battlefield personally. It has a way of shooting through things that other calibers do not and there is just an abundance of surplus ammo and components laying around.

I'm really leaning this way. But I'm not sure why. Big part of me says, buy an AK. It's tried and true. Most reliable rifle in the world. Another part says buy an AR --most common sporting rifle in the United States.. Parts are plentiful.

But as you said, .308 is king.

[gwgn02]

FAL fas plug is why its so adaptable to differing ammo...its a feature, not a bug, I would not give up, and the FAL will eat up tar sealed ammo without a hiccup. PTR is a great rifle, just not one i’d consider in an imperfect shtf world. In shtf id give up slight decrease in accuracy for total peace of mind reliability vs an AR platform boasting this or that MOA.

[Yosemitest]

Remember that gas operated can have problems.
Sometimes "old school" is better.
The M-14 is hard to beat, but it's heavy if you have to carry it very far.

[Drew68]

Remember that gas operated can have problems.
Sometimes "old school" is better.
The M-14 is hard to beat, but it's heavy if you have to carry it very far.

M-14 is gas-operated. Then again, so is the AK-47. Tried and true. PTR-91 is blow-back. Simplest rifle design out there.

Remember the STG-44?

It's now the PTR-91. Almost the same exact weapon.

[gwgn02]

lol if were gonna go there... give me a Finn M39!

but 7.62x54r Vepr in 16” would be another great option if only 20rnd steel mags were available from Molot

[papertyger]

Nothing beats .... stealth! (hilight)

[RC one]

It’s hard to pick a favorite tool. They all have their place. DPMS has some nice new .308 rifles. I intend to get their Gen 2 recon model a some point. It seems like a very versatile tool.

[Drew68]

Nothing beats ....

Except when you have a wife and two kids to look out for.

Though you bring up a good point. When the SHTF, it will be the young guys with no families dragging them behind who will make short work of the rest of us.

[papertyger]

Except when you have a wife and two kids to look out for.

Don't think invisibility: think camouflage.

Bullpup rifles, that Keltec mentioned up thread, high firepower to size pistols, etc....

[familyop]

"Guns and ammo will be cheap. Canned food, batteries, flashlights, bandaids, pop-tarts, that's what we'll shoot each other for."

From many instances of history after disasters, yes. Those would be about the cheapest items after an economic collapse, for example. Instances of violence, probably, but sporadic and smaller than expected. Criminals will be rounded up. "WROL" is nothing more than fantasy. There's always been law and always will be, because most people want it. If they don't want it one day, they will soon enough after being awakened by the painful and uncomfortable realities of anarchy or guerrilla warfare.

Poverty, big time. Many other kinds of items would be much more in demand, and huge numbers of people would be trying to sell firearms and ammunitions for next to nothing.

Many people are fantasizing about a mythical, absolute regime of omnipresent violence, because they've lost money and/or things or see their own mortality in the near future (end of the world for them). They're hoping for some kind of fantastic rearrangement that would allow them to come out richer or in some kind of better position.

Many are fantasizing about another war between states, but leadership in every state is thoroughly socialist and evil. Even in most rural areas, folks with socialist tendencies are interspersed with truly conservative others who want to produce (as in make parts or something like that).

Many others are suffering from spooked herd syndrome. They know that some unusual changes are happening. Because of silence on the causes of those changes (all natural, don't happen very often) along with man-made global warming propaganda (smokescreen to cover for lack of knowledge about what's happening), many people are sensing some kind of worldwide, world ending disaster ahead.

They also know that many political, business and academic leaders have turned crooked and don't want to do their real duties (like getting out of the way with fees, zoning against manufacturing, etc., and letting men start small manufacturing operations all over the country). Strange reaction on the part of the spooked herd, though, wanting to get ready to play bad-guy soldier ("as seen on TV"), rob and murder.

I've watched lots of videos and read lots of the popular fantasies about "TEOTWAWKI," but from experience, I can tell you that nearly none of the suburban commandos would find what they expect in a situation of true anarchy. What so many who've not been trained to be combat soldiers (only a very small percentage of our Army, Marines and even fewer in the Navy) believe to be tacticool is foolery. The videos with lifelong civilian hobbyists, police, former officers, service and supply personnel and others pretending fire-and-maneuver training are hard to watch. Real soldiers or well trained guerrillas would slither and slide through them like scythes through hay.

Technical skills and food production would be most important by far. But back to the topic.

[Drew68]

At this point in the evening I'm now thoroughly drunk. I'm hitting the rack. Good night my fellow FReepers.

I think I'll buy a rifle tomorrow and let you all know what it was.

[Yosemitest]

I still think you should consider concealability.
Get a rifle you can also have some fun with, instead of just a closet dust collector.
Take a look at all the different caliber variations that Browning "Takedown" comes in, and their barrel lengths (the pack length of the longest part).
Will both parts of the AR pack into a 20-inch length pack and still weigh only 6 lbs 8 oz ?
I own an Armalite AR-10 carbine, and I got it when it was still less than $1,300.00.
That was many years ago.
I'm retired military and I know how to use it.
But I'd be better served with the .270 Win. in a "takedown", mostly because of usability, conceivability, and long rage kill power.

[Mr. K]

I don't know why, but I love this:

rifle/shotgun combo REVOLVER

shoots both 45 cal AND 410 shotgun

[Lumper20]

I recall when our recon teams were forced to carry AK’s in Cambodia in late 68 and no CAR 15’s. Well I can state more then one 10 and 11 were not happy. The reason I preferred the CAR 15 is the size and especially the weight of the ammo. Carrying 20 mags of 5.56 x 18 per clip in ammo pouches plus another 20 in a pack is not as heavy as carrying the same number of 7.62. It really depends on you. A friend bought a rifle like Tom Selleck carried on the Aussie Western. He loads his own as those rounds are expensive. Well, I went to the range at Campbell with him. He hit targets at 1,000 and further.

[Vendome]

I ran 4,000 rounds through mine before cleaning it.

All surplus ammo. Filthy stuff.

Not one misfire.

Took it completely apart. Pulling the trigger assembly, down to the bedding.

Complete waste of time. There was nothing internal, in the bedding, etc.

Cleaned it up lickety split and I don’t feel the need to ever take it all the way down.

Excellent weapon and reliable as my Kimbers.

If the SHTF, my M1A, any Kimber and my Mossberg pump are all I need.

[Vendome]

I like the OD color but, mine is Black Death....

Luv it!

I have only gone 600 yards on iron sights. I like it the way it came out of the box anx won’t be putting a scope on it.

I have other rifles which are mated with Luepold MK IV scopes, if I feel I need that accuracy.

[BradyLS]

Sometimes I winder if overall knockdown would be better than distance/accuracy for a weapon in a zombie apocalypse.

A weapon that had an over/under shotgun/grenade-launcher with a deep magazine well for the shotgun—and that could also be used as a heavy club at hand-to-hand ranges—I think would be ideal.

Definitely an M-60 over a lighter SAW if you want knock down waves of zombies.

[5th MEB]

Make your self a LOBO, I did.

[familyop]

"The only drawback is U.S. forces don't use any weapon that chambers 7.62 x 39, so the opportunity to pilfer ammo in a SHTF situation is nil."

Sorry I didn't get that quoted with HTML earlier. Anyway, we both know that would be a no-go. On the serious side, have you considered reloading ammunition?

For defense of self and family, yes, firearms might be good to have. But have you put much thought into other security considerations like where various objects are situated around the home place (fences, mounds, masonry,...), lighting, alarms, cameras and more? There are also all kinds of camouflage.

I'd recommend watching at least one of the old kung fu movies with the beggar style dude (Beggar Su or something like that). Very important message for all kinds of ideas there, especially for a built up, populated area. Obstacles and related security considerations were part of my specialty.

There are many ways to divert attackers and put them wherever you want them--even many non-lethal ways that would be good and legal now. A well secured house can look like a nice, pretty, impoverished grandma's house, be harmless to anyone else who's harmless, yet be a trap for anyone with bad intentions.