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Posted on 09/16/2008 5:50:43 AM PDT by Pistolshot
FRGC - Tuesday - What if?
Last week there was a post from a FReeper asking the question about what to have for weaponry 'just in case'.
The 'just in case' could be societal breakdown due to natural disaster (Katrina, Andrew, Camille), or in the never spoken of case, restoration of the republic.
Now the second may never happen, at least in our lifetime, but every great society in history has had a breakdown due to corruption, coup, or some charismatic leader manipulating the law until a democracy becomes a tyranical theocracy.
So, let's look at what would be a good, economical, group of firearms that are basically essential to have 'just in case'. There are really only a few firearms that should be considered if you are looking to arm yourself on a budget.
22's - Every gun fancier has more than one, and you should have at least one 22 in both handgun and rifle. The Ruger 10/22 is one of the most prolific rifles ever produced. If on a budget, there are used 22's in Savage, Stevens, Remington, Winchester, and a host of lesser manufactures at extremely good prices of $100 or less. Don't dismiss them becasue of worn finishes and dinged up wood. If the bores are in good shape, and the sights are not dinged up beyond usage, they will serve well in the function of a game getter.
Shotguns - We're not talking fancier engraved over/under skeet/clays guns here, we're talking defensive, no-frills shotguns, and that means 18-20 inch barrel riot or combat shotguns. hte Remington 870 is one of the best, the Mossberg 500 series, Winchester 1200 all fit in the category of reliable, inexpensive, hard hitting shotguns. 12 ga is the norm for these guns, but the 20 will serve if necessay. The advantage of the pump guns is the ability to easily change the barrels for a longer fowling barrel. That may be necessary 'just in case'.
Rifles - Now we are getting to the heart of a larger debate, one that surrounds caliber, mechanism, and portability. Remember, we are talking 'just in case' and the worst case.
The AR-15 system is probably the best combination of portability, and capacity. Notice, I said nothing about stopping power. The . 223 makes up for that in number of rounds available. In an urban environment, it may make the most sense. A good rifle, either auto or bolt, in 308 would be the best to have, imho. The 308 has excellent stopping power, range, and comes in a variety of configurations. Bolt guns are numerous, plentiful, and ammo is available almost everywhere. Semiautos can be any of the M1A configurations, H&K, or some of the AR makers, like the Armalite. There are other good calibers that can be used inthe role of 'just in case', but, 223/308 are military cartridges, and therefore, prohbably going to be much more available than any other. Bolt rifles are available in good economic range such as the Savage or even some of the lower end Remingtons
Handguns - Caliber and availability is important here. You need a good 22 handgun, either auto or revolver along with a defensive caliber. I would not recommend anything less than a 9mm for a defensive handgun, unless something smaller is all you have. 38/357 is a good combination in a revolver for the budget minded. Taurus makes a number of economical, reliable autos and revolvers in larger calibers.
There is not one "best" combination to have 'just in case', but if you have a good 22 rifle/handgun combo, shotgun, bolt or semi in military caliber and a good handgun, you are pretty much set. There are other factors involved in self reliance 'just in case'. Working with your friends and neighbors to be prepared to defend your homes, or working together to have a plan. Y2K had a lot of doomsayers saying that there would be chaos, which never happened, and a lot of people spent a lot of cash to get ready for it. Our neighborhood prepared as if any natural disaster was about to take place, water, food, generators, etc, were all put in place by us 'just in case'. The one thing I was tasked with was to make sure that those who chose to be armed had the right equipment and we had caliber compatibility. Fortunately, there was not much to worry about after Y2K. Now, we have an unusual situation in the country. This election, unfortunately, is going to be a weather-bell in some parts of the nation. there is a possibility of dramatic unrest and rioting in case one candidate is not elected. It underlies the entire process.
Being prepared for that possibility is something you might want to consider.
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“We’re not talking fancier engraved over/under skeet/clays guns here...”
But I can still have one, right? That’s on my Christmas List from Husband this year. :)
Very nice article. Thank you. :)
I own a couple but can, and would like to, always learn more about firearms.
Great idea! And thanks for mentioning the Taurus brand. The new Tauruses come with a lifetime guarantee. They used to not have such a good reputation, but they have greatly improved and the NEW ones, the difference between them and S & W is the name, that’s basically it. And the price. Taurus is cheaper.
Just my opinion, don’t want to start a war here. :D
Well - it is September.
I guess I could go back to my Fall tag line for you.
:-)
That's my wife's 'just in case' gun because it scares most uninitiated on sight, and is still an excellent close range Deer gun. If she never cleans it, it isn't going to care at all.
Go to my profile page and go to the links.
Lots there.
I like it!
We have a .22 and a shotgun that you can change out to a rifle barrel.
BUT since I used my BIL’s over/under shotgun for skeet last year, I am SO wanting one! Besides; I need to practice more. When I lose to my brothers I never hear the end of it.
Of course, when I win, it’s just ‘luck.’ Jerks. ;)
Personally, I believe that it's a good idea to have AT LEAST 1000 rounds for each caliber, maybe even that much for each weapon even if you have multiple weapons of the same caliber.
Right now I have a AR-7 knock off .22 surival rifle, & I an looking at the High Point rifles for other uses. The High Point firearms look to me to be a good budget minded series, and fairly reilable with not a lot of moving parts. There is a lot of 9mm ammo around too [even though I DO NOT like it!]
We have to think on what we can scrounge up in a worse case situation!
I recently acquired an SKS. One reason being that 7.63x39 is pretty easy to find.
My other rifles are No.4 Mk.1 Enfield and an 8mm Mauser. I do have a .22 Marlin bolt-action that I have had since the late 1980s.
Something to think of in the unspeakable scenario — where will you get ammo? Wal-Mart ain’t open anymore. Your ammo will likely come from a) whatever you have hoarded over the years and b) what you can beg, borrow, or steal from whatever military / LE presence is on the ground.
This tilted me towards the 9mm pistol and .223 rifle. I’ll likely always be able to scrounge some .223, much harder to scrounge up 7.62x39.
At any rate, I believe everyone needs at least four guns: a .22 rifle for hunting small game, a good, reliable, reasonably accurate pistol, a 12 gauge pump shotgun, and a military-style rifle. My choices are a Ruger 10/22, a Glock 17, a Remington 870, and a AR variant. Your mileage will mostly likely vary.
Absolutely. There's a certain logic in having multiple .22 rifles/pistols, since you can get literally tens of thousands of rounds cheaply, and without having to dig an ammo bunker in your back yard.
We’ve sold a LOT of Taurus oin the shop. Revolvers AND autos. From the conversations I have had, they have been extrememly reliable.
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