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As long as SKSs are still "relatively" cheap, people should purchase at least TWO plus a couple of thousand rounds of ammo, and seal it all properly in PVC...and bury it for later!

I think our house was not unlike many. We had many, MANY different firearms of different calibers and configurations....which is good if you like to collect firearms, but terrible from a logistics and support standpoint!

We sold a good many of the "oddballs" for cash...private sale of course to people that we TRUST. Then we settled for a "standard" long gun, pistol, .22 rifle, shotgun, and scoped distance rifle for each familly member. So far, we're about 2/3 at acquiring this stuff and probably won't get around procuring all of it. But that's not my point.

My point is that people think they're prepared because they've got the ole .30-30 and a couple of boxes of shells, when in truth, I think this is wishful thinking at best. Not that there's anything wrong with the .30-30. It's a fine cartridge, although I don't care for the weakness inherent in lever actions. But these are issues of "opinion". People with a goal for a common defense should choose a STANDARD and then stick to it!...even if they choose the .30-30! :-)

I was voted down and beaten in the debate over a standard carbine type semi-auto rifle. I won't go into any details, but even though it's NOT my preference and I don't like Stoner's direct gas impingement system, and alloy receivers, a charging handle that requires a complete shift of firing stance, and the documented poor kill ratios in recent conflicts... I can't deny that EVERY person (including females!) in my house can use this particular rifle!...and have proven so! Ammunition en-bulk was also about half price to reload with respect to 7.62 NATO, and even though I do NOT favor high-speed .22s, I know there is a lot to be said for being able to carry more ammo. I realize the advantage.

One thing we learned the hard way.... budget for "decent" (or GOOD!) electronic (or Tritium) signts and "proper" weapons lights when purchasing the "standard". There's nothing quite like trying to keep track of your light when things go "bump in the night"...and then when you find it, you discover that peep sights just aren't the same in the dark! The sights and light combined will add anywhere from $100 to over $1000 (ACOGS! :-) to the cost of the weapon, but it's an advantage nobody will want to be without when that time comes! The way our rigs are all set up...ya pick one up, charge it, turn on the sight, and if you need the light, the switch pad ends up being under your left thumb on the front grip (we all shoot right handed). No more searching for a light because it stays ON the weapon, and the sight is just GLARING at you!

One small word about electronic sights. I KNOW that people are tempted to go over to WallyWorld and just buy a BSA red dot sight, and for the money these are pretty good sights actually. We've used them before. But there is ONE big differentiating factor with "dot" sights! This factor is the sights' ability to keep POI (Point Of Impact) when you move your head, thus causing the dot to move within the sight. The cheaper sights will NOT hold POI with movement like this! The better sights (AimPoint, Trijicon, C-More...and a few others) WILL hold POI! We found this out by mistake really. One day, we were running drills shooting least dominant hand/eye around a barrier, and we noticed that my hit ratio was very, VERY good as compared to another guy who usually had a high hit ratio. We swapped rifles and his ratio went UP, and mine went DOWN! This is because when shooting least dominant eye, we tend to NOT get the dot centered! We discovered that the cheap sight did NOT keep POI when the dot wasn't centered!

After the shoot, we fired the rifles from a rest and verified this problem with POI and the cheap dot sight. These sights are still a pretty good value, just so long as people bear in mind this POI problem.