Your fail-safe firearm

For all you who own firearms, not those who just read about them (*no offense):

Disregarding range, target, conditions, terminal ballistics and just about any other variable other than RELIABILITY, what is your fail-safe firearm? To clarify, if you had a 100 ft wide and 100ft tall target in front of you, what weapon would you pick up that you know will go boom every time? I'm talking about that beast that eats cheap range reloads and budget-priced surplus ammo, gets rained on, dropped in the dirt and gets left uncleaned for weeks afterward and will still function properly (aka fire/cycle/fire).

I'm going to exclude bolt-actions and pump-actions from your choice, as I'm interested solely in automatics (aka semi-autos).




*not trying to sound arrogant, but every time I come across one of these posts it is deluded with talk of some vanity weapon that costs $5000 and that no one owns.

I'll kick it off:


I have been conflicted on this. My 7mm bolt and 12ga rem 870 are obvious winners, but the actions are so time-tested and simple that I don't want to include them in this.

I am going to have to go with my Heckler and Koch USP in .40 s&w. I have been a long-time fan of Sig Sauer and Kimber, but the USP will eat and endure anything, and after what I estimate to be 2700 rounds, I can honestly say that I have not had one, not ONE ftf (failure to fire). This includes as high quality and as low quality ammunition as is safe to run through the firearm. Now I do regularly clean and lubricate my weapons, as any responsible gun owner should, but I took this USP on my very last FTX and it got brutalized. I fired the USP fresh from water submersion, it got rained on and ate its fair share of mud. A quick and reflexive "tactical shake" of the weapon and it fired every time. It went 6 days in handgun hell without one field strip or a single bore snake and remained operational. I used to hate on the HK fanboyism, but I am firmly on the bus to Germany as far as reliability is concerned with this sidearm.

A close second is a Benelli 30-06 semi-auto deer rifle. I've fired that thing repeatedly and in conditions ranging from wet, humid 115 degree summers to -10 degree, ice covered winters. Never quits, but I have had more than a handful of jams using sub-par ammo in freezing conditions.

What about you?

First CZ 858 www.czub.cz... its ugly but you can upgrade it.

second Armalite M15, and Para ordnance Tactical Target Rifle™ (TTR™).


Personaly I got Sig 226 SL SO and smartreloader SR 229 pump.

It just has to be my spud gun!! Cheep and reliable.

reply to post by rockar


Nice. CZ is known for producing rugged and reliable rifles.

I have/am in the process of selling a Sig 226 in .40 s&w. I put some rubber Hogue grips on it and it is a beast. I have one of the pre-'96 or pre-'95 (can't remember the exact year) where it has the old-school, giant looping spring attaching the decocker/safe operation to the rest of the trigger group. After somewhere around 10,000 rounds and a new barrel it is just becoming more picky about ammo and conditions than it used to be. It's understandable and it has been a great duty/carry weapon.

reply to post by Ashishin_no1


You have an automatic spud gun? THAT, would be sweet.

reply to post by Use your brain


It's as automatic as I can push it into a spud then point and shoot!! LMAO

Romanian WASR 10/63 7.62
Eats anything and you could mash sand into the receiver and itll still shoot.

AK 47 WIKI

And after that, M4A4 5.56
Simply because its an amazing firearm.

The only rifle I had when I was younger was the Ruger Mini 14. It never failed when I used it

Ruger Mini 14

reply to post by Use your brain

Ahh. A thread the is right uo my alley

As A Sig Owner Myself (P226 .40 S&W / .357 Sig) I'm am Curious if you have contacted the manufacturer and asked them if there's anything they can do tp help you out. I have talk with there shop guys multiple time and I personally would vouch for there knowlegde and expertise in these matters. I am somewhat new to firearms though and my semiauto choice was a tough one. Through some research and looking around my final choice was an AR-15 5.56. I love it and it cycles rather well. The one thing that I have learned when it comes to firearms is it's part weapon and part ammo... some guns simply don't like certain ammo. And I'm a firm believer that a little extra cash for that small step up in quality does go a long ways, In essance, stay away from relaods and dirty cheap ammo like wolf and blaser ect. Another aspect at least for me was the engineering element of the firearm... Ever taken a good look at a glock, I saw one and don't get me wrong here, i'm not saying there bad. I simply didn't like the engineering platform that they went with, it felt cheap and unstable like it was going to blow up or something. There were at least 5 or so of us that shot the thing, and not one person liked it. The big winner of choice by everyone was the 44 Mag and the 1911 .45 auto. the only draw back was mag capacity. As where my Sig holds 15 +1 vrs. the 6 or 7 with the others. By the way everyone that has ever shot my sig... Absolutly loves it. STAR AND FLAG for you sir

reply to post by Use your brain


I would have to say my Bersa Thunder .380, it has yet to not amaze me. Best semi I have ever accidentally bought.

My WASR. Bought it third hand. Cheap as hell. Never cleaned it. Fires all the surplus and steel cased garbage I can feed eat. Hasn't suffered one FTF or FTE in the thousands of rounds I've owned it for. I assume the same for it's other owners.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Handgun: A revolver, either a Ruger or Colt. Revolvers never jam or fail to eject

Rifle, I have to second the person above who brought up the AK-47. I don't know of any other rifle out that can take the abuse an AK can.

Handgun: Browning HiPower 9MM
Rifle: Lee Enfield Mk IV .303 British bolt action.
Shotgun : 1934 Remmington 12 GA pump action.

I have owned all of these weapons for over 20 years. Not once has any of them failed or jammed. One thing to consider is the initial care taken with a weapon BEFORE you expose it to these conditions. You could take two of the exact same model weapon, give on to a person who takes care of it and give one to a dirtbag, put them into the same conditions and the one that has been well taken care of will shoot when the dirtbag's weapon fails.

I'm another ak Guy... My SAR-1 is a beast and literally WOLFs down anything I feed it. My Glock 23 of Course , it's damn near invincible. But what has surprised me lately is my Beretta PX4 Storm in 45. , I never even looked at this weapon but a friend of mine bought it , put a box of ammo through it and HATED it , he made me an offer I couldn't refuse and now I own it, I've never picked up a handgun that pointed so naturally and felt so good in my hand & I LOVE the ergo's. I was hesitant about the reliability because of the rotating barrel design , but I'm 718 rounds in and I've yet to have an issue. The rest of my toys wouldn't make the cut due to their various actions , b ut If WW3 kicked off or I woke up to "The walking dead" the first thing I'd grab outta the safe would be my SAR-1

Its a Glock. I shoot 357 Sig Glock 31

I still trust my SW 7 shot stainless revolver over the Glock, but the Glock is a very reliable pistol...

There are three guns that i'll be toting when TSHTF.

Pistol is my Glock 19 with the optional 33 round clip. 9mm ammo is relatively cheap and with 33 rounds in a pistol, reloads are a minimum.

Shotgun would be my Saiga 12 converted. I have two twenty round drums that I could shoot as fast as I could pull the trigger.

Rifle would be my SCAR 16. Now this is an expensive rifle I know, but I could sniper with it and then fold the stock and use is for CQC. It has a thirty round mag so I would have plenty of ammo and .223 ammo is still abundant and somewhat still affordable (when purchased in bulk).

I would have my wife holster a Glock G21 and shoulder my AK. This is my plan and I think covers all bases.

In the event that I need to pick a gun and shoot to survive, depending on the threat, I would choose one of 2 firearms.

For longer range threats I would use my Bushmanster XM-15 20" A2. It's a tac driver at 300 meters and beyond. For 100 yards and less I would use my Remington 870 tactical shotgun. Beyond 25 yards I'll use the slugs, within 25 yards I'm using buck or buck n' ball.

Massive damage, superb reliability.

That's easy.... My Ruger P944 40 S&W
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1cd5de0374ec.jpg[/atsimg]

Over build, like a tank it's not as light weight as some of the composite guns but I can work up some pretty hot loads for her... Smaller than a .45 with more rounds, and only slightly less effective as a .357...
In my normal carry I keep all five mag's loaded with 165 gr. Golden sabers that puts my one shot stop in the 90 percentile range...Will drop a deer just as quick as it will a man... It might not be pretty but neither am I...

Believe it or not my second choice goes to my 10/22 tactical... out to a 100 yards I can place a Federal Match grade .22 in a bad guys right eye with every pull of the trigger

reply to post by DaddyBare


I have to agree with you on the .22. I just purchased a H&K 416 (made by Umarex) chambered in .22LR. That this is the funnest gun I have ever shot. Accurate as can be and 500 rounds for $12.00. The thing about a .22 is it is quiet, light, and you can carry about 500 rounds in your front pocket. I may have to rethink this a little. I know a .22 is the least effective round for takedown, but like you said, one round placed directly in your enemies eye or temple and your enemy is done!