Survivalist Weapon choice for long term defense and to feed yourself's.

for people in countries that cant buy guns, just make them. go buy an old crappy chinese pellet gun and use the rifled barrel off of it. go to your local hardware store and buy boxes of 22 cal nail gun driver ammo and fashion yourself a fire arm. those chinese barrels are excellent and they're rifled

primer guns are cool to make as well and rimfire cartridges are simple to make firing pins and bolts for. you have all the parts you'll pretty much need from the pellet gun

Maybe I'm just ok'd fashioned but I'd choose a knife.

If only one weapon it is the most versatile weapon there is, you can fashion yourself a bow if you have rope, it can be used as a spear tied at the end, good ole stabbing weapon, and will help you do almost anything you need done.

That sounds like the ultimate survival weapon to me...

Pred...

reply to post by JerryB08


i learned as a kid how to melt down wheel weights, strain them and cool in detergent, and waalaa.. shell shot., also did slugs after a few years of practice to get it right.

you and your flintock will not do well against a semi auto 12 ga. and yes, some have truly 1000's of shells. they can be reused!!

maybe of more people would have experience before shtf things would not be so scary.. most important advice to you O.P.

GET INTO SKEET SHOOTING!! some guys there could teach you alot. plus a few new friends with value in a shtf situation. after that you will understand how ridiculous the flint lock idea is..

reply to post by JerryB08


I would say a .22 semi-auto rifle with a large capacity magazine. Because you could easily carry three of them (to last a long time), and a large amount of ammo, and ammo could be had in quantity after some disaster. Hollow points could also be loaded with a sharp tungsten carbide shaft that could penetrate kevlar (preferably before a disaster) or a thick skull as some large game animals have. .22's could also be easily silenced, and silencers should last longer than those with larger calibers.

Any bow string is going to wear out and stretch with repeated use. If you are going to go with a bow I second the recurve bow. The bowstring can be replaced with sinew/leather/braided fabrics and arrows can be made from anything fom yew (old traditional British) to holly to maple or oak. Arrowheads can be made from flintknapping or just lashing a lot of diverse things to the point and sharpening them up. You can even just sharpen the point of the arrow. You will have to fletch the arrows to stabilize them. And unstring the bow when you are not using it to avoid the "set" of the limbs.

Knives never run out of ammo. They can be sharpened with anything from a flat stone to sandpaper to the bottom of a coffee cup (that little unglazed bit at the edges).

As for my house we all have lever action .357 rifles. You can use any ammo from the 125 grain .38 to the 180 grain .357. The .357 is about the most widely held home defense handgun in the USA followed closely by the .38 and the .45. The 9mm comes in about tied with all of the above. With one of the .357 rifles you can harvest anything from rabbit to deer and possibly elk. The rabbit will take more practice to not hit it where all the meat is destroyed, but you can take one at 50 yards or better. The max effective range is around 100 yards, but I've dropped deer at 80 yards with one. The 6 point buck took a run for 50-60 feet and fell over dead.

The .357 ammo has been hard to get lately, but there's plenty of .38 out there and it's not expensive.
They're also very easy to reload with a minimum investment and shoot wheel weight bullets with no trouble.

Remember, whatever you have, two is one and one is none. Whatever you go with you should have at least two or a good stock of the most common spare parts.

reply to post by gdaub23


Well obviously. Anyone not prepared is an Idiot. However how long do you think primers are going to be around? because eventually your going to run out of ammunition. Even If your reloading you have to have primers for the firing pin it ignite the powder. Those will end up becoming unavailable If something like a Comet hits the US like people keep talking about. Then If you do find a company making them will they be the kind you need? How many times you going to reload the same brass? They eventually will start to split. DO you think your paper money will pay for the primers you need? Could you imagine what they would or could cost?

Can you really prepare for a disaster that's truly a long term event. When you run out of ammunition are you going to throw rocks? Also it's a rifled musket They have hardly no parts that can't be crudely made. The one extra part I would bring along is a new main spring or two. However you could use a long match to ignite the pan if the rifle is resting on a log and you can shot with one hand. Remember these rifles were hand made on the frontier they are not complex. But all this just my opinion. Chances are nothing is going to happen. I guess that's the normalcy in me. However everybody is preparing like it will. But if it actually does surviving long term is not something most people will be able to do.. I wasn't talking to those people.

Somebody mentioned Snares. Having what you need for snares is important but I would also learn how to do it before your ability to do it will dictate If you eat that day or not. It's actually pretty simple.

Originally posted by Movescamp
reply to post by JerryB08

 

Crossbows are far from silent. The bolts are sPecific unlike arrows and useless after fired once. It's a bad survival weapon. You should try one before writing such a post. A bow is by far better. A slingshot is good if you can hit anything the ammo is on the ground. Snares are key.

I have a 150lb draw crossbow and re-use the bolts. They are far from useless once they are fired. In my opinion a crossbow is much better than a bow. As you know if you use a bow, the strength needed to keep it ready to fire is immense while a crossbow can be cocked and loaded and forgotten about until needed. I also wonder if we all have dismissed air rifles far too quickly? A good Weirhaunch under lever is very powerful and could do you a lot of damage if not severly injure you!

reply to post by HappyHermit


Very sound advice. Especially the round selection. 38 rounds would probably be the most found. Almost all police service pistols used 38's. Until they went with automatics. So there's a ton of surplus stuff out there.

A note on crafting your own arrows in the WTSHTF scenario, If you're using a compound bow, you probably don't want to try using wooden arrows. I have heard that a compound bow can cause the arrow to split in half and then drive the arrow into your forearm. That would be very bad without any medical care readily available. Recurve bows don't do this because they impart energy into the arrow less violently. Also as mentioned above you need a special jig to restring a compound bow and compound crossbows. Better to stay away from those and stick to the recurve limbs. You're sure to nick your string with a broadhead at some point, then it's useless. Recurves can be restrung in the field.

A .22lr rifle would also be a wise investment. Something simple, light and will always go bang no matter what, like and old Cooey Model 39 if you're a Canadian. Trappers up here love that rifle. As somebody else stated, .22lr ammo is easy to stockpile. Your tools are only as good as your level of competence when using them. Guns will always be around, so learn to shoot them all effectively. If you can't get your lead on target at 25, 50, 75, 100 meters, it's not really going to be of any use to you at all besides making you a target.

reply to post by rebeldog


Who said I would be defending myself with a flintlock? lol Not hardly. I'm simply talking about conserving ammo and when it dry's up altogether.

And you really shouldn't talk about people lacking knowledge. I just finished ( I decided it's none of your business) I bet I have more overseas combat tours than you have firearms. I won't even get into what my MOS (job) was even If I could.

A little advice. Shot guns are handy for people that can't shoot. And are an asset for urban warfare and room clearing. My dad used a sawed off 1897 Winchester trench as a tunnel rat in Vietnam. However if your talking about surviving one of the lowest points in American history. (Should it happen which I seriously doubt) A shot gun is better than no gun. But what about the people that can consistently shoot an apple out of your hand at 1000 yards? (that's 10 football fields BTW)You might as well throw that shotgun at us.

Hell I forgot about the many countries that let their government take their firearms. How did you guy's let that happen? That's the first thing Hitler and Stalin did when they got in power. Iraqi's are allowed one AK per household. Anyhow. The air rifle or the air rifle conversion is a really great post. As far as a Knife. Well if you haven't figure that one out.. Your just not gonna make it. sorry. On choosing a knife. I would strive for one with very high carbon content. If it says stainless steel it's a cheap knife and won't hold up. If you stick with Military surplus knifes (real ones) It's hard to go wrong.

The best weapon we have for long term survival, when it all comes down to it, is our heads, in my humble opinion.
I am a single female, and gave self-preservation in a SHTF scenario serious thought beginning about 10 years ago.
I decided that for my protection, in case I find myself without anyone else, I should
Stay in the best physical shape possible
Learn several methods of self defense and
Most important, keep my position secret
Since then, I have become proficient with my recurve, (I take 2 Deer with it every Autumn)
I also have become quite good at simultaneously throwing a Gerber hatchet with my right hand and 1 of my many knives with my left.
I have a blow gun, several wrist rockets, (and YARDS of replacement surgical tubing).
I am a fly-fisher that has learned to tie my own flies.
I learned about traps and running a trapline from friends that live North of Fairbanks AK
For the occasion I am caught unaware, I have several guns and I plan to have one on me at all times, all revolvers, which to me, are more reliable in bush situations than autos, which seem to jam at the worst possible times.
But my guns would be used ONLY in an un-avoidable, must-use situation.

Also, in the past decade I have gone to school and become a plant wildcrafter and herbalist. Few plants in my area are unfamiliar to me and I know their uses, edibly and medicinally.

I tan the hides of the deer I bag with their brains, and sew chaps, vests and pillows by hand using the sinew as thread, and sell those items for a good sum.

I have learned how to make wine and have all the equipment necessary to do that. (Even a corker!)
I love to cook and the value of having a wide variety of spices in large quantities has not been lost on me.

My BOB is my Motorhome, my bob is inside of it. My RV is self contained, with a generator, and all propane appliances in it, along with 150 gallons of propane. Gasoline tanks are filled and ready to go.

I try to see to it that I live at least 200 miles from any large metro area, and in areas that have mainly secondary roads and dirt roads. I guess you could say I have already bugged out.

Other preparations have been made too, but I wont go into all that, yet I still feel woefully unprepared.

Sorry for such a long post,

Peace

reply to post by JerryB08


An apple out of someones hand at 1,000 yards?

Really?

With what rifle?

I want to see a video of you doing just that.... come on now.......

Originally posted by Movescamp
Snares are key.

Agreed. The first survivalists; frontiersmen were trappers.

As far as feeding yourself, I'd go with an over and under. bullet on top, slug or shot on the bottom. It's 2 guns in one and would cut down on the weight you would have to carry for you hunting needs. As far as defense goes, you could use it, but it's better to avoid confrontations in a survival situation, stealth and avoidance keep you around longer.Plus a single shot is heard in the woods, a second shot tells people which direction it came from.

reply to post by mwood


No problem. Are you holding the apple? lol like I would spend the effort in making a video to proof to some guy on the internet that I'm an excellent shot. especially given the fact you would just say it wasn't a video of me making the shot. Or the first shot. Or what ever reason that you would come up with.

reply to post by Elostone


Thank you for making me feel completely inadiquit.

That said (and this is to all) make sure you have a knife. As Elostone said revolvers are definately better in the brush, and are simpler peices of equipment, which means that they are less likely to break in any way. Just look at the old peacemakers that still fire, God would I love to own a new one made to the same standards (or better). Also, for ammo, stick with .22 in at least one rifle or two and a revolver or two. You can go heavier but cover that and you will be set for ammunition. As for the origional post, a flintlock type is great if you can make your own powder and replace damaged parts. (and shoot it well). If you can't do all that get a recurve bow. Not as fancy as a compound bow or crossbow, but you can learn how to make one and can make arrows, same can't be said for the other two. Blowguns and wristrockets are great, and probably the quietest weapons listed, also have pretty much no ammo limitations.

Love the flintlock. Problem is, most people wont take the time to learn how to prepare the flint, make their own powder, mold a bullet. Maybe you could suggest a matchlock to them? Granted, it involves a burning rope and they will likely blow themselves up, but, whatever works.

Flintlock is an easy weapon to maintain, fire, and recover spent ammo. If you can make powder, can find and chip flint, and can find steel (not all to hard), it is the ultimate suvival hunting firearm. If you cant, or wont learn how to do those things, you might suggest things such as:

A bow and arrow. Sure, I can buy great bows and arrows anywhere, try building something accurate at 200 yards, with killing power.

A crossbow. Yup, easy to use, easy to aim. Um, how are you going to fix the broken strings, which happen often, oh, you stockpiled alot of them, great, why not a gun and stockpile ammo?

A slingshot. WTH? A squirrel a day, maybe a rabbit if you are lucky? Ever killed anything with a slingshot, or for that matter a blow gun? I have, and its a pain. Ill take a 50 cal bullet hitting a deer, a cow, a moose, whatever at 200 yards over a rock at 15 feet that may or may not hit any day.

Keep your breach clean, fire straight, and hope it never comes to that. To the guy with 47,000 rounds of 7.62x 39, buy an AK, youve gone as far as you can with the SKS, get the fun gun with the big clips.

a good tomahawk has more uses than a knife and is far more deadly in a hand to hand or a predator engagement, like wild dogs or even worse wild hogs. people will say that they can make a spear with their knives, but who wants to chance damaging your knife while throwing it as a spear? i sure as hell wouldn't

learn how to knap arrowheads and spear heads from stone and you'll never be without disposable stockpiled weapons.

i use deer antler spikes for fighting weapons as well, its the toughest laminate in nature and you can walk right past a metal detector without a care in the world and can easily skewer someones eye right out of their socket or plunge it deep in their brain

reply to post by ChachiArcola


oh yeah! look at the recoil. It looks like it barely has any, correct me if i'm wrong. www.youtube.com...