My hubby and I have been practicing survival type skills for a number of years, we've taken camping trips with no food, relying solely on
fishing\foraging for food. During hikes in the area we found a raspberry patch and several cherry trees with enough to sustain us even if we didn't
catch fish. We also never use a lighter for fire, always flint and steel just to keep skill fresh. We would of course use our brains and do our best
to avoid danger, but in the probabaility of looting activity occuring my hubby has multiple rifles and handguns, boxes of ammo, and Ihave my sigsaur
and ruger.
I have a variety of firearms. Rifles, shotguns, lever actions, revolvers and so forth, but in any SHTF scenario, I could not possibly use them all.
Which is why my primary go-to weapons will be:
- Springfield M1A
- AK-47
- Springfield XD-40
In my area, the Springfield M1A is a practical choice. It is semi-auto. It uses 20-round magazines. It fires a .308 round accurately and at long
range. Where I live, there is a lot of open terrain and a large amount of survivalist types not far away. Which means if they came in hot, they'd
probably be bringing body armor. A 180-grain 7.62x51mm round should prove effective. It would be the best choice for protecting my cattle.
My AK would be my second choice as it is a much lighter, shorter firearm. It has been slowly customized over the years to my liking and has given me
pretty good accuracy out to about 250 yards. The major benefit is that the ammunition and 30-round magazines are cheap and widely available. Which is
why I have a large amount on hand. It shoots like a champ.
The Springfield XD-40 isn't anything special. I only have it mainly for a last-ditch firearm. It's short, light and uses 12 round magazines in
.40S&W. By far not the best handgun available but it will get the job done.
Now if I were going to use a shotgun for self defense rather than hunting, I would probably use my Winchester Model 12. The one I own was manufactured
in 1926 but still operates flawlessly. It holds 6 rounds and is capable of continuous fire if you hold down the trigger and pump. It was originally
designed as a trench gun, after all.
Well, Since I don't own any weapons (*Did you catch that Mr. Government Evesdropper?*), I'll have to start with rocks and stuff and if they get too
close, I'll go with my fists. Or maybe a baseball bat... yeah, I'm gonna get me a baseball bat.
I like the idea of pepper spray. The reason is it's very small, concealable, highly effective without causing death (I dont want to kill anyone, just
defend myself). Then maybe a pair of handcuffs so you could subdue an attacker.
Ideally you need access to guns if the SHtF, but that's too easy. I like the idea of going at it zombie apocalypse style, like what you're saying a
bow and stuff.
If I had to outfit myself in a SHTF scenario and say I couldn't get ahold of a gun. I'd at least then try and have a knife, pepper spray, a bow or
cross bow, or sling bow, or slingshot, night vision googles or scope, as I'd do most of my roaming around by night and sleep during the day to stay
hidden; at least until things started to normalize.
Here's Ka-bars new line of knives...you need one of thse in case of a a ZA
Actually what you need is some weed and a nice sized flask of liquor, so you'll be able to make friends with everyone you meet! Just tell them there's
lots more where that came from so they won't be able to get rid of you. Or just get them drunk and then take off.
edit on 12-11-2012 by r2d246
because: (no reason given)
edit on 12-11-2012 by r2d246 because: (no reason given)
pepper spray ... whilst illegal to have this very effective defense item in UK (firearms act) ... it is not illegal to have the ingredients ...
I am not breaking any firearms rules just now ... but if tshtf ... 2 minutes mixes these ingredients together ... and if anyone comes near me .. they
better have a gun (far far rarer threat in UK than in states) .. or a more powerful pepperspray bottle than me ...
I do not share the same fear that people will be running around with guns ... whilst i appreciate many americans dislike our take on guns, and our
laws concerning them ... for me .. i feel far better knowing the streets are not rife with guns, should the worst happen and its each man for himself
... cos if everyone else had a gun out there .. i feel i would also need one .. but as things stand .. i dont ...
As far as firearms go, IMHO, here are the best to have. They are all heavily produced so parts would be easy to find and ammo would be as well.
1) Mossberg 500 12g. (Can take down any size animal and shells come in many varieties for any type of game)
2) Marlin 60 or Ruger 10/22 (Most mass produced .22s in the world and parts would be very easy to find and ammo is VERY cheap)
3) AK47 (again easy to find parts and will fire even when dirty)
4) 1911 handgun in a .45 (interchangeable parts and vastly available)
5) 1911 handgun in a 9mm (interchangeable parts with a .45 and since almost all police and military use 9mm, ammo would be everywhere. Not to mention
cheapest center fire ammo)
6) Remington 700 in a .308 (amazingly accurate out of the box and with a few modifications, easily a 1000 yard gun for under $1,000)
7) AR in a .223 (Again, lots of parts and ammo)
Also, skills and the tools to reload ammo would be a must as well.
Since primary survival would mean to me just adding meat to the large dry goods preps I already have on occasion.
The main survival weapons would be my compound bow, a .22 rifle & possibly my suppressed .22 pistol in certain conditions.
Do to my location and environment I personally do not consider survival running and gunning against a mass of zombies or "bad guys".
That possibility could come to pass and I have a whole other selection of weapons for that if needed for that purpose.