What gun would you want if the SHTF?

[jgreystoke]

Guns plural:

20" 308 SSGPIIK. Total length 39" ex mod, Heavy as an M1a loaded at 9 3/4 lbs bare,. But I'm big enough that it isn't a problem, even o'er hills and dale with 3-9x50 Leupold and a Harris bipod. Action is ridiculously fast for a bolt gun, and for me it is a great brush gun set to 3x.

T3 mountain lite 20" with mod. 4rd(flush) and six rounder mags. Leupold Mark 2 3-9 x 40 MD.

10-22 mod. Any decent compact scope on QD Warne mounts. With Butler Creek folder for backpacking, factory stock(all mortises sealed) for most use. Lots of factory 10 rounders, and Steel Lips 25 rounders which are really reliable, above all the high cap dross.

Ruger Mark II 5.5".

12ga Rem 870 Police.

45acp Glock 21. Lots of 13rd factory mags.

Lotto win would make me move to free state and add lots more. But almost everything is covered.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Wow, decisions, decisions....

Probably my Stag 6.8spc, that should do to a couple hundred yards...
Maybe my Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf in case I have to shoot through walls (hey, it could happen)

Got to have my Kimber Eclipse in it's thigh holster & probably the good ol 870 w/20in bbl & extended mag for the nose to nose stuff.

Guess we'll have to round it off with my custom .338 ultra for the heavy lifting?

.... don't know, maybe my AR-10 in .243 with a lower magnification scope for double duty??

Dang.... this is a little harder than i thought it would be!! I wish the sight had an icon of the smiley face scratching his head.....

 

[Aldon]

GUN.....Singular

Not having much in the way of parameters, how about a 19 inch off the new Jersey.

Seriously if I have to consider mobility, the best one gun in my view would be Ruger Mk II 22 pistol, scoped target model. 22 ammo is easier to carry a thousand rounds than >308 or 30-06.

But if I could also have a rifle, it would be 700 in 30-06 or 308. I want scope with iron sites for back up in case I have scope failure.

 

[OnTheNemah]

Interesting and often considered question...scanning through the posts, I'm going reality and in agreement with the ammo availability & utility minded.

I'm ready with my PTR 91 Squad Carbine with Leupold 1-3x CQB optic. Hey, I qualified on the M14 and I love the rifle but the HK clone is dead simple, breaks down pushing out two pins & will shred 40cm picnic plates at 200m offhand, 300m with a little effort...and the G3 was the pick of the Force Recon SSgt. giving us FMF corpsmen an other forces weapons review. Ammo and iron are heavy compared to smaller bore ARs but the punch is worth the trade-off to me.

I'd pack both my S&W pistols... M&P 9 Pro and 686+ .357 and the Gerber Silver Trident blade. I probably grab the High Standard 103 6" .22 as well.

Beyond that, adding a 12ga. would be handy... but 15+ kilos of guns and ammo could begin to compromise personal needs and mobility. A bolt gun seems unnecessary with a reliable and well known semi-auto.

So, I wondered about (and didn't see yet mentioned) a shotgun/rifle combo. Savage makes (made?) a 12ga./.308 or .223 combo with 24" barrels. Yes, single shot and likely tough to be confident beyond 200m, but you'd be out the door with one gun and with two pockets full of ammo you'd be set for most any game or ghoul you'd come across.

Anyone have one of these combo guns in the cabinet? I'm interested to hear both the general reaction to the combo gun idea and experience anyone may have with one.

BTW..I've been reading and enjoying the wide ranging LRH info and forums but this is my first post. Happy to be jumpin' in! I do go Long Range... with a Kimber LongMaster .308/Zeiss Conquest 3.5x10-44 and Kimber .223 LPT/Bushnell 6500 2.5x16-50.

 

[RDM416]

Great thread and interesting answers, I think the one about gathering up all my stuff and finding the nearest group of US military is probably the best bet for staying alive!

That said, I'm prepared with everything from various pistols, tactical shotguns, AR 15(s), AR 10(s), 450 bushmaster, 50 BMG, along with all my long range rifles and yes..... several good ole 22s. Add to that, multiple sets of class IV body armor.....

Bad thing is, RoyinIdaho is right....... all that only works until they bring the heavy artillery or a skilled 5 man team of special ops guys and you are toast anyway......

If it hits the fan...... no doubt I'll go out with my finger on the trigger, but I doubt most of us civilians are anywhere near as "bad a dude" as we like to think.

 

[chuck williams]

the way i see it, if the SHTF, everyone would do well to have a .308, .223, 9mm, and 12ga. this could very well be the only ammo you can find laying on the ground. depending on who send the sht, you may want a diminutive 7.62x39 laying around.

chuck

 

[ubettcha13]

I'd want a marlin 60 22lr for food I have 50k rounds already. I have a hi standard 22 with a 4 and a 6" already. These can both be silenced fairly easy. No need letting the neighborhood know your there. As far as sniping bad guys in real world scenarios your effect range is 400-600yds any further and they have a cure any closer and the machine gunners will have a field day. Unless you have up to date training and the physical training to go along with it you'd be cannon fodder rather quickly. If you range with a laser they'd know where you were before you dialed in your dope. Not familiar with thermal imaging they have you pin pointed before you ranged your target. Not use to chemical signatures they have you dead before you could get in range.
The stuff they have available today is mind boggling to think you have a shot at taking on a regular infantry squad would be suicidal. Much better to avoid and evade till you could find our side

 

[7 loader]

The ak47 is alot more dependable than most combat guns ( possibly all). I know this from first hand knowledge. And it is far from a wussy round. Get shot by one IT HURTS!!!!!! As for long range. The 7mm mag family is for me. Close encounters? Got 12 ga.gun)

 

[bridgebuilder]

Alot of great reading here guys and all jokes aside i heard that is why the japs didn't invade us in ww2 they heard every house had a gun in the closet!

Ar -10 308
suppressed 22mag
45 acp 1911

 

[RMinMT]

Any ol .22 would be fine for me. Could always trade up from there depending on who I ran into along the way and what they had stockpiled before the shtf. Of course Id probably just switch to cannibalism too to keep it simple.

Dont flame me I didnt start this thread LOL.

 

[roninflag]

my M-1 garand with the glassed stock and krieger hvy match barrel or my 300 wm sendero with the leup mk4

 

[338 bruce]

scoped suppressed 22 mag, one shot to the head and now whatever the enemy was carring.

 

[jgreystoke]

I'd want a marlin 60 22lr for food I have 50k rounds already. I have a hi standard 22 with a 4 and a 6" already. These can both be silenced fairly easy. No need letting the neighborhood know your there. As far as sniping bad guys in real world scenarios your effect range is 400-600yds any further and they have a cure any closer and the machine gunners will have a field day. Unless you have up to date training and the physical training to go along with it you'd be cannon fodder rather quickly. If you range with a laser they'd know where you were before you dialed in your dope. Not familiar with thermal imaging they have you pin pointed before you ranged your target. Not use to chemical signatures they have you dead before you could get in range.
The stuff they have available today is mind boggling to think you have a shot at taking on a regular infantry squad would be suicidal. Much better to avoid and evade till you could find our side

Even a moderated 223 is very hard to pinpoint. Muzzle blast is about zero, only the sonic crack is left as the signature, which makes the sound seem to come from the wrong direction, not to mention the echoes from trees in winter etc. Moderated 22lr is the closest thing to the movie magic silencers ever heard....or not heard, in this case.

Agreed you'd be crazy to take on an infantry squad. But why would you be fighting the military?

But in a shtf situation, you'd most likely only have to worry about looters/gangs.

In real TEOTWAWKI, like asteroid strike/supervolcano/emp from the Carrington Event/zombie uprising, the latter being most likely, the police/military would not have all the high tech backup. Only rogue elements of them would be a threat(no government). I'd expect most of them to return to their communities to protect at a local level. They are us rather than them. An invasion from some third world hellhole in the aftermath would be ill equipped.

I'd pit an accurate scoped "deer rifle" anytime against rabble with AKs. We're talking sniping, not trading "firepower", gaining "fire superiority" or any such nonsense.

 

[Firecat]

I think a good shooting .223 would be hard to beat. But, I would probably grab my .22 for sure. Interesting read though.