sks vs 10/22 vs AK vs 1911 which is the best?

[KomradRazvan]

I'll have to say AK. It can anywhere, be used in just about any environment. Hard to break, easy to fix. You can teach any of your kids to use it. Rounds are good for enemies as well as food. Ammo is plentiful in every part of the world (if you have to travel to other parts). And if its TEOTWAWKI, there will always be russian mafia/smugglers willing to deal for supply. Plus they will probably have all that excess surplus soviet hardware (tanks and such) that could come of good use. Besides, you can get a lot more help from them, since over there...

 

[pdx lefty]

Good point.


Col Moore: Think maybe you aught to get yourself that M-16.

SGM Plumley: Time comes I need one, sir, there'll be plenty of 'em lying on the ground.

I love that movie.

When i was coming up, low on cash and trying to figure out what would be the best bang for my buck. I started with a cheap 10/22 and a cheap 9MM. Many years and many dollars latter i still love my .22lr! As for one gun, i would base that decision on my needs at the time.

I know my response is vague but so is the future.

Lefty.

 

[3 AE]

The one gun that is best for survival just doesn't exist. You'd be a fool to think otherwise. Numerous posts here and on many other forums dealing with survival, keep on hashing out this topic "ad nauseum". You need several different kinds of firearms to deal with the different scenarios that you could or would encounter in a crisis situation. Alot depends where you live, urban or rural. It depends on your own training and ability including family members if any. It depends on what the local or state laws allow you to have legally right now because that's pretty much what you'll have when the crisis happens. For me personally,the bare minimum would be a couple of rifles, shotguns,and pistols. Each in different calibers/gauges to cover your needs. Ammo that is cheap and plentiful now will definitely be expensive and hard to get later no matter what the caliber. So stock up now if you can and for God sakes keep your mouth shut about it. The first time you trade or barter, you might as well put up a banner on your door saying "Plenty of ammo here folks!" People talk,they can't help themselves. It's the ONE thing they're absolutely, positively GREAT at! Good luck.

 

[gearhead]

The one gun that is best for survival just doesn't exist. You'd be a fool to think otherwise. Numerous posts here and on many other forums dealing with survival, keep on hashing out this topic "ad nauseum". You need several different kinds of firearms to deal with the different scenarios that you could or would encounter in a crisis situation. Alot depends where you live, urban or rural. It depends on your own training and ability including family members if any. It depends on what the local or state laws allow you to have legally right now because that's pretty much what you'll have when the crisis happens. For me personally,the bare minimum would be a couple of rifles, shotguns,and pistols. Each in different calibers/gauges to cover your needs. Ammo that is cheap and plentiful now will definitely be expensive and hard to get later no matter what the caliber. So stock up now if you can and for God sakes keep your mouth shut about it. The first time you trade or barter, you might as well put up a banner on your door saying "Plenty of ammo here folks!" People talk,they can't help themselves. It's the ONE thing they're absolutely, positively GREAT at! Good luck.

yep. there's no end all weapon or caliber that fixes every nasty situation. personally, I have a rifle, scattergun, and pistol that i shoot frequently. WSHTF, i know how to use what i have, and can go from there depending on what comes up. i'm no expert, but i'd say focus on learning to use your weapons well and store what you need rather than trying to find the "ultimate end-all weapon". having weapons is just the tip of the iceberg in a survivalist situation anyhow. At a bare minimum i would want to have a means to purify water and plenty of food on hand as well. i'm no expert, just throwing in my 2 cents.

 

[Bruce]

If I had to choose between an AK-47 with 1,000 rounds or a 1022 with 10,000 rounds I would choose the AK. If I had to choose between an AK-47 with 100 rounds or a 1022 with 1,000 rounds I would choose the 1022.

 

[MikeE]

My wife just got diagnosed with cancer. For various reasons, we needed to leave our home in the country and stay with friends in PDX while she undergoes treatment. So, the S has HTF for us. Interesting that I brought my G26 and Ruger LCR along with a bug out bag when we relocated. Can't really bring a rifle into our friends' home. Low- profile turned out to be very important in this situation.

 

[Bruce]

I am not the a very religious man, but my prayers go out to you and your wife.

 

[ikari2_2000]

If I had to choose between an AK-47 with 1,000 rounds or a 1022 with 10,000 rounds I would choose the AK. If I had to choose between an AK-47 with 100 rounds or a 1022 with 1,000 rounds I would choose the 1022.

1000:10000 and
100:1000 is still the same ratio of
1:10


hmmm...

 

[Bruce]

OK, thanks for that ikari2_2000.

 

[ikari2_2000]

 

[Bruce]

What do you think ikari2_2000? Is that a good ratio Rifle caliber vrs rimfire ratio?

 

[ikari2_2000]

Depends

1 deer or 10 rabbits?

I think the deer would be the better deal.

 

[SgtKashim]

The best gun is the one you have...

Each gun really has a niche it fills - theres always a 'what if...' scenario where your current choice fails. Some 'what ifs' are more likely than others, but in the end you're always making a tradeoff between cost, weight, versatility and other factors.

Based on what I've read from people who've survived disasters, government collapses, and other such SHTF scenarios, an 'Inna-da-woods' type societal failure is beyond unlikely. Even in a complete governmental collapse society doesn't evaporate overnight, it just gets smaller. Besides, better to stay with neighbors for mutual protection. The 'burbs is the place to ride out the chaos.

If I had to pick just one gun, though, to cover all scenarios, it would be a good 12-gauge pump. Offers more knock-down for defense than a .22, can kill both large and small game without excessive meat damage (and adds birds to your list of huntables), and is relatively cheap to feed and practice with. You could stockpile birdshot pretty quickly. Casting your own shot requires much less precision than a rifle or pistol (unless you want accurate shot, but we're talking really deep emergencies here...), and can be done without plating. The guns are not particularly pressure sensitive, so you could go back to blackpowder if you had to. Granted, harder to carry ammo than for a .22. Oh, and a good quality pump-gun can be had for pretty minimal cash. More money for ammo. Or a backup, or something. And you can always solve the ammo portability by being *this* guy...

 

[pdx lefty]

My wife just got diagnosed with cancer. For various reasons, we needed to leave our home in the country and stay with friends in PDX while she undergoes treatment. So, the S has HTF for us. Interesting that I brought my G26 and Ruger LCR along with a bug out bag when we relocated. Can't really bring a rifle into our friends' home. Low- profile turned out to be very important in this situation.

MikeE, sorry to hear that about your wife. Like Bruce said, you guys are in our prayers. God Bless.

Lefty.

 

[shoggoth80]

Best gun depends on what kind of survival situation you find yourself in. That being said, the gun in your hand is better than the one that's not.

 

[roar9roar]

AK 74 all the way. Not to be confused with the AK 47. Ammo is light, cheap, and effective. Range, reliability, and capacity. A dirty AR is a club, a 10/22 is neat but don't bring a knife to a gunfight. SKS-ammo is heavy and you have to modify the **** out of them to make them user friendly. My ARs are nice, but if I am going to hit the bush its AK all the way. Something to be said for 60 years of service.

 

[shoggoth80]

"A dirty AR is a club"
-Not quite so true. I am looking for it now... but I watched a video where a guy was shooting an AR series rifle socked full of dirt.... action, mags... it was cruddy, and kept working.

This isn't the video in question, but it helps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8SSQ_wIG4o&feature=related

Here we go, this is the vid I was talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LpHkf2r_dk

This isn't me advocating one design over the other, as they are both good. I own an AR, like it, but would also love to get an AK (actually looking into building one, hopefully I can start the project within a few weeks). For the longest time I just would not warm up to the AR platform... that changed over time a little bit.

 

[MikeE]

MikeE, sorry to hear that about your wife. Like Bruce said, you guys are in our prayers. God Bless.

Lefty.

Thank you, and to Bruce for your kind words and prayers. Relating to the OP, our experience might be considered a dry run mini SHTF scenario. In that case it is interesting that my thought was to go with concealable handguns when confronted with being uprooted. And I'm fundamentally a rifle guy, AK to be specific.

 

[roar9roar]

I went FAL, AR pistol, AR platform(s), and bought the AK74 mid Obama crisis. Of the 4 ARs I have owned, 10+ I have shot, and ak 47 vs 74 or SKS, the 74 is the S**t. Bump fires with the ability to aim, my gunshy gf shoots it and won't touch the bushmaster, eats corrosive ammo made out of dirt and household chemicals (I think I get a new form of cancer with every shot it smells so bad) with 1000 rounds so far with not a single jam! My ARs have all been finiky, PMC is my bushmasters choice. Dont even bother with AR pistols unless they are piston driven. If you wanna go strong, and this is my next buy, is a Para AR or new gen ACR/FN platform. Just $2400 is hard to swallow.

Btw..The FAL was tops. Just had bad ammo and didn't know it at the time. Recoil was a B but it rocked!! Wish I still had it and an ak74. And a para, and a.....

 

[shoggoth80]

You guys do understand that "corrosive ammo" won't harm your guns, or eat your bores out right? It's just ammo, like any other in regards to function. The corrosive part is in reference to the salts deposited in the bore and working surfaces of the gun from the primers, and is entirely water soluble. All you have to do is swab your bore and surfaces with hot water (or flush it out), dry, and clean as usual. Just adds a step. It's not some mystical gun destroying entity. Most older surplus is corrosive. I think that particular primer type was used BECAUSE it was highly stable and lasted a long time. I have shot 70+ year old ammo that functioned just fine that was corrosive primed.