What are your survival firearm strategies?

[cigars]

As stated above, plan for confiscation. Yup, if so they will probably zero in on the evil featured black rifles first, then follow up with silly semi-auto rules and mag restrictions. Just ask the folks in NY and Cali. You know the drill.
One more reason to keep a good lever or two on hand, one should be a large bore.
And as also stated above, a variety of 22LR. Anyway, that's all I have to say.

 

[The Heretic]

However, we live in SW OR USA. You know where. Kinda. Not the pizza place. Our situation is different. We have little governmental infrastructure during the best of times and probably, (likely) we will have very little or no infrastructure after a big SHTF. Specifically southern Josephine County. The Illinois Valley. A long political story. Dodge City. We will be on our own for a long time.

Most probably no police check points. At least for several weeks/months. Our firearm view point is definitely different from others.

Even just 30 miles out of PDX it will probably be the same, it is now.

The response is always one of triage. Do what helps the most people the fastest.

When it snows, urban roads/streets get plowed first, rural last - especially the side/back roads. Ditto with trees across the road.

When power goes out because there are a lot of lines down due to a windstorm, urban areas get repaired first, rural last.

Rural response times when there are a lot of incidents/problems, is always lower priority, so yes, rural folks pretty much have to either wait or deal with issues themselves. Which is why all of my neighbors have chainsaws for fallen trees across the road and gensets for when the power goes out and AWD/4WD for when it snows. some have guns, but I think most have not thought that far, or at least the subject has not come up, and hopefully it never will (although there was an armed response by the neighborhood to a repeat peeping Tom once before I moved here that is still the talk of the area).

 

[ArtBrownSr]

Just throwing this out there.... but I would think that a good strategery would be not to talk about your strategery.

Some of us like getting picked on by those that know better.

 

[Boats]

A kajillion .22lr rounds. Most of my firearms are .22lr and I barely remember how that happened.
Four unopened spam cans of 7.62x39 and an AK, since we are becoming a banana republic.
Enough 7.62x51, a well glassed bolt rifle and 9x19 with a variety of such pistols to get by.

 

[Argonaut]

Inexperienced and young people have somehow learned to equate a survival rifle to defense. That is several notches down the list to the most common use for a survival gun that would be provisioning. Try to shoot a rabbit with a 45 (or most any other pistol) it is fun sport but not very practical. true survival guns are much more like the little skeleton stock 22/410's originally designed for the USAF than some assault type rifle. 100 rounds of 22 weighs less than a loaded 1911 magazine and in most practical applications would be much more useful than 7 rounds of 45ACP.

 

[The Heretic]

Inexperienced and young people have somehow learned to equate a survival rifle to defense. That is several notches down the list to the most common use for a survival gun that would be provisioning. Try to shoot a rabbit with a 45 (or most any other pistol) it is fun sport but not very practical. true survival guns are much more like the little skeleton stock 22/410's originally designed for the USAF than some assault type rifle. 100 rounds of 22 weighs less than a loaded 1911 magazine and in most practical applications would be much more useful than 7 rounds of 45ACP.

I have more rimfires than anything else
IMO rimfires are the most important and versatile survival gun a person can have and probably the last to be confiscated in any scenario.

 

[Jonnyuma]

Not much of a "strategy" but my Bug-out loadout is an XDM .40 4.5 with a Storm Lake 9mm barrel and an XDM 3.8 in 9mm. In the bag is a Model 10 .38 and I may (if there's time) throw in the .357 Blackhawk and a .45. That covers 5 calibers of handgun scrounging. An AR and Mossberg 500 cover 2 (or 3, if you separate 5.56 and .223) more.

I really need to pick up a .17 or a .22 rifle... probably the most useful piece in the "arsenal" during a true "GTF outta town" scenario.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

My strategy is I stopped giving a poo. Also known as the Que Sera Sera syndrome.

 

[Dan Adams]

Two handguns and at least one rifle for each of the calibers most likely to be available in a worst-case scenario. Plenty of .22LR and .22WMR for keeping food on the table, if need be.

 

[billstaf]

About 1200 rounds of 5.56 NATO for the AR, another 1200 7.62x39 or so for the AKs. Between 500 and 1000 for the 9mm pistols.
Some 12 gauge, at least a couple of boxes for the .357 Mag, and as many .22LR as I can afford. That should about do it.

If I have to use even a fraction of that for survival, my chances are pretty slim anyway.

That said, I understand that the OP was asking about strategies for survival (not particular armaments). Fair enough, but as I look around me at what our society has become, I tend to think that in a SHTF scenario, the gun guys are going to be the only ones left anyway. Most other people wouldn't last more than a couple of weeks.

 

[Joe13]

Collect as many as possible.

Shoot them for fun and hunting.

Deal with SHTF when it happens.

 

[The Heretic]

Collect as many as possible.

Shoot them for fun and hunting.

Deal with SHTF when it happens.

To crush your enemies.

See them driven before you.

And to hear the lamentations of their women.

 

[Joe13]

To crush your enemies.

See them driven before you.

And to hear the lamentations of their women.

Nice

 

[Colts4me]

Try to be ready and hope for tomorrow.

 

[Aero Denezol]

I am old so I guess my strategy about survival has worked No I have never pointed a gun in anger but I have learned all I could about guns. Not just the guns you might point at others but the guns that might get pointed at you. What are the odds the person holding the gun is competent? If you learn all you can about the platforms then you have better odds and you learn by shooting a lot. Watch the hits and misses, study people.

Excellent post

 

[etrain16]

To crush your enemies.

See them driven before you.

And to hear the lamentations of their women.

Burn the village!

Rape the horses!

Ride off on the women!

Prune the hedges...of many villages...

 

[Ura-Ki]

Here is a thought. Many of us have a good stock pile of .22 LR and several platforms to use it in. In a true SHTF situ, how likely are you to grab a .22, along with every thing else you need in the little time you have available to you ( think serious earth quake) My preps involve what ever isn't already loaded up in the rig were using at the time ( 4X4) I have given a lot of thought to this, and decided instead of a separate .22 rifle, that I would have "conversion kits" for the ARs that are already packed up. that leaves us with 2 fewer weapons to pack out, and frees up limited space and on foot carry capacity, while still filling that need! All our SHTF preps are designed to be carried out on foot if needed, so space and weight is a premium.

 

[etrain16]

Here is a thought. Many of us have a good stock pile of .22 LR and several platforms to use it in. In a true SHTF situ, how likely are you to grab a .22, along with every thing else you need in the little time you have available to you ( think serious earth quake) My preps involve what ever isn't already loaded up in the rig were using at the time ( 4X4) I have given a lot of thought to this, and decided instead of a separate .22 rifle, that I would have "conversion kits" for the ARs that are already packed up. that leaves us with 2 fewer weapons to pack out, and frees up limited space and on foot carry capacity, while still filling that need! All our SHTF preps are designed to be carried out on foot if needed, so space and weight is a premium.

I would definitely include .22lr in my planning. Low recoil so anyone can use them, accurate, reliable (mostly) and easy to carry lots of ammo - bonus that they can be virtually silent with a can and the subsonic ammo.

 

[bbbass]

I'm not going anywhere and I'm too darn old and tired to give a rip. Let them come. You want to live forever??

 

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

1911 pistols in .45acp and Mosin-Nagant rifles get my nod.

Reasoning is reliability and familiarity. The Mosin-Nagant is probably the toughest repeating rifle I've personally seen, and after applying Finnish techniques, is up there with the best of the other bolt actions in performance.

The 1911 is a simple single-stack semi-automatic pistol that should function in very harsh conditions. Like the Mosin-Nagant, it's hard to stop and simple to service.

Were I more urban, I believe an AR-15 would make more sense. As-is, I can see more reason for per-shot power rather than volume fire, and a manual action makes more sense than a semi-auto. I handload, and need to keep the casings. And since I handload, I can load low for small game.

If I didn't handload, I'd choose a .22 rimfire rifle as my longarm.

Regards,

Josh