What is the next Prepper / Survialist whatever rifle or go to gun?

[Camelfilter]

Got mine for under 400.0:
Ruger® Ruger American Rifle® Ranch Bolt-Action Rifle Model 6965

Nice!

I bought another members regular American in .308 at a great price. The downside to the American is their proprietary mags. First five rounds from it (...& the first time I've EVER fired a .308), last week at 100 yards. Very pleased with it!




I also bought another members Mossberg Patrol in 5.56, it's super nice & can use standard AR mags.

 

[Joe13]

Nice!

I bought another members regular American in .308 at a great price. The downside to the American is their proprietary mags. First five rounds from it (...& the first time I've EVER fired a .308), last week at 100 yards. Very pleased with it!




I also bought another members Mossberg Patrol in 5.56, it's super nice & can use standard AR mags.

At least you hit with every shot.

Those groups will get tighter with some practice.

Congrats

 

[Brutus57]

Electricity wont be elimimated. Cheap and readily available stuff though? Thats gonna be gone. Making your own electricity isnt that hard to do.. it does involve a lot of labor, time, materials and knowledge. The simplest can be one of three things.. wind power (turbine/windmill), water power (water wheels and the like) and solar power.
Water wheels and windmills have been used for centuries to grind flour, draw water and most recently provide energy.
Methane from crap is also a viable if stinky source of energy.
I believe there was also a way that water wheels could power industrial tooling just by belts and gearing but I may be wrong.
Fuel to power any sort of combustion engines for electricity is definitely something to be concerned about, seeing as Oregon is not exactly oil/coal rich. Rich however in the amount of crap we have especially in the cities [/QUOTE

Look into wood gasification for internal combustion engines. You won't get WRX acceleration but lots of wood around.

Brutus Out

 

[HuckleberryFun]

If it gets to that point there will be more guns then people after a certain amount of time...

Yes, but in that series 15 years after the lights go out there were plenty of guns around but bullets were scarcer than hen's teeth. Without power no one could make the brass casings, jackets, and other components. Most people were down to bows and arrows and muskets. Made me think and stock up more on ammo... Like I need an excuse.

Stupid series (no power but everyone had blow dried perfect hair) but the premise was kind of interesting.

 

[Joe13]

Yes, but in that series 15 years after the lights go out there were plenty of guns around but bullets were scarcer than hen's teeth. Without power no one could make the brass casings, jackets, and other components. Most people were down to bows and arrows and muskets. Made me think and stock up more on ammo... Like I need an excuse.

Stupid series (no power but everyone had blow dried perfect hair) but the premise was kind of interesting.

I need to hone my bow making skills it sounds like - I'm not stocked up on anything right now.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I played around with my bow this weekend for a bit.
I say for a bit 'cause its been awhile since I last shot it and boy did my fingers hurt ... LOL
Robin Hood never said anything about that!
Andy

 

[etrain16]

I need to hone my bow making skills it sounds like - I'm not stocked up on anything right now.

Slingshots - properly made and banded, they will take small game (squirrels, birds, etc.) and can be an adequately effective self defense tool.

As far as guns and ammo, I think it's a good idea for everyone to have a BP gun on hand as well as the components to mold your own rounds - no electricity needed if you know what you're doing. With the right components and knowledge you can even make your own black powder. I've seen several YT videos that show just how to do that.

I do believe that a BP rifle is a good choice for any prepper, at least as a backup to cartridge guns.

 

[Camelfilter]

Yes, but in that series 15 years after the lights go out there were plenty of guns around but bullets were scarcer than hen's teeth. Without power no one could make the brass casings, jackets, and other components. Most people were down to bows and arrows and muskets. Made me think and stock up more on ammo... Like I need an excuse.

Stupid series (no power but everyone had blow dried perfect hair) but the premise was kind of interesting.

I think that's what happened to the walking dead series last season. They were thinking on revamping a factory to make ammunition to trade for food & supplies.

The drama in that no electricity series was pretty bad, the drama in the walking dead is pretty interesting IMO.

 

[Member 3687]

WHAT IS THE NEXT PREPPER / SURVIALIST WHATEVER RIFLE OR GO TO GUN?

If you look at the past like some have said in the last go around it was the SKS and the Mosin and before that it was the 6.5 Swiss or the 7x57 or 8x57 Masuer and the reason was tons of surplus so they where cheap and so was the ammo but I think most of the military surplus of all types has dried up or can no longer be imported.

So then we need to look at the domestic market and at the moment it is the AR15 that is cheap to build parts are everywhere and ammo and mags are reasonably cheap at the moment and NATO uses it so ammo will be available in a SHTF. So yes it is over the 99 dollars SKS of old but for 500 you could have a reasonable battle rifle.

You can get into a Mosin for around $200 that is heavy and needs to be modified to run a scope or a Savage Axis for $399 (less on sale at hunting season with rebate) in a modern caliber like .223 or .308 that may not be fancy but they are light weight shoot well and comes with a scope. If you spend a little more there are other choices in other brands and options.

So for now I go with the AR15 but only time will tell in the future.

 

[HuckleberryFun]

I think that's what happened to the walking dead series last season. They were thinking on revamping a factory to make ammunition to trade for food & supplies.

Bubblegum! (OK I typed that on purpose to save time)
I haven't seen that season on Netflix yet. Thanks for the spoiler!

 

[etrain16]

Bubblegum! (OK I typed that on purpose to save time)
I haven't seen that season on Netflix yet. Thanks for the spoiler!

Oh, and Rick dies and becomes a zombie, but Carl develops a vaccine made from zombie blood that changes him back!

 

[Ura-Ki]

etrain16 and AndyinEverson both hit the nail, a good ewe bow and arrows make an excellent addition to any survival list. Black Powder is also a must have. once you have a good set of bullet molds and know how to make your own powder, your all set! One thing I see many folks getting hung up on is Ammo supply, Just how much shooting do you think is going to take place? Say you have a AR as the main fighting rifle, do you ever see the need for over 1k rounds? Same with other weapons. I think a lot of folks take this idea WAY OVER BOARD!!! Service issued us what ever we felt we needed, and most times that load out was 640 rounds of 5.56 and 81 rounds of pistol. More then enough for a prolonged fight. The point is, I just don't see the need to stock up on much of these weapons ammo needs to the levels I see people doing! .22 long is where I do see a greater need, if you are going to be in an area that you can use it to hunt with, other wise, I see little need. Big rifles I see even less need to stock a lot of ammo, how many deer do you think you will harvest during your life time? Unless that big rifle becomes your threat engagement tool, I just don't see having a bunch of ammo!

 

[HuckleberryFun]

Well yes, Ura-ki, I agree that mountains of ammo for most people in a world wide "lights out" scenario are mis-directed resources that could be better devoted to other things because:
1) We'd be survivors avoiding a fight, not soldiers.
2) Too hungry/busy to be shooting at non-edible targets.
3) Just how many firefights do you think you can survive, huh?

On the other hand:
1) The zombies just keep coming... and coming...
2) Oh, the piece of mind.
3) Trade value
4) Good for me when I find your ammo cache.

I may be die because I'm outgunned, I may die because Im outnumbered, but I refuse to die because I ran out of gumbubble ammunition!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Not implying that you should not prep and stock ammo, but next time you have a free couple of hours, try humping 140 rounds of .308 around! Or 4 bricks of .22 for any amount of time! If you are bugging in, that's a moot point, but if you have to bugg out, then what? with every thing else you need, how much ammo can you pack? how far? My point being that there should be an amount you are comfortable having with you, and a stash or three you can get to, but after that, what are you going to do?

 

[CamoDeafie]

Not implying that you should not prep and stock ammo, but next time you have a free couple of hours, try humping 140 rounds of .308 around! Or 4 bricks of .22 for any amount of time! If you are bugging in, that's a moot point, but if you have to bugg out, then what? with every thing else you need, how much ammo can you pack? how far? My point being that there should be an amount you are comfortable having with you, and a stash or three you can get to, but after that, what are you going to do?

Trotting this picture out again..

 

[HuckleberryFun]

Not implying that you should not prep and stock ammo, but next time you have a free couple of hours, try humping 140 rounds of .308 around! Or 4 bricks of .22 for any amount of time! If you are bugging in, that's a moot point, but if you have to bugg out, then what? with every thing else you need, how much ammo can you pack? how far? My point being that there should be an amount you are comfortable having with you, and a stash or three you can get to, but after that, what are you going to do?

Actually, I do carry 120 rounds of .308 on my fighting loadout (a battle belt I made into an LBE analog) for my M1A plus three extra mags for my 1911. Not unreasonably heavy, but let's just say that bugging in would be better than 20 mile a day rucks.

 

[CamoDeafie]

In all reality, shelter-in-place/bug-in is a far better option, especially if you are already at a good location for bugging in.
Otherwise, a foot locker on a 4 wheel garden cart with low pressure tires will do good, or an off-road baby stroller turned into a gun-cart with ammo crate deck could also do a decent job, often this is used for 3-gun competition or range days with shotguns and carbines.
humans have been using hand carts and such for centuries, regardless of what the world is like... it is high unlikely all common sense will be gone and we descend into a mad max sort of situation, but rather, we would have a great many "refugees" with carts full of stuff and bartering and trading in the streets.
possibly a sort of warlord system would turn up with all the guns and ammo and gang activity, BUT so would a sort of tribal band system where you have communities defending each other from such warlords/gangs... even if it means going guerilla against gangs.

Martial law may happen in between the collapse of this economy/society and rebuilding of this society.. but I think humans as whole will be fine overall in the long run... better a quick pain and rebirth than a slow decay into obscurity.

EDIT: I carry 120rounds of 9mm at the ready on a chest rig, plus 45 rounds on the belt for the 9mm handgun and the 9mm carbine, and thats if I don't bring the reload ammo can in the backpack or the vehicle.

I haven't figured out how much AR ammo I want to practice carrying on yet.... I do like the idea of the British PLCE setup with 12 magazines, 2 bottles and an utility pouch, with the rest of the gear for get-home in a small rucksack; I could do the same kind of setup using all ALICE gear, or I could go simple and sew up a simple load bearing vest system with simple box-pouches for less ammo, with more being in the larger rucksack I have.

 

[etrain16]

it is high unlikely all common sense will be gone and we descend into a mad max sort of situation,

Speak for yourself! When the SHTF, I'm going "The Humongous" on everyone's backside!!

Me, post SHTF:



And on my bug-out vehicle:



Using my post-SHTF communication tools:



And now you may return to your regularly scheduled SHTF/Prepper programming....

 

[Ura-Ki]

I do 10, 20 round .308 mags loaded with 10 more 30 round 5.56 mags all in B.A.R. type bandoleers. The 4 17 round pistol mags in my belt keep me loaded for quite some time! No extra ammo on my person! BUT, I keep extra in the truck and at home for the bug in/out possibilities. That's three weapons and the ammo load out for any and all SHTF! Beyond that, Figure tripple the total load out and that's it for me! No bartering or trade with ammo. TO many things that can go wrong! Remember, every time you discharge a firearm, that is a signal of a threat, or a target!

 

[Member 3687]

Everyone assumes that there are going to be animals everywhere but guess what when the stores run out of food everyone will be hunting so the dear that is in your yard today will be gone quickly as it has to cross several 100 other yards of starving folks to get to yours and if it does you should feel lucky it made it and if the doe's get wiped out first no more re-population.

I heard pigeons and robins where in high demand during the depression in large cities and they knew how to survive a lot better than the folks of today.

Depending on the SHTF depends on how much ammo you might need if Yellowstone erupts it could take out a third of the us population and equally the countryside so I feel fighting would be minimal but if you have and EMP to take out the power grid then you have 300 million folks looking for food, no power and no cell phone to keep them occupied that's when I feel you will need the ammo. You will have groups of folks looting in a very bad way.

Also I have never heard of anyone after a fire fight say "man I had too much ammo" its always "man I wish I had more ammo" so how much is too much. It's better to have it and not need it than to not have it and could really use it.