Urban Survival Firearms - Is this Survival Firearms Battery Good Enough?

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com received the following comment on the post entitled 'Survival Mindset and (Survival) Keyword':...."Anonymous said,.....Thanks for that post. On a different note, I have a Marlin 9mm carbine, a Taurus 9mm semi-auto pistol, a 12 gauge shotgun (bird hunting type), and a 7mm Mauser rifle from WWII. Do you think that with sufficient ammunition stockpiled this is a decent armory?"

UrbanMan replies: Lots of factors and considerations goes into selecting firearms for survival applications. Hunting and Self Defense come first to mind. Other considerations may be: training people to use firearms; ammunition commonality and availability; and simply if the guns "fits" you - and this is primarily whether or not you can effective use it...a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver probably would not a good choice for 5'1" 95 lb person.

Generally, starting Survival Firearms Battery, in my mind, would consist of:

Pump Action Shotgun. In 3 inch, 12 gauge. Pump action since it will be more reliable with different brands of shells. You'll need a 3 inch chamber in order to be able to shoot all 12 gauge shells.

Handgun. In 9x19mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP primary calibers; I would consider the following calibers adequate .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .45 Long Colt but these are going to be in revolvers. I would not buy a handgun in .380 ACP, .32 ACP and such before I bought a larger caliber. The .380 and .32 Autos are hideout guns, usually short barreled, hard to shoot accurately, have limited stopping power and the .380 cartridge in particular is very hard to find on gun shop shelves. Never knew so many people owned them!

Remember a handgun is a defensive weapon. A magazine fed handgun (a semi- automatic) is generally a better choice since it usually holds more cartridges if a person is adequate trained. A revolver is much easier to operate, but slower to reload and maybe harder to train someone to shoot if effectively.

Rifle. In a common centerfire chambering such as .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield. I supposed your rifle in 7x57mm Mauser is okay if you have enough ammunition for it, since after a collapse you'll have a hard time finding any. Most Survivalists have an M-16, AR-15, M-4 type rifle/carbine in .223 Remington also known as 5.56x45mm NATO. This cartridge is actually a carbine round, but a good choice in an AR platform due to it's accuracy and magazine capacity. While your bolt action Mauser is a good rifle, particularly for hunting, it is not a battle or self defense rifle since it is not a semi- auto and is much slower to load and shoot.

Your Marlin 9x19mm Carbine is a large platform for that relatively anemic round. Too bad your handgun is not a Ruger P85, in which the magazines would be inter-changeable.

Your handgun in 9x10mm is a good gun, albeit for a defensive purpose.

I would ensure you have adequate ammunition stockpiled. Don't forget about extra magazines for the Marlin carbine and Taurus handgun.

I would really consider getting a magazine fed rifle or carbine, such as an M-4, as this is a much better defensive weapons that a bolt gun. I have several and my survival armory is built around the AR platforms.

I would also consider getting a .22 LR firearm, rifle or handgun. I would probably buy a .22 LR handgun, such as a Ruger or Browning because any game you will be taking with it can be taken with a handgun and it can serve as a defensive sidearm for anybody intimidated by a larger caliber.

Survival, especially in an Urban Environment is going to be a Team effort. First rule, everyone should be armed. Some people who end up into your Survival Group may not show up, Collapse +1, with a firearm. Better to have more firearms than not enough.

If I was starting from sratch this is what I would buy, in that priority:

1. M-4 Carbine, .223 Remington (5.56x45mm caliber)
2. Pump Action Shotgun, 3 inch 12 gauge
3. Handgun, 9x19mm, The S&W M&P semi-autos are great guns!
4. Rifle, in .308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO), M1A1 rifle (magazine fed) but I would not feel bad with a decent Remington slide action .308 or a bolt gun.
5. Handgun, .22 LR, Ruger or Browning or good choices.
6. I would then look for good deals on several others guns: another M-4, a .357 magnum revolver since .38 special and .357 magnum ammunition is common,..maybe a rifle in .30-06.

If you are looking for a gun, then I would suggest checking out GunBroker.com, click here to see what they have available, or you can enter it at the bottom on this site.