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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The Best Survival Firearms Battery for SHTF

I received this questions from Rick, via e-mail: "What do you think the best survival gun inventory is? Can you give me a minimum and maximum list? You can use this question for your website. I really like the army skills stories."

UrbanMan replies: Rick, I'll give you my opinion, but there are so many variables involved. Some of them would be your financial capabilities; existing firearms skills and/or ability to get good training; laws within your locality; and extent of your survival family and their abilities.

Regarding your family survival team or other larger group, for instance I have a friend who has a wife and two daughters over 21 years old living with him as they work part time and go to school. The ability of him to train his wife and daughters is limited by money for ammunition and time,...or basically the wife/daughter's buy in to needing the training. So while he has an M-4 variant, a couple shotguns, and several handguns, he has bought several of the cheaper .22 LR rifles and pistols in order to accomplish some sort of training and to ensure that each family member has a gun. I think he bought Savage semi-auto .22 LR rifles and I know he bought Browning Buckmark pistols to this end.

Minimum Survival Firearms Battery. This would be for one person. If there were a number of people in a survvial grouping, such as a family, then you wouldn't really need to replicate this per person. One thought is to have firearms suitable for every inteded use,..e.g...security and protection; hunting both birds and small game and potentially larger game; and training as well. Some people I know collect cheaper guns, including the not so recognizable calibered guns, for barter/trading purposes. Other are dead set against this. But I can tell you that well into a totally SHTF situation, ammunition will be at least be a viable and valuable commodity.

This is what I would consider an individual minimum battery:

Primary Long Gun: A magazine fed rifle or carbine, in .308 Winchester or .223 (5.56). Good choice here are the M-16/M-4 variants or M-14/M-1A variants. An alternative selection would be a Kalashnikov variant in 7.62 x39mm or .223 Remington. A suitable supply of magazines (think 12 as a minimum), ammunition and cleaning kit/supplies would be necessary as well. I would not feel under gunned if all I had in this category was a Ruger Mini-14. A lesser suitable long gun for this category would be an SKS in 7.62x39mm but only because the ability to re-load quickly is reduced.

Primary Handgun: A semi-automatic pistol in 9x19mm parabellum or .40 caliber would be my choice. Again extra magazines, ammunition and cleaning supplies are necessary. Although a revolver in .357 magnum or any of the excellent M1911 clones are good choices as well.

Shotgun: There are so many uses for a decent shotgun. Think 12 gauge. You can use to hunt birds with bird shotshells, hunt bigger game with slugs; stop vehicles with slugs and nothing protects the home better in a last ditch effort at close range, maybe 15 yards or so, than a 12 gauge repeating shotgun shooting buckshot. A pump shotgun, also called a slide action, is generally better - more reliable, but teaching brand new shooters to operate a pump shotgun effectively is a chore. I have found that in some cases, a double barrel shotgun is more suitable to people who are only going to shoot (train) once or twice in their lifetimes. Make sure you have a suitable ammunition supply in birdshot, buckshot and slugs. I generally have most of my students use #4 buckshot.

Ideal SHTF Survival Firearms Battery:

This is like saying "what is the ideal amount of money to have in your bank account". In other words, where do you quit procuring firearms? I think the addition of a .22 LR rifle and a .22 LR handgun are great choices and maybe the next choices after the minimum battery is bought. A scoped rifle calibered bolt or semi-automatic rifle would be a good tool to have and huge advantage in some situations.

I like the saying "One is none, and Two is One", meaning have backups. Just like planning contingencies, secondary guns including hide out guns are a good idea. Having guns to cover most major calibers maybe something to consider.

Okay, having run my pie hole on the above, remember the first rule of a gunfight and that is to have a gun. I am sure that there are people armed only with a bolt or lever action rifle and maybe an old revolver,....or maybe an M-1 Garand and nothing else, who consider thmesles good to go entering into a collapse. There is another saying, "beware of the man who only has one gun" - meaning he is probably pretty good with it.

Hope this helps Rick. Good luck and Good Prepping. Cheers.

6 comments:

  1. Good post. Not much to disagree with in what you have to say. Given that one can harvest game in a variety of ways (e.g., trapping), I would say the one specific role for a firearm in survival situations is self/home defense. In that sense, the minimal to me is something (handgun, shotgun, carbine) that can be used for defensive purposes (not ideal, but minimally sufficient to improve survival odds). The maximum is really large, as in Mel Tappan-type recommendations which were in the neighborhood of ~40 firearms for two people. Context (urban/rural, terrain) is really critical because it affects distance of targets. Firearm needs in the woods are very different than in a flat, open area. For example, shotguns are a lot less useful if most all targets are beyond 30 yards.

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  2. Hey Urban Man,

    I like your recommendations. I prefer the rock-solid reliability of the AK platform myself. I also like the .30 cal hitting power. Some disregard it for accuracy, but I'd direct those people to spetsnaz or to Larry Vicker's thoughts on AK combat accuracy.

    Keep fighting the good fight (politically) by putting pressure on our elected officials re: AWB, Mag ban, etc. The facts are on our side about gun violence & the ineffectiveness of AWB, as is the law (2nd Amendment is for self-defense, resisting tyranny, etc - per Justice Scalia in D.C. vs Heller).

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  3. Guns are a personal thing... They fit each person differently and each person has different needs....

    Here are my thoughts for an ideal "minimal" gun battery:

    Glock 23 GEN4 w/ Advantage Arms conversion kit, 9mm and SIG .357 conversion barrels, Truglo TFO sights, and a Crimson Trace Laser grip system and IWB and OWB concealment holsters and plenty of magazines for .22LR, 9mm, and .40S&W (.22LR, 9mm, .40S&W, and .357 SIG).

    Ruger 10/22 TD w/ to-be-released Hogue over-molded stock and 4x scope, magazines, and a sling. (.22LR)

    Mossberg TR500 "Thunder Ranch" pump-action shotgun or 500 Persuader Marine Tactical version and additional hunting barrel (12 ga.)

    AR-15, M4gery type rifle w/ possibly an additional .22LR upper (.22LR, .223, 5.56x45)

    Ruger SP101 stainless revolver or a Ruger Mark III Hunter, preferably the distributor exclusive with a 5.5" fluted bull barrel and plenty of magazines. Either with a nice holster. (.22LR)

    Remington 700, Ruger American Rifle, Savage 16 "Weather Warrior", or Savage 10 FCM Scout w/ scope and sling (.308)

    Additional considerations would be:

    Springfield Armory M1A Scout Squad or "Loaded" variety if living in open, non-hilly terrain (.308, 7.62x51)

    Other thoughts for versatility would be the following:

    RAA Saiga converted (7.62x39)

    Ruger SP101 revolver (.38, .357)

    Glock 30S (.45 ACP)

    And, at the very least, I would consider getting a duplicate Glock and possibly another 10/22.



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  4. My ruger(krh 444 mag) 44specials for urban warfare.my AK-47 for other incounters.not really an AR fan.in the service I was told 5.56 was for maming not for killing hence the need for more troops to rescue wounded troops. The 5.56 and the Soviet ak- 74.not the ak-47.small unsuccessful calibrrs in Afghan.I know its politics.I want killing power not wounding power.no small caliber handgun bullets.nquality not quantity.no one I know praises the 9 mm.they just love the capacity. I do not own a shotgun.not my cup of tea.

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  5. Great question, I have been thinking of asking a similar question for a while now. UrbanMan replies are comprehensive and very informative. I like the various uses of a shotgun that you have mentioned. Thanks for sharing this great piece of information. I also learnt a few things about survival pistols here: http://survival-mastery.com/diy/weapons/survival-pistol.html

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