Many weapons

There are very many weapons out there in the world that people use everyday! The trick is finding out what will work best for you and your situation. You have to know what calibre weapon will best fit your needs. Me myself I'm very versatile I grew up with shotguns, rifles, bows, knives, as well as some homemade explosives that we use to remove stumps. If you just have one weapon and expect to use it for every situation it will fail you at some point in time the best thing you can do is have a variety that means a shotgun which is good for hunting, self defense and if you have the correct shells even starting a fire. A rifle can be used in a similar fashion but they are meant for more range shooting at a distance so if you have an animal that you're hunting and it's at a distance a rifle would work better in that situation or if you have your shotgun you could try to stalk your prey and get closer for a closer shot. A handgun would be mainly used for self-defence at close quarters. As for a bow or crossbow as long as your string does not break that is the most reliable weapon you will have it cannot misfire and you can we use your ammunition over and over and over without repair you simply plug it out of your pray and put it back in the quiver.

 

Variety is the spice of life... I agree with all you said. Just wanted to say there are many different weapons out there, I prefer a selection as well.... My pack choice is different than my vehicle choice... Pack I have a specter breakdown bow and 6 breakdown arrows with multiple heads. My rifle my M6 scout. My hand gun is a Ruger Mark 2. So I can carry 200rounds of 22ammo which can be used in my personal carry as well as my rifle...a few 410 slugs and a couple pdx1 rounds for self defense...so light weight...light ammo weight..multiple functions....

 

Love this thread. Personally, I don't own any firearms. Wish I did, but long story. Anyway, for us I have a wide assortment of knives and axes, a couple of solid spears that can be broken down for travel, snares, a blowgun, a lightweight bow, and I am wanting to pick up a good crossbow. But I agree. Be versed in different weapons, as you never know when you might need to use something other than your preferred...

 

I have heard this, which makes their prepping much different from what many Americans are doing. Versatility and adaptability are key, but prepping for your area is what counts.

 

I didn't know that bow hunting wasn't legal over there. And yet you can own a bow... Interesting. And yeah, I have found similar mentalities over here, with city folk telling us country bumpkins how we should be living. LOL

 

Sad but true, unfortunately.

 

I learned many years ago that I pretty much wanted a scoped rifle around me, a pistol and a good sheath knife like a Kabar or Buck Knife. A hatchet is also nice because it can double as a hammer too. But my minimum was a medium caliber, about a .30 caliber diameter, rifle with a scope mounted on it for precision shooting. The pistol I would use for close range, personal defense needs if the rifle were to jam or if I needed something, a weapon, that was highly maneuverable. The sheath knife was for survival purposes like cutting rope, carving things (making stakes) and so on. The knife, however, could be used for personal defense if needed.

I got lucky because I got to go to Sniper School and ended up with a XM-21 sniper rifle for my medium caliber rifle with a scope on it. That's why I believe so much in scoped rifles. Once you get used to using a good, reliable scoped rifle in tight situations you'll understand how effective that they can be. The XM-21 shot 7.62 NATO National Match (high quality) ammo that was extremely accurate. The rifle, ammo, scope and trained shooter came together as a complete package that worked well. Without all the elements working together, the sniper system would not work. With the gear of the day, U.S. Army snipers were trained to make shots out to 900 meters in the daylight on human silhouette targets. We could make hits on targets at 300 meters at night using our special Starlight scopes. Our rifles were issued to us with 2 scopes. One was a daytime Redfield ART scope and the other was a special Starlight scope with either circles or squares, down low and left in the field of view, so that we could sight in and shoot a target. The circles or squares were of 3 different diameters with the smallest ones being on the bottom. A sniper would place the nearest size dot or square over the target that he was going to shoot as that would generally work for the approximate distance reference to the target.

So, a good scoped, a good pistol and a decent sheath knife are the minimum I suggest that most people consider having on had for survival purposes if they can arrange it. Once you get your gear, I then suggest you go practice with it until you get to know it real well in all light conditions and weather conditions. Here's some things to consider if you do happen to own firearms:

1. Have you tried to change magazines under inclement weather conditions? In other words, imagine bitter cold weather and you're wearing gloves. Can you change magazines or reload your firearms while wearing your gloves?

2. Have you tested your firearms under bitter weather conditions? I live in the Midwest where the temperatures sometimes drop to -100 degrees below zero. I've actually tested my guns in some of the most mind-numbing, bitterly cold weather you can imagine just to see what would happen. I got some interesting results as my guns slowed down and then just stopped functioning. That's when I changed my lubricants and located stuff used by our military for cold weather operations. Yep, our military actually makes a gun lubricant for cold weather operations. It stuff is called, "Weapons Oil Arctic" or "LAW Weapons Oil Arctic." I'm sure that there is also various civilian versions of the military lubricant too.

3. Think ahead. If you plan to be climbing, have a way to secure your knives and other gear to your body so that they don't fall off of you. You don't need to be 2,000 feet up on a cliff, feel something fall away and find out that you just lost your compass, hatchet or sheath knife. Same thing for other valuable gear like scopes, batteries and so on.

But keep your weapon system concepts simple. Don't decide to carry too many weapons, not too much ammo and use common sense. A medium caliber rifle will take down most things you need to drop on the North American continent. But also keep in mind, to pick your scoped rifle for your mission. If you are going to be moving a lot, you might want to go to a smaller bore .223/5.56 scoped rifle instead of a medium bore rifle because of the weight differences. Make your decision based off of your needs.

 

For survival, these are my long guns. Top: Savage 24 v 30-30 over 20 gauge. Bottom Springfield arms/Czech republic M-6 scout...22lr over .410.... Pistol my Ruger mark 2 is tough to beat... I may be packing a 22 pistol but I bet I'd be ok using it for self defense, I have a larger selection, to include scoped 308, and even a M-1 Garand but if I had to bug out....give me my scout and my Rugar and I'd be A-ok..

 

Different rifles for different people in different situations. Not everybody's needs are exactly the same so we must pick and choose based upon our own criteria, experiences, what we can afford and so on. There is nothing wrong with starting off with a .223/5.56 in some cases. In a survival situation, we can not discount the need to be flexible or adaptable.

The Ruger Mini-14 rifles are firearms that I am not a big fan of because I've tested 3 of them over the years. All 3 of them were .223 caliber and all 3 of them when shot gave vertical strings of bullets. In other words, when we fired 5 rounds, the 5 round group instead of clover-leafing they went into a vertical string that spread over 4 inches in length. One guy in my state bought a Mini-14 years ago for around $400.00 and spent over $1,000.00 (He had money to waste.) trying to get that rifle to shoot with accuracy. He even went so far as to have it "cryogenically enhanced." That means he had the barrel dipped in liquid hydrogen for a number of hours until all the atoms align themselves along a certain axis or something. That still did not improve the accuracy to the point that he wanted the Ruger to be so he eventually got rid of it and bought an AR rifle of some kind. They are, however, nice compact carbine type firearms that are easy to maneuver with and move around with in combat situations. So, while they have their minuses they also have their pluses. Like anything else, you have to take the good with the bad.

If I had to choose just one rifle on which to depend I would narrow my options down to one of 3 types of rifles.
My most favorite rifle would be from the M-14/M-21/M-1A family of rifles with a good scope mounted on it. You can never go wrong with this group of rifles in my opinion. The only problem with this group of rifles is the weight of the magazines and ammo. The ammo and magazines are heavier and larger than AR-15/M-4 style firearms.
My second most favorite rifle would be a scoped AK style rifle. These rifles are reliable and shoot a medium caliber round in the 7.62 X 39 ammo. Why scope an AK? Precision, not long range work. The guy who put the 1,000 and 1,200 meter marks on the sights of an AK was an optimist of the 1st magnitude. If you scope an AK you can use the rifle for reliable accurate fire in spite of its somewhat limited distance of reach. In reality with the X39 ammo you're looking at about 350 meters for most shooters, maybe 500 meters for a good shooter on a real good day.
My last choice for a survival rifle would be either an AR in either 6.8 SPC or one in 6.5 Grendel. I'd take the 6.5 Grendel for its longer reach. I'd take the 6.8 SPC for its ammo availability through the military.

So that's the way I kind of see things. A good rifle with a scope on it and good pistol and a good sheath knife to round things off will pretty much see me through most troubled times. It's worked for me before and it will probably work for me again.

 

I have a heap of different rifles but a few I use most
I use a .22LR bolt action for small game hunting, up to close range goats
I use a .223R bolt for medium game out to 400m
and a heavy barrelled bolt action in .308W out to 1,100m for large or really long range stuff!
Feral camels don't have a clue once you are beyond about 600m

 

"Feral camels don't have a clue once you are beyond about 600m"

Damn near had coffee coming out of my nose on that one! I wish I had the money to invest in a good weapon, outside of the bladed ones I already own. Grew up on a combination of lever action rifles and a .303 Enfield (my favorite back in the day).

 

One of my .308's is a bog standard Howa with 26in heavy barrel
I push a 185gn Lapua FMJ pill at 2700fps for 1moa or better groups
Not happy with the scope but that is soon changing.
Rifle and scope $AUS1,500 or about a thousand euros
Nowhere as good as my old competition rifle but that is just about worn out and is soon to be retired!

 

Heard on the grapevine yesterday that the UK is considering restricting the ownership of Archery stuff
Some pom was out here checking out our laws not long ago!
The gist was one would need to be an active participant in an archery club to legally own the bow/arrow stuff!

How much truth in it I have no idea! just thought I would pass it along!

 

Not good news, Arkane. Sorry to hear it. Hope it is not going to come to pass.

 

I love my crossbow, and would hate to have to give it up.

 

Over here there is a mandated 5 year minimum for possession of an illegal firearm/crossbow!
The strict gun laws here have reduced firearms deaths but the use of other weapons has risen with the murder rate still the same!

 

For now!

 

With all these laws/regulations against firearms, bows, crossbows, etc. over there, I am curious as to the standpoint/legality on air rifles.

 

Wow. That is crazy! Sorry to hear it.

 

Well, the small game will keep you somewhat fed, providing you aren't having to fend for a large family, or else everyone is willing to eat lean. But regardless of the capacity, an air rifle is not, by definition, a firearm, as there is no powder or primer involved. Bah, curse these wacky laws!

 

An air rifle IS by definition a firearm, it is an arm that fires a projectile!
That's the definition over here anyway!

I actually like our firearms laws MOSTLY they work well!
Fair enough they restrict my usage but they restrict all those morons out there as well!

So long as I jump thorugh the hoops I can have firearms!
No one carries in public, even criminals who have them only use them on other crims for the most part and I have no issue with that!

Miss my semi shotgun though!

 

Definition over here is slightly different, in that an air rifle does not use powder to fire the projectile, and as such they are not technically classified as "firearms". I have to admit though, I do miss that old .303 Enfield I had growing up...

 

This is actually a great idea. I have heard of others who had access to muzzle loaders, but not sure where they were located.

 

One of the worst decisions I have ever made was selling my mint SMLE MK4 ugly as an old whore but easy to shoot!
I was having long term problems sourcing Ammo at a reasonable price! in the 70's ammo was cheap and everywhere!
By the early 90's most of the cheap stuff was gone and stock of any .303 was scarce!
Even worse now but there a few groups that pool there resources and reload there ammo but they don't sell to outsiders!
Was considering a .308 conversion but could buy a new .308 for less than the conversion!
silly me!

 

Makes sense now, lonewolf. Sadly, the letter of the law, while perhaps not always accurate, is still a hard thing to get around at times. Then again, in a SHTF scenario, I am sure a lot of folks will be ignoring all of those "technical" laws...

 

That is painful, Arkane. Understandable, but still painful. Hopefully you have been able to find a suitable replacement!

And yes, the one I grew up shooting was just as ugly, but damn, was she ever fun to handle! lol