Posted: 5/9/2006 1:32:27 PM EDT
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OK, not sure where to start with this..or for that matter, which forum to post in. Could be General or could be more Survival/SHTF planning. I'd like to build a plan to acquire some additional weapons, esp rifles and battle rifles that will give me and my family a reasonable assortment of weapons for any type of SHTF situation. I currently have one AR15, the M4gery from 2001 ar15.com fame. Works great, not totally authentic, but a great into the wild world of the black rifle. I also have a few .22 LR rifles, 30/30 Marlin, a few 12 gauge shotguns..but no other "large caliber" and/or battle/"assault" style rifles. Given the availability of the various rifles our there and/or their ammo, help me round out my collection. Some of the ideas I've been kicking around has been to "upgrade" to at least one larger caliber rifle and get a CMP M1 right away due to selection of rifles as well as the M2 ball ammo. Another is to go the M1A1 Scout rifle route. Another is to add a full size AR, like a A4 20" flat top for a higher velocity platform with a ACOG or something. Or add in a "simple" bolt action .308/30.06/other flat .30 cal rifle. I'd like to base my ammo and collection around the most common military surplus as well as common civilian calibers too. One other consideration is the ability of others, esp wife, to shoot some of these rifles if possible. How say you? I'm wide open for ideas. I want to use these input to help me prioritize and budget purchases over the next year or so. |
Good advice. Water being the most important thing. |
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+1 on the spork. For the price of one .308 MBR you could equip your family with a whole suite of camping gear to last twenty years or so: 1 top of the line tent for 5-6 people 1 top of the line tent for 2-3 people Various size tarps rope Cooking systems (Jetboil or Coleman or other type) Sleeping pads and bags Lanterns, flashlights, fire makers Cookware, furniture, etc. Backpacks and BOBs. As far as weaponry goes, with 1 AR and 1 30.30, plus shotguns, I'd say you have enough for 2-3 relatively well armed men. How big is your family? I'd sooner dump money into solar panels, communications' gear (HAM), a generator or great water filter (something big for the family) and MREs and grains than another black rifle. OR, think of some way to use that $1200 on something that can generate barterable goods - machine tools, reloading gear, communications gear, nightvision, etc. OR TRAINING.... |
I left that out of this topic becuase I already have a plan for a 30 day supply of water and food for 4 adults. Currently have about a 3 week supply for 2 adults/1 child. Plus the guns cost more and I need a little more advance planning/budgeting, esp to "sell it" to the wife. lol |
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I would add a .308 battle rifle FAL or HK91 type. I would stay away from the M1A or AR10, they are wonderful rifles but it is harder to find M1A/AR10 mags vs HK G3 mags or FAL mags. Tapco is selling 50 HK 20 round mags for $50. Last time I checked, M1A mags were $30 and $39 for Armalite AR10 mags. Also, a FAL or HK 91 can be a long range target rifle like a Remington 700 or Savage. Other items you could add: Few handguns Few shotguns for hunting, and HD. |
Guns are more fun to talk about than food/water anyway.  But seriously ... if SHF is your thinking, you should be concentrating on other areas right now because it looks like you're in decent shape gun-wise. You could do very well with your .22 LR (the choice of most poachers, and therefore very relevant in a SHF situation) and your AR. All you need for your guns (that you already own) are plenty of ammo, cleaning supplies and maybe some spare parts. Do you have a water filter for longer-term water outages? A backpacking water purifier runs less than $100 and can filter over 200 gallons, so if you live near a water source you won't have to stock up on huge 55 gallon drums of water. Do you have power for when the electricity goes out? A generator can help, or maybe you should look into a good stock of candles. My power has gone out 2x in the last month. The solution could be a good number of those tea candles ($2 for 50 at Walmart), batteries for your flashlights and maybe a solar recharger for your rechargeable batteries. Do you have cooking capabilities if the gas/electric goes out? If you've got a propane stove (thanks Hank Hill) then you could be set. Not everyone has a grill, though. Do you have enough toilet paper? Plastic bags for storage of refuse? What are you gonna do about using "the can" if the water/power is out? Paper plates/cups for when the dishwasher won't work? First aid kit if SHF and the hospitals are closed? I'm not trying to overwhelm you or point out holes in your survival planning. I'm just trying to get you to think a bit about what you have and don't have. Way I see it, you have guns and you're set in that department. Might be better to think about what you don't have and spend money on that, instead of more money on guns. |