SHTF Guns

[Perianne]

When SHTF and/or civil war, or the like, which rifle would you suggest possessing? It would also serve as a deer rifle if'n I ever decide to go deer hunting.

I am 5'0" and 130 pounds; keep that in mind when suggesting. I have been reading a lot about rifles since my husband died. I have nearly settled on .243. Any thoughts?

[aboutime]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgd2F2QNfEE

[jimnyc]

I am 5'0" and 130 pounds; keep that in mind when suggesting.

If she can shoot it...

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=2e1c99b7e15d" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[LongTermGuy]

When SHTF and/or civil war, or the like, which rifle would you suggest possessing? It would also serve as a deer rifle if'n I ever decide to go deer hunting.

I am 5'0" and 130 pounds; keep that in mind when suggesting. I have been reading a lot about rifles since my husband died. I have nearly settled on .243. Any thoughts?


`For SHTF situations.... give me a bolt-action (type) rifle.... (choose your flavor) Yes....one would be at something of a disadvantage if "coming up against" other`s armed with auto-loaders.....But.....in such a scenario... *the wise person...with intentions of being a "survivor"....would be well-advised to AVOID such battles....or be a hit and run sniper.. The bolt-action battle rifle would tend to force a certain economy......without being tempted (TO WASTE precious ammo)`


https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=17&v=FrJ0LRmhIIY

[aboutime]

Why must we question "WHEN" in ref to SHTF? In many ways. It already has. Greece is just a warning shot most people have no idea what the consequences might be here. Americans are spoiled...UNTIL..the SHTF in their own space.

[LongTermGuy]

Why must we question "WHEN" in ref to SHTF? In many ways. It already has. Greece is just a warning shot most people have no idea what the consequences might be here. Americans are spoiled...UNTIL..the SHTF in their own space.

....hopefully many would have `been` prepared ...at least 7 years ago having "all" the Needful Things necessary to live................ and to get "all"....it takes time...money and thought...

[aboutime]

....hopefully many would have `been` prepared ...at least 7 years ago having "all" the Needful Things necessary to live................ and to get "all"....it takes time...money and thought...


Agreed. While we hope to keep trusting our BANK will still honor our needs. We've decided to ALWAYS have some CASH on hand...just in case the power is lost...for starters. Credit cards, and Debit cards are only as good as the ELECTRICAL machine they are scanned into. CASH does wonders, when all else fails.

[BJ_WA]

I believe a 5' tall woman could shoot a Ruger Scout Rifle (.308 win. / 7.62 Nato) with no problem. I want one.

[Perianne]

I believe a 5' tall woman could shoot a Ruger Scout Rifle (.308 win. / 7.62 Nato) with no problem. I want one.

I follow Chuck Hawks' recoil table page: http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

The .308 has significantly more recoil than a .243 (7.2 vs 15.8).

[LongTermGuy]

I follow Chuck Hawks' recoil table page: http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

The .308 has significantly more recoil than a .243 (7.2 vs 15.8).


....For military sniping the .308 wins hands down.....more power at longer ranges...and Penetration...For hunting the .243 is better for varmint to medium sized game while the .308 is better for medium sized game to bigger game....depends on your needs....

[NightTrain]

Don't underestimate the .243. Growing up, my Dad killed many, many moose with a Ruger .243 - he preferred it to all other rifles when hunting moose... it's a wickedly fast round and extremely accurate. More than once I witnessed him crank the scope up to 9 and one-shot-one-kill the moose that was just a speck on the horizon. He would break it's neck every time with his shot in order to minimize meat damage from shooting it in the front quarters.

A .270 is another extremely fast and accurate round, but it's going to have more recoil.

My two cents, Perianne, a .243 would be fine. Ideally against humans you'd want a larger caliber round, but if you're comfortable with the kick from a .243 and it's about your maximum, then I'd say use it. If it can break the neck of a moose, it'll do everything you need against a human.

I don't know how much experience you have with firearms, but if you're new... practice, practice, practice.

A good SHTF pistol should be in order, as well. A 9mm automatic pistol doesn't have much kick and it's very effective against humans - and in close quarters, that's what you're going to want to have instead of your bolt action rifle. My step sister is an avid shooter and practices with her 9mm all the time... she's only about 5' 4" or so.

[Perianne]

Don't underestimate the .243. Growing up, my Dad killed many, many moose with a Ruger .243 - he preferred it to all other rifles when hunting moose... it's a wickedly fast round and extremely accurate. More than once I witnessed him crank the scope up to 9 and one-shot-one-kill the moose that was just a speck on the horizon. He would break it's neck every time with his shot in order to minimize meat damage from shooting it in the front quarters.

A .270 is another extremely fast and accurate round, but it's going to have more recoil.

My two cents, Perianne, a .243 would be fine. Ideally against humans you'd want a larger caliber round, but if you're comfortable with the kick from a .243 and it's about your maximum, then I'd say use it. If it can break the neck of a moose, it'll do everything you need against a human.

I don't know how much experience you have with firearms, but if you're new... practice, practice, practice.

A good SHTF pistol should be in order, as well. A 9mm automatic pistol doesn't have much kick and it's very effective against humans - and in close quarters, that's what you're going to want to have instead of your bolt action rifle. My step sister is an avid shooter and practices with her 9mm all the time... she's only about 5' 4" or so.

Thanks for the excellent post. We have the bases covered with handguns and shotguns. We are ready for intruders. We have 9mm, .357, and .22. We go to the shooting range regularly to practice our handguns. We have 12 and 20 gauge shotguns. Also two .22 rifles. I simply wanted one powerful rifle in case SHTF.

[Jeff]

Personally for a small woman I would go with the 270 as I see others have posted, I have friends that hunt with that Cal and they kill a lot of deer, it doesn't kick bad but will drop what you are shooting at fairly easy, the 243 to me is just a little to light, but of course that is just my opinion.

[indago]

When SHTF and/or civil war, or the like, which rifle would you suggest possessing? It would also serve as a deer rifle if'n I ever decide to go deer hunting.

I am 5'0" and 130 pounds; keep that in mind when suggesting. I have been reading a lot about rifles since my husband died. I have nearly settled on .243. Any thoughts?

There are a lot of rifles to choose from. Henry Rifle is a good choice for deer hunting...

RIFLES (https://www.henryrifles.com/henry-rifles/)

.30/30 Rifles

.45-70 Rifles

For protection though, you should pick a semi-automatic rifle.

Then there is the old stand-by...

http://www.winchesterguns.com/produc...03C&mid=534174 (http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/detail.asp?family=003C&mid=534174)

[indago]

Repeated

[darin]

All this talk means very little.

There is no good SHTF gun that you aren't super-familiar with right now. Don't buy into "too much recoil" for a body size. Get a rifle you can drive nails with. Get a rifle you can shoot. Get Ammo. Lots of Ammo. Buy and stock surpluses of .223, 30-06, .308, .45, 10mm, and 9mm ammo to barter with.

Have a bug-out location but plan on becoming a nomad. If you can't walk well, ensure you have a horse. If you can't board a horse, ensure you have an ATV and thousands of gallons of gas for it. If you cannot grow and guard a food source your house/homestead is worthless. Your house will not protect you from more than about 2 bad guys with guns. 5.56 and 7.62 will easily penetrate household walls.

[red state]

What worked well for our founders or those who "tamed" the landscape was an adaptable firearm from which their rifle (the bring-home-the-bacon gun/rifle) and the hand gun / side arm from which to ward off or STOP a threat. I wouldn't go with what they used, however, because of your size and from the articles I've ghost written on survival, i'd go with a small cal. that will kill, doesn't kick, is light with large amounts of ammo being light and to where the ammo is interchangeable. Getting back to kill factor......a 22 will kill most anything but is ideal for silence, and small game. I don't recommend hunting big game with a 22 but I have killed quite a few deer with a 22 over 30 years ago when I was small. Another fascinating gun relationship is the JUDGE system. With this, you can carry a pistol that shoots bird shot, slugs and smaller rifle caliber. They generally shoot 410 shotgun loads for hunting (bird shot and/or slugs etc. and also use 45 (KNOCK the $#!T outta U load) for threats if a 22 is undesired for stopping an assailant.

As an archer, who makes his own effective bows.....I highly suggest becoming effective with archer equipment. Daryl most certainly does quite well and is able to use the ammo over and Over and OVER for all those thousands of Zombies when TSHTF.

Hope this helps. There is much knowledge form ARMY folks and other but as a survivalist, hunter and hobby shooter, my bet would be on the lightest, the quietest and the most versatile (cost wise and multiple uses). Not many moose down here but I'd most certainly feel confident that a 22 or judge would kill the heck out of a moose if hit strategically/surgically.

[Gunny]

When SHTF and/or civil war, or the like, which rifle would you suggest possessing? It would also serve as a deer rifle if'n I ever decide to go deer hunting.

I am 5'0" and 130 pounds; keep that in mind when suggesting. I have been reading a lot about rifles since my husband died. I have nearly settled on .243. Any thoughts?

Depends on what you want to do with it. A Winchester Model 94 is a good all around carbine.

Depending on what you're planning on. a Kalishnokov - 47 (aka AK-47) is the preferred weapon of our enemies. Meaning if you want to reload with THEIR bullets, you might want something that fires them. If we have a (civil) war, you ain't getting food and ammo. The best supply of ammo is what you take off the dead guy you just made that way. You can handle an AK and/or an AR-15 at your size.

I'm going for a Model 700 with a30x scope.

[NightTrain]

Not many moose down here but I'd most certainly feel confident that a 22 or judge would kill the heck out of a moose if hit strategically/surgically.


Funny story about that, I had a co-worker a few years ago that lived in Anchorage and had a lot of different exotic trees, but his baby was an apple tree of some kind. This particular tree was a moose magnet, and evidently it was very tasty judging by the moose traffic. He tried everything he could think of to protect it with fencing, strobe lights, everything. The moose just bulldozed the barriers over and ignored everything else while chowing down on the tree - including him bellowing at them from his deck.

Finally, he caught a repeat offender snacking on his precious tree one afternoon when he was in a bad mood, and he grabbed a .22 short and shot it in the ass. The moose staggered out into the middle of his front yard and keeled over, dead. The bullet had traveled up into the chest and lodged in the heart, so there was no blood... a really weird shot. And extremely illegal on several counts, he suddenly realized.

He panicked, grabbed the 800 pound moose and slid it down the snowy driveway into the street and into the ditch on the other side of the road. Then he made a bunch of footprints in the yard to cover up things, and he lucked out by it snowing that night. Then he hid the .22 over at his brother's house. :laugh:

The cops showed up the next day, and he answered the door, sure that he was about to go to jail. The cops asked him if he'd seen any kids around the neighborhood with air guns, shooting at stuff. He looked past the cop and saw Fish & Game investigating the dead moose across the street. He allowed that he may had heard some air guns a day or two earlier... but didn't see anyone. Somehow the cops misidentified the .22 entry wound for a pellet rifle and I still don't know how none of his neighbors saw him covering up the scene of the crime.

He decided to let the moose eat anything they wanted in his yard after that. Now he just has the usual birch and spruce trees, the moose ate everything else.

[Gunny]

Why must we question "WHEN" in ref to SHTF? In many ways. It already has. Greece is just a warning shot most people have no idea what the consequences might be here. Americans are spoiled...UNTIL..the SHTF in their own space.

What do you mean Greece is the warning shot? Obama's done more damage in a week an a half than Hitler did in 10 years.

[aboutime]

What do you mean Greece is the warning shot? Obama's done more damage in a week an a half than Hitler did in 10 years.

Can't disagree with that. But my words were intended for the DENIAL Bunch, we all know as Liberals...like gabby.
They can't seem to get their EMPTY heads around the warnings, like Obama. But will BLAME everybody else after it happens, and demand REPARATIONS!!! :)