Posted on 10/02/2009 8:37:24 AM PDT by Sasparilla
No one will ever compile a top ten list that everyone will agree with. The subjective criteria used here is based on price, range required, caliber required, history of use and reliablity, and commonness of ammunition, not necessarily in that order. This is not to suggest that a person needs every gun listed.
A large caliber rifle, .22 rifle or pistol, 9mm or .45, and pump shotgun are the basics. There will be lots of other opinions, but here is my list that I came up with after 50 years of shooting… not necessarily ranked in order.
1. We know that the first choice here will be controversial. A good AK47 is practically indestructible. Taking much of its design from the best points late WWII German MP44, the AK47 usually functions flawlessly under the worst of conditions. Throw it in the mud, fill the receiver with muck, or just leave it in a muddy river for weeks like the Viet Cong hid them, and all you need to do is wash it out, lubricate it, load it, and you are ready to go. In worst conditions, you could probably even urinate on it to clean out the muck. It is not the most accurate rifle available due to the loose manufacturing tolerances used. You can count on 3 inches at 100 yards. But, these loose tolerances allow the rifle to function and feed, and for the parts to move in almost all weather and geographical conditions. Its hard to freeze up an AK47. The 7.62X39 intermediate round is smaller than .308 or 30.06, and is comparable to a 30-30. 10, 20, 30, 40, 75 round magazines are plentiful. 75 round drums can be had for about $255.00, but they are bulky to carry and use with a semiautomatic AK47. They...
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Thanks to all for the replies!
I meant to say Lupo as I don’t think there is any such thing as a lumpo.
I would like to had for hunting a good pump air rifle to the list. 20cal 6-8 pumps will dispatch small game and its quite. And the cost Is about 100 bucks.
I would suggest as few as five:
1) 9mm or .45ACP handgun, preferably with a minimum capacity of 8 and extra magazines. These two are perhaps the most commonly used of all handguns, so finding additional ammunition should not be as problematic. Additionally, stopping power is adequate.
2) .22LR rifle, preferably semi-automatic (or at least magazine-fed). In a catastrophe, this would be one of the most likely survival rifles, as it can take down most small and medium game (and even deer with a well-placed shot). Additionally, it’s relatively quiet as far as guns go.
3) Pump shotgun - Mossberg 500/590 or Remington 870. 12 gauge is very common and can be used to hunt most anything. The interchangeable barrels can certainly allow you to go from hunting doves to hunting deer in a matter of a minute or two. It’s also an ideal weapon for home defense.
4) Semi-automatic rifle - AR-15, Mini-14 or the like. .223 ammunition is quite common. AR-15 magazines and ammunition would be everywhere in the case of a disaster. The Mini-14 would be the second most common, and magazines wouldn’t be too hard to find. Additionally, as the “American AK,” cleaning is far less of an issue.
5) Long-range rifle - Call it a sniper rifle or for hunting big game, a scoped .308 or .30-06 would do just fine here. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a DPMS LR-308 or a basic Remington 700, I think the idea is to take down large targets at a distance.
Ten guns is overkill. It’s better to have five accurate, reliable weapons with plenty of ammunition.
Joes goin rabbit huntin again...
Flintsilver, I was not suggesting having all ten. They were a place to start as suggestions, being four, i.e. a shotgun, handgun, .30cal rifle, .22. plus appropriate magazines and ammo. That’s plenty. I even suggested a flintlock rifle in the complete blog, because you can always find flint, make black powder, find patches and grease, and cast bullets.
If you can still get the “stinger” 22 hollow points, you can do some damage.
Surely you understand gun people can talk about this all day.
What would be an interesting concept would be trying to rank them in order. For example, if you can have only one gun, what would it be? What about only two? There’s plenty of room for discussion there as well.
Properly zeroed, with decent ammo, yes pretty much. Both have thin barrels that will walk on you if you get them too hot, and neither the SVD or PSL match a good bolt gun. I’ll concede that the SVD does have a small inherent accuracy edge due to the two piece gas system (should at least allow slightly faster followup), but performance is just not different enough to justify the disparagement heaped on the PSL. They’re not the same design, but they fulfill the same DM role. The SVD (like its Chinese counterpart) is as expensive as it is because of an import ban; like most other commie weapons, they’re a dime a dozen out in the real world. To me the big advantage of the SVD gas system is the ability to adjust the block for heavier weight bullets without beating the rifle to death. Feed a PSL 200 grain bullets for too long and....
The big problem is with three groups of people. 1)Unscrupulous sellers labeling PSLs as Dragunovs to take advantage of the import ban; 2)Insecure people who feel the need to justify dumping $$$k on an SVD by denigrating the PSL as an “overgrown AK” (as though the AK action isn’t about the most reliable platform ever designed); and 3)the F-ing company that built mix & match PSLs here from parts and then sold the junk (Google will identify the perp).
1. pump shotgun - Rem 870 Magnum Express
2. large caliber semi-auto rifle - M1A in .308
3. large caliber semi-auto pistol - S&W 1006 in 10mm or CZ75B in .40S&W (hard to decide on power vs. commonality)
4. rimfire semi-auto rifle - Rem 597 in 22LR (yes, it's not a 10/22, but why be normal?)
5. rimfire revolver - Ruger Single Six in 22LR
6. large caliber bolt action w/ scope - Savage Model 10 in .308 (note cartridge commonality with M1A)
7. large caliber revolver - S&W 610 in 10mm/40S&W (maintains commonality with semi handgun)
8. rimfire bolt action - Savage MkII in 22LR
9. semi-auto shotgun - Benelli M2 in 12g
10. 50BMG bolt action w/ Leupold Mk4 tactical scope - Barrett (whoops, there goes all my money!)
Now, if we are allowed conversions, the Single Six has the extra 22mag cylinder, the CZ75B has the 22LR Kadet slide conversion, and of course, the 610 takes either 10mm or 40S&W with moon clips.
BTW, did I mention that I would require reloading equipment with dies and supplies for all calibers listed? Oh yes!
Instead of guns, maybe cartridges should have been mentioned.
1] .22LR
2] .38 Special
3] 9MM Luger
4] .357 Magnum
5] .45 Auto
6] .223 Remington
7] .308
8] 30-30
9] 12 Gauge
Become proficient with whatever uses those calibers.
God forbid the day ever comes I have to shoot Peter Cottontail for something to eat, but in such a scenario, it's possible someone else is just as hungry.
LOL, great list!
You guys can run around the urban areas with your fancy plastic guns and high tech optics.
I’ll be in the woods with the Winchester lever action .44 with iron sights and a .38 snub nose loaded with a couple of shotshells in the first chambers for any snakes or ugly dogs that get too close.
BTW, if you pass within 600 yards of my pos, be really really quiet.
VERY nice rifles. Obviously put together with love. My compliments, sir!
A gun in good repair, that you've trained with and you're comfortable firing, and that you have ammo for.
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