Posted on 01/23/2013 11:08:08 AM PST by Perseverando
Exclusive: Creek Stewart makes case for flexible, functional firearm
Gun ownership is a hot topic right now. There is no doubt our constitutional right to bear arms is under assault. Legal gun owners are being singled out, scrutinized and publicly black-listed.
The imminent threat of more gun bans and restrictions has prompted many law-abiding citizens to evaluate their arsenals. The newly proposed “ban bills” have compelled many to stock up on certain guns, accessories and calibers of ammunition.
Though certainly not intentional, this is the first thing Obama has done in five years to stimulate our economy. The line to get into the gun show near where I live this past weekend was a quarter mile long. Many people who have never even owned guns are among the throngs of new gun shop customers. The firearms business is booming!
As you take inventory of your firearms, I’d like to present you with a question. If you could only have one gun, what would it be?
Get Creek Stewart’s “Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag,” your guide to making a 72-hour disaster survival kit, from the WND Superstore!
Granted, there is no one gun that excels in every category: self-defense, large and small game hunting, hostile combat, maneuverability, weight, accuracy, affordability, durability and ease of use.
I look at guns, however, from the perspective of long-term survival. I buy guns for their function. If I could only have one gun to meet as many of my survival needs as possible, it would without question be a Ruger 10/22 rifle. If you don’t already own a Ruger 10/22, let me explain why you need one in your gun cabinet.
First, the Ruger 10/22 is a semi-automatic rim-fire rifle chambered in .22 long-rifle ammunition. It comes standard with a 10-round magazine. The barrel
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
I believe why alot of people choose the 10/22 because there are so many already sold and the "after market" accessories are so numerous that odds of getting stuff for your weapon after the SHTF is a lot better.
Another reason why they choose a 22 is the ammo is one of the most readily available in the USA and cheap.
It should also be noted that many of those quotes were an attempt by Ruger to get the government to either 1) handicap his competition, because at a time when his competition had 17 and 19 round flush fitting mags, Ruger pistols could only hold 15 at best and he couldn’t figure out any way to fix that, or 2) keep the government from banning his baby, the Mini-14 ‘Ranch Rifle’.
Ruger’s support for a magazine ban was originally ‘no more than 15’ because of the aforementioned inability to make a pistol that carried more than 15. But, like all such quislings, he got stabbed in the back by the people he collaborated with - with the 10 round ban restriction.
Ruger’s testimony on the 20/30 round mags and the folding stock was an attempt to keep the Mini-14 off the ban list, because that was his baby. He would do anything to keep it from being outright banned - and did.
Fortunately, as I said, he’s dead now and the modern Ruger company management doesn’t have their heads up their rectums.
Shot placement is everything. My only objection to recommending .22 lr for self defense is that rimfire ammo tends to misfire, and quality is inconsistent. What’s hot and “the best” one year is total crap the next.
:”The grab and go gun is the Ruger 10/22 (bull barrel tactical). The ARs, the 9mms, the 308s, the 45s, etc. etc. can stay home.”
Which is why that’s the gun the military grabs when it....nevermind.
If your friend can even find one online and wants to buy one,
make friends with some oldster in a retirement home and have him buy it then buy it from him.
My new favorite semi-auto shotgun is the Mossberg 930.
Well under $500. Composite stock and forearm. Ported barrel.
2 3/4” and 3”. 6 shot with 2 3/4” shells, 5 with 3”.
Light weight and very low felt recoil. Comes with 3 choke tubes. Many stock and barrel options available.
Mine will put all 9 00buckshot pellets in a 20” circle at 50 yds with the full choke tube.
I couldn't believe how light the recoil was, even with 3” mag loads the felt recoil is no more than 20 ga field loads shot from a pump gun.
The quotes were from a TV interview with Tom Brokaw. I heard them at the time of broadcast many years ago and was quite taken aback. It explained why at that time the only 20 and 30 round mags for Mini 14s were aftermarket products (and junk to boot).
>http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/06/foghorn/ask-foghorn-22l-for-self-defense/
I’m sorry but that data analysis is so bad that it is not even worth reading.
The rationalizations he uses to justify the efficacy of the .22lr are spurrious.
First he lauds its ability to kill (the % of incidents ending in fatality), then he dismisses the the lack of ability to incapacitate (by assuming user error).
You don’t use a self defense gun to kill, you use it to incapacitate. A .22 is deadly because it can cause a lot of hemorrhaging, but won’t kill you fast. Hence it won’t incapacitate. This fits the data presented.
Nobody in their right mind would ever question the efficacy of a shotgun. For home defense, they cannot be beat. Of course you can’t carry around a shotgun.
22 LR 1,045 fps
22 Mag 2,200 fps
A High V 22LR is a little better at 1,260. Still way short of 2,200. Plus the bolt action is more accurate then a semi auto gas action. Neither is very good as a defense weapon but for hunting small game the 22 mag wins, since the 22 mag will bring down bigger game (and at greater range) then the 22LR.
Yeah, and they will also know it if you shoot them in the arm. While you have a much better shot at incapacitation with a face shot, I don’t see anything as being guaranteed with a .22 lr.
bkmk
Yes, shot placement is crucial. However potting paper at the range and shooting when you’re under fire are drastically different circumstances. There’s not a lot of people out there with ice water coursing through their bloodstream, and normal people in combat are not as accurate as they might like.
If shot placement were everything, wouldn’t SOCOM advocate using .22lr pistols? No, they understand that in actual combat conditions Murphy’s Law will prevail. Targets are not static in these conditions and you don’t have a lot of time to aim.
SOCOM pretty much has gone over to .45s these days. Army training has users of 9mms doing double taps as SOP.
I own a SOCOM-16 (.308) and it would be my grab gun if I thought there was a spooky in my home or someone doing something nefarious on the land.
However — a person really needs to spend some serious time with a weapon like that to get accustomed to its muzzle rise, recoil, and - heck - it’s sound. I have a lot of experience with the gun, but even I think that I would be a little surprised by what it would sound like going off in the confines of a tight hallway.
...And while I’m already being a know-it-all: Especially important is to do as much night-time firing as you can to acclimate yourself to that reality.
A gun is very different in the dark and muzzle flash can play a big part in your ability to see your target.
So, with that being said, I would be happy as a clam at night with a 10/22. Low recoil, low noise, low flash..... it wouldn’t be so bad and you could probably get almost all of your shots in a 3-inch group; which would hurt pretty bad.
You mean it WOULD be, if you could find 22LR anywhere...
I wouldn't discourge anyone from buying a Ruger. I've given them a bit of business myself since Bill died. But from a philosophical perspective it would be hard for me to spend my last gun dollar with them, or with Smith & Wesson, for that matter. If it really comes down to that I'd rather reward a company that hasn't historically stabbed gun owners in the back.
For home defense, I prefer a 20 guage “youth” pump.
Almost anyone in the home can use the weapon if trained with it.
Are they still having delivery problems?
Check out Magnum Research. Real tack drivers.
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