survival guns/preparing in general

[rideac]

hey i've been creeping around here for a few weeks, so i think i'll start posting finally.

In the past 2-3 months I've discovered how serious the problems are in this country and how they are impossible to fix without ending the federal reserve. Since Ron Paul is the only political figure talking about this and no one knows much about the federal reserve in general, i don't really think its possible for the bankers to be stopped in time to repair the damage thats been done since 1913. (the dollar being devalued by 97% since it began issuing our currency)

Thus, I've stopped living the standard consumer driven lifestyle (spending all earnings on TV's, going out to eat, movies...you name it) that the average american (unknowingly?) indulges in.

I'm only 20 years old and I find that going from average lower middle class American to self sufficient, well stocked, and armed survivalist is truly a difficult task.

My primary question is: If you were on a budget, what type of rifle would you choose for a combination of hunting and self defense?

I think an SKS seems like a good option, but I'm not 100% sure so thats why im seeking advice. I like that its chambered in 7.62x39, so I could get an SKS as a first rifle for practice and then if time allows i could acquire an AK47 also.

Ideally, i'd like to get some kind of .308 battle rifle, but i don't have 1-2k to spend currently. I could come up with it in a few months for sure, but I feel like buying a gun and getting experience with it now is better than saving for a nice one and possibly not being able to get it.

Open to all suggestions, thanks for looking, and sorry if tl;dr

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

Now that's a first post ! to .

Just my , around $600 gets you an AK and a good start on ammo .

Make Aldis and Dollar store your friends and check out this site When SHTF - The Modern Day Survival Forum

 

[E5RANGER375]

how many rifles do you wanna carry? I only wanna carry one. they get heavy fast and if your only able to afford one now then i would stock up on the ammo. I would choose and AR-15 or a AK-47

Welcome!

 

[lovemachine]

how many rifles do you wanna carry? I only wanna carry one. they get heavy fast and if your only able to afford one now then i would stock up on the ammo. I would choose and AR-15 or a AK-47

Welcome!

Why not both? For the money, you can own both. I find the AK is light, so it wouldn't be a huge burden to carry as a backup to the AR.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Get a Mosin and a thousand rounds of ammo for like $300, Then sporterize the Mosin. I think if your on a budget and just getting started you're going to want to get something like this done pretty cheap so you can concentrate on food, that's where inflation is going to hit hardest and fastest.

 

[E5RANGER375]

Why not both? For the money, you can own both. I find the AK is light, so it wouldn't be a huge burden to carry as a backup to the AR.

because you cant shoot 2 at the same time.

he is asking about a SHTF gun. im not oposed to having both. just not fighting zombies with 2. soldiers dont carry a back up M4.

 

[rideac]

how many rifles do you wanna carry? I only wanna carry one. they get heavy fast and if your only able to afford one now then i would stock up on the ammo. I would choose and AR-15 or a AK-47

Welcome!

I have to arm my comrades dont i?!

I am liking the idea of an AK to go ahead and start getting experience with. any tips on what to avoid/what to look for? what kind of attachments, if any, would you recommend?

thanks for the welcomes guys, I'm really liking this forum so far

 

[rideac]

Now that's a first post ! to .

Just my , around $600 gets you an AK and a good start on ammo .

Make Aldis and Dollar store your friends and check out this site When SHTF - The Modern Day Survival Forum

just went to that site, looks like really good stuff, thanks!

 

[Steve]

Food, water, security, shelter. All are equally important. Try to do a little in each area as you lay out your SHTF plans. Find your local MSG group and get active in it. They will be a life saver.

And welcome aboard!

 

[rideac]

Food, water, security, shelter. All are equally important. Try to do a little in each area as you lay out your SHTF plans. Find your local MSG group and get active in it. They will be a life saver.

And welcome aboard!

yes i agree. I've been looking into all of these for awhile as well. i've got a survival seed bank, big berkey water filter, and extra filters on my list also. I've gotta stock up on food too obviously, but I'm not exactly sure what all to get food wise honestly. I've gotten a couple of cast iron pans so far, but I certainly have a long way to go in general. I just want to make sure that once i get these things, no one can take them away from me, so AK47 is at the top of my list

as far as shelter goes though, i have no clue. right now i live in a suburban neighborhood in a house that would be impossible to defend, so i'm trying to find a house for rent in my area with reasonable space between neighbors and a lot of land for food. It is no easy task though, I've picked through everything online and the classifieds every week to no avail.

 

[dudley0]

If you have nothing in the way of a firearm, why not start with a .22?

Working within a budget and just getting started this might be a good first choice. No it isn't as cool to have one when you go plinking, but build up slowly. Start with a nice .22 rifle then buy a lot of ammo so you can practice, practice, practice.

With the money saved you can afford to start stockpiling on food, water, and other essentials. Once you get that handled to your liking start saving for a bigger rifle, or a pistol. Don't go broke buying a firearm and finding out you cant afford to feed it... or worse yet don't get a nice 2k rifle and a couple rounds of ammo and starve to death because food wasn't in your preps.

I have some of the bigger guns, but I have been collecting longer than I have been prepping. Starting to equal out now. Oh and I just bought an additional 1k+ of .22 ammo this week. It is sitting right beside my 5.56 and 7.62x39.

 

[rideac]

pretty good point. I think i'll go out and buy a .22 first then. for future reference though, what kind of 7.62x39 do you use? i was looking at some brown bear earlier and saw a variety of options

 

[Regionnus Rattis]

hey i've been creeping around here for a few weeks, so i think i'll start posting finally.

In the past 2-3 months I've discovered how serious the problems are in this country and how they are impossible to fix without ending the federal reserve. Since Ron Paul is the only political figure talking about this and no one knows much about the federal reserve in general, i don't really think its possible for the bankers to be stopped in time to repair the damage thats been done since 1913. (the dollar being devalued by 97% since it began issuing our currency)

Thus, I've stopped living the standard consumer driven lifestyle (spending all earnings on TV's, going out to eat, movies...you name it) that the average american (unknowingly?) indulges in. If you can concievably carry another log arm, then an AR is your option with the longer rage. In an actually situation, it is merely speculation based on the words of "experts" in this field. How many have actually spend time in a SHTF scenario and needed to view their survival operations from a tactical strike. In a SHTF, these guys ain't going to running around in their body armor and start moving about. The people on site are primarily "talkers" and voicing unfounded opinions on the merits of one cailber to another without consideration the tactical and strategic moves involved, is a literal "dead end".



I'm only 20 years old and I find that going from average lower middle class American to self sufficient, well stocked, and armed survivalist is truly a difficult task.

My primary question is: If you were on a budget, what type of rifle would you choose for a combination of hunting and self defense?

I think an SKS seems like a good option, but I'm not 100% sure so thats why im seeking advice. I like that its chambered in 7.62x39, so I could get an SKS as a first rifle for practice and then if time allows i could acquire an AK47 also.

Ideally, i'd like to get some kind of .308 battle rifle, but i don't have 1-2k to spend currently. I could come up with it in a few months for sure, but I feel like buying a gun and getting experience with it now is better than saving for a nice one and possibly not being able to get it.

Open to all suggestions, thanks for looking, and sorry if tl;dr

Depends on your budget. For a third of the price, you can get a ruger and thousands of rounds of ammo....way more than you can take with you if you have to move quickly. 75 yards out, you're gonna be knocking through some flesh in to vitals just as you could with an AR. Through a suppressor coming and they will never hear from where you are coming from. 75 yards gives you good rage, when you have a nice 3x-4x 4mm variable scope. As the range gets closer, the 12 GA, is the ticket...00 buck, 3-3-1/2 mags will settle anything when you get down to a 25 yard distance.

 

[dudley0]

My AK seems to love anything steel cased. It eats standard brass as well, but the price is so much cheaper on the steel. I have a couple K of corrosive sitting in a hole, but haven't test fired any of them yet.

Wolf and Bear seems to feed the same. Can't say which is more accurate for the rifle. Guess I need to sit down and test it instead of just sending a lot of lead down range.

Oh and the 12 ga with 00 Buck is a good choice as well, like RR said above. Close in it is wicked. More kick, less range but you also have the potential of adding slugs for shooting larger game if need be.

Just remember not to spend your entire stash of cash on one item. I am still learning how to build a good stockpile of preps. Work out what you need to focus on all around. Whittle it down slowly and once you are at a comfortable place then start buying the toys.

A nice .22 rifle is very practical and affordable but there is something to be said about dumping a few mags out of an AK that makes my heart go pitter-pat.

 

[RedCell]

I am going to have to agree with the AK. That weapon system just will not stop. I've heard of AK's being run over by 7 tons and still firing w/ bent receivers.

The 22 doesn't have the stopping power necessary to hunt with, however, in a defensive situation, you can pump as many rounds out of that thing as you want to without worrying about barrels melting, running out of ammo, or losing your hearing!

If you are mechanically inclined, you can even turn a good .22 into a belt fed rifle (and then a belt fed machine gun if one were so inclined). I had a buddy who did this. Just make sure you use metal belts and not the cloth ones. Dude had a runaway gun fire about 420 rounds in a small amount of time. That starts getting hot after a while.

 

[ranjah6]

Ak is the way to go for a budget bro.

 

[SemperFiUSMC]

I am going to have to agree with the AK. That weapon system just will not stop. I've heard of AK's being run over by 7 tons and still firing w/ bent receivers.

The 22 doesn't have the stopping power necessary to hunt with, however, in a defensive situation, you can pump as many rounds out of that thing as you want to without worrying about barrels melting, running out of ammo, or losing your hearing!

If you are mechanically inclined, you can even turn a good .22 into a belt fed rifle (and then a belt fed machine gun if one were so inclined). I had a buddy who did this. Just make sure you use metal belts and not the cloth ones. Dude had a runaway gun fire about 420 rounds in a small amount of time. That starts getting hot after a while.

The 22 doesn't have stopping power if you don't know how to shoot. Neither does an AR. Neither does an AK. Neither does anything else. If you suck, it doesn't matter what you have. Buy a shotgun if you can't shoot.

My primary SHTF weapon is a 22, with several others in the wings. But if I can only take one, it will be my 10/22. Suppressed they are quiet as hell. Quiet is more valuable than anything else. Google stories about grizzlies attacking hunters because they heard the gun go off. The same will happen with pirates.

You can shoot a rabbit or squirill without them blowing up. Eyeball shot at 75 yards (doable all day long if you have a good weapon and have developed the skill to hit a target) will drop a deer, bear, or pirate. Oh, and you can carry two thousand rounds and hide tens of thousands more.

If you think an AK or AR will make you a SHTF ninja you're wrong. Plain wrong. Learn to hide. Learn to shoot. How you use your weapon is much more important than which one you have.

 

[nsenneking]

The 22 doesn't have stopping power if you don't know how to shoot. Neither does an AR. Neither does an AK. Neither does anything else. If you suck, it doesn't matter what you have. Buy a shotgun if you can't shoot.

My primary SHTF weapon is a 22, with several others in the wings. But if I can only take one, it will be my 10/22. Suppressed they are quiet as hell. Quiet is more valuable than anything else. Google stories about grizzlies attacking hunters because they heard the gun go off. The same will happen with pirates.

You can shoot a rabbit or squirill without them blowing up. Eyeball shot at 75 yards (doable all day long if you have a good weapon and have developed the skill to hit a target) will drop a deer, bear, or pirate. Oh, and you can carry two thousand rounds and hide tens of thousands more.

If you think an AK or AR will make you a SHTF ninja you're wrong. Plain wrong. Learn to hide. Learn to shoot. How you use your weapon is much more important than which one you have.

this guy knows what he is talking about! people have been killing deer for years with .22s, mostly for the wrong reasons but thats not the point. the point is that you and be quiet and if you can take downs a deer a human should be no problem

 

[rideac]

really good post semper thanks a lot. I've been looking at 10/22's as well and was close to buying one at the last gun show.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I'd like to find a .22 magnum at some point......or I may try out a 17hmr.