Top Weapons for the Job

[Clarity]

You are on the North side of Chicago when a CME hits, and the grid goes down for the foreseeable future. Your young (12 y.o.) son is with you. You have to get back to Northern Indiana (say DeMotte) with no working vehicles, no power, no running water, etc. You have your get home pack, with food and water in it. You have a sidearm, a rifle, optics of your choice, and one suppressor with you. (Apparently you believe the Privileges and Immunities clause applies to firearm ownership, you sick son-of-a-*****!) You have to cross Cabrini Green and Robert Taylor homes (or their modern day equivalent), and walk down the Magnificent Mile, or near to it, or choose to route many miles around.

Given this scenario and terrain, what rifle and optic (and optionally suppressor) do you choose and why? Let's leave sidearms out of it for now.

 

[GIJEW]

OK I'll play. I'd carry my AR (NM lower/match trigger+midlength upper) for the ability to carry more ammo, topped with either a vortex or burris 1-4pwr scope (for this scenario, I haven't decided which to upgrade to yet). I wouldn't worry at all about a suppressor because the PD radios won't work and crook-county will sound like the 4th of July anyway with all the looting & mayhem. As for a route IIRC I90 is elevated above all the city streets which would put my travel above the various housing projects, shops, and looters. Most people I'd expect to meet would probably be looking to get home and avoid trouble too.

 

[Spear Dane]

Because I know that CME's do not occur out of the blue but do give many hours if not days of warning I am either at home or at my bugout spot already.

 

[Ruffnek]

I'll take my custom build. If I could magically get a suppressor without having to pay and wait, it'd be a Griffin M4SD2.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

Midlength AR in 5.56 with aimpoint t1 and some kind of suppressor. I do not know my suppressors, but it would be nice to have one.

We are taking the long way home.

 

[MohawkSlim]

I'd trade my rifle for a boat.

 

[whiteoak]

I'm with MohawkSlim get a boat. I would hate to make that walk through hell.

 

[natdscott]

12 years old is not a young son. By your word choice, it sounds as though you are seeing that age group as still more liability than asset in a tight spot.

The primary weapon in any of these scenarios is your brain and whatever is stored in it. We all know that. What is NOT so often cliched is that the next best weapon is the brain of the person next to you.

Get teaching that son how to live so that if he has to survive, he'll know where to start, even if you are dead. That's a real possibility after all.

-Nate

PS:

I'd trade my rifle for a boat.

And WHY would you do that?

So you envision that a person WITH a boat, but WITHOUT a rifle is just going to take your loaded rifle, hand over the boat, and be happy to watch you ride away into the sunset?

Either walk, or find a way to get the boat AND keep the rifle. I'll let ya fill in the blanks for yourself, in this happy, imaginary scenario.

-Nate, again.

 

[Clarity]

The point of including the young son is whether it will impact your choice of weapon and your tactics (such as using a suppressor). Certainly we'd hope that the son has some skills, and we're using him for extra eyes, etc. I personally think an SBR in 300 blackout suppressed, with an Aimpoint and magnifier is a good choice for this scenario. Compact, quiet, and can make shots out to 200 yards, or more if you switch to supersonic ammo. The Aimpoint is great for fast target acquisition in an urban environment. The SBR is more easily concealed if you want to keep tensions down when you inevitably interact with people. I know the old saw about .223/5.56 being more readily available, but we only have to get home, so we should have plenty of ammo with us. (No need to stop at Cabelas on the way.)

 

[Clarity]

12 years old is not a young son.

The older I get, the younger 12 years old seems.

 

[Sailor]

My initial thoughts are my son is alive and we are safe, this course of action is a huge risk.

I would rally with my Chicago and WI contacts if needed. Keeping a list of trusted contacts when you travel is important. This will be much more difficult without cell service.

That being said, I always have an AR pistol, G19, plates, chest rig, Small condor assault pack with shelter, food, water, blowout kit, SW radio, 40m ssb radio, cross band repeat HT, simplex repeater antenna's if the electronics do not work I would dump them.

I would bypass S and head SW then E to home.

 

[Icarry2]

Top weapon depends on path or strategy to me.

If I am going through the horde walking home 22 LR Pistol, 10 mags and 3 bricks of ammo.. LOL No one wants to be shot, even with a 22.. Kid can reload mags while we walk the 100+ miles home.. Right down the road.

Me personally would find a boat, get out on lake, stay within visual range of the shore and row South.. Kid can pull an oar too..

Then by the time I get to the South end of the lake I would expect much less trouble and wait and make my way South at night.

 

[Zoub]

My initial thoughts are my son is alive and we are safe, this course of action is a huge risk.

I would rally with my Chicago and WI contacts if needed. Keeping a list of trusted contacts when you travel is important. This will be much more difficult without cell service.

That being said, I always have an AR pistol, G19, plates, chest rig, Small condor assault pack with shelter, food, water, blowout kit, SW radio, 40m ssb radio, cross band repeat HT, simplex repeater antenna's if the electronics do not work I would dump them.

I would bypass S and head SW then E to home.

This.......to the letter. Go to Racine and get a boat or head for Rockford. There is no amount or type of weapons you can carry that will get you through those areas on foot. They will only slow you down. You will end up dead and the kid will too unless he ends up a sex slave in a crack house.

When I was 12 I probably had as much E&E skills as most in here. My Dad had plenty of combat experience behind enemy lines. We also had experience living in urban crap holes. I KNOW back in 75 when I was 12, there is just no way either of us would play this one out. Maps, Binos, transportation, weapons. We are taking the long way home. I can walk for days through open midwest farmland just fine, even in winter.

I ended up in cabrini green one night in winter, driving a Pink Cadillac, with just a map and a Glock. It's one hell of a story but I will never go back there again, nor do I set foot in Watts either.

 

[Ruffnek]

I ended up in cabrini green one night in winter, driving a Pink Cadillac, with just a map and a Glock. It's one hell of a story but I will never go back there again, nor do I set foot in Watts either.

Please start a new thread. I wanna hear this.

 

[Clarity]

Because I know that CME's do not occur out of the blue but do give many hours if not days of warning I am either at home or at my bugout spot already.

I have wondered if the government would tell anyone if they had a few hours notice one was coming. For example, if the feds knew a CME was going to hit at 1:00 a.m., they could tell everyone, and every highway and interstate would be instantly gridlocked, or they could say nothing, reasoning that ease of movement would speed relief efforts, thereby justifying the silence.

 

[bwframe]

I like the idea of avoiding the bad area. Going around should be the plan, over water or land.

The thought process of hardware getting you through or saving you only goes so far. The finest guns and gear in the world don't give you eyes in the back of your head or someone to cover your six. Even if you did have that, it wouldn't be worth the risk of going into a known threat area. There are lots of funnels and traps to be set by those with nothing to lose. A group as small as three or four could target and take you down, even if they are unarmed.

An open long gun could actually be a liability, making you a target for your desired gear. Any gun pointed at your boy would have you giving up your gun or suck you into the outnumbered fight that leaves you both dead. You might take a few with you, but you'll still be dead.

 

[socom]

any visible gun will quickly make you a target. A group may even try to take it with them being totally unarmed.

Your son needs to be skilled with a gun but with call of duty that's not a issue theses days.

 

[micheljns]

I would have my tavor with saker 7.62 can attached topped with an aimpoint pro

 

[timeforchili]

This

Please start a new thread. I wanna hear this.

I need to hear more

 

[KillStick]

My M1A with acog don't care about the suppressor.