5 SHTF Firearms for Preppers

5 SHTF Firearms for Preppers

Guns are tools that are defined by the ammunition which they fire.  To complete a particular job you need the proper tool, guns and ammo are no different.  Sure, you might be able to loosen a bolt with a hammer but wouldn’t a wrench work better?  SHTF firearms are no different.  A great gun with expensive ammunition might end up as a paperweight.  An unreliable weapon is like a cheating spouse. A broken firearm is a $500 hammer.

For preppers, the choices are endless, when it comes to firearms and ammunition many of you might end up with one of these “paperweights”.  Over the years I have found the following combos to theoretically work the best in the context of a SHTF weapons.  Price up front, reliability, and performance are considerations.  Availability of ammunition and parts are concerns when the lights go out.  I own each of the following weapons and speak with firsthand knowledge (minus the Glock).  I know I fibbed in the title, but here are more than 5 weapons that will serve you well in SHTF:

.22LR- Present shortage excluded, .22 is the most economical round to fire.  When things get back to normal you should be able to find 500 rounds for less than twenty bucks. Small in stature this round still packs enough wallop to kill, even human aggressors.  Twenty-two offers no recoil, it isn’t intimidating, and is a blast to fire even after thousands and thousands of rounds under your belt. Its low noise will be ideal for masking your position. You will use this round primarily for hunting small game, practice, and self-defense in an emergency.  The Ruger 10/22; simple, relatively inexpensive, reliable, and should probably be in everyone’s arsenal.  The reasons are numerous. Being the most prolific .22 of the last few decades parts should be somewhat easy to come across.  I’ve fired countless rounds through mine using dozens of different types of ammunition and can barely recall a failure to fire, failure to eject, or failure to feed.  Whether it was clean or dirty the gun eats ammo as fast as you can feed it.  For the tactical warriors, there are virtually limitless options for customization.  The standard magazine holds 10 rounds but many aftermarket companies make magazines of various capacities.  For backpacks Ruger even offers a take down model.

7.62x54R- This round has been dubbed “the new .22” by some.  Reason number 1 is it is the least expensive “big bang” round on the planet.  For preppers you can procure a reasonable cache of ammo and not break the bank.  The gun that goes with it, the Mosin Nagant, is just as inexpensive.  The lineage of both rifle and the ammo traces back to the 19^th century.  The gun has been used in just about every major conflict for the past 110 years, but doesn’t change the reliability or accuracy, nonetheless.  Primarily you will use this gun for larger game hunting and longer range self-defense.  Some may argue both of these points and I always tell them to go stand out at 200 yards and see if you are correct.  There is no other weapon out there where you can get the gun and a 440 round tin of ammo for less than $250.  I’d suggest if you’ve been sitting on the fence, now is the time to get one.  The downside of this combo is the ammo is nearly always corrosive and it’s not reloadable for the most part. I’ve seen cheap surplus disappear and the prices go through the roof; 7.62×25 is a good example.  I’ve seen it go from 5 cents a round to 50 in the course of a year.  The same with the gun, while they are still coming in by the crate no one knows exactly how many are left.  You also need to consider the Dragunov and PSL as weapons with which to feed 7.62x54R.  The Tin Hat Ranch has previously done a video review of the Mosin:

12 Gauge- Nothing scares away intruders like the sound of racking a Mossberg 500.  The 12 Gauge round might be the most versatile round on this list handling duties ranging from close range self-defense to hunting North American larger game.  It is re-loadable and relatively cheap.  While I mention the Mossberg, theRemington 870 is just as good a choice.  Pretty much any shotgun is going to be reliable with the exception of a few of the older auto-loaders.  Nobody can go wrong with a 12 gauge shotgun.

9mm- A favorite of law enforcement and NATO this is probably the round you are going to want to go with for handgun self-defense.  While there are many other calibers that are more powerful, the 9mm will do the job.  It is also the most plentiful and inexpensive (present shortage aside) handgun cartridge in the world.  As far as guns are concerned, there are many great firearms that will launch this bullet down range.  I’m not a Glock fan for any other reason than I think that it is the ugliest gun on the planet, but if I had to rely on the Glock 17 I know I could trust it.  My choice is the Sig Sauer P226.  She’s an all metal gun and a pretty one at that.  Just as reliable (let the arguments begin) as the 17 but twice as heavy and expensive.

7.62×39-  One of the top 2 medium power intermediate cartridge, the 39 is tied with the weapon that fires it, the AK-47.  This Soviet designed round is harder hitting than its western counterpart but in the world of probabilities they both kill the same.  This round and gun make the cut for lots of reasons.  The AK’s reliability record is unmatched.  The round is still inexpensive even with all of the panics.  The AK itself, while prices are still elevated, is a deal.  While most people will never fire the weapon enough to break parts, the 100 million AK’s floating around in the world should guarantee parts availability should it happen.  The weapon and cartridge are not without their downsides, most of the available ammo is non-reloadable, so whatever you have on hand will probably be it, so stock up.  While you should be able to hit a man size target at 100 yards with each trigger pull, reaching out and touching someone at long distances is a crap shoot.  One of the side reasons the gun is reliable is loose tolerances and that hurts accuracy.  Although this weapon can be used to hunt it’s real purpose is freedom defense.  In SHTF this could be the gun that keeps you out of the (sentence redacted).

.223- Another choice of NATO and many red blooded American’s, this round has been called upon to defend freedom for over 5 decades.  Slightly less powerful than it’s Soviet counterpart, the .223 is just as deadly.  Match it with the AR-15 and you have a package that is more accurate than an AK.  The smaller size of the round allows you to carry more ammo into battle in a smaller, lighter package.  While proponents of the AK will insist the gun will jam at the slights incursion of a dust particle into the action of the gun, in reality it is not much different from any other semi-automatic weapon.  Yes, the AK ismore reliable but the AR is a reliable weapon.  Sometimes I wish the proponents of both weapons would line up 400 yards apart and start firing as they advance on each other..just to see which weapon is better.  AR’s can start slightly more than AK’s but the sky is the limit as to what you can spend.  They’ve earned the moniker “Man Lego’s” and rightly so.  Technically speaking, with all the gadgets and do-dads your can attach to it no one should have a problem acquiring, aiming, and taking down a target.  Between the AR and AK it really comes down to your pocketbook and personal preference. In SHTF this weapon will function much the same as the AK.  Just like the AK, when the gov(sentence redacted).

Honorable Mentions

ANY Black Powder Rifle- Well, after you’ve shot the brass out and cannot reload it any longer and your stocks of smokeless powder are gone, what are you going to do?  Make your own black powder and lead shot.  While much much much slower than any cartridge based rifle, the black powder gun can be operated with things you can make without much experience and equipment.  Plus it’s a gun! They are a smoky blast to shoot and every prepper should own one, just in case.

A Decent Air Rifle- Preppers should consider an air rifle for reasons similar to the black powder rifle.  Ammo is really inexpensive for the air rifle.  You could purchase 10,000 rounds of ammo for about $200and it is possible to make your own.  A few cheap spare parts will keep it going and going.   Hunting small game and last resort self-defense are the name of the game. For operating incognito the air rifle (with subsonic ammo) is your weapon.

We haven’t talked much about guns on the website lately but with the temps cracking 60 yesterday my trigger finger is starting to get itchy.  We promise to focus on all of these areas in the upcoming year.

SOURCE 

http://www.prepperfortress.com/5-shtf-firearms-for-preppers/

Other useful resources:

Survival MD (Best Post Collapse First Aid Survival Guide Ever)

Backyard Innovator (A Self Sustaining Source Of Fresh Meat,Vegetables And Clean Drinking Water)

Blackout USA (EMP survival and preparedness)

Conquering the coming collapse (Financial advice and preparedness )

Liberty Generator (Build and make your own energy source)

Backyard Liberty (Easy and cheap DIY Aquaponic system to grow your organic and living food bank)

Bullet Proof Home (A Prepper’s Guide in Safeguarding a Home )

Family Self Defense (Best Self Defense Strategies For You And Your Family)

Sold Out After Crisis (Best 37 Items To Hoard For A Long Term Crisis)

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