Survival Firearms

This is probably one of the most contreversial topics regarding survivalism.
Many people have their won idas of what constitutes a survival firearms, while others focus all of their attention on strictly weapons, and then fill out their Bug out Bag with other gear and supplies. I think that for the average person, having a long gun and a handgun is plenty of firepower.

yeah-yeah--I can already hear the anarchist spitting up their lunch after reading that.
But the fact is that some guys have a tendency to get carried away with all the guns and ammo.
In most cases they are humping around so many guns, loaded magazines, and extra ammo, that they can't carry enough food supplies to see them through 3 or 4 days.

Ff course, when you try to tell em' that it's foolish to carry around all that extra weight, they immediatley turn on you, and attack you for calling them down on it. The fact is, they know that they are over-infatuated with their guns, and that is the main reason that they have to attack you.

Some people even go so far as to claim that they will use their guns to acquire food any way that they can get it.

That tells me that they really aren't survivalist, but rogue thugs that will kill you and yours for some food, because they haven't done their survival planning, and probably sit around mastubating to their gun and ammo collection. It's a wonder these folks even have the nerve to call themselves survivalist in the first place.

To me, and many others survivalist; a weapons is simply a tool that gets us out of trouble--not into a protracted running gun battle with the forces of evil.
It allows us to protect ourselves, hunt for food, and gives us a sense of security--to whatever degree that we feel is neccessary.

A shotgun and a handgun will do nicely under almost any survival situation.
While some people tend to gravitate towards the heavy caliber handgun like a .44-Magnum or .45 Auto, I much prefer the utility of a .357-Magnum revolver. It allws me to shoot both the 357 cartridge, and the .38-Special cartridge. The knock down power isn't as great as a .44 or a .45, but it will do the trick for close up work. In my opinion, a .357 is just a hard hitting and slower bullet than the 9mm Parabellum.

A shotgun and 40-60 rounds of (mixed) ammunition should carry anyone through whatever situation that they feel might be encountred. Liekwise, if you are carrying a AR-15 type of weapon, then no more than 7-10 loaded magazines should do the trick. Afterall; if you can't get out of a probelm with 300 rounds of ammunition, than YOU have a problem before you even begin the job.

I think everything that you said is true. Lots of guys are really hung up with their guns and gear.
It's to bad that more people haven't seen this video, it would change their minds about how to get along out in the woods.
Great job of putting all of this together.

Abby

I use a shotgun and forty-five auto. These two guns cover all the bases.
I like your idea about mixing up the rounds. I have been doing that for years. In the Marine Corps we called that a combat load up, and it works.
What do you think of the .223 round for survival?

frankeschein wrote:

if you are carrying a AR-15 type of weapon, then no more than 7-10 loaded magazines should do the trick. Afterall; if you can't get out of a probelm with 300 rounds of ammunition, than YOU have a problem before you even begin the job.

At the very bottom of Franks post he mentioned the AR-15 witch uses the .223 round.

My self personally use a tactical 12ga shotgun similar to the one in Franks photo, I also use a 9mm Glock just because that’s what I already had for years for my survival guns.
I would prefer to leave my AR’s at my other second location.
However the way my main bug out rucksack is set up, my shotgun is in a shotgun sheath attached to my ruck by MOLLY so this leaves my hands free, all of my AR’s are on a 3 point slings. So if the situation was needed I could carry all three guns with out any problems.

survivormanjeff wrote:

frankeschein wrote:

if you are carrying a AR-15 type of weapon, then no more than 7-10 loaded magazines should do the trick. Afterall; if you can't get out of a probelm with 300 rounds of ammunition, than YOU have a problem before you even begin the job.

At the very bottom of Franks post he mentioned the AR-15 witch uses the .223 round.

My self personally use a tactical 12ga shotgun similar to the one in Franks photo, I also use a 9mm Glock just because that’s what I already had for years for my survival guns.
I would prefer to leave my AR’s at my other second location.
However the way my main bug out rucksack is set up, my shotgun is in a shotgun sheath attached to my ruck by MOLLY so this leaves my hands free, all of my AR’s are on a 3 point slings. So if the situation was needed I could carry all three guns with out any problems.

WOW Man--You are set up just like I am. I also use a scabbard on the pack to hump the mini-14 rifle, or sometimes the GRIZZLY .338 Winchester Magnum.
Glock is always in the holster, and sometimes the .44-Magnum.

Alaska woods are full of pissed off grizzly bears, and that is the biggest threat we face. In the spring they come of off their long-sleep hungry and horny. In the summer months they range everywhre looking for salmon, berries, and other foods. Lots of bear encounters during tht portion of the season. Fall months fnds the bears wandering around looking for a way to fatten up for the winter hibernation.

No matter what season it is, except winter months, grizzlies and blacl bears pose a serious risk to people out in the woods, and even in town.

The .223 eound out here isn't powerful enough to stop a bear. On the other hand--a 12-Gauge shooting a 1oz 3" magnum rifled slug will do the trick. On the other end of the spectrum, and .338 WIn-Mag shooting a 250Gr BTHP that hits with 4500lbs and has deep penetration will usually get the job done.

.357-Magnums, 9mm are worthless against bears around here. Glocks are for human predators only.
Geez--I would dearly love to have a S&W 500, but a box of twenty rounds cost around $120.00 each, and that means a lot less practice. I get a lump in my throath everytime I have to lay down $85.00 for a box of .338 Win Mag. But I guess when there's a 1000Lb grizzly charging me, I would probably give everything in my wallet and bank to stop it! (HEH HEH)

I also use an old Mozin-Nagant M1944 7.62x54R Soviet Rifle. Cut off the long woods tock and pig sticker, snaded that nasty looking red paint of the woods--reblued and resealed everything.
That damned rifle kicks harder than the .338-and sounds like a freaking cannon in a closet when it touches off! But two round sinto a 6" sapling, and it crashed to the ground.

Alaska natives use this cheap rifle to hunt Polar Bears and Walrus. The ammo is cheaper than new stuff, and the rifle is very versatile itself.

First video about survival firearms, their utility, costs, and overall effectiveness in a survival situation.

Great videos Frank, lots of good advice.

Fantastic Advice and Information as usual.

Everyone who has questions about fiearms and ammo should gain a lot from this set of videos.

Thank you very very much Franke for making these videos and sharing with us.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/survival_rifles.htm

http://www.henryrepeating.com/h002_survival.cfm

check out these survival .22 cal pack rifles, they do work well have used them in the field takes seconds to put together or take down. 10 rd mags low cost good for small game,

I found the information on the videos very helpful,
it give a different angle on survival weapons

The Professor

good info all around, though I must admit I fall prey to the allure of a gun collection. But I like to think that it is a very practical one, it includes two pump 12ga shotguns and one magazine fed semi auto 12ga, a pair of yugo sks carbines with plenty of stripper clips to go between them, an ak for a high cap rifle, two colt frontier scouts in 22LR (great for varmint and small game) a marlin .22LR (also great for varmint and small game), and my good old trusty glock 22. I know that I could never carry all of these guns and ammo around with me but I got them with the intention of being able to arm my whole family and a few friends in a time of need. also I think the .22LR is a often overlooked round as far as survival firearms go. the ammo is incredibly cheap and light, very accurate, quiet, and is ideal for small game, also it is a great round to train my sons on until they are accurate enough to use the heavier more expensive 7.62x39. Just my two cents, like it has been said there are very few wrong answers to this topic and a lot of it comes down to personal preference.

1stmardiv wrote:

good info all around, though I must admit I fall prey to the allure of a gun collection. But I like to think that it is a very practical one, it includes two pump 12ga shotguns and one magazine fed semi auto 12ga, a pair of yugo sks carbines with plenty of stripper clips to go between them, an ak for a high cap rifle, two colt frontier scouts in 22LR (great for varmint and small game) a marlin .22LR (also great for varmint and small game), and my good old trusty glock 22. I know that I could never carry all of these guns and ammo around with me but I got them with the intention of being able to arm my whole family and a few friends in a time of need. also I think the .22LR is a often overlooked round as far as survival firearms go. the ammo is incredibly cheap and light, very accurate, quiet, and is ideal for small game, also it is a great round to train my sons on until they are accurate enough to use the heavier more expensive 7.62x39. Just my two cents, like it has been said there are very few wrong answers to this topic and a lot of it comes down to personal preference.

There's wisdom in you words...

I agree with every point that you have made.
Like you, I have a small arsenal to choose from, but have narrowed it down to just 2 or 3 weapons when SHTF.
I guess only time will tell, and the situation will dicr=tate--what weapons will actually be used.

Thanks for the input!

true and with any luck I would be able to transport all weapons, ammo, and equipment to a safe location and be able to set up a base of operations, and with my sealed ammo tins and those sks carbines I can wrap them up seal them and bury them if I had to until I could return to the cache. and they would still be functional for a very long time in storage.