Firearms thoughts

[1Admin]

What constitutes a good battery? Rifle, shotgun, pistol?

What criteria is first and foremost to you in selecting the make of firearm?

[Buster]

availability of ammo -ergonomics-commonality with others-reliability-availability of parts-confidence in the unit-budget concerns
a semi auto in a common centerfire caliber with detachable mag for the rifle---12 ga for the shotgun-I like pumps--9mm or larger caliber semiauto pistol
the rest is personal preferrence to me

[Jerry D Young]

What I look for: Reliability and function. Suitability to the tasks. General purpose as possible without limiting primary use.

What I'm shooting for, so to speak:

1. PTR-91 .308 MBR w/20-round box magazines for defense (have)
2. Remington 11-87 custom 12 gauge shotgun for defense and hunting (have)
3. Glock 21 SF .45 ACP pistol w/13-round magazines for defense (have)
4. Beretta Model 3032 Tomcat .32 ACP w/7-round magazines as hideout gun (have)
5. Remington 700 .30-’06 as sniper, big game, and w/.32 ACP inserts, small game (need)
6. Remington 798 .375 H&H Magnum as anti-material and big/dangerous game rifle (need)
7. Auto Ordnance .30 M1 Carbine(s) as handout gun(s) (need)

Just my thoughts on the matter.

[Astrocricket762]

semi auto rifle, bolt gun back up,shotty,22lr

IMHO for most of us it would be a semi auto mbr,semi auto sidearm and 22lr pistol or rifle. KISS and all.

[servingbrother]

22LR, Pistol / 30-'06 / 12 gauge / 9mm. Common enough to be practical, economical, and effective. We are talking survival so KISS.

[eeyore]

When i started out, i was following Mel Tappans advice (via books) and find no major fault with his reasoning.

A MBR of 308 caliber
A bolt rifle in 308
A 12 ga shot gun
A 22 Lr semiauto
A 45 pistol
A 22 pistol
Along with the kitchen sink :)

1. First and formost i would work folks i was planning get together with in badtimes. I would strive for at least the same calibers, ideallly the same makes and models.
2. i would buy an adpter to fire 22 Lr, in the 308.
3. i would buy as much ammo as i thought i would need and then get more.
4. There are other alternatives

[M4Shadow]

Just some of what we have

[rockriver]

shadow,
that's impressive.

[Grand58742]

What constitutes a good battery? Rifle, shotgun, pistol?

No brands in particular?

Main defensive rifle (which could be AR, AK, G3, M1A, etc personal preference is...read below)
Hunting rifle in "universal caliber" I personally consider the .30-06 to be about as universal as it gets
Shotgun - 2 barrels, 18.5-20 inch for defensive work, hunting barrel with choke sets for well, hunting
.22 Rifle "game getter" or "pest control"
Main carry pistol - can be auto or revolver
Secondary or CCW pistol - same as above, auto or revolver, prefered in same caliber if possible

What criteria is first and foremost to you in selecting the make of firearm?

First and foremost? Easy enough, that which you are comfortable with. If you are not comfortable with a particular weapon, why get it because "everyone says it's the best" and then hate it?
Second is that which you can shoot effectively and put lead, copper and steel on target
Third, functionality. What is most functional given your particular situation? Do you really need that National Match M1A when you are living in a high rise apartment building or in an area where two hundred yard shots are considered "long distance?"
Last but certainly not least. What is within your price range? What good will you do if you buy the aforementioned National Match M1A and then be unable to feed it? You spend thousands of dollars on a rifle and no ammo? You cannot afford mags, ammo, a decent piece of glass, etc?

Four basic criteria for any new buyer

[1Admin]

Great replies guys, keep em coming!

[BigJohn]

Tactics dictate weapons...and vice versa

I agree with everyone...mostly. But I think specific weapons are largely irrelevant. Wait, don't shoot me yet, let me explain.

All weapons kill. Any of them will work using the right tactics. The weapon you have in your reach when you need one will dictate the tactics you use. Unfortunately, tactics are the "whole shooting match". If all you have is a knife or hammer, you have to choose tactics that allow you to win with that. Fighting spirit and skill are more important than weapons.

Having a MBR or street-sweeper shotgun at home in the closet is not going to do you any good if you need to defend yourself coming out of a late movie with your wife...but the lock-blade knife or snub-nose revolver in your pocket just might.

You have to figure out which tactics you intend to try to use (under expected circumstances) and buy a firearm that supports those tactics. If you intend to get into a sniper duel with someone, buy a sniper rifle. If you are thinking "close-combat inside a house", a good pistol or shotgun will serve you better. If you need to conceal your weapon for comfortable everyday carry, you will need something much smaller than a service pistol or rifle.

A battle carbine (AKM, SKS, M4 etc) will handle a whole range of tactical (and hunting) options. Any of these can allow you to hedge your bets....but you still can't stuff one in your coat pocket, so you need to think it out carefully. When you decide which firearms to buy, always buy quality brand name guns. Junk will get you killed.

If you want to hunt rabbits, a .22 rifle or shotgun will work fine.
If you want to hunt birds, you need a shotgun.
If you want to hunt Bears, a center-fire rifle or shotgun will work.
If you want to defend yourself against sudden attack inside a house a shotgun or assault rifle is great but, a pistol may be handier.
If you want to defend yourself on the street, you have to have something small enough to carry and legal. If it's too big, you won't carry it and won't have it when you need it. (Nobody sane carries a Desert Eagle).

You have to choose the kinds of weapons you expect to need...and don't waste money on weapons you can't use. Nobody can answer your question but you. Like everyone else, I can only tell you what I have chosen, and why I chose it. I like guns, so I own several, but I don't really use most of them for anything except the range.

I am a firm believer in the "bigger is better" school of fighting. I would hesitate to bet my life on anything less powerful than a .38 special and prefer a .44 special or bigger. But I also believe that shot placement is king. Buy a gun you can shoot fast and accurately. Speed is life in a gunfight and only solid hits win. If you can't handle a .45, drop down to a 9mm or .38. Be honest with yourself. There is no shame in shooting a .22 if it's the biggest thing you can shoot fast and keep on target.

I also value reliability over firepower. I would rather have 5 or 6 "sure" shots than 15 "maybe" shots. Because of this, I don't really trust automatics smaller than .45 ACP. The bigger rounds seem to power through dirt and crud better than smaller ones and operate more reliably. Large, heavy bullets seem to be more forgiving. I tend to prefer revolvers most of the time when the chips are down.

For home defense, I choose a shotgun. It throws a lot of lead and has unmatched stopping power against soft-skinned animals, like humans. It makes a big boom, kicks hard and tears up a target at short to moderate ranges. It suits my delicate nature. Shotguns are good for jittery nerves. I have 2 mossberg 500 12 bores, but almost any kind would suit me about as well.

For road trips, I carry a AKM with a folding stock sometimes, but most of the time, I just carry a revolver. I have a Taurus .44 tracker with a 4 inch barrel that prints well out to 50m. Either of these weapons would probably serve to get me out of a "road warrior" type gunfight at close range.

I don't anticipate ever needing to shoot further than 100 meters or so. I have a nice Ishapor 2A that could do the job, but my eyesight is not up to the task anymore, so I will probably try to disengage and run before i would try to fight long distance. Therefore, I don't waste a lot of time and worry on that. If I ever need to fight at a quarter mile, I will be out of luck.

Around town, I carry a blade, not a gun. If I did carry a gun, I would probably stick with a SP101 in .357 or a somewhat smaller (and much lighter) .38 special. I know these may be odd choices, but it's what I have available and I am confident that any of them (including the blade) can take care of business within it's tactical limitations.

I don't hunt now and really don't intend to, so while I have a whole arsenal of hunting weapons, I don't believe I will ever need to use them.

Whatever you choose, I highly recommend you train with your weapons until you can use them well. That means range time and lots of ammunition. You will be better served by one or two weapons and a lot of range time than a whole arsenal with less training.

Stocking tons of ammunition is a no-brainer...or is it? How many shots do you think you can fire at someone before he kills you? You are unlikely to live though multiple gunfights, so stockpiling thousands of rounds of ammo seems very optimistic to me. I would say that a few hundred rounds for each of your primary self defense guns is probably ample ammunition.

My two cents,
BigJohn

[Lowdown3]

To me, stockpiling ammunition is about more than just having enough for TSHTF. It's about having enough to TRAIN REGULARLY and keep skills sharp. It's about having enough so that when 7.62x39 was going for $375. a case, you could just sit back and laugh, and thank yourself for buying 10 more cases at $72. back in the day. Just that part- buying 10 cases for $720. total versus buying TWO cases for $750. is justification enough for me.

People should budget at least 1,000 rounds PER YEAR for training IMO. Some will go through much more than that, but that's a good number to start with.

A decent two day shooting class will use up 600 to 1,200 rounds so realistically 1,000 rounds training ammo per year will get you through one maybe two classes. It is never as much as we think it is.

While everyone was cry babying about not being able to "afford" to shoot a while back when ammo got ridiculous, I never skimped on training or practice. I was able to do that and not break the bank from stocking up while it was cheap.

"Buy it cheap and stack it deep."

Just another perspective.

[BigJohn]

Good point. I tend to buy ammunition sporadically and shoot it up when the whim hits me.
I have a "go to war" stockpile, loaded in speed loaders, bandoliers and drums and "all the rest" that I feel free to shoot up.
I fear I am very sloppy about ammunition and probably wind up spending too much. If it's too expensive, I shoot something else or
don't train with live ammo. I should probably do like you and buy in depth when it's affordable.

[Longhunter]

Great posts everyone. This forum seems like it has alot of good experience. Nobody is trying to pass themselves off as know-it-alls. Everyone has different opinions, but everyone can back up their opinions with sound reasoning and logic. Truly awesome!

[Crazy Scout Daddy]

Firearms thoughts
What constitutes a good battery? Rifle, shotgun, pistol?

Everybody has their preferences, but preferences aside it is very important to me to have at least one weapon that fires the most popular calibers used by military, police, hunters, and civilians. My general rule is US and Russian because you never know where your resupply could come from or what side of the lines you will be on.

5.56
7.62x51
7.62x39
7.62x54
.45
.40
9mm
7.62x25
12 gauge
.22 LR

As an afterthought do not ever underestimate the utility of owning the crappiest, most obscure calibered weapons. At the end(I mean many, many years after the end) that could be the last thing you had left that you only paid 20 bucks for all those years ago.