Standardized Weapons.

[groovy mike]

Like the first 3 posters and Jerry I've decided on the HK91 / Cetme / PTR91 flavor of 308. They are functionally identical, share magazines, and ammo so I have no problem with both Cetme's and 91s.

My back up weapons / force multipliers to hand out to everyone unfamiliar with the HK design are SKS carbines. They are just plain reliable and effective out to beyond 100 yards.

Close range is shotgun territory and I have standardized on 12 gauge.

[Klayton]

I have still not found a pistol for her that I like or trust that will fit her hand... The compact .380's fit, like the new Ruger LCP, but I am not 100% on its reliability, nor am I big fan of .380 for SHTF use. So I am still looking in that dept...

Rmplstlskn: may I suggest the Ruger P95 (if buying new) or a P89 (if buying used) both 9x19 and more than enough rounds. My former boss at the gun store I worked at had "girly hands" and he swore by his P89.

Just food for thought.

[EX121]

Well said Matt about functionality. Also of importance is cofidence. I have faith in my Hi-Point .40 it has gone boom every time I have pulled the trigger. The only malfunction was fromm operator error, I failed to insert the the magazine fully. My carry guns are a Taurus .40 or .380 depending on clothing worn.
Hunting rifles are 30-06

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Rmpl I carry the 26 everyday without fail and love it and as Lowdown3 stated it takes the higher capacity mags all the way up to the 33 rd which is just cool. The Ruger 380 has had no issues that I am aware of, a coworker carries his and my sister in law carries one and is an instructor with hers too.
food for thought on the 223 and troops, they shoot ball. You dont have to and some sp and hp is just as cheap and I have seen alot of deer and people taken with these at reasonable ranges and they don't fail. It doesnt mean it's a 308 or anything else but they do work.
That being said if you buy a gun regardless of type/caliber and it doesn't work 100% either fix it or ditch it. I watch folks show up with 1911s, ARs, AKs and alot of others weapons with brand names who show up at the range and competitions, trash talk my pistol and caliber choice and then jam after jam month after month and it gets real old. Dollar signs and brand names and racey accesories mean nothing if it wont run, period.

[sclead]

I don't concern myself so much with brand of gun so long as it is good quality. What a do work at is caliber grouping. All rifles are 308/7.62x51 and all hand gun, light carbines are being switched to 40 cal. I have seen too much of 9mm not keeping the target down. I picked 40 because my wife can shoot it as well. I also hunt with 308 so it works across the board.
From there I step straight up to my 50 cal. Serious knock down and penetration power.
I think a 5.56/223 is just to light. I know the military uses them but if you get looking at the combat troops. They try to get their hands on 308 just a quick as they can. The 223 round can be survived especially if there is even reasonable body armor involved.
I know this because I have taken 4 hits and my kit stood up to all of them. Did it hurt, you bet. Major brusing and a goodly amount of muscle trauma but no penetration. Would not care to try that with 308 thank you.

[Lowdown3]

Rmpl- try a Glock 26. Perfect for smaller hands. My wife loves hers, course I like mine also ;)

Super concealable too. Also unlike the 19 or 17, it will take ANY of the glock 9mm mags despite the capacity.

Very reliable, I'm pretty hard on our stuff till I know we can trust it.

[Bearman202]

I had a Colt AR-15 and sold it because it was too particular about the ammo I was using. It didn't like Wolf at all, (I know, but it's cheap) and would get hot and split a case now and then, and that was the end of shooting for that day, until I could find something to ram down the barrell and get the old case out. I also had an SKS, but sold it too. It would have made a good 'spray-n-pray' gun, but the accuracy sucked big after the fourth shot. My carry piece is a CZ model 83, in .380. It's small, and it doesn't jam. My main SHTF sidearm is a Springfield XD - 9, but I wouldn't have a problem depending on the CZ at all. It carries 13 rounds in the magazine, and I figure if I EVER have to use it, someone is gonna get all thirteen of them. The .380 doesn't have great stopping power, but again, it's small, (concealable) and there are thirteen rounds and a full extra magazine in my pocket. If someone can walk through that, I'm going to be running the other way anyway.... (As in, CRAP! Com'on feet, don't fail me now!)

[Jerry D Young]

When the time (and money) comes:

PTR-91 .308 MBRs for adult shooters
Remington 11-87 12 gauge HD shotguns for adult shooters
Auto Ordnance .30 M1 Carbines for inexperienced shooters handout guns
Glock 21SF .45 ACP handguns for adult shooters
Beretta Tomcat .32 ACP handguns for inexperienced shooters
1 or more Remington 700 .30-'06 with scope as sniper rifle/hunting rifle
1 or more Remington 700 .375 H&H Magnum with scope as anti-materiel rifle/big game/dangerous game rifle
1 Vigilance VR-1 .408 Cheytac with scope as anti-materiel/long-range sniper rifle (the least likely to acquire due to cost)

[Rmplstlskn]

Well, I too have whittled down my collection and have standardized...

My MBR is my SA58 FAL Carbine. For most SERIOUS matters, this is MY RIFLE due to the power and performance of the .308 cartridge. It is also 110% reliable. I would without doubt trust it as my ONLY rifle if something like "The Road" or "One Second After" happened for real...

But my wife is small (4'-11") with small hands. There is no way she can use an FAL. So I have also acquired a lightweight factory-built Colt AR15 for her and a Sabre-built AR15 for me. This is the Carbine I shoot most often and have buttloads of mags for it, as well as enough parts to replace everything in the AR, some several times over on key parts. She is able to use the AR with no problems, although it is still a bit front heavy for her and her arms weaken after awhile. But she is who she is, I work around it...

I too would trust my life to the AR's I now have, but I am always aware that they are a weaker link than my FAL... or an AK.

I have still not found a pistol for her that I like or trust that will fit her hand... The compact .380's fit, like the new Ruger LCP, but I am not 100% on its reliability, nor am I big fan of .380 for SHTF use. So I am still looking in that dept...

Rmpl

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Then I suggest a Glock!!!!!
The M&P trigger leaves alot to be desired IMO, the berreta had some issues in our unit with the slides after alot of shooting back in the day but both are actually good weapons overall.

[Klayton]

Matt, can't decide between the 9mm M&P or a 9mm Beretta... =(

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Man if your wife is pushing for anything thats too cool. I'd break my neck to get mine some if she would get back into it again.

[Klayton]

Currently my mid range tack driver is my Tikka in .338 federal caliber. I like the heavy bullets ability to knock down if I hit a little off of my aim point.
Currently dreaming of buying a H&K piston driven 5.56... MR556A1 I believe is the nomeclature, but I am waiting for them to sell the shorter barrel versions to civilians.
Currently dreaming of buying a .416 Cheytac for my long range tack driver (but money a little tight right now).
Current shotgun is a Remington 870 Synthetic 7 rounder (accepts both 2 3/4 & 3 inch shells)

For consolidation I am hoping to get my 5.56 very soon, as it is one of the most widely available rounds available.
The shotgun is in 12-ga, again most popular gauge for shotguns.

Other than that, I am stockpiling my own ammo for my .45s, .40s, and 5.7s... (wife seriously trying to talk me into some 9mm's, but we will see)

=)

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I agree with lowdown, we use glocks in 9mm and ARs the shotguns are primarly mossberg 500 or variations types or the remington 870 in gauge as standardization however we all have our other guns we like and no is discourged from them.

[Lowdown3]

Standardization helps within the family also.

Years ago I had a pretty decent little "collection." Some of the weapons I had had problems with or were what I would consider only marginally reliable.

It occured to me that to try to teach my wife and other relatives a manual of arms on each different MBR (at the time AR, HK91, M1A and AK) was a little silly. My wife shoots and shoots well but she doesn't pick up a weapon every day. Having to build true muscle memory on 4 different platforms (for an irregular shooter) was asking a bit much and I realized that.

The most reliable one (for me) also ended up being the easiest one to operate (for her and others). I made the decision to par down the different types based on this, as well as reliability (lack therefore) issues and the need for cash at the time. Of those 4 types, we now only have AK's and one M1A that I'm still not 110% sure of.

The choice to keep it down to the same type of weapon was later reinforced to me when shooting with her one time. It's kind of a humorous story. She's attended more than a few pistol classes at big name schools but without the regular picking up and practicing, she was rusty. We were shooting pistols and without telling her I put some spent casings in the magazine along with live rounds to purposely induce malfunctions.

The pistol she was shooting locked up with the jam. I was expecting it so I said "TAP RACK!" She gave me a confused look. I said it again louder. What she did next could only be fully appreciated if it had been on video. With the gun in her right hand she brought her left hand up in a fist over top of it and smashed her fist down on the top of the receiver. I'm like "What the hell are you doing?" She started laughing and said "I don't remember that drill, so I bonked it on the head!" We both brought out laughing.

To this day when she has a malfunction she'll clear it correctly and say "I just bonked it on the head."

We narrowed down the various types of pistols after the "bonk it on the head" incident!!!

Most of our extended family members probably are not going to handle their weapons on a regular enough basis to truly get where they need to be with it. If we further complicate that with complex manual of arms (complex for a newbie) and then expect them to know and remember 3-4 different manual of arms for 3-4 different weapons systems, I think we are setting them up for failure.

Just my thoughts on it.