Doomsday scenario. Which weapon would you select?

[Pat Hurley]

Pretend (it isn't hard to do) that a future calamity will cause a widespread meltdown of law and order, financial collapse, and general anarchy.

You must sustain yourself for one year, and with just ONE of the weapons in the poll to defend your family and home, AND to shoot small/medium game for sustinance.

An assumption is that you have stored ample ammunition in advance for your selection. Which do you select and why?

[22WRF]

None in the poll

Savage 24VD 223/20 ga

[Pat Hurley]

Originally Posted by 22WRF

None in the poll

Savage 24VD 223/20 ga

C'mon 22! Play along for Pete's sake. If you could have just one of the weapons in the poll OR NO WEAPON AT ALL, which would you select?

There's one in every crowd.

[bunnyhunter12]

Okay Pat, since you made me, I'd take the 870 and buckets of everything from #6, 00, stell BB, and 3-inch Sluggers.

I only take the 870 because my trusty 1300 wasn't on the list but that's just a preferance issue, same way I prefer Yamaha to Honda, Chev over Ford.

I'd go with the shotgun for the sake of ammunition diversity, the fact that I'm not proficcient with handguns and the fact that a .22lr is not going to take the kinds of game I want to be able to handle in the way I want (moose and caribou, and rabbits over a dog, that is running flat out or as we say "full liftin'").

Another bonus of the shotgun is that it gives you a little more "reach out and touch you" in case any two legged predators come trying to get what I have.

Just to be difficult, can I have two barrels? One smooth and one rifled?

[Crpdeth]

I voted with the .22

I just hope I get a durn good scope with that little thing. Of course I side with 22WRF in the fact that I have many other favorites, but given the current line up, lots of light weight ammo on hand, very quiet report, A skilled hunter can easily take deer (frontal throat shot) all the way down to doves if he had to.

As far as home defense goes, I suppose he would be better served guarding the home from a "snipers nest" outdoors and rotating people out to take guard duty...Again, very quiet report, you wont be alerting other people 2 blocks over...Anyone wanting in the home would leave their valuables on the doorstep where they fell.

SSS

Crpdeth

[southernshooter]

I voted for the Glock in 45acp. If any subguns were only list I would want a UMP in 45, As a one and only gun

[Rommelvon]

I voted for the remington (rather have my mossberg590) but the pump shotgun has uses from hunting to protection, plus usually all it takes is one shot and your target is destroyed

[polishshooter]

Really a no brainer, if you only had ONE weapon for defense and to feed your family, you'd have to take a shotgun, ANY shotgun....

You're covered for Small game, large game, and defense....the complete all around choice, which is why most SETTLERS from the pilgrims on kept one around, be it "fowlers," or ""foragers...."

The ONLY other thing that comes close would be a .22...and the size of the ammo in a small, light bundle is tough to argue with...but since the scenario had us put back all the ammo we'd need in advance, that wouldn't be an issue....about 25-50 cases of mixed #6s and #7 1/2s, about 10 cases of OO buck, and maybe 5-10 cases of 1 oz Sluggers would suit me just fine for a year or so...

The large caliber handguns are pretty stupid for the "one gun" scenario, really only good for SHORT range "defense," while good, you'd probably STARVE first...not much meat left on the squirrels or rabbuts if you hit them with a .45, and you'd have to get AWFUL close to a deer to take one down with it too...

Now maybe Jeff Cooper can take Geese on the wing with a .38 Super or a .45, but I know I can't...

The only other consideration might be a scoped light rifle, like say a .30-06 with many different types of rounds from .22 Sabots to 200 gr SPs....you could use that for small and large game TOO and keep the 2 legged predators farther away....

[358 winchester]

the 870 of the four but not my choice from the small collection I have tucked away in my gun room. ( and it is getting smaller every day, I hate bills)

[Don Buckbee]

I voted for the 870. More versatile than the others.
But, my personal doomsday gun is a Savage Model 24, 22 Rimfire/20 gage over and under combo. I have lots of different ammo for each, including slugs for the 20 gage, as well as number 4 and number 6 loads, along with 00Buckshot.

Don

[polishshooter]

I wonder just HOW many of us collect guns with the "Doomsday Scenario" in the back of our minds?

I know I (we) do...

I'm always "tweaking" the collection with it in mind, and while I don't have the EXACT guns i would like to be totally prepared, mainly because I can't afford them yet, I DO believe I have at least the TYPES I would need and most of the calibers, along with a "sufficient" supply (but NEVER enough ) of ammo for each....

Like a scoped .22 rifle AND a pistol...and never LESS than 1000 rounds for them...


Shotguns? 2 12s, a 20 and a 16, with SOME ammo for each, lots of 12, bird buck and slugs, and the ability to reload for it....

A .308 rifle....yeah, not the BEST I could own, an Ishapore Enfield, but it WORKS and IS at least in a Nato caliber....

Of COURSE all my x54 rifles, a thousand rounds or so of surplus, enough factory cases, and the ability to reload for them, a couple of them scoped and tuned,...

less surplus for the .303, but some factory and dies too...

Of course my .45, and a couple of thousand bullets, 800-1000 cases....

About a thousand x39 for the SKS...

And enough ammo around for all the other wierd stuff so they can at least be USED in.a "pinch...." Like the Makarov, the Steyr M95s, the Nagant revolver, my son's Arisaka (oh yeah, I have dies for THAT too...)

And of course the blackpowder guns, with about 1000 caps around, and enough extra flints for the flintlock if I run out of those...(I DO need to "lay back" some more 3F though....)


I DO need a .30-06 though, but I think it might be another Garand when I do....I have ammo for it though when I DO get around to buying it...

And I have dies for a .300 Savage and a .222, so I might as WELL look for a cheap used rifle for each of THOSE too....

I guess I need a .223 someday, and maybe a .357 revolver just to insure ammo availability, ....



But what is scary, is "Doomsday," or at least, "Socio-Economic Collapse" is a LOT less "far-fetched" an idea today, especially with Al Qaeda, and "sympathetic" wack-jobs building nukes than it may have EVER been during the "Cold War...."

[Pistolenschutze]

From among those listed, there's only one real choice: The shotgun. It will do it all. The only drawback is range, but with slugs, the scattergun will stretch far enough for hunting big game, and with shotshells it's fine for anything else. For self-defense, give me a scattergun any day of the week.

[WarSteed]

Taking the shotgun, as much ammo as i can pack, and then i'm headed out to one of the old abandoned fire lookouts in the Cascades. There's deer aplenty (cause i'm always running into them hiking anyways), and the same with squirrels, beavers, and all sorts of other varmits.

[Nortranman]

I guess out of those listed, I'd go with the 870. My own preference would be my Browning "sweet 16" Auto 5. But that wastn't on the list so I'll go with the shotgun anyway. It is a far more versitile weapon that pistol or rifle.

[bunnyhunter12]

Hey Pat, you never got back to me on whether or not I can have two barrels for the 870 .

Come on man, I got to know so that I can stock up on either sabot or rifled slugs.

If no two barrels can I have a rifled slug tube? And some Tru-Glo sights to clamp on my vent rib?

[glocknut]

Originally Posted by Rommelvon

I voted for the remington (rather have my mossberg590)

AIN'T THAT THE TRUTH!!! I have a Mossy 500a. I love it....

mike
gn

[glocknut]

Originally Posted by Pat Hurley

Pretend (it isn't hard to do) that a future calamity will cause a widespread meltdown of law and order, financial collapse, and general anarchy.

You must sustain yourself for one year, and with just ONE of the weapons....

Pat... are we talking about some kind of Meteor strike event or some kind of plague.....OR ZOMBIES?!!

If its a ZOMBIE scenerio...i vote the shotgun!!!!

mike
gn

[Pat Hurley]

Originally Posted by bunnyhunter12

Hey Pat, you never got back to me on whether or not I can have two barrels for the 870 .

Come on man, I got to know so that I can stock up on either sabot or rifled slugs.

If no two barrels can I have a rifled slug tube? And some Tru-Glo sights to clamp on my vent rib?

Sorry Smitty.... one barrell only PLEASE. And you may select whatever chokes you want. It's your life.

[polishshooter]

Bunny, go with a 20 inch smoothbore with rifle sights AND a Tru-choke system with say, a cylinder tube to just protect the threads with slugs, a "Skeet 2," an "Improved Modified" and an "extra full," keep the extra tubes on a pouch laced to your stock, and keep your last quarter in your pocket to use as a tube wrench and you are good to go!


For your edification, the 870 I tricked out in the 80s for 3 gun matches had a 20 inch VENT RIBBED barrel with a Fiber optic light gathering front bead system , a Tru-Choke and those very tubes, with a fold down Lyman "Large aperture" (BEFORE anybody CALLED them "Ghost Rings....) Receiver sight behind the reciever that when it was DOWN you saw nothing but rib for buck and bird, when it was UP it was sighted dead on at 75 yds for slugs, and stayed PUT when you fired...with a Choate black pistol grip stock and matching foreend....and a two shot REMINGTON mag extension with attached sling swivel...and oh yeah with a MIRROR embedded in the stock on my side that made a WONDERFUL way to check "around corners'" safely....


THAT is the 870 I'M envisioning....

[cec]

I am threw my name into the shotgun hat. Maybe not my first choice, but for the reasons listed above it seems to be the best choice. The all around nature does it for me.

Granted, if the poll allowed, I would vote for the Shotgun and the .357. Thinking of ease of cleaning here. In this situation, I am not going to have a long time to dedicate to proper care, I cannot have my gun in pieces when the SHTF.

[oldredneck]

Remington 1100/12 ga.

[a1huntingsupply]

Give me the Remington 870 It's the most versatile. Load up with a mix of buckshot, birdshot and slugs and you have every thing covered.

[Bruce FLinch]

I decided on my trusty S&W revolver. 6 shots of .357 Magnum.
I'm better w/ a handgun & don't have a speed holster for my 12 ga.

[CCubed]

Call me a noob, but I'd want an AK47. Sure, it's a terrible hunting weapon, but if total anarchy broke out, I think I'd rather have an AK than any other type of gun out there. Parts and ammo for them are almost everywhere and they're extremely reliable. I'd even settle for a WASR-10 if I had to.

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by CCubed

Call me a noob, but I'd want an AK47. Sure, it's a terrible hunting weapon, but if total anarchy broke out, I think I'd rather have an AK than any other type of gun out there. Parts and ammo for them are almost everywhere and they're extremely reliable. I'd even settle for a WASR-10 if I had to.

I had several preferances over my pick too...But the AK wasn't in the line up!

Crpdeth