SHTF
Nowadays people are scared. There’s a noticeable uptick in the “survivalist” movement, and with the economy in the crapper and no sign of relief, people are afraid of “something.” They don’t know what it will be, but they’re afraid that when it gets here, they’re not going to be ready. And really, it could be anything. Economic collapse, a quake in the New Madrid Fault, electro-magnetic pulse, nuclear war… Shoot, why do you think zombies are so popular right now? Because it gives people a way to prepare for something they can’t grasp but covers the bases. When someone says they need a zombie gun or they need to prepare for the ZomPoc, what they’re really saying is that they don’t know what’s on its way to screw over the world, but they know it’s coming so it might as well be zombies. On the internet, this unknown event is called “Sh*t Hits The Fan.”
Some of you who come to this blog are here because you have an interest in getting into firearms for its own sake. But some of you are here because you’re one of those folks who are scared and want to be prepared and don’t know what to do about filling the firearms block on your SHTF checklist. So, that’s what this post is going to be about. SHTF rifles.
The problem with choosing a SHTF rifle is that “SHTF” is such a blurry idea. For people living in south-east Missouri, the New Madrid Fault tearing a new hole in the world, knocking out power and taking the Midwest back to 1853 is SHTF. Normal services are gone. Food and fuel shipments can’t get in. Bridges are destroyed. People get hungry. That is SHTF. For the shopkeepers in downtown LA during the LA Riots, a brief period of civil unrest and looting, where they were forced to protect their lives and property, was SHTF.
Is there one rifle that’s perfect for both situations? No. Ideally, if you’re building a SHTF battery, you want a couple of different platforms. But you can get close based on what you think the big baddy is going to be in your specific area. If you think the problem is going to be looters or armed thugs breaking into your home or business, something in line with defensive applications is what you’re going to look for. If you want something for putting food on the table, you’re going to want something that can take small game.
Defense
Let’s face it, you’re not scared of squirrels. You’re worried about someone deciding your TV, your food stash or your daughter looks like something they may want to acquire. So let’s start with defense. Although the emphasis of this post is on rifles, I’d recommend looking into a pistol as well. It’s concealable and easier to carry. That said, let’s talk about rifles.
First of all, you want something that’s legal for your area, so do some research and find out what passes muster in your state. The last thing you want is to be caught with something you shouldn’t have, particularly in a situation where law enforcement is already stressed. Be street-legal.
Second, don’t break the bank. You don’t need some high-powered, ultra-modern, German-made uber-rifle. During the LA riots, a group of Korean merchants held off looters from their downtown shops using old SKS carbines, a 60-year-old weapon system that you could get for $100 in the ’90s. Today, you can get them for around $300. Find something dependable that will fit your budget, because those rifles are out there. You can get a Saiga, a new production, civilian version of the famous AK-47, at a very reasonable price. This point doesn’t go just for the weapon, but the ammunition. Take a look around your local Wally World and sporting goods store and find out what the ammo prices are like in your area. .45-.70 is a big bullet that’s killed a lot of people in the long-long-ago, but it’s also something like $40 a box.
Third, get enough gun. I don’t mean go out and buy an elephant gun. This isn’t Tim the Tool Man Taylor here. You don’t get extra points for “more power.” But you do for “enough power.” Look at military calibers like the .223, 7.62X39mm and .308 and stay in that general area. .22 is good for killing squirrel, but for defense you need more oomph.
Fourth, don’t forget ammunition. If SHTF hits tomorrow, it’s probably too late to go to the store to buy ammunition. Now, does that mean you need 5,000 rounds in sealed containers buried in your backyard? You hear that a lot on the internet. “I’ve got an AR15 and 5,000 rounds of ammo!” Wow, that’s cool….
Now carry it.
Remember, you don’t know what your situation is going to be. You might be hunkering down at your place… or you might be on the move, getting as far away from something bad as you can possibly get. If that’s the situation, mortgaging your house to buy more ammunition than a brigade combat team isn’t going to do you much good. It would make more sense to get enough good ammo that you can carry and spend the rest on other preparations. Remember, you’re not defending a FOB in A-Stan. You’re trying to avoid trouble.
Finally, practice with what you’ve got. I don’t care what you finally end up getting, but a rifle is only part of a weapon system. Part of that system is the shooter. Learn how to safely employ your rifle effectively. Get comfortable with it. Don’t just learn to shoot it, learn the fastest way to load it, how to clean maintain it.
Food
Let’s get one thing clear right now. Any ideas you have of “living off the land” by going into the woods and killing deer and hogs after SHTF is a fantasy you are deluding yourself with. Why? Because everyone else and their mom is going to have the same idea. How long do you think the local game will last with that many people out in the woods trying to kill them? Your best bet is to think small; squirrels, birds, rabbit if you can get it.
For small animals, you might want to start with an air rifle. Believe it or not, there are single-shot air rifles out there that will launch a pellet at about the same velocity as a .22 round, and they have the benefit of being quieter. Keep in mind, all things, including ammunition, is going to start running scarce.
A step up from that would be a .22 rifle, preferably one that’s scoped and easy to maintain like a break-action or a bolt action rifle. Use the KISS principle and keep it simple, stupid. The more moving parts in a weapon, the more points of failure there are. The advantage of a .22, particularly a .22 long rifle, is that the rounds are cheap (you can get 500 of them for about $15) and they’re small enough to fit all of them into a fanny pack.
The last recommendation would be a shotgun, either 20 or 12 gauge. Shotguns are good because unlike with rifles, a shotgun’s versatility is in the shells. One shotgun can shoot a variety of different loads designed to take just about any animal in North America, whether it walks on four legs or two. The downside is that those shells cost more and they’re much bigger than .22 rounds. They can do more, but you can’t carry as much of them.
I mentioned this before, but keep it simple. A break-action shotgun will run you about $100 and be much easier to maintain in a primitive environment whereas an auto-loading shotgun will cost you around $500 and be much more difficult to do those things.
As I mentioned before in regards to defense rifles, you need to practice; however there’s a difference here. With a defense rifle, there are different tactics and considerations. When it comes to a hunting rifle post-SHTF, your emphasis is going to be making a kill using the least amount of ammunition possible. Practice taking your time and making each shot count. Do some research and find out where you’re supposed to hit the animal for a quick, clean kill. Take a hunter safety course, and perhaps, if you are so inclined, go on a hunt to learn how to do it effectively. Do you know how to skin, gut and cook what you’re shooting at? It’s not as easy as you might think.
Other considerations
I’m a poor guy, so I don’t have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to buying guns and ammunition. I made sure before I went and bought the “fun” guns that I had the guns I felt I would need. It can seem overwhelming. Take it slow, budget for it. Remember, it doesn’t have to break the bank. You see that single-shot 12-gauge at Wal-Mart? That only costs about the same as three Blu-ray discs. Buy a box of ammo every pay-day and sock it away somewhere. Make sure you include the price of ammunition into your rifle considerations.
Not to knock systems like the AR15 or AK-47, and this might sound counter-intuitive, but take a rifle’s appearance into account. Here’s why. Do you remember the Assault Weapons Ban during the Clinton years? Those restrictions were put in place by people who knew nothing about guns based almost entirely on the weapon’s appearance. AR15s were restricted while the SKS, which the VC used to kill a rather sizeable number of U.S. troops in Vietnam, was left mostly alone. If you live in one of those areas where your local politicians freak out by the appearance of a “scary black rifle,” take that into account.
A rifle is only one part of prepping, and it’s a very small part at that. If you are interested in preparing for SHTF, there are lots of places to get more information on the other aspects of prepping such as Backwoods Home Magazine and Emergency-Preps.com. This is a rifle blog, so I’m talking about rifles, but make sure you cover your other bases as well.
At the end of the day, the best gun in the world is the one in your hand, that’s loaded, and that you know how to use. Don’t get wrapped around the axle in regards of getting the perfect gun. Get something. I don’t know if SHTF is coming, but I know I’d rather be ready whether it does or doesn’t than not ready if it does.
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