Best Indiana SHTF rifle...NO AK OR AR!

[avengedXT]

You know what, after reading all these posts, I changed my mind. I would go with any high power scoped rifle. With that I would start dropping people with .22 guns and take their guns and ammoJ.

Until you get one of them that's a damn good shot to plink you with a mag full =P


Neither of us should even be commenting and or joking about shooting fellow gun owners. Everybody knows in SHTF you need people on your side that you can trust.

 

[tsugaruroman]

Until you get one of them that's a damn good shot to plink you with a mag full =P


Neither of us should even be commenting and or joking about shooting fellow gun owners. Everybody knows in SHTF you need people on your side that you can trust.

Jokes or not, the sad reality that in the SHTF scenario there will be “fellow gun owners” who will see you as a competition for food and a source of weapon and ammo. This is why I mentioned earlier that it will depend on the scenario of SHTF situation – whether you need the gun only to provide food, or you need to defend yourself, your family and you supplies from other “fellow gun owners”. Yes, it’s nice to have people on your side, but the will be somebody on the opposite side as well, and you would have to be able to “take care“of them.
Good shot or not, effective range of .22 is way below that of high power rifle, therefore a person with a high power rifle most likely will be able to take out a person with .22 gun way before the later one is able to deliver his shot regardless of the marksman ship of the later. .22 round fired from over 300 m even if found its target, will unlikely cause serious damage.

 

[wilianknow]

I would go with the 10/22 you can hunt most small game with it. Low maintenance and cheap common ammo is a plus. Second would be a .410 shot gun can take down a deer and you can carry more rounds than 12.

 

[billcollector]

Only down side to a 22 is for a human target if worst case scenario SHTF would not be good. I would choose something that would be a NATO round, like 5.56 or 7.62x51 (308) or even a 7.62x39 as ammo is very cheap. Gun...I would pick the MINI 14 in 7.62x39. Small enough weapon that it won't add extreme weight. Enough knockdown power that animals of any size are ok.

 

[.452browning]

.223 Bolt Rifle or 30-30 Lever Rifle

Here is my on the subject. Your experience/opinions may vary.

Since I can only use 1 rifle for everything from self defense, hunting, etc. I want to try and balance range and everything else.

I would say that in Indiana and most states there is almost no reason to take a shot beyond 300 yards for either hunting or self defense. I'm sure there could be instances where a longer range is necessary but for all practical purposes 300 yards is good. Realistically I see no farther than 200 yards.

A .22 on paper sounds great to me. Cheaper than dirt, easy to maintain, light. Can carry large amount of ammuntion on your person and store even larger amounts. Can take all game in Indiana within a certain range. Can kill a deer with a well placed headshot. Is a lethal round and can be used for self defense. But when I'm out hunting for food or defending my home or whatever I don't want to have to hit a 2" circle of a deers head to be certain of a quick kill. I don't want to take the time tracking a wounded animal for hours/days. I would want a quick easy kill. Same applies to self defense. Yes a .22 can kill and stop an attack, I would just rather have a more potent round.

For sake of multiple caliber disection I'm going to jump up to the .30 or bigger rifle choice (.308, .303, .30-06, 8mm, etc.) Excellent range and power. Can easily exceed 300 yards. Can't carry as many rounds as .22 or other calibers because of weight. Can kill all game in Indiana. Deer kills would be quick with proper shot. (With a rifle such as this you have a larger area you can hit to ensure a quick kill rather than a .22) This round would not work well with small game such as rabbits, squirrels, etc. It will definately kill the game, but leaves meat undesirable. Excellent self defense.

I don't consider the 30-30 in the .30 catagory. It doesn't have the range of the ones I mentioned. 150-200 yard gun IMO. Not to familiar on if a headshot to a rabbit or squirrel will destroy meat or not. Obviously can kill a deer. Would work great for self defense. If the round can take small game without destroying the meat this round would be in the running for my rifle choice.

So now I'm looking in between these catagories. 5.56/223

Very popular round. Can be found at your neighborhood gun store, walmart, etc. Range can easily exceed 300 yards and achieve a kill. Lighter than .30 rounds but heavier than .22's. Can kill all game in Indiana. Can take deer and larger game with well placed shot. Can also take small game with head shot to ensure meat isn't ruined. Self defense capabilities great. Any round similiar or equal to the .223 would work fine, but the .223 is just more popular.

So to me the 5.56/.223 is the caliber choice for me if I can only have 1 rifle. Now what would my rifle choice be...

I have no experience with a Mini-14 rifle so I will not involve that in my choice. Omitting the AR platform makes the choice come down to basically bolt rifles with the exception of Kel-tecs, a few pumps, etc. So I will choose the...

Ruger M77 Hawkeye or similiar All-Weather stainless and a scout scope in .223 Remington. If they made the Gunsite Scout in .223 that would be the cats pajamas. A close second is the 30-30 Lever Rifle.

 

[Ljungman]

ok....VZ58. 7.62x39, not even close to operating like an ak. Parts are there i you look, mags are cheap and you can find them in surplus stores or local gun stores cheap, 7.62x39 is the same ballistics as the .30/30. So it will nail your game, shoot 45% more accurately than your AK based weapons with open sights, and 7.62x39 ammo is on every shelf in every sports store i have ever tread in..including Dick(heads) sporting goods. so...does this meet your criteria..other wise i would state the cetme battle rifle. Parts again are there if you look, mags are 3 bucks a piece right now and again the rifle is cheap, the ammo..not as much but .308 is again in every store. And not to be over looked by any of us....MOSIN NAGANT. meets your expectations. open sights i have hunted deer in iowa at 200+. gets real...real tough..but itll do the darn job well. And again....7.62x54 is everywhere, cheap and the guns are in droves everywhere. Bradis has no less than 25 or 30 of them at any given time...as well as JG sales, Cheaper than dirt...and even Dick(heads) sporting goods, gander mountain...so on so forth... The rifles are accurate, and are bolt actions leaving reliability to be much higher inherently as the number of moving parts is greatly reduced. Even when broken the rifles will still go boom. i shot mine to death..the extractor failed. so...got a pocket knife...open bolt pry out round..rack bolt shoot again. and thats the worst of it..i can swap bolts (not reccommended) from my 91/30 to my M44 and get the same results..bang. So 3 rifles all of which i purchased for around 500 at most. and the nagant i bought several years ago "new-used" for 75 dollars. The m44 for 80.

 

[BDBHoover]

In SHTF I would want a Rem 700 .308 for the distance.... But my Savage 24S-D .22 over .410 I think would be good for SHTF game hunting in Indiana.... .22 for smaller game and .410 for larger game or SD

 

[scooterb]

I would probably go with a m14...

 

[benjaminlee06]

General consensus: different tools for different purposes. Sounds like there are a few essentials, but even they can be hard to prioritize. Sounds to me like most here have the "handful" that would most likely be needed.

 

[HJezler]

I would probably go with a m14...

me too

 

[DMNewton69]

The problem with an sks and mini14 is that the rounds would probably tear small game in half. Correct me if I'm wrong since I've never shot a squirrel with an ak. 10/22 or 17hmr would probaly be your best bet.

 

[Mosinguy]

The problem with an sks and mini14 is that the rounds would probably tear small game in half. Correct me if I'm wrong since I've never shot a squirrel with an ak. 10/22 or 17hmr would probaly be your best bet.

Well a Mini 14 shoots .223 so not sure how it works into the sks/ak thing going on in your post.

 

[Mosinguy]

I would probably go with a m14...

I said this before, if you can find an M1a for under $1000, LET ME KNOW! Much less an actual M14..

 

[scooterb]

See them used every once in a while for around $900... Actually had a guy try and sell me a socom for under a grand... Sucks at the time I was broke

 

[red_zr24x4]

I said this before, if you can find an M1a for under $1000, LET ME KNOW! Much less an actual M14..

Do like I did, buy a $10 raffle ticket from the friends of the NRA and win one.
Somewhere back a few pages I said an M1A and I stand by that.

 

[iauffenberg]

mini 14 is what i would go with great gun

 

[DragonGunner]

OK I'll play....scope is optional, HR 1955 M1 Garand 500.00......6000 rds. of ammo...should last an kill alot of zombies.

 

[eraserhead]

Time to flog this dead horse. I'd absolutely take a MPA971 in 9mm for the simple fact of not having to reload until I've shot 70+ rounds. 9mm ammo is plentiful and cheap, plus fits many pistols and some rifles. Under $1K, so I'd add a Mosin Nagant for the reach out and PUNCH factor.

 

[indiucky]

20 Gauge flintlock fowler.....

 

[boostjunki]

I didn't read through all the pages to see if it's been suggested, but given the criteria I'd pick a Marlin 30-30 lever gun (pre-Remington of course). Ammo would be available, but parts could be harder to find.