gun dreams

[Mortblanc]

What squaddies carry is not relevant in a SHTF situation unless one is in a squad.

A squad is up to 12 men all armed with a selection of TOE weapons to include grenade launchers and squad automatic weapons that mutually support completion of the mission with artillery and air support on call.

Standard load out also goes west in a combat situation and the rule is "leave everything but food and ammo at the house!"

Load out becomes two days MRE rations and the rest of your 70 pound load as ammo. We often abandoned our sleeping gear and replaced it with ammo when we expected problems. I have seen troopers with 12-16 loaded magazines of 7.62/51 and another 500 rounds boxed in their packs. And at least one member of our squads carried a 12ga shotgun!

That is a battle load out!!!

SHTF, cartridge efficiency trumps number of rounds carried. If it will not do the job, or is marginal for its assigned task, you are not a prepper, because you are not prepared.

My own philosophy differs from many due to my training and experiences and the experiences of those that taught me. I grew up with people who had been subsistence farmers during the last Great Depression, living on foraged wild game rather than killing their domestic livestock, which provided them with cash. In almost every case they walked out the near side of that experience carrying repeating shotguns and a medium caliber pistol, and they all viewed the .22lr as a toy for shooting tin cans on Sunday afternoon. (at that period of time all the large and medium game was shot out of our country)

The shotgun will still be the primary small game getter and defense tool because you absolutely, positively can not miss a shot at game. Defense, and therefore the number of rounds you carry, is not number one priority when you are moving about unless you are one of the "Golden Horde".

How many rounds does it take to go hunting? Well, many of us have been handed a shotgun and ONE CARTRIDGE and advised that we better bring something home for supper or we would become vegetarians.

The rifle will be used to extend the range/power of the shotgun.

In my mind the primary rifle should not be less effective than the shotgun nor should it have only equal range or less range than the shotgun, as is the case of the .22lr.

For me the rifle is used for big game or big people, because you want to shoot big game that is skittish and staying far away, or because you are in a defense mode and want to keep the enemy far away. Shoot game as close as possible and shoot people as far away as possible!

Internet forums and the present host of computer commandos have given folks an inflated view of the capabilities of a .22lr and they have reduced the effective range of a shotgun from 60 yards to 25 yards.

My handicap on the trap range is longer than most computer jockeys consider maximum shotgun range!

So, my choice of first gun, in addition to the shotgun, for SHTF would be a center-fire rifle of "adequate caliber" and power to fell 200 pound critters out to 300 yards.

Again, that is just my experience from life and living here on the homestead, dealing with the critters, two legged and four legged, I have encountered.

Your mileage may differ (but that is usually because Imperial gallons are larger than U.S. gallons).