Best Survival Gear

Buy Survival Gear Online

Viability of the 308 Winchester for SHTF

Disaster Preparedness, Survival Gear
Comments
308 Winchester Survival Rifle for SHTF

How viable is the 308 Winchester for a SHTF survival rifle? In the grand scheme of things, the 308 Winchester is probably the best suited rifle cartridge for a SHTF situation.

Typically, the 30-06 Springfield is the largest rifle caliber most people can shoot accurately. The keyword there is “most” people. As recoil goes up, accuracy goes down as shooters flinch before pulling the trigger.

There are two ways to counter trigger flinch:

  • Training.
  • Use a smaller rifle caliber.

The 308 Winchester offers less recoil than the 30-06 Springfield, but is very effective on deer sized game. People who live near dangerous animals, such as grizzly bears, may want to use a larger caliber than the 308 Winchester.

What makes the 308 Winchester well suited for SHTF?

Is the AR-10 Platform Needed

Survival Gear, Videos
1 Comment
DS Arms SA58 FN/FAL

There is an article on AllOutdoor.com talking about Heavy duty SHTF battle rifles. The picture used for the article shows an AR-10 next to an FN/FAL. Looking at the picture I have to ask myself, why do we need an AR-10 in a niche that is already full?

The right arm of the free world, the FN/FAL that has been in service since 1954. As of 2015 that is 61 years.

M1A, which is based off the M14, battle proven, reliable, marksmanship rifle has been in service since 1974. The M14 has been in service since 1959. As of 2015 that is 56 years.

PTR-91, based off the Heckler and Koch G3, in service since the year 2000, so only 15 years as of 2015. The Heckler and Koch G3 has been in service since 1959. So 56 years like the M1A.

Picking a Rifle Caliber For a Long Term SHTF Situation

Survival Gear
2 Comments
.30 caliber survival rifle

If you were going to pick a rifle caliber for a long term SHTF situation, what would that caliber be?

For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about my 7mm express / 280 Remington and how the panic buying in the first half of 2013 caused a shortage in ammunition supplies.

When I got my Remington model 700 in 280 I wanted something that was around the 270 or 30-06, and something that would work on heavier game such as elk and moose.

In all honestly I put too much though into picking the 280 Remington. While it is a fine caliber, the price of ammunition has gone up so much shooting has gotten downright expensive. With a box of 20 rounds costing more than $25 stockpiling is cost prohibitive.

Lets be perfectly honest, there is nothing the 280 Remington / 7mm express can not do that either the 270 Winchester or 30-06 Springfield can not do.

308 SHTF Survival Rifle Cost Of Ownership

Survival Gear
Comments
DS Arms SA58 FN/FAL

Are you considering a rifle chambered in 308 Winchester to help you and your family through a long term SHTF situation? The three main rifles on the market are the M1A, PTR-91 and the FN/FAL. There are a lot of articles out there discussing the points of each rifle. What is rarely talked about is the overall cost of ownership.

Why should we worry about the cost of ownership? You save to buy the rifle, then you find out how expensive spare parts are. To some people, the price of spare parts and magazines might be a deciding factor.

Lets look at 2 topics, spare parts and magazines.

What will not be discussed is tacticool items, such as rails, slings and scopes. With so many options on the market, there is too much to discuss when it comes to scopes and slings.

Lets look at just the basic rifle, something that can be used to protect your property, protect your crops, livestock and hunt with.

Magazines

For this project lets stockpile 25 magazines. This provides 3 rifles with 7 magazines each, and 4 spares.

The following prices are samples taken from random websites.

Best Gun for Hunting Wild Pigs After SHTF

Hunting
Comments
Pigs raised for slaughter

What is the best gun, or caliber, for hunting pigs after SHTF? Back in 2012 a couple of my buddies and I got a hog out of a local river bottom. One person of our group was carrying an AR-15, I was carrying my Remington 1911 R1.

While we were packing the hog out, I kept wondering how well the 223 Remington would do on wild hogs? I know the 223 Remington is effective, but how effective is it on hogs? Hogs have a thick fat layer, how would that fat layer affect bullet performance?

Hunting wild pigs in a river bottom

Lets say that some kind of SHTF situation happens, you and a couple of your buddies go on a hog hunt, what rifles would you pick? Would you pick a semi-auto in 223 Remington or 7.62X39, lever action or bolt action?

The above video makes a good argument for the Ruger Mini-14 and AR-15 platform for hunting after SHTF – low recoil, fast followup shots, effective on hog and deer sized game.

Lets go back to the recent hog hunt that my buddies and I went on a couple of weeks ago. The AR-15 is light, easy to carry (as compared to a 10 pound FN/FAL), 30 round detachable magazine, accurate, flat shooting, fast follow up shots.

Neither a lever action or a bolt action rifle would have allowed follow up shots like what a rifle chambered in the low recoil 223 Remington allowed.

Terrain

Pick One Rifle or Shotgun For Surviving SHTF

Disaster Preparedness, Survival Gear
5 Comments
Ruger 10/22 and Marlin model 60 side by side

Some kind of new disease has broke out, society has collapsed and no more trucks are rolling. Over the following weeks the power goes out, the water stops running, people stop driving their cars and trucks, friends, neighbors and strangers come around begging for food.

The food preps are slowly being eaten. But the food is not an issue, because you still have your backup food preps at your Bug Out Location. If your family can reach the remote location safely, you will have food, water, seeds to plant a garden, and getting a rabbit out of the field next to the creek should not be an issue. The problem is getting there.

Its been at least a month since your car or truck has had gas in it. So now you and your family has to walk to the Bug Out Location. Your family has to go through the middle of town, hit a set of railroad tracks, go about 30 miles following the tracks, hit a pipeline, go another few miles following the pipeline, then its just a short trip through the woods. Your family should be able to make the trip in about 3 days.

You grab your Bug Out Bag, go to the gun safe, open it up, and you can only take one firearm, what would it be?

Firearm for Rural SHTF Bug Out Location

Disaster Preparedness, Survival Gear
3 Comments
Shooting AK-47 with ERGO Grip SUREGRIP

What is your ideal firearm for a rural small farm (Bug Out Location)? Purpose is to protect property and livestock. For this article, lets say the setting can be during normal everyday life, and during a long term SHTF / TEOTWAWKI event.

During a SHTF setting, livestock are going to be very difficult to replace.

Its 10 pm, your chickens start making a fuss, what firearm do you grab? Do you use a shotgun, small caliber rifle, medium caliber rifle, or something else?

One of my ideal setups would be for a rifle and a pistol setup to share the same caliber. There are several manufacturers that make carbines in various pistol calibers, such as the 17 HMR, 22 long rifle, 9mm, 357 magnum and 45 acp.

This article will be divided into 3 phases, discussion on shotguns, small calibers for everyday life, larger calibers for post-SHTF / a world without law. Since followup shots may be needed rather quickly, single shot firearms will not be discussed.

Shotgun For Bug Out Location

While a shotgun may be ideal for nighttime, there is a high risk of collateral damage. We want to protect the livestock, and not take the livestock out along with the predator.

Even though the Mossberg 590 is one of my favorite SHTF shotguns, I do not think it is appropriate for livestock protection. The 590 does not have a choke that can be used to change the pattern of the shot. The short barrel of the Mossberg 590 will have a negative effect on the shot pattern as well.

Best Well Rounded Rifle Calibers for Survivalist

Hunting, Survival Gear
Comments
Hunting after SHTF teotwawki

What are some of the best rifle calibers for survivalist? These calibers should be able to fit a range of needs, including hunting wild game in a given area.

There is an old saying I sometimes like to quote, “Always use enough gun.” Because of that, smaller calibers such as the 223/5.56mm, 6mm, and the 243 Winchester should be excluded from the list.

Can small calibers take deer sized game? Sure they can. The question is how humane are they to use?

For my area here in Southeast Texas, the most common calibers are:

  1. 30-30 Winchester
  2. 308 Winchester
  3. 270 Winchester
  4. 30-06 Springfield

Available game are hogs and whitetail deer. Longest shot is going to be around 125 yards. If you are on a pipeline or highline, shots might get out to the 200 yard mark. The rolling hills and thick timber stop the shots from being too long.

Question To The Community

Thoughts on the AR-15 AK-47 and FN/FAL For SHTF

Disaster Preparedness, Survival Gear
Comments
AK-47 AR-15 Survival Rifles

As I am sitting here thinking about another rifle, my thoughts keep turning back to the AR-15. Even though the AK-47 is a little cheaper, its the reliability, cheap ammo, light weight of the weapon, availability of the ammo, shootability,,,,, that keeps me coming back to the AR.

In a SHTF situation, and I had to hand a rifle to my wife, son or daughter, how well would they be able to handle the rifle? That is just one of the many questions I have to ask myself.

In this article we are going to be looking at 3 of the most popular SHTF rifles and battle rifles in the world: the AK-47, AR-15 and the FN/FAL. The AK shoots the 7.62×39, the AR shoots the 223/5.56mm and the FN/FAL shoots the 308 Winchester / 7.62NATO round. These rifles were picked because they have a reputation of being reliable in just about all combat situations and they have been battle proven in several conflicts.

Lets start from the very beginning:

Inserting a Magazine

Best 30 Caliber SHTF Survival Rifle

Hunting, Survival Gear
1 Comment
.30 caliber survival rifle

If you were going to pick a .30 caliber rifle for a SHTF survival rifle, which one would it be? The contestants are: 7.62×39, 30-30, 308 and the 30-06. Lets take a look at each of those calibers, and what rifles their currently available in.

For the sake of discussion, the 30-06 is the largest caliber that will listed in this article.

7.62X39 For SHTF

The 7.62×39 was made famous by the AK-47 and SKS, developed in 1943, has seen service in major conflicts all over the world, available in civilian rifles such as the Ruger Mini-30 and various bolt action rifles.

  • Bullet weight: 110 – 155 grain
  • Muzzle velocity: 1,900 – 2,100 fps, depending on load
  • Effective range: around 350 meters
  • Availability: Plenty

There are at least 3 things that makes the 7.62X39 a good choice as a survival rifle – 1. Availability of ammunition, 2. Availability of rifles, 3. Low recoil.

Kevin Felts © 2008 - 2018