Rural Lifestyle

Life in Rural America

Tag: 7.62×39

Best Gun for Hunting Wild Pigs After SHTF

Hunting
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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

Middle Ground Rifle Caliber For SHTF TEOTWAWKI

Survival Gear
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DS Arms SA58 FN/FAL

Someone on my facebook friends list posted a picture of 4 survival firearms – pistol, Ruger 10/22, Remington 870 and AR-15.

I suggested the AR-15 be replaced with an AK-47. This is why I made that suggestion,

22 Long Rifle VS 223 Remington

Calibers for SHTFWhen you look at the two calibers, the 22 long rifle bullet is not much smaller then the 223 Remington. If your shots are less then 100 yards, the 22 long rifle loaded with high grade bullets can get close to 223 Remington. Lets be honest, there is no way the 22 Long Rifle can match the ballistics of the 223 Remington.

22 long rifle, CCI mini-mag hollow points, 36 grain bullet, bullet diameter .222 inch (5.6 mm)

223 Remington, 55 grain bullet full metal jacket, bullet diameter .224 inch (5.7 mm)

There is not “that” much difference between the 22 long rifle bullet and the 223 Remington bullet. Keep in mind we are talking about bullet diameter and bullet weight, and not the cartridge length.

Another Stockpiling Ammunition For SHTF TEOTWAWKI Article

Hunting, Preparedness Articles, Survival Gear
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Remington core-lokt, Federal 223 Remington and Monarch 7.62x39

Lets say that some kind of SHTF situation happens tonight, how ready is your ammunition stockpile? Whether its nuclear war, plague, disease outbreak, collapse of the dollar,,,, something happens to disrupt society. What kind of ammunition do you have stockpiled to hunt and protect your property? Have you taken any wild game with the ammunition you have stockpiled? Have you sighted in your rifle with the various types you have stockpiled?

My wife and I made a trip to the Academy sports and outdoors in Lufkin Texas just to buy some ammunition. It seems that the walmart in Jasper Texas can not keep certain types of ammunition in stock. Its either buy online, or drive almost an hour just to buy some ammo.

Todays Haul Includes:

  • 100 rounds Federal 223 Remington
  • 20 rounds 30-30 Winchester in Remington core-lokt 150 grain
  • 20 rounds 308 Winchester in Remington core-lokt 150 grain
  • 20 rounds 30-06 Springfield in Remington core-lokt 150 grain
  • 120 rounds 7.62×39 in Monarch 123 grain full metal jacket

You may be asking, “Why so much Remington core-lokt?”

AK-47 Is The Ultimate teotwawki Survival Rifle

Preparedness Articles, Survival Gear, Urban Survival
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WASR-10 AK-47 next to pine tree

Why is the AK-47 is the ultimate survival rifle? Because it works.

  • Year of development: 1947
  • Caliber: 7.62×39
  • Years of service: 1947 – present
  • Nations of service: Every communist nation under the sun
  • Conflicts of service: Just about every major conflict since 1947
  • Bullet diameter: 308 – 311
  • Bullet weight: 123 grains
  • Effective range: 400 meters
  • Capacity: Standard 30 round magazine

The AK-47 is not my primary SHTF survival rifle.

That honor goes to the AR-15 and the FN/FAL.

AR-15 with its 223 Remington / 5.56mm NATO is well suited for dealing undesirable predators that come around the Bug Out Location and small game. There are a good number of people that deer and hogs with the 223 Remington, but I am not one of them. I am a firm believer of using enough gun for the job. When I go deer hunting, I use at least a 270 Winchester or a 280 Remington / 7mm Express.

The low recoil of the AR-15 makes it appealing to people like my teenage daughter.

Buying some ammo to go shooting

Random Ramblings, Survival Gear
4 Comments

What is going on at the local walmart? They can not keep American Eagle nor Federal 223 in stock. They just now started getting Tula 223 in stock. But I do not want to stockpile a crap load of steel cased 223.

Next weekend my wife and I are going out to a local sandpit to do some shooting. I just want to fire off a couple hundred rounds of 22 long rifle, 223, 7.62×39 and 45acp.

Is my local walmart in Jasper Texas just not ordering ammunition, or is ammo in such short supply they can not get any in?

If ammunition is in short supply, why can academy sports and outdoors in Lufkin and walmart in Nacogdoches get American Eagle?

Why do I have to drive 50 miles one direction to buy ammunition? Why cant the local walmart get their act together and keep some 223 and 308 ammunition on the shelves? Did I forget to mention my local walmart has not had 308 Winchester in Remington core-lokt in almost 2 months? The last time my wife and I went to Academy sports and outdoors in Lufkin, I had to buy Monarch 308 Winchester.

I just want to go to the sand pit and fire off a few hundred rounds. But for some reason I need an act of GOD just to find ammunition.

Firearms for the Bug Out Location

Preparedness Articles, Survival Gear
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sks survival rifle

Some kind of worse case situation has happened, you and your family have to bug out to the Bug Out Location, and how what?

Keep in mind, this is a worse case situation, meaning you did not have time to grab any gear from your home. The only gear you have, is the gear you have stored at the Bug Out Location.

In such as situation, what 4 firearms would you want?

The firearms need to be reliable, somewhat service free, do not cost a small fortune and in case your Bug Out Location was broke into the firearms will be easy to replace.

The first thing people will probably say, “I want an M1A, FN/FAL, Remington Model 700 or a PTR91”. For the sake of discussion lets rule out all firearms that cost anywhere close to $1,000. In fact, lets rule out all firearms that cost over $500. This pretty much rules out all ARs and the majority of AKs. Lets go ahead and rule out all AKs just for fun.

Marlin Model 60 – the first thing people are probably going to say is, “oh come on, the Ruger 10/22 should be first”. I can respect that opinion about the Ruger 10/22, its a great rifle.

AK-47 For a Long Term SHTF Survival Situation

Survival Gear
4 Comments
Field stripped WASR-10 AK-47

How well suited is the AK-47 for a long term SHTF survival situation? The answer is part determined in who you ask.

Last weekend my wife and I made a trip to the camp where I fired off a few rounds from the AR15, AK47 and the FN/FAL.

Some people consider it a sin not to clean your firearms immediately after you get home from the range. But on that day the grandkids were over. I did not want the kids messing around while I was trying to clean my rifles. So I decided to wait a few days before cleaning.

The house is quiet today, so I decided to clean my rifles while none of the grandkids are running around.

While I was going over the AK (its a WASR-10), I noticed how much little pieces of rust were building up here and there. The magazine (around 15 years old) is developing rust on it. This is a Chinese made AK47 magazine that I bought sometime in the mid – late 1990s. Well, I bought a lot of AK mags, but we using this one as an example. Just about all of my AK mags have some kind of rust on them.

The WASR-10 is my second AK-47. My first AK was a Maadi and it “somehow” disappeared when my exwife and I divorced. Aint it funny how things just disappear?

Long Term Magazine Storage

One of the problems with my AK mags, is that they have started to rust. Steel rust, that is just the way it is.

Just about all of my AK mags have a rather cheap coating on them. To help prevent the rust, I took a wire wheel on the grinder, buffed the rust off along with the magazine coating and painted the mag with rust-oleum.

Firearm for a river camping trip

Fishing and Boating, Hiking and Camping
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AK-47 AR-15 Survival RiflesA buddy of mine and I are planning a 100+ mile 3 – 4 day river camping trip. On this trip we will be going into some pretty remote areas. After we put our boats in the river, there are no boat launches for probably 50+ miles. The location is East Texas on the Sabine river.

I would like to bring either a rifle or shotgun for personal protection. Black bears are known to be in the area where we are going, as well as everything from coyotes to wild hogs.

I am more concerned about running into a rabid raccoon, then having problems with a black bear, but you never know.

The options are:

Is the SKS Still a Viable SHTF Survival Rifle

Survival Gear
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sks survival rifle

With SKS prices creeping close to the $300 price range, why are they considered a viable option for survivalist,,, or even anyone else? Back in the 1990s when you could pick up an SKS for less then $100, yea, I could see buying one then. But over the past 2 decades prices have steadily gone up, I think to the point where they are not worth the price.

Lets take the Remington model 770 – synthetic stock, factory scope, popular calibers that are more effective on deer sized game then the 7.62X39,,,, and the 770 cost right at the $300 price range.

Last year my nephew used his Remington 770 to take a doe during youth weekend. At around 50 – 75 yards, the 150 grain Remington core-lokt was devastating to the whitetail. The blood trail looked like someone turned on a waterhose.

I can see buying an SKS for its novelty, and for its history, but not for its price. The SKS is not going to be a target rifle like a modern bolt action rifle and the 7.62×39 is not as effective on deer sized game as lets say a 270 or 308.

Cost of the SKS

Picking a SHTF Survival Rifle Caliber

Hunting, Preparedness Articles, Survival Gear
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22 Long Rifle For SHTF

There is a thread in the forum asking whether the 7mm or 8mm would make a good caliber for a survival rifle. When you walk into a pawn shop and you see a bunch of a certain type of firearms, that is usually not a good sign. If people like a product, they tend to hang onto it.

22 Long Rifle

The 22 long rifle should not need an introduction. The ammunition can be fired in rifles and pistols, firearms are not expensive and they have a long life expectancy. With the low recoil of the 22, parts last long then a full sized rifle caliber.

The low cost of the 22 ammunition makes it attractive to survivalist who want to stockpile thousands or tens of thousands of rounds.

The 22long rifle is effective on small game and does not do a lot of damage to the meat. When you use a 12 gauge on a squirrel, you might have to pick out a bunch of BBs. If you take a squirrel with a 22 short, you have 1 bullet hole.

A couple of my favorite rifles in 22 long rifle include the Marlin Model 60 and the Ruger 10/22. My Ruger 10/22 was bought in January of 1986 and is still going strong.

223 Remington / 5.56mm

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

Preparedness Articles, Survival Gear
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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.

Organizing Your Bug Out Location

Preparedness Articles
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cooking post shtfThe other day my wife and I were up at the camp / bug out location checking on things. We go up there, check the doors, check the windows, look for any physical damage that might have resulted from a break in. We also take inventory – bottled water, soft drinks, plates, plastic spoons and forks, canned goods, MREs, ammo,,,, stuff like that.

While I was checking the front bed room and closet, I noticed that the closet has a lot of wasted room. In the right hand corner of the closet sites 2 or 3 ammo cans loaded with 223, 7.62×39, 9mm, 357 magnum, and 45 acp. Besides the ammo cans, there is a lot of wasted space that could be used for shelving.

Awhile back I posted a thread in the forum about organizing my MRE stockpile. But that thread only talked about organizing your MREs, but what about everything else?

Stockpiling Ammunition For a Long Term Survival Situation

Hunting, Survival Gear
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Stockpiling food and ammunition for long term SHTF situation

Last week my buddy and I were talking about stockpiling ammo for a survival situation – this is when something happens to cause society to break down. Examples are civil unrest, some new disease, climate change,,,,,, something that causes the fabric of mankind to unravel. In general we talked about stockpiling 308, 223, 7.62×39, 22 long rifle and shotgun shells.

My buddy stockpiles 2 different types of ammo for his 308 rifle – ball and hunting ammo.

Ball ammo – is your target round and urban defense round. When my buddy goes to the shooting range, he will shoot ball and most of his magazines are loaded with ball ammo. The plus side of ball ammo, its cheap when compared to the more expensive hunting ammo.

Hunting ammo – this is the ammo your going to be using to hunt deer, moose, elk, wild hogs,,,,, whatever goes in your neck of the woods. Currently my buddy stocks some kind of expensive Hornady ammo that cost something like $35 – $40 for a box of 20.

Mixing and Matching SHTF Survival Gear

Survival Gear
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Knives for SHTF

I find it interesting that Taco Bell can create so many items on their menu by mixing and matching about eight different ingredients. There is the taco meat, sour cream, refried beans, tortilla shell, taco shell,,,,. But by the looks of the Taco Bell menu, it appears they have a thousand ingredients.

Its called utilizing available resources. And the same can be applied to survivalism.

On the flip side of the coin from Taco Bells minimalist approach, I find it interesting that survivalist stockpile so much gear. Certain survivalist think they have to have a special “bug out bag” that is separate from their standard camping / backpacking pack, that they need several rifles

Lets backup a few years, all the way to the early – mid 1980s. Back then I (Kevin), was in High School and was busy camping and exploring the marshes around the Bridge City, Texas area. My backpack at that time was about 14 inches tall, 12 – 14 inches wide, and maybe 6 inches wide. It could have easily been a school book bag, but it was OD green and made out of a canvas material. I had one backpack for all of my camping needs. At that time, that is all I needed. The pack was just big enough for a couple of cans of vienna sausage, or chili, can opener, small pot, matches, contact case, and maybe a spare shirt or socks.

Kevin Felts © 2008 - 2018