While the .22 has a place in a SHTF scenario, being a primary defensive weapon, isn't 1 of them. I'd opt for the Ruger Mini 30 over the 10/22.
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While the .22 has a place in a SHTF scenario, being a primary defensive weapon, isn't 1 of them. I'd opt for the Ruger Mini 30 over the 10/22.
I have thought this over for years, and come to the conclusion that a 22 is as good as anything else for this purpose. In Recon, we used to say that if we get into a fire fight, something wrong. Well, guess what? Things have and do go wrong. But the idea in a survival situation is not to stand and have shoot outs, its to get out of harms way thru peel off technique and evasive measures. A 22 will do this just fine.
Ever try and eat a squirrel hit with a 223?
Id say a 22 will do just fine in most any scenario, and much better for multiple purposes than a center fire cartridge.
Lots of wisdom in the part you put in bold. That is why, except possibly for barter (or investment), laying in hugeQuote:
Originally Posted by glockman10mm
amounts of ammo won't help in a SHTF situation. You'll likely not live long enough to use much of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GetSmith
Wha?? You are worried about over penetration in the even of a total societal collapse?
And if you ever needed 25,000 rounds, you would probably run out of water and food before you went through that many rounds.
Add to that your other arsenal....
Seriously, what kind of scenario are you preparing for?
I'm not judging - hey, whatever floats your boat. Just seems like some parts of the calculus don't make complete sense.
Thanks for the replys guys. Kinda what a thought I'd get, mixed batch. My reasoning to the wife to fill the safe was emergency preparedness. She's from Japan and knows about disaster, also has lived in the states long enough to know our society won't be civil in situations like her country has endured.
Basically I see hard times ahead with a worthless currency were dependent on. I'm trying to hedge inflation. I have three years worth of dried goods food storage. 25 lbs bag of rice for $20 now, get it while you can. Also stocked up on ammo. 13,000 rounds of FMJ for the 9mm/.40 cal. I figure that would last 5 years or so target shooting OR IF SHTF I'll be glad I stocked up.
Im set for self reliance for a few years, we're all dependent on the government to some degree or another and I don't trust them with my safety anymore.
I've got places to bug out to but with the kids home is best if possible. If things continue to get worse in CA I'll look into moving to Nashville as that's were my mothers at.
I knew the answer to my question was to get anither riffle. My wife won't understand but it has to be done.
Several things:
1.) I am jealous of your ammo storage!
2.) .22 is fine for some applications, but in a real SHTF scenario, you are going to want a bigger caliber rifle as a primary (.223, .308, 7.62X39), and a lot of friends with service-caliber rifles. If you stay by yourself, all of that ammo, and all of those guns are going to be in the hands of people who had lots of "friends" with guns... after they take them from your hands.
You are in CA, though, so larger caliber rifles only have 10 round mags, and thanks to new legislation, they are impossible to change quikly, so you may have made the best choice for your area.
3.) All the people that are ragging on you for having too much ammo either wish they had as much (I fall into this category), or are going to be the ones complaining when ammo prices go up in the next few years.
4.) Are 25 round mags legal in CA for .22s?
For the wife and kids, I'd go for a carbine in a pistol caliber, starting with the old M1 Carbine. The Kel-Tec Sub-2000 folds small enough to fit in a briefcase and comes in several varieties that can use different handgun magazines. I don't know if they are accurate enough to hunt small game, though. (That's just a mild suggestion because I have used the .22LR for hunting ground squirrels out at 100 yards. Head shots only because hitting them anywhere else meant they got down the hole. A ground squirrel head is about the size of a human eye.)
I suspect you are going heavy on gear and light on training. You need skills to go with the hardware, and they do not come off a store shelf. Long passed time for you and family to take a trip to Utah or Idaho "for vacation" and visit one or more of the combat training sites that accept civilians.
A million dollars worth of guns and ammo isn't going to do you a lick of good if you don't have even a penny's worth of skills.
Acquire more firearms is always the best answer! :duh:Quote:
Originally Posted by GetSmith
The 10/22 is fine. Add a suppressor and it's better.
Sent from my Galaxy S2
Get Smith, Ladies & Gentlemen: While exploring in the 50's in the then unknown Jungles of Quintana Roo, next to British Honduras - now Belize - we found that the lowly .22 cartridge was the perfect medium of exchange. Money was simply not acceptable. In the more remote areas, a trip to the nearest source of supply was a week or more away, so every single bullet was negotiable barter materiel.
In a long breakdown of society, such as you seem to visualize, it would holdup here as well as it did down there.
Just remember that if it were known that you had a large supply of more powerful ammo, you would become a target for that alone, but for some reason the lil .22 isn't considered in the same light..
Side issue, living off of the country is possible for only for small no of people in a given range / time. The Indians in our past history found this out, and often had pitched battles over territory, so much for the idyllic co-operative life in native America, it was a cutthroat existence.
We quickly found that out. It took roughly 1/2 a day in new country to get enough to feed ourselves, and after a few weeks, it would no longer supply us. And we were just two people.
Don jose de La Mancha
One more thing, you might want to get some parts and maybe a second 10/22, because if it breaks, you have a nice club, and 25,000 rounds of ammo you can't use
With the other firearms you mentioned, I think you're covered yourself well.
I would consider the .22 as more of a game-getter and back-up of last resort, while the .223 would be more defensive. Personally, I'd like to have both. .223 for defense; .22 for survival.
Interesting post.
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Originally Posted by Tayopo
2-in-1... so both.
5.56 AR with 8 mags + .22LR conversion bolt with 3 mags + little extra ammo for each
First I would tell you do not buy so many rounds in 22lr as the brass sweats and it jams unless you use it in a bolt.
You will have to wipe every round before you shoot.This caliber is readily avalible.I would not trust 22 lr unless I was doimg my work up close and personal.I do not have the training that Mossad offered to their agents.I do own a bushmaster in
223/556 verison.The first time I shot it I could not believe it was the main battle rifle of our great country.The ar rifles have like a shock asborber in them an you can feel it contract when you fire it. I've used metal case ammo and just about all
types avalible to civilians.556 in almost the same as 223 it has higher pressures.I would use my 223 over 22lr just because
it has more stopping power.