I could not find a previous thread so here goes. What caliber of guns, handgun and rifle, would you want if all hell broke loose? I do not care about the brand of weapon but the caliber. I was thinking that 9mm would be the most common between friendly and enemy forces.
For rifle, I have no idea what I should get. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Frank.
9mm is found everywhere so in that case I can see it as a good choice. I myself stock up on 45 acp.
my personal choice is 45 acp for pistol there is plenty of bulk 45 still around and 5.56mm for rifle..5.56 can fire both 5.56mm and 223...and there are TONS of that ammo. I would also venture to say a 12GA shotgun...that is very versital round. Slugs, buck whatever...
I wouldn't worry too much about the pistol caliber, if you stick to the the 9mm, .38/.357. .40 and .45 you'll be fine. 9mm Makarov, FN 5.7, .357 Sig - not so much.
Definitely include rimfires in your planning. Lots of rounds are inexpensive, take little space, and bricks of .22s can be a form of currency when social unrest means your banked money isn't available.
For rifle rounds, I'd say 5.56x45, .308 and 7.62x39 would be the most common. Depending on your thought process, hunting might be part of your SHTF planning, so some hunting ammo (i.e., soft point) might be wise t include in your supplies.
Seeing as I have a .380 ACP, I would say that one for sure...Plus my .30-06, a 12 Ga, and a .22 LR (I'll carry the -06 and the .380ACP, My wife 12 Ga with 00 Buckshot, and my son the .22LR,) but we're talking a real emergency Bug out Thing right!
9mm Nato round for pistol (if you're talking about foreign invaders, etc). 7.62 x 39 (which they would probably have and you can buy bulk cheap at cheaper than dirt.com and it works, no matter if full of mud, or a dead zombie for a year, unlike the 5.56 that constantly require attention to run correctly). Would also choose 12ga with 0000 buck (much better than the 00 buck). These choices are base upon total ammo availability that you can pick up almost anywhere. I've found that the .45 is hard to get ammo for recently (because they're making them like hotcakes, but keep jacking the dang price through the ceiling). You will not find .380 ammo. It's the hottest "new" thing and just unobtainable on local shelves unless ordered and stockpiled. .22 Long-rifle would actually be my overall choice as you could do almost everything with it, including take out the bad guy and get his bigger commie firearm. 500+ rounds of it doesn't weight that much and it currently holds record of most BG's killed with as far as caliber goes. Just aim for the head and don't miss...
After following this thread I am considering adding a 22 to my arsenol...I never considered it much use for anything other then plinking...I dont mean to offend the die hard 22 guys, just I never considered its usefulness until you guys brought up some of the uses for it..
I live on a farm and also carry. To be perfectly honest I use my 22 for everything, carry a 9mm and own many rifles of all calibers. I definately agree with a 7.62 and have a ak and sks for the reasons discussed like what most other militaries shoot. I probably own 10 different 22's and shoot all my guns regularily but the 22's always seem to be in hand regardless of job for the day. Just want to remind everyone that all guns are useless if you are not shooting them regularly.......a good rifle does not equal a good shot unless in proper hands!!
22 because small varmints are food, 7.62x39 because there is more of this ammo than anything else and a 3006 springfield In a pinch you can use 308 does not work the other way
223/5.56,308, 9mm would be the main ones simple reason ammo Military use them all most commonly stored by most. second would be 7.63X39 and 22 there is so much of it around.
After that 38 and 357 because so many weapon fire them
I've discussed this topic with friends and family before. I'm a strong believer in the .22LR. Why? It is mega cheap and easy to stockpile thousands of rounds. Not only are the rounds cheap, but they don't take up much space. Sure, in such a situation I'd keep my 9mm on my hip until I ran out of 9mm ammo. After that, I'd be carrying the .22 pistol and using a .22 rifle for long-distance defense and hunting.
If money were no issue, then I'd probably go with 9mm for a handgun and .223 (such as an AR-15) for rifle.
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