Ammo: You Can't Take ALL of it With You

reply to post by dashen



That actually depends on just how much planning and preparations you have done before hand.









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[edit on Thu Mar 26 2009 by Jbird]

I don't intend to be fighting any wars. I keep enough to load and reload my more practical guns a few times, and that's about it. Just enough to protect myself, nothing more, nothing less.

If I had money to blow around, yeah, I'd probably grab a few thousand rounds of ammo for the AK-47. But that would be a matter of having enough ammo to have fun on the days off, not practical stockpiling for situation x.

I think you have to ask yourself what you will be doing when shtf. Will you simply be trying to lay low and survive, or will you be charging down the street at the uniforms? If it's the former I would suggest a .22 cal long rifle and a couple thousand rounds of ammo. It's quite, accurate, ammo is cheap/everywhere, you could take down a deer at close range with a well placed shot, or game as small as a rabbit, plus you won't look like a foot soilder when you do encounter other people. A semi-auto model would also be better than nothing in a confrentation. A 22. is a small round but no one will want to fight after being shot in the face/throat with one. A much as everyone here talks about using bows as a primary weapon I just don't see it working out in the long term. I have been bow hunting since I was a kid, it safe to say I'm well versed in archery. Even with a good quiver your arrows make a ton of noise/fall out/are a pain in the butt when in heavy brush. Not to mention arrows will be very hard to replenish out there. You can't just grab a sharp stick and fire it out of your modern bow, it simply doesn't work like that. I can put 4 out 5 arrows in an 6'' circle at 30 yards on a windy day and still cant' imagine tying to defend myself with a bow...let alone stand against multiple targets that have to be within 25-30 yards. As for weight of bobs I've been curious as to what everyones else gear weighed. My bob/combined gear weighs about 130 lbs... but I'm 6', 160 lbs and very fit. Even on test runs it's almost too much weight but I guess I'll be in even better shape after a few weeks. I'm also packing extra gear in case I end up with a buddy/buddy has to ditch gear. I also perfer the foot soilder look, but I don't have a wife and kids in tow either.

The topic of which gun, ammo, and supply set to take for SHTF seems to come up very often in survival forums. Like so many others I also have an opinion to share but usually don't because most of the time, people disagree and arguments erupt. My thoughts are that the best weapon is the .223 semi-automatic rifle and a small amount of ammo (max 60 rounds, probably less, dispersed on your person). The advantages of this weapon are that the rounds are small, they are longer range than the .22, they are extremely effective (with soft points) on human attackers. Also the ammo should be prepared so that the primers cannot get oil in them.

You should give up on the illusion that your gun is for hunting. For protein, fishing (or trapping) is virtually the only practical option, and you should keep this in mind. Travel close to water. And where possible use a conoe or kayakt for travel and do it at night. The gun you choose will be for defense against other people who will hopefully be armed with less effective weapons such as the bolt-action rifle, the shotgun, the crossbow, the bow and arrow, and the pistol. Regardless of where you are your first strategy should be to remain undetected. Travel at night or don't travel at all. If you are in a real SHTF situation (i.e. the government is no longer in control and not longer enforcing laws and is not coming back for years) then there will be quite a few people who might want to kill you. Some of these people may just want to because they always wondered what it might be like to kill someone; some will want your gear; some will just percieve you as a threat and kill you proactively to safeguard their families or groups.

In a real SHTF scenario, most people are going to die -- and probably within a year. So the first year or so is critical. After most people are dead (and you are not), things may become easier from a supply perspective.

The bottom line, you better have a stealth and avoidance strategy. This isn't the army with supplies and intelligence coming from the back. The army works on the strategy of throwing people at an enemy and expecting that enough men survive to win the battle. It is not about survival of the individual. For you it is only about survival; there is no battle. It only takes one mistake in a country full of desperate people to get the proverbial "game over" message. Your odds of surviving combat are not that good to begin with (especially against multiple adversaries). Keep getting into combat with others and you are going to DIE. Do you REALLY believe you are that good?? Your strategy better be to minimize the use of your weapon or else you will DIE. I would even go so for as to suggest that if you started with 60 cartridges and shoot them all in non-military combat (in your whole lifetime) and are still alive then you are one lucky SOB.

Having said that, if you do need a weapon (and you do) and you have to use it, you better have one that gets the job done. The semi-automatic weapon is the result of a lot of evolution in personal weaponry. It may sound contradictory to suggest a military style weapon when I have already advocated avoidance, but if you do get into a conflict, I suggest that the semi-automatic rifle is the SUPREME combat weapon for the situations you need to be able to handle. That is not to say that other weapons do not have some advantages but you don't have the luxury of having more than 1 or 2 lightweight weapons (the second being a very light pistol).

One thing I have been considering is taking up archery.

If the S ever HTF in a really major way, I of course would want my guns and ammo. But in the long term, it would be practical to have an alternative means for, say, hunting. It seems easier to make a new arrow if you really couldnt get supplies than to make more bullets. They seem a more renewable resource.

Besides, I like target shooting, why not learn a new type?

I plan on having tons of new military grade guns and ammo for them as there will be plenty of it laying around after we are finished with any intruders that come around my neighborhood. (Intruders would be anyone who is the enemy at that time).

In my house, food is not a problem, neither warmth. But I have no gun. Not really anti gun, but being in Canada, guns are not all the popular. Since living on my own, there were many breakins around, so I started stashing weapons all over the house. To this day, baseball bat in that corner, sword on that wall, kendo stick over there, the list goes on. Even outside there are several well placed baseball sized rocks it need be. I mean had always thought that if I bought a weapon, stocked up on ammo, then HAD to leave the house, Id be ditching all that hard earned well stocked ammo, which will get stolen by raiding hordes. That does not seem like a good use of time energy and resources.

Id prefer to think that SHTF would not come, but nowadays....... what to do, what to do.

gathering wood, food, making shelter, fire, that is not a problem.. Just the gun thing. If i had to protect myself my raging mob, i would probably have to join them (inflitration) so that I could get my hands on weapon.

I live in a region that has a couple million people in serveral hundred kilometer range, but just a couple clicks north, it starts to be barren of people, but full of mountain ranges, forests, and animals, fresh water. I could 1000 kilometers and still be nowhere. Perfect for hiding and living in. I live in Quebec Province, providing nuke doesnt fall on my head, I could literally lose myself and close survialists in the woods for years, in need be.




[edit on 28-3-2009 by Le Colonel]

reply to post by jeepin4x4girl

No, you can't take it with you.
But maybe if you have enough of it, you dont have to go anywhere at all!
Plus the longer you can hold out & hold 'em off, the longer you live!
Better to be where you are safe & prepared, with booby traps in place, etc.
If you have to leave, destroy or bury the rest so its not used against you!

www.abovetopsecret.com...
Maybe we could combine our threads AND ammo! hehe

P.S. If your jeeps big enough, why not take it all with?

[edit on 28-3-2009 by dodadoom]