Tactically Squared Away?

[Sgtusmc]

....like I said my fear is running out of ammo, nothing last forever.

If it comes down to it, a good slingshot can be quite effective.

 

[churchmouse]

well, ive had that thought myself. but truth is, very few have enough weapons and ammo to arm a militia, and if you ever have to fight off a horde led by Humungus, you'll be screwed anyway. But if Max taught us anything, its that a bow and an 8 year old feral boy will be invaluable.

it wasn't so long ago that our original land owners were able to craft weapons - as animals, we don't have claws and teeth, we have the ABILITY to craft our own weapons.

Max was the man.

Crazy it is mentioned but we acquired some slingshots this summer. They are fairly wicked pieces. My son and son in law are not to be messed with if they have them in hand.

 

[dcary7]

All good advice given. My 2.

I am a minimalist when it comes to calibers. My mindset - 2 is one and one is none. Stock up on the calibers you feel most appropriate and affective for your method of survival, and have more than one gun in that caliber. That way, if for whatever reason, a gun breaks or has an issue, you have a backup in the same caliber to use the same ammunition stockpiled. A gun without ammo is useless, ammo without gun is useless unless bartered, but im not a fan of that idea... as you would be pretty exposed. I have 6 calibers. If bugged-in...all have a purpose... if bugging out... they will be loaded up, but obviously not all readily accessible. id have both handguns of same caliber and a long gun on me. once arrived at new BOL, reorganize and put all resources to use. Also, think of the logistics of organization. you may have a plan, but anyone you bring into the plan wont necessarily know your organizational methods etc. If $%!* gets sideways, it ...in my mind.... is better for those working with you to be using the same ammo as you. less thinking about who has what where... you need an extra mag or more ammo... toss one over. Unless you plan and prepare with lots of repetition, the brain will get in the way during panic and stress when you should be acting.

Very very good points made regarding blending in both in appearance and mannerisms. I don't want anyone to think I have anything worth their effort to come after.

As stated, its easy to get "carried away" with prepping. Plan for the worst and hope for the best, but try and plan the most logical and sensible ways. Balanced, effective, and keep it simple.

Good luck.

 

[cavskillz]

9mm and .223, and 12ga should be focus. after that, 7.62x39, .45, .40, .38/357, .308. probably in that order. i would venture to say that just about EVERY gun owner in the US has at least 3 of those.

that order makes sense to me[/QUOTE]

I'd think 22lr should be in there as well. Not a lot of power but loads of ammo can be easily carried.

 

[Sgtusmc]

Preps can get very extensive depending on how far down the rabbit hole you wanna go, and Ive gone pretty far in thought in several directions. When it comes to guns and ammo though, I think the 22 will be invaluable. In times where many have died from starvation, ammo is scarce and the drive to survive has many at their wits end, the last thing someone will want is to get shot. Even by the little 22, it should provide enough deterence if not a fatal shot. The ammo is cheap, you can carry alot of it and its accuracy is respectable within a reasonable range.

The main reason I wanted a Kel Tec PMR30 is for a great little survival pistol. It pisses me off, it started out as a $300 pistol, but got all bought out by people who simply wanted to make a 400% profit off the panic. I at least bought two 30 round mags. So when they come back in stock with probably 10 round mags, I'll be set.

 

[EastIndyGunner]

Lot's of really great feedback here everyone! Thank you for all your time and thoughts.

What I really need to focus on after my family and I move, is food supply, water, and a solid plan for bugging in. Fortifying the home and stocking fuel ( gas, fire wood, propane etc.) Much to do

 

[rhino]

To be "tactically squared away," don't forget training and practice. Both are as necessary as the hardware.

 

[EastIndyGunner]

To be "tactically squared away," don't forget training and practice. Both are as necessary as the hardware.

Yes, I definitely need more training and practice

 

[EastIndyGunner]

regarding calibers to stock up on, did anyone else notice that where 9mm or.45 was absent from store shelves (hell even .22 was gone) there seemed to be plenty of .380. Every wally world I stopped into had multiple brands and a good stock in the cases. That was a week or better ago, not sure how things are looking at the moment.

 

[Sailor]

.380 was hard to find a few years ago.

I prefer my AK or my AR over a .22 rim fire. It is what I train with the most, I run it much better. Weight of the ammo is a non issue for me.

 

[Survivalcookie]

Plenty of wood just across the street. I am sure K would barter for some booby traps...Just saying.....

LOL we are about equal in wood right now...we have a mini plan if SHTF... defiantly help each other and have met a few more who live relatively close.

 

[Survivalcookie]

well, ive had that thought myself. but truth is, very few have enough weapons and ammo to arm a militia, and if you ever have to fight off a horde led by Humungus, you'll be screwed anyway. But if Max taught us anything, its that a bow and an 8 year old feral boy will be invaluable.

it wasn't so long ago that our original land owners were able to craft weapons - as animals, we don't have claws and teeth, we have the ABILITY to craft our own weapons.

So true....I have a 12 year grandson who twice won the MacGyver award at school , his passion is coming up with something from nothing.

 

[Survivalcookie]

If it comes down to it, a good slingshot can be quite effective.

We do have very good sling shots here...they were Christmas gifts to my grand kids...had to take them from them lol. On is working on a catapult.

 

[Survivalcookie]

Preps can get very extensive depending on how far down the rabbit hole you wanna go, and Ive gone pretty far in thought in several directions. When it comes to guns and ammo though, I think the 22 will be invaluable. In times where many have died from starvation, ammo is scarce and the drive to survive has many at their wits end, the last thing someone will want is to get shot. Even by the little 22, it should provide enough deterence if not a fatal shot. The ammo is cheap, you can carry alot of it and its accuracy is respectable within a reasonable range.

The main reason I wanted a Kel Tec PMR30 is for a great little survival pistol. It pisses me off, it started out as a $300 pistol, but got all bought out by people who simply wanted to make a 400% profit off the panic. I at least bought two 30 round mags. So when they come back in stock with probably 10 round mags, I'll be set.

We have several 22's we purchased them to teach the kids to shoot because the ammo was fairly cheap and easy to handle, now they want big guns. We had one when we lived in NC for snakes and I had no problem using it.

 

[Meister]

Hello, good INGO folk.

Just wondering what you consider to be the minimum firepower for a sustained, riots in the streets, societal meltdown scenario? I live in the heart of urban Indianapolis so if "bugging out" was not an option and I needed to hold down mine and potentially neighbors forts for any real length of time what should I be armed with?

I'm thinking a reliable, full size pistol in each of the more common calibers .45, .40 9mm etc. preferably as high capacity as possible at least with the .40 and 9mm. Also thinking a high cap rifle a la AK, a 12 gauge pump and maybe a .22 for picking off any small game that wander into the back yard if that became necessary.

Ideally I would have a couple rifles and shot guns so a family member or neighbor could help with security.

Of course all those guns would be useless without all the ammo and magazines I could squirrel away. What do you guys think? WHat am I missing?

Team tactics dictate most of the team should have similar weapons and standard calibers. Choose you main battle weapon and expand from there. If you are choosing now to attempt to build a cache, you're in trouble. Everything's bought out. In addition to several thousand rounds of ammo for each weapon, you will need proper training and spare parts. Those thousands of rounds will do you no good if it takes 200 to get a kill. Conserve ammo, shoot straight.

For your sidearm you will need a minimum 9mm caliber, max 45 acp. Be sure you can shoot it as well. You won't need as much ammo for these, but practice dictates you will use a bunch before the shtf. Weapon choice is personal, choose what fits you and will be reliable.

If you need to shoot stray animals to keep fed, and you live in the city, you better get a good plan going to feed yourself. When you run out of food, the guns are of little use, you have nothing to protect. At that point you will have to turn in your guns to be accepted into the FEMA camp.

 

[Dragon]

9mm, .223, 12ga, .308 were my caliber choices in pistol, AR-15, Remington 870, and M1A. Also have a .22LR but it isn't a tactical choice but rather a survival one. I chose them for the following reasons: reliability, common ammo, and proven systems.

On bugging in, you'll have to go out sometime, and a month or months after SHTF you'll be a target whether you're grey or not. You will not blend in because by that time those who are victimizing everyone else will have not seen you since before SHTF. They're smart, they will figure it out. Almost everyone will have something they will want and they will try to take it.

I know this isn't the thread for it but I just don't follow the lines of most others on the theories behind the "grey man".

 

[EastIndyGunner]

Team tactics dictate most of the team should have similar weapons and standard calibers. Choose you main battle weapon and expand from there. If you are choosing now to attempt to build a cache, you're in trouble. Everything's bought out. In addition to several thousand rounds of ammo for each weapon, you will need proper training and spare parts. Those thousands of rounds will do you no good if it takes 200 to get a kill. Conserve ammo, shoot straight.

For your sidearm you will need a minimum 9mm caliber, max 45 acp. Be sure you can shoot it as well. You won't need as much ammo for these, but practice dictates you will use a bunch before the shtf. Weapon choice is personal, choose what fits you and will be reliable.

If you need to shoot stray animals to keep fed, and you live in the city, you better get a good plan going to feed yourself. When you run out of food, the guns are of little use, you have nothing to protect. At that point you will have to turn in your guns to be accepted into the FEMA camp.

Good points. I'm pretty well good to go in .40, .45 and 7.62x39. I would like to round it out with a 12 gauge and a hi cap 9mm like a glock 17 or something. Could always use more ammo and mags though.

 

[Meister]

Good points. I'm pretty well good to go in .40, .45 and 7.62x39. I would like to round it out with a 12 gauge and a hi cap 9mm like a glock 17 or something. Could always use more ammo and mags though.

Glock 17 is hard to beat, especially when properly set up....

 

[JAFO]

Read an article once that argued that dark red (think Indianapolis Indians color) was one of the best colors to blend into an Urban environment... People just didn't pay attention to it.
Needless to say I have several Indians caps and pullovers...

 

[churchmouse]

Glock 17 is hard to beat, especially when properly set up....

Sweet.

Shhh...what was that sound????