Mr Rawles,
First off, I must say that I enjoyed your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. My perspective on firearms comes from an Infantry (though National Guard) mindset. I hope after a little editing this is worth posting for the Really Poor Man.
My friends and I are in our mid- to late-20s, with incomes between $12 and $14 an hour. One has 3 kids and a wife, another has bills (car note payments) and all of us try to find time and have money for limited recreation. When dealing especially with my friend who has a family on a $12/hour income it produces a Unique challenge. Our other Unique challenge is that we have all gotten into buying ammo a little late, politically speaking. My first answer for the Financially Strapped, and what I tell my friends is “Buy Ammo and Food First” I have extra firearms, I would rather that a friend bring 1,000 rounds of 7.62×39, and pass them my SKS, then then have them bring an AK [and little or no ammo] and drain my limited (4,000 rounds) ammunition for what would be my primary rifle. As for food, beans, rice, and multivitamins will at least feed the person. (10 people who prepared can support the one who didn’t (as charity), but one person who prepared cannot support 10 others.)
Okay, I digress. My Arms and Ammo Recommendation for the really poor man are as follows:
Note that if you know that you are going to be with people who shoot American calibers, then use the following approach as a last resort. I believe in trying to maintain standard calibers in a group. (we are using 7.62×25, 7.62×39, and 7.62x54R, and soon .s22, and 12 gauge as our standards) and you can never have enough ammo.
Rifle:
Mosin Nagant 91/30 (7.62x54R) $80 to $120 1 spam can 7.62x54R (440 rounds, corrosively primed) $120 (after shipping) [JWR Adds: See my warnings on corrosively primed ammunition, and cleaning commendations.]
Pistol:
TT33 (7.62×25 pistol) $200- to-$300 1 spam can 7.62x 25 (1,224 rounds noncorrosive) $180. (There is Yugoslavian corrosive available much less expensively.)
You now have a rifle, pistol, 1,600+ non-reloadable rounds that won’t go bad for decades. This recipe is not perfect, but it gets you in the game, for personal defense and hunting large game, on a budget. [JWR Adds: Full metal jacket (non-expanding) ammunition is not legal for hunting in many States. Be sure to consult your State’s laws.]
Body Armor
I’ve seen that some people are buying body armor, and have had friends ask about it. I am not an advocate of wearing it. But if you are considering it, consider your health and finances. I have a bad knee, the extra weight for me will decrease the life of my knee, putting me out of service sooner. It will limit mobility, and its only good for so many shots, and I believe it has a shelf life. Either remove your Kevlar helmet [and wear a shapeless boonie hat] when concealed in the field (since the round shape of a helmet is not natural and it can give away your position), or break up its outline with camouflaging materials.
As for me, the infantry motto is “shoot, move, and communicate”. Getting shot isn’t in the motto, but if I do then I’m gonna die comfortable. I’ll take my mobility. – J.M., 11B Infantryman