James
I am a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber and daily reader of SurvivalBlog.com. I have found much helpful information provided by you and other readers and appreciate all of the work you do. Having read the articles concerning self-defense weapons, It seems that many readers get side tracked
I have owned, fired, hunted with and reloaded numerous caliber’s over the last forty or so years and although I by no means consider myself an expert I am very experienced and well informed. That being said I would like to talk about weapons and calibers relating strictly to the purpose of this site, survival and preparation.
When considering survival/preparedness weapons there is no doubt that the most useful are the 12 gauge shotgun and the .22 [rimfire] rifle and handgun. Both of these [chamberings] are extremely flexible in their ability to be used for defense and hunting. A marksman with a scoped Ruger 10/22 can do a lot of damage at fifty yards, especially with the high capacity magazines available for this rifle. Many deer have been taken with this little caliber. At closer ranges there is nothing short of a hand grenade that is more devastating than 12 gauge 00 buck shot.
Of the high power rifle calibers, readily available today, the .308 reigns supreme for our purposes. It performs extremely well as a long range sniper/hunting caliber in a good bolt action scoped rifle such as the Remington 700 or is considered the caliber of choice for a battle rifle such as, my favorite, the M14/M1A. It is also available in another of my favorite rifles, the Browning BLR lever action. This is a magazine-fed lightweight rifle that would work for low profile situations where a military type weapon might attract attention. With practice it is capable of fast follow up shots and spare magazines could be carried with different types of bullets appropriate for different situations. Like the bolt action and unlike the semi auto, it will feed any .308 cartridge without concern for malfunctions.
The 30-06 is an old favorite of mine and many good rifles are chambered in this caliber including the M1 battle rifle of WW II fame. I keep a bolt action in this caliber because of the present availability of ammo. It is a little more powerful than the .308 but not enough to be considered an advantage. Even though the 30-06 is an older caliber it still maintains popularity and has a good following. There is no new development of battle rifles chambered in this caliber and it will probably be restricted to sporting rifles with the exception of the older M1. [JWR Adds: or FN49]. I would not recommend this as the main stock up caliber but it could be a secondary.
There are many other popular options such as the AK47 in 7.62×39 and the AR 15 in 5.56NATO/.223 and, too numerous to count sporting calibers, but none will meet the all-around requirements that are necessary for our purpose as the .308. Most other calibers are only suited to limited uses. The .223 is a good varmint cartridge and has been overrated as a military round. Just talk with the guys that had to give up their M14 in Vietnam for the M16 and those coming back from Iraq today. The 7.62×39 is better and is chambered in a reliable AK47 rifle but in a face off the 7.62NATO/.308 in a M14/M1A is going to kick butt. You don’t see any AKs at the National Matches.
There are more different opinions as to the best handgun caliber than there are presidential candidate platforms. In my opinion, for our purpose, the first choice is a .22 revolver. It is able fire any kind of ammo you can scrounge up without considerations of jamming or performance and you can easily store thousands of rounds.
Next will be your main defense handgun. The big difference here is choosing between a revolver and semi automatic pistol. The advantage of the revolver is reliability and the ability to shoot a multitude of different types of ammo without impeding the operation of the weapon. If ammo becomes scarce you could cast your own bullets and use a multitude of different powders as long as you have brass and primers and still be able to fire it from a revolver. A semi auto is much more sensitive to bullet shape, composition, ignition pressures and case sizing. It would be much more difficult to reload pistol ammo to operate effectively in a post-SHTF situation.
The number one man stopper is still the .357 magnum. For this purpose it performs better than much larger calibers and can defeat the protection of a vehicle. This caliber is found primarily in revolvers and has the advantage of firing the less powerful .38 caliber ammo in the same revolver. The disadvantage has been the limitation of six round cylinders compared to higher magazine capacity of a pistol and also slower reloading time. Smith & Wesson has come out with the Model 327 with an eight round cylinder capable of using moon clips or direct loading. Practice using moon clips can get reloading time very close to that of a pistol. The .357 is coming back into favor as a primary defense round. The .38 can be found in the most popular concealed carry handgun, the S&W 642 J frame snub nose.
The most popular self-defense pistol calibers are 9mm, .40 cal. and the tried and true .45 [ACP] caliber. Police departments have been the main force in proving the popularity of the .40 [S&W] caliber. I personally prefer the 9mm using +P ammo. 9mm [Parabellum] is a much more popular round and in a TSHTF situation it will be more readily available. Also my wife can easily shoot it.
I also prefer the .45[ACP] to the .40[S&W] because of its proven knock down power and continued availability of ammo. Here again .45 ammo will be much more available and a tremendous number of guns have been chambered in this caliber. I believe the .40 could get hard to find in hard times.
My primary stock is:
12 gauge 00 buck, #6 [bird]shot, slugs
.22 LR both hollow point and lead round nose.
.308 both ball and expansive point bullets in 165/168 grains.
.357 magnum 158gr hollow point.
.38 +P hollow point and wad cutter
9mm +p hollow point
My secondary stock is:
.45 ACP ball and hollow point
.30-06 180 grain expansive bullets
I could easily switch the 9mm for the .45 but the availability and price of ammo is a factor.
Your primary stock should be a few different calibers, each in large numbers. Stocking calibers that can be used in several different types of weapons is also advantageous. You may have other favorite guns chambered in other calibers and there is nothing wrong with these. For the purpose of preparing for TEOTWAWKI, stick with the popular first and then add the rest. Also remember that you are better off with fewer high quality weapons than more of the cheaper low quality. Breakdowns can get you killed. – Jack R.