Supplies for your back up gun

[RogerDat]

Pioneers only shot for a purpose. Food or self defense. The first doesn't use much ammo, and realistically they seldom needed the to deal with the latter in any long and protracted fashion. More pioneers died of Cholera than gunshot. I think we tend to think of how much ammo we will use in terms of action movies or current usage. Pretty sure if shtf we wouldn't be pounding a couple hundred rounds down range for recreation after dinner or on the weekend. Most criminal types look for easy victims. It doesn't take very many shots before you don't qualify as "easy".

I figure 1000 rounds is almost 3 shots a day which is 21 a week. Shooting dinner for a week takes ~ 3 shots and 18 left over for the boneheads that try to take dinner away from me.

[dverna]

I am 66. It is unlikely I will live more than 3 years after a SHTF event. I have enough stuff to keeps my MBR's running for decades. Likewise for pistols and shotguns. I will run out of food, or die from health issues before I run out of guns to shoot or the ammunition to feed them.

There is no reason to use 200 year old gun technology as backups. It is simply rationalizing a poor choice. Actually, a very poor choice if you need to defend yourself.

It is better to have redundancy for back up guns. Parts can be salvaged and they use the same ammunition. Pick the guns and calibers LEO and military use.

KISS

[RogerDat]

^^^ What he said.

With the addition that components are flexible. Same primer can load several different caliber, same powder can cover lots of calibers. Good to have some stuff on hand to reload what you shoot and what you might find but if I bug out I'm taking loaded rounds and lots of them. I find already loaded a simply marvelous way to transport powder, primer, brass, and lead At home recall I said how many shots per day 1k worth is, well I would have to outlive 5k bricks of primers in all 4 sizes. Plus extra in sizes that fit auto loaders. I use some, I buy some, steady state inventory.

The big bore air rifles would be very cool to have, and if I have it I'm going to be able to cast for it. Silent hunting is something none of my primers support.

[BrassMagnet]

.177, .22, and .25 are all good air rifle choice. The faster ones are not silent. However, they are not real loud!

[Cold Trigger Finger]

lots of people say that, just remember "there is a butcher for every bull". if you need to take by force to survive sooner or later you will fail.

That is absolutely true.
The problem with shtf discussions is far too many people will voice the opinion that they will use their weapons and energy to take what ever they want.
Very sad and short sighted.
Just because one can doesn't mean one should.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

I am 66. It is unlikely I will live more than 3 years after a SHTF event. I have enough stuff to keeps my MBR's running for decades. Likewise for pistols and shotguns. I will run out of food, or die from health issues before I run out of guns to shoot or the ammunition to feed them.

There is no reason to use 200 year old gun technology as backups. It is simply rationalizing a poor choice. Actually, a very poor choice if you need to defend yourself.

It is better to have redundancy for back up guns. Parts can be salvaged and they use the same ammunition. Pick the guns and calibers LEO and military use.

KISS

+1 . !!

[BrassMagnet]

I am 66. It is unlikely I will live more than 3 years after a SHTF event. I have enough stuff to keeps my MBR's running for decades. Likewise for pistols and shotguns. I will run out of food, or die from health issues before I run out of guns to shoot or the ammunition to feed them.

There is no reason to use 200 year old gun technology as backups. It is simply rationalizing a poor choice. Actually, a very poor choice if you need to defend yourself.

It is better to have redundancy for back up guns. Parts can be salvaged and they use the same ammunition. Pick the guns and calibers LEO and military use.

KISS

Muzzle Loaders have their place in Prepping. A good use for Muzzle Loaders is Muzzle Loading hunting season before the bad times so you can hunt more seasons and harvest more protein now. I talked to a man yesterday that likes to pressure can his venison and elk. He says it is like shredded beef in a burrito. Another good use is practicing sight alignment and trigger control.

I suspect most "quality" hunting in bad times will be local, rather than distant. By "local" think in your garden and fired from your house or on a nearby field/hill side and fired from your house. If you have to travel to a hunting area just assume there will be more city slickers hunkering down and starving there than big game animals. It could be more dangerous than hunting deer in California.
Dinner shot from your house could be small game, beast or fowl, shot with a combo gun, air rifle, or black powder cartridge rifle loaded with smokeless loads and cast. Or big game shot with a black powder cartridge rifle loaded with smokeless loads and cast.
I believe during the great depression many people carried a combo gun in the woods and shot whatever moved for dinner. I have read they almost made big game extinct in the US and that brought about game laws, conservation, etc.
If you shoot your deer with a 45-70 from the kitchen, you can carry a battle rifle out to dress and pack it. If those starving city slickers going bush survivor become a problem at least you can defend yourself with something better than a .50 Hawken!

[Harter66]

Don't forget volley guns for around the house .

I have scads of caps for several pistols , 44s are fairly effective . A Dragoon is kind of heavy to haul around .

Match lock .

While many of you live where the creek beds are full of flint . Lucky you I have whole hill sides of obsidian , I've read that some agate can be used but it has to be sawn . Plenty of stuff everywhere that burns that can be woven into wick or fuse .