Here is a cool website which covers survival reloading:
http://www.endtimesreport.com/survival_reloading.html
Lots of good info here!
Here is a cool website which covers survival reloading:
http://www.endtimesreport.com/survival_reloading.html
Lots of good info here!
OK hypothetically speaking, the best bugout rifle in my opinion would be one that was successfully used in the field for living off the land: The Marlin 30-30.
Get the 30-30 and a Lee loader, a 8lb keg of Unique, and a nice plain base bullet mold, and a brick of 2700+ from White Label.
Make a dipper for the powder and hone the seater out so that it pushes a perfectly sized bullet into the case neck. While you're at it, hone out the neck forming section. Buy 2 bricks of primers.
This will take care of what you need it to take care of.
Precision in the wrong place is only a placebo.
I also have a Lee Loader (Wack-A-Mole type) for most calibers I shoot and if I was on the move it does not take up much room neither does a two cavity mold without handles. Along with scrounged wheel weights some large and small primers and some Unique powder you could keep something shooting if you had to.
Blacksmith
S. G. G. = Sons of the Greatest Generation. Too old to run, too proud to hide; we will stand our ground and take as many as we can with us!
I have too much to give up to ever consider walking away. If you live in a big city bug out or walking away might work. I live in a small city and I don't think many could survive a full winter up here living in the wild.
Better I think to hunker down till the worst of the crazy is over and use the house as home base. Short day or overnight trips returning with food, fuel, etc.
If you ever had to bug out the wild game would quickly make itself scarce. Do better to convert your lawn to garden.
IF the SHTF I won't be going anywhere! I live back in the sticks with a good supply of food, Water and in a place that's easily defended along with several like minded neighbors. I still remember most of the training Uncle Sam bestowed on me.
As for weapons, it'll be about the same thing I had in Nam, an M16A2, an M40A1, and a 1911 along with plenty of ammo. The rest of the clan is armed similarly and all know how to use what they have. i REALLY don't think reloading will be in the cards in a SHTF situation. Like another poster said, I'm to old to be scared and to fat to run, so I'll just have to kill all of em I can before they get to me and mine.
Last edited by Houndog; 08-31-2015 at 09:47 PM.
Gotta stir this older thread up..
I woke up dreaming about SHTF and no weapon on me at all, until a friend of mine borrowed me a rifle. I hate that dream, it woke me up in the middle of the night, stupid, stupid, stupid dream. There was Zombies in the dream also, they didn't bother you if you feed them. I never once got hungry or thirsty in the dream, go figure.
I am home tomorrow and have a lot of work to do to get ready for winter, I hope i can get back to sleep soon,ZZZZZzzzzzzzz
My choice, only if i had to bug out, would be my 22 pistol with as much ammo as I could carry. 22s are very efficient for size and the amount of ammo I could carry, also deadly if need be.
Just thinking, but if a guy for some reason decided to carry the makeings to build ammo on foot, mold, lee loader, powder, primers, lead and lube, Would paperpatching not be a better option?
Now if for some god alfull reason something like this came to be, I would tote a smoke pole instead.
some good perspectives here, old army sounds good as well as flintlock, carrying a ditty bag with sulpher, saltpeter and charchol, lead, ladel, mold, lube, primers, what am i forgetting? thats a bagful to tote around. a lot can be done with a stainless 22/45 target or buckmark and 500 box/22's.
Exactly so farmbif!
I recently managed to get my Mk III outfitted with a dovetail mount and a Red Dot. Mine was one of the early ones not d/t.
At 20 feet it will put 10 rounds into a group smaller than a pop bottle cap.
Essentially pick your eyeball and let fly.
Easy enough to carry 500 or even 1,000 rounds without really noticing it.
Pair it up with a shotgun and an assortment of loads and you can do virtually anything you need to do.
I really need to get that Ruger out to the country and see what it can do at longer ranges.
well, if you are going to fool with making BP, you'd best get to it now.
Not a big fan of the " i'm GOING to do XX when ****". If its not something youa re doing and planning now, it will likley be beyond you post event.
And i'm going to go out on a limb and say that IF I was to PLAN AHEAD and put a 4# jug of IMR 4064/3031 ect, in an amo can with 1K small and large rifle primers in every alternate location I have, I will not need to revert to charcoal. Though making powder is a GOOD skill to have.
Having alternate reloading gear at different locations is wise.
The Lee hand press and the 310 tool are our friends.
Having the reloading gear and supplies is a great plan...but loaded ammo is easier and more compact to store.
As far as reloading on foot it doesn't get much easier than a couple front stuffers like a 10 ga and revolver and a few caps balls wads grease ect but for back country around here I usually just carry my 45-70s and 30 Rds of ammo
I do not plan to walk away from my home. If i did it would be factory ammo in .22 rf. 9mm. .223 and .308
"If everyone is thinking the same thing it means someone is not thinking"
"A rat became the unit of currency"
For those considering bugging/walking out I would suggest a trial run. Put all the things you were planning on bringing and see if it is manageable. Most underestimate what their needed items actually weigh. Might need to tweak plans accordingly. I am to messed up physically to go anywhere. I havec81 acres and not many folk know where my place is or that there even is a home there. Good luck.
Ron
The great thing about loaded ammo is that it is so much more durable and damage resistant than components. Moving in the real world with a pack and reloading components exposed to rough handling, elements, etc. just doesn't seem viable. A solid reloading setup in a couple secure locations for resupply isn't a bad idea. Keeping your powder dry is a pretty life or death endeavor in bad times.
If times are bad, I don't want to run projectiles that won't allow me to use the full potential of my weapon. If you are carrying a modern, high velocity cartridge, limiting its ability with bullets that cannot perform at maximum power or range is silly. Will they work in a pinch? Sure, but don't put yourself at a disadvantage from the beginning. Heresy, I know. Big bore pistols and straight walled rifle cartridges are not much limited with lead bullets. In bad situations, I don't want to have equipment that sort of works, I want the best I can get my hands on and I need to be competent with it and fit enough to use it to advantage.
If your ammo isn't loaded before trouble, you are definitely behind the curve.
^^this^^
I don't think I'll ever get pinned down in a fire fight, end up on Gilligan's island with the Professor,
or have a lot of leisure time to sit around singing campfire songs, to cast & load ammunition.
Most of my waking hours will be spent finding something to eat & drink, trying to stay clean, or being on security detail.
So I figure a couple hundred rounds of 'good stuff' will suffice.
For example:
Instead of carrying all the gear to cast and reload 7.62NATO,
a couple hundred loaded SP, FMJ, and maybe even a handful of AP should be fine.
Whatever cast boolits & the stuff to make them can do in a M1A--- full house loaded ammo can do better.
The same goes for handguns too.
In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.
OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
This ain't your Grandma's sewing circle.
EVERYONE!
Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.
I don't see 2% of urban dwellers surviving a SHTF event with a duration of more than 3 months unless there is some resupply. Bugging out, is fantasy for most people. Reloading on the run is even more far fetched.
If I had to bug out I would KISS. The most popular caliber is the 9mm. A pistol with two HC magazines seems wise. I would add a 9mm carbine for longer range duty and to appear less of a easy victim. About 200 rounds of ammunition should be enough...less than 5 lbs. Hard to imagine not needing to kill others to survive, and the chances are high they will be using 9mm's. No need to reload if I live long enough to need more ammunition. Spoils of war work.
Like others who have planned, I am staying home. I don't need to make black powder as I keep a lifetime supply of components on hand.
The problems with bugging out are challenging. Others who are bugging out will want your stuff when they start running low (see above). The places you are running to do not want you, They will have already been attacked, and will kill you on sight. Living off the land is not like camping at the lake.
You will want to join a gang/tribe of some sort, but old people bugging out are weak and useless. If you are over 60, a gang of marauders will not waste food to keep you on "the team". Sucks to be old.
Don Verna
2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
"Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of different perspectives? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point."
– Amber Veal
"The Highest form of ignorance is when your reject something you don't know anything about".
- Wayne Dyer
I agree 98%. The only area is disagreement is the over 60 perspective. Maybe true for a gang of marauders but not so much for grouped communities. Their knowledge will offset physical prowess. Doctors, carpenters, farmers, welders, mechanics, long range shooter, gunsmiths etc. will all have uses even if they are on the older side. Same for very attractive females with feminine skills. People that can not or will not contribute will have a rough go of it regardless of age.
2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
"Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of different perspectives? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point."
– Amber Veal
"The Highest form of ignorance is when your reject something you don't know anything about".
- Wayne Dyer
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |