[153]

Inspired by Caspian's expierence with Hurricane Katrina, I would like to initiate a "new" topic.

We have covered the SHTF gun - what you keep loaded at home. But what of the even more dreaded scenario - The Bug Out! A situtation in which for whatever reason you must leave your domicle - staying home is just not an option.

For the folks who own 2 or 3 firearms this is probably not much of an issue. But some of us are "burdened" with a few more firearms - and that's where the problem lies. This will be a difficult choice - since it is akin to the Sheik picking his favorite wife. But that should make the choices more challenging.

Let's confine ourselves to a "practical" limit of 4 firearms. Admittedly this is mainly a mental excercise, so feel free to state your reasons for each choice.

 

[caspian]

You are right. The hardest thing is what to exclude. My N frame Smiths and my 308 Garand will be tough to leave behind! If iI had to go for 4 here they are:

1) POF P415 223 carbine (light, piston system has proven to be clean running and reliable so far, plus I have plenty of mags)
2) HK USP 45 full size (I gotta have a 45, so why not this one. Rugged, reliable, corrosion resistant finish, 12 round mags, plus rails for light)
3) Ruger 10/22 (as I mentioned before, light, can carry lots of ammo, and probability of encountering 22 ammo should be pretty good)
4) Ithaca 37 Featherlight 12 gauge with 18" barrel

This is a tough call, beacuse there are many guns that did not make the cut.
Also, in retrospect, there's probably not a whole lot of problems that I am ever likely to encounter that my 10 shot 44mag Marlin Lever action could not solve. Food for thought.

 

[Phelptwan]

My general rule has always been:
1: Servicable Deer (larger game) rifle
2: Serviceable Shotgun (defensive uses)
3: Serviceable small game rifle (.22 or similar)
4: All around pistol

1: Winchester 94
2: Winchester 1300
3: Any .22 that I grab fastest
4: Some type of revolver (all I've got is a .357 M&P so that would have to do)

 

[Que]

First, I'd choose a good rifle, one that could reach out and touch someone. That would be my DPMS/Bushmaster AR15 AK Shorty with collapsible stock. Compared to my other battle rifles it is the shortest and most lightweight and could be used from inside a vehicle. My Bushmaster M17S would be tempting as it is a bullpup, but I think the more traditional AR15 would serve better. The AR would be my main weapon.

Second, I'd want a second rifle in a different caliber as ammo availablity might be an issue and I wouldn't want all of my eggs in one basket. I'd chose my Saiga .308. The gun is reliable and would offer a potentially more long range round than the .223 of the AR with more knockdown power. Being an AK the gun will take a good amount of abuse, and, has 30 round mags.

Third, for a main handgun I would chose my Glock 19. It's my only 9mm Glock and would allow me to use extended 30 round mags. Some time next year it will become a short barreled rifle so it could act as a handgun, or with a stock and foregrip as a carbine type weapon. The gun is dead reliable, requires little to no maintenance and will take a beating and keep on ticking.

Fourth, while I do have an Saiga S12 semi-auto AK type shotgun I am going to forego the choice of a shotgun. More important is a gun that my wife or daughter could operate. For that reason my Walther P1 gets the nod. The slide is easier than other guns to rack, and with the hammer operation teaching them the manual of arms will be quick and the operation easy. It's a sweet shooting gun and one that I think they could handle. I'd be tempted to go with a smaller gun, one that was potentially concealable, like a Kel-Tec, but in the end I think the P1 would be easier for them to handle. It also takes the same round as the Glock 19, which should be readily available, so another caliber need not be carried.

Q

 

[Parabellus]

Has this thread stalled already?

OK, here goes.
1) Since I don?t have my M1A rifle yet I?ll have to fill the bill with an eight-inch Artillery Luger 9mm with stock and rig and up to eight magazines.
2) M1911-A1 .45 with four ten-round mags, two eight-round mags, and four seven-round mags.
3) P99 9mm needs more than the two ten-round mags it came with.
4) P38 (P1) 9mm for the wife. Easy to rack and load and always fires. Also needs more mags.
At least one hundred rounds of .45 FMJ and eighty-five JHP.
As many as five hundred rounds of 9mm FMJ and forty or fifty JHP.
A medium and a small hunting knife.

So do I keep Kalifornia legal and lock up all my guns unloaded in the trunk with the magazines all empty and ammo in a separate box? Hmmmmm. Guess we better move to a county or state where we can obtain CCW permits.
Well, if it is an earthquake we?ll probably not be going anywhere anyway. It will be home defense of property, water, and food supply.

Russell

 

[searcher451]

Hmmmmmm, indeed, with a lot of questions to be answered here. Is it rain or snow or wind or weather forcing me out? Is it a terrorist or lunatic attack, perhaps? Or is it Halloween trick-or-treaters wearing Dick Cheney masks who have run amok -- or Dick Cheney himself? Arrrrgh -- the horror.

1. A Fox/Savage 12-gauge side-by-side double, with plenty of shells stuffed into the ol' knapsack.

2. A Ruger .44 magnum Deerstalker 5-shot semi-automatic carbine, ditto on the ammo supply.

3. A Walther P88 9mm -- because it always works, every time.

4. A Walther P99 9mm -- because it always works, every time.

All choices are courtesy of the fact that I currently have them, ready to roll.

 

[153]

Thanks Searcher for unstalling this thread!

I'm not sure what parameters we should include, flood, volcano, riots?? I would say view the challenge in terms of the "disaster" you feel you would most likely face and prepare for.

For instance if you live in the Northwest - a big nasty rain storm. In Florida, you might become overrun with gators! In the Southwest ......

Last night in my neighborhood we had a two hour power outage in the early evening. That prompted some thinking on my part.

 

[Que]

Thanks Searcher for unstalling this thread!

I'm not sure what parameters we should include, flood, volcano, riots?? I would say view the challenge in terms of the "disaster" you feel you would most likely face and prepare for.

For instance if you live in the Northwest - a big nasty rain storm. In Florida, you might become overrun with gators! In the Southwest ......

Last night in my neighborhood we had a two hour power outage in the early evening. That prompted some thinking on my part.

I suppose the best bet would be to have whatever you'd bug out with pretty much packed and ready to go at a moments notice. As the threat is unknown, and could take many forms, I'd probably have a good basic group as I've outlined ready to go with some room for modification in light of the actual threat, if there is time.

Q

 

[SELFDEFENSE]

A few items at arm's length:

Quick Response/CCW Bag (11x5x6 black shaving kit bag) to augment my M9 in a High Noon Hidden Ally tuckable:
Outside zipped pocket-1 rain poncho and 3 sets of plastic strap handcuffs.
Inside pocket - 1 folding tactical mirror.
Main compartment - 2 Steyr M9 loaded 10-rd. mags in single pouches, 1 mag loader, 1 Fox 5.3 56 gm. spray in holster, Peltor Model 7 Tactical ear muffs and extra battery, Surefire 6Z combat light and spare battery.

Bug Out Bag (24x12x9 blue gym bag):
Front mesh pouch - Compass/map reader, tac goggles, maps, pen, ruler, folding saw.
Left zippered pouch - 1 100-rd. box Winchester White Box 9mm FMJ, Fox 5.3 spray 112 gms., Surefire 3Z combat light and spare battery, 6 Power Bars, 12 waterproof fire starters, 40 No-Rad radiation tablets, 10 fish hooks, 900 yds. of fishing line, 420 sheets toilet paper, 3 pair Leight Max earplugs, 1 Breakfree cleaner, 300 .30-cal. patches, small screwdriver, 3 pair poly gloves.
Right zippered pouch - 2 spare eyeglasses, 1 spare sunglasses, Repel bug spray, 6 match books, First Aid cream and Liquid bandage, small first aid kit, 1 toothpaste, 2 floss, 3 toothbrushes, 6 Ziplok bags, 1 pair nitrile gloves, 5 single-edge razor blades, 1 roll surgical tape, 1 Hand Clens, 1 Blistex, 2 bars soap, 100 gallon water purification tabs, 18 Immodium AD tabs, 1 snake bite kit, 10 toilet seat covers, 4 hand warmers, 1 thermal blanket mini pack, 1 poncho mini pack.
Main compartment - Glock 19, 5 17-rd. mags, 5 15-rd. mags in folding 10-mag holder, Glock 18 32-rd mag., 5 face masks, 10 latex gloves, woodland camo rain jacket and pants, 1 roll camo tape, camo net, rain hat, mouthpiece, 1 pair Hellstorm tactical gloves, black boonie hat, windbreaker, 5 pair underwear, 1 pair waterproof socks, 1 pair elbow pads, 1 pair knee pads, 1 pair kevlar sleeves, 1 kevlar hood, 1 pair kevlar gloves, 1 protective cup, 1 rollerblade helmet, 1 knit cap, 1 baseball cap, 1 strainer/funnel.

Back pack (blue school backpack):
Outer velcroed pouch - cell phone and charger.
Outer zippered pouch - Grundig AM/FM/SW emergency radio with light and hand crank, 1 set spare batteries.
Main compartment - 1 tomahawk, 1 entrenching tool, 1 flashlight, 1 set spare batteries, 1 set gun cleaning rods, 1 rain poncho mini pack, 250 stick matches, 10 large Firestarter matches, 100 wax-dipped cotton balls, 300 cotton swabs, 21 steroid tabs, 1 bottle eyeglass cleaner, 1 Blistex, 1000 sheets toilet paper. $300 of gold coins.

Rifle Bag (blue Nike baseball bat bag w/ white swoosh):
Main compartment - WASR-10 AK-47
Lower zippered compartment - 4 30-rd. mags, 1 40-rd. mag, 1 10-rd. mag.

And gallons of water in cars, in the basement, on the first floor near the door, and in 4 frozen canteens.

 

[Parabellus]

Wow SD,

It's not for nothin' you call yourself 'SELFDEFENSE'!

Russell

 

[SELFDEFENSE]

It must be the Boy Scout thing: Always be prepared.