The End of Civilization – Fire Arms

To Begin this very popular topic regarding SHTF Firearms let me remind people the ULTRA Common sense super basics of fire arm operation. 1. It does not work if its broken, 2. It does not work if there’s no or inappropriate ammunition, 3. It does not kill if it is not fired. 4 It does not kill if the bullet misses. and the 5th It will ALWAYS EVENTUALLY break.

I have read a lot of comments and forums about SHTF weapons, they all seem to assume that whenever an apocalyptic scenario presents itself, everyone suddenly becomes a Special Forces Trained Commando armed to the teeth with billions of dollars worth of Logistical backing.

A Majority claims that they would rather have a weapon where they plan to tag bad guys at 300 yards (or more) and be a Hollywood sniper with all the gear included to show for it. The truth of the matter is, no bad guy in an apocalyptic scenario LOOKS like a bad guy until he acts like it. and chances are if he does act it he wouldn’t do it at that distance. Bad Guys and Good guys and everyone else in between will most likely look the same as you.

There may be people out there with the money and skill to turn himself to a one man army, I do not know if they considered that they would have to protect, defend, babysit etc a dozen more bodies with absolutely no experience or training in modern warfare. It would appear that they assume they can defend their family, community, clan, gang, etc with their superior (probably true) fighting skill on their own with everyone clapping their hands like Romans in triumph at the end.

Considering the potential combat situations in an apocalyptic scenario. They will more likely IMHO resemble a drug deal gone wrong. Where you have heavily armed belligerents on both sides starting out as friends then ending up shooting each other to kingdom come. There will be quick skirmishes and pitched battles. But they will all be fought up close and personal by mostly untrained personnel without tactical organization in any terrain.

Based on the premises above these are my recommended weapons for SHTF scenarios. Though I believe there is a perfect weapon for each particular case. We are not fortune tellers to bring the right tool for the job ALL THE TIME. so if anyone wants to comment I do not want to hear anything about this is better for this, and this is better for that. I believe you. so unless you can carry 5 different rifles and 2 back up pistols 100% of the time (including when asleep). That argument is not only impractical it is also downright foolish.

If you have the time to prepare for the Apocalypse it is recommended that you train yourself with one long arm and one side arm. I do not really care what specific weapon as long as it is one of each. Thereby announcing that my first recommendation is that every person preparing for the apocalypse should be adept in one long barreled firearm and one pistol. Carrying anymore than that is a funny joke.

Let us discuss pistols first. Any Pistol that fires the popular 9mm, 40cal, 45 cal cartridge is recommended. The recoil of the 9mm is less than the 45 and the 40 cal in between, The ballistic lethality with equal shot placement(can of worms) is also directly proportional to the recoil. Recoil if you actually fired any firearm not only removes the sights from the target it also cause muscular strain. It is recommended that based on your strength and people should choose an appropriate caliber. I have seen videos of 11 year old girls firing a 9mm pistol. (Though it would appear that only practice prevents the gun from flying out of her hand) So there is an appropriate weapon for everyone.

The reason why I picked only these 3 calibers is because of the availability of rounds, when manufacturing stops and the world ends it would be pretty difficult to scrounge for ammunition on the other calibers such as the magnum family, 357 sigs, 5.7x28mm etc.

The 22 caliber pistol round however is a cartridge that is widely available yet not listed in the recommended firearm list. Most perfectly concealable firearms are in that caliber. However unless fired at VERY close range this cartridge pose no specific advantage over the 9mm round. There are also several models of concealable pistols in the 9mm caliber.

Recommended Fire Arms in the 9mm cartridge are but NOT LIMITED TO. G17 and G19, Berretta 92(F/S)(M9) and CZ-75. These guns were chosen for their reliability, ease of use, and availability of replacement parts and magazines, If you can spend now and store magazine and replacement parts, Pistols such as HK P2000/30, UK USP(-c), FNP-9, Springfield XD, Sig P226, and Berretta PX-4 can be considered for their performance.

The same pistols are normally found in 40 caliber chambers except the Glocks which has a different model number for their 40 and 45 cal variety. However when you wish to use 45 caliber pistol the M1911 family THE MOST recommended pistol. Its reliability and ease of use is unparalleled and the availability of replacement parts can be found in ANY gun shop. The major disadvantage of a M1911 pistol is the number of rounds in its most basic configuration. But there are high capacity magazines that are available for the M1911 family without double stacking.

There are lots of performance pistols in the 45 cartridge chambers including the new HK45 and others of Israeli or German design, they are reliable but the availability of magazines and parts for these pistols are hard to find even today.

Revolvers are far more reliable than the self loading semi automatics mentioned above, however revolver pistols come in different cartridges and very few use the cartridges mentioned above. in a few countries the availability of 38 pistol rounds is still considerable however this round like the 22 pose no significant advantage over the 9x19mm cartridge. So unless you are in one of these countries and are willing to sacrifice the number of chambered rounds for reliability and maintenance then revolvers are not recommended.

Moving on, when I say LONG BARRELED firearm I did not necessarily mean a rifle, its the only term I can think of to describe a primary weapon which can be a shotgun, a sub-machine gun, assault rifle, bolt action rifle, hunting rifle, semi auto rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, flame throwers, etc.

The first one worth mentioning are sub-machine guns, by definition they are full automatic weapons firing pistol type rounds. I do not want to go into a lengthy explanation why such weapons exists when short barreled rifles are feasible with (X)inch barrels yada yada. The fact of the matter is that they exist and they are good SHTF weapons. Considering the firearm training of every 100 random person not in the southern United States. Spray and Pray is the name of the game. Sub machine guns are perfect weapons for this type of firefight. They will also simplify the type of ammunition you need to store for both your primary and secondary firearm. The HK MP5 family and UMP are the most recommended for their reliability and availability. There are other sub-machine guns such as the Israeli Uzi and Thompson but these weapons are rare and replacement parts and magazines for these are even rarer.

The next one is the Shot Gun. The 12 gauge shotgun is widely available both as a firearm and in shells. The main advantage of the shotgun is it’s ease of use. It is a true point and shoot weapon; untrained personnel who are able to handle the DEADLY recoil of a shotgun should consider using this. It has many disadvantages such as rate of fire, ammunition weight/loaded/carried, and range. However the large variety of shells available for shotguns will enable it to turn from a bird shot “to whom it may concern” boom spread weapon to high penetration “kill anything” slugs. Shot guns of whatever/whoever make are easy to operate, maintain, fix, and are ambidextrous. There are also no need for magazines (except for 3 or 4 models I can think of) reducing the number of parts that can break making the weapon unusable. It is also worth mentioning that Shot Guns and Shot gun shells are COMPARATIVELY easier to reload and manufacture. The metallurgy and chemical composition requirements of the powder and primer of a shot gun is much simpler and therefore can be manufactured for very long term use.

And last but not the least are assault rifles. The definition for assault rifles are vague but for this discussion we will just concentrate on “rifles” that use the 22LR, 5.56x45mm NATO, 7.62x51mm NATO, 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm Rounds. Any weapon that DOES NOT use any of the selected cartridges are not SHTF weapons. Some rounds are realistically superior than any of the mentioned above in terms of match grade accuracy, lethality, ballistic coefficient and other technical terms. but the truth of the matter is availability of such rounds are difficult. Having a Fully Accessorized Grendel weapon is useless if it does not have ammo.

Depending on your location in the world the availability of such rounds are varied. We will have to further divide the cartridges into NATO and Eastern Bloc weapons. Weapons that fire the 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm are eastern bloc firearms. They are true SHTF weapon and any gun that fires these rounds will do well. They are inaccurate but very lethal and are highly reliable and easy to use such as the popular Kalashnikov family.

For the 5.56×45 NATO weapons the M4/M16 family is recommended. I personally prefer the Steyr AUG, IMI Tavor21 and G3/6 family over these because of my left handedness but for the average person the M4 and M16 family is best. This rifle has reliability and maintenance issues but in NATO countries (especially the USA) the availability of replacement parts are widespread. It is accurate and customizable into many different configurations. A majority of parts are interchangeable and it uses the popular STANAG magazine. After Market Upgrades from a multitude of manufacturers can also be made into the venerable M4/16 family to increase its reliability and functionality. A particular model of AK also fires the 5.56×45 cartridge but uses a different magazine. Newer Guns that are based on the M4/16 platforms such as the Masada, SCAR, LR300, HK416 etc have great interchangeability with the M4/16 family and use the STANAG Magazine. If you can afford any of these guns these are better. But for the rest of us who do not have that kind of money to spare the M4/16 family is our bread and butter.

I have mentioned a list of rifles above that I prefer but DO NOT RECOMMEND. These weapons are ambidextrous which is a special need case for me and a lot other lefties out there. Left Hand modifications are also available for the M4/16 family. I DO NOT recommend the weapons I prefer as SHTF Primaries for these reasons, All the weapons mentioned above except the IMI Tavor uses a different Magazine. STANAG Magazines WILL NOT fit in those guns. Though they are reliable it is also hard to find after market replacement parts of those weapons.

for the 7.62x51mm The old reliable M1, M2, and M14 are recommended. If you can afford to purchase an HK 417 this is the most recommended rifle for this cartridge. However since not everyone can purchase an HK417 the other rifles listed above are sufficient. They are easy to use and are reliable field arms. However because of their age it is also difficult to find aftermarket parts, clips and magazines for any of these weapons. If you are able to acquire any model of FN FAL and a significant number of working magazines for this, then it is a reliable weapon for this caliber, I am not sure how many aftermarket replacement parts are there for the different versions of the FN FAL putting this particular model and its derivatives at the doubtful category due to their age. There are several good bolt action rifles in this cartridge, if you prefer long range accuracy over rate of fire in a mostly likely close quarter combat scenario. A sniper rifle is a specialized rifle that can be used effectively only in long range engagements, and is disadvantageous to use for any other type of engagement. If you can truly tag center mass at over 500 yards then you SHOULD be able to do at LEAST HALF of that range with a semi automatic or automatic weapon cambering this cartridge using comparable optics. Most optics are also very fragile and sometimes require batteries to operate adding another item to forage.

Any reliable bolt action rifle that fires the 22LR is also a good SHTF weapon. This is a major disadvantage in terms of range and lethality however it is very advantageous in terms of the availability of ultra reliable rifles that fire this cartridge and the availability of the round itself. A lot of the bolt action rifles that uses this cartridge also do not require magazines. The rounds are cheap which enables anyone to practice on this cartridge a lot before the apocalyptic event. However this weapon like most sniper rifles are a major disadvantage in close quarter combat so it is recommended to have a reliable hi capacity secondary if you choose this.

To sum it up., to each his own, especially in weapon selection. Because of the wide range of possible scenarios and the number of fire arms available in the market it is difficult to find a SHTF that will fit everyone. However I can recommend with certainty these things. 1. Carry only 2 firearms NO MORE. a “long barreled” Primary and a pistol Secondary. Having more than will greatly slow you down and exponentially increases the time required to forage for ammunition and replacement parts. 2. Select a firearm where ammunition, parts, magazines that are WIDELY available in your country. Do not use the exotic Uzis, P90s and G36c as your SHTF weapon of choice simply because of their superior performance in theoretical apocalyptic firefight scenarios. Working firearms are much better than technically superior broken ones. 3. Use the appropriate cartridge that you can comfortably fire. Do not force yourself to use the more lethal 7.62×51 round if you cannot handle the recoil and added weight. Remember a 9mm hit is more lethal than a 45 cal miss. 4. If you are storing SHTF weapons for you and your family (or whatever small group) The weapons should as much possible have parts/magazine/ammunition interchangeability It is not practical to store 1000 9mm rounds for your wife and 1000 rounds of 45 caliber for you. 2000 rounds of the similar cartridge will be much more useful in the long run especially if one of you meets an early demise. 5. Ease of use Weapon familiarity is important but so is weight. This is the reason why I didn’t include weapons such as the BAR, M60, MiniGun, 50BMG Sniper rifles etc. Chances are you will need to travel ON FOOT past the 1st year of the apocalypse. You have to be able to hump several dozens of miles/kilometers carrying everything you own WHILE your primary weapon is at the ready.

The Last but not the least recommendation is not to over accessorize your firearm. Your weapon should be intimidating to prevent trouble but not pretty and attract envy. If you carry a weapon that is prettier than everyone else’s; You are GUARANTEED to meet your demise while you sleep with a short knife. It’s Human Nature.

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