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hypothetical survivor question...

I

IronSights99

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 3, 2013
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dallas tx
If you were on pure survival mode (SHTF or just living in the wilderness) would you want a Semi-Auto Rifle or Bolt action?

reasons?

thoughts on maintenance and cleaning if limited supply?

I have always been a Bolt action owner but the semi-auto AR's are tempting me in! But wanted to know peoples thoughts on how practical maintenance and such would be in a survival mode?


ps. please don't kill me for a re post the only one i could find was old and really only compared engaging multi targets in the two rifles!

and i asked in the semi auto to get yalls side I know how easy it is to clean and maintain a Remington 700 in the field but no clue as to the ARs...
 
The military uses AR's in terrible conditions and they work just fine, and have for 60 years. Good enough for me.
 
AR for sure. If you buy quality(Colt, BCM, Noveske, DD, LMT) you should not have to worry about parts breakage for thousands of rounds. If you need lube in a true SHTF scenario you can use motor oil you steal from a car. I keep a spare bolt(and firing pin, cam pin, firing pin retaining cotter pin), a spare LPK, and small bottle of froglube in my BOB in case I would ever need a small part that would possibly break or need to lube my gun. About $100 worth of stuff. I hope I never have to use any of it.

Also something re-assuring about rolling out with a bunch of filled 30 round mags vs. a bag of loose ammo for a bolt gun.
 
If it ever came time I will grab my DMR on my way out the door. I have a .308 ar that is set up for both close and long range to give me flexibility to fight however I need to. If you are only going to have one gun, then it really needs to do everything and bolt gun is IMHO not suitable for that.
 
Survival in wilderness in post-apocalyptic world with only one rifle? Probably a .22 long rifle bolt action for me. Especially if I had a need to be mobile and was carrying everything I had, including ammo. Though a Ruger 10/22 probably wouldn't be a bad choice either.
 
whichever you have would work in pure survival mode. in pure survival mode you don't want to be standing and fighting large groups of people so the semi-auto isn't totally necessary. you just have to adopt better field skills.

I have a Remington 700 30-06 that I wouldn't question being alone with forever. that said, the military tactical side of me really would want an 18" semi auto AR in .308 with a medium powered scope, like a 2.5-10x, and an offset mini red dot or offset irons.
 
Pure survival mode? In the wilderness I would prefer a Trifecta; 22LR, 20ga and 243win. I can hunt anything in my AO and survive in a light weight compact weapon. More important than a weapon would be field craft survival mode. I am not worried about about urban house breakers, foreign troops or zombies. A Boresnake, BreakFree and a old t-shirt will keep it firing but if nothing avail I am still good to go. The down side is 3 different types of ammo.

Or, Tikka T3 Lite SS. Caliber is not important but since 36% of Alaskans have 30.06 I guess this is where I would go thinking I may have to find, hoard or trade for ammo. The cold and glacier silt can stop many weapons and I would prefer a bolt gun, the lighter and more compact the better.

But MSR are fairly easy to maintain and its probably the most common weapon in use along with 556 so its an option. But I am thinking more of pure survival in the hills and 556 semi does not trip my fancy unless I am in a fire fight for survival and if subject to house breakers, foreign troops or zombies, then its a semi auto master blaster.

Field craft survival would be the most important, more so than any tool.

And it is time for a new season!
 
I like a 20ga semi-auto with several choke tubes. I have a Charles Daly semi and a Remington 11-87 semi, both use interchangeable Rem-Choke tubes. Very versatile with load choices ranging from bird, small game, turkey, and waterfowl, along with #4 Buck, Sabots and Sluggers. A dot scope makes simpler work of a lot of applications.

For the .22LR sector, a hopped up 10/22 and a Savage MKII F with 6-24 Mildots.

For LR C/F, a .260 rem and a .280 Rem. For Woodland C/F, a Savage 10FCM Scout, 7.62x39, same 6-24 scope. Also for Woodland, a Win '94AE .44Mag with dot scope.

No handguns.

Obviously, few could handle carrying all of these on foot, but such a selection, working from a fixed base, would be very reassuring to me.

Greg
 
hypothetical survivor question...

Savage used to make a break action with a .22LR chambered rifled top barrel and a 20 gauge bottom barrel, with external hammer.
 
They still do, 22LR or 22WMR / 410ga. I think its a 42.

I like the Trifecta better; one receiver with 3 barrels that includes a 243win in small package and its SS with high vis sights. Of course I have to swap the barrels but its still my preferred survival weapon and many bush jockeys keep one in their plane and snowmachiners too.

But have to carry or store up 3 different types of ammo.
 
If shit were to hit the fan and the world was in chaos, I would want nothing more than my Guncrafter No Name 1911 and my JP LRP-07 semi-auto with my 6 inch Cold Steel knife. Oh and of course thousands and thousands of rounds of ammunition which I am close to having.
 
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I just tested my bug out plan the other day. What do you guys think?

 
If there were hoards of people being stupid, semi. If I were out in the wilderness, either, if this event were long enough to really have to worry about broken/unserviceable parts I suspect ammunition will be getting harder to come by than parts for common rifles.
 
I'm going to no scope bitches with my 50. Like the kids do on call of duty. Lol. In all seriousness an o/u 22/12ga could be a nice option. Light and anyone can use it. You will always be able to find ammo.
 
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1. Guess I'd take my Steyr AUG and the 11 mags I have. Reliable, easy to clean and quite accurate, even with the 1.5 X Swarovski built-in scope.

2. Next choice would be my .308 Savage 99 C lever action rifle. Great shooter and extremely durable. Simple to clean W/ Otis kit, simple to dissamble and takes magazines. No it's not a semiauto but, given the recoil effect of a .308 I can likely fire almost as fast as a semi-auto .308.
 
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Semi-auto for SHTF. AR15 with Carbon fiber-wrapped barrel and carbon fiber handguard, carbine configuration, variable magnification optic with 1-6x. For wilderness, same thing. Bolt guns have the action exposed to the elements, limited to no fighting capability within urban areas, and limited capacity to defend against dangerous game for follow-up shots.

For wilderness survival, it would be chambered in 6.5 Grendel using the 123gr A-MAX. I could also use that for SHTF with any number of loads, maybe settling on the Barnes 100gr TTSX for expansion and barrier penetration capabilities. It will punch through walls, cinder blocks, sail through cars like paper, and expands very well on tissue.
 
wilderness survival. .22lr. Think how many 22 bullets a person can easily carry. head shots on tweety birds if thats all available for meat, up to what ever else you can stop with an accurate 22lr. pretty sure you can take down some size able game with a well placed little bullet. whether it semi or bolt doesn't really matter.
 
The problem is if the SHTF and your in wilderness survival mode there are two very different requirements. SHTF a lot of rounds, multiple engagements, softer targets (most likely, un-armoured humans). As for wilderness your going to want protection and food so one shot with a larger caliber would be preferable. Just my $.02
 
Pat M said:
Why the Oakleys ? the rest i understand.
Click to expand...

Duhh...

thermojr5.jpg
 
damn, not a hint of Kalashnikov?

I'd love to have one of my AK's with me, but I know the ammo is particularly "exclusive" when compared to its counterparts.

I'm going to go with semi-auto for sure. AR-15 20" heavy bbl (maybe a 1:8" twist?)
 
My Bulgarian arsenal is chambered in 223 and has a 7" twist. Sorry for my mr308 but when it gets heavy that ak clone will be my choice.
 
My grandfather survived his entire life in rural La with nothing more than an old beat-to-hell LC Smith side by side 12 ga. Whatever game (including whitetail deer) presented the opportunity was taken with it-because that's all he had.
In other words, the best SHTF etc gun is whatever you have available when it happens.
 
I can understand the reasons behind each type but I was more interested in maintaining and cleaning IMO the bolt would be far superior, but I don't know much about ARs and what's needed?
 
i think the obvious answer in this post zombypockyclips role is a crossbow, a crossbow with one arrow that has a string or cord attached to it so it can be retrieved, a crossbow with one arrow that has a string or cord attached to it so it can be retrieved that has a tritium optic sight on it so no batteries, a crossbow with one arrow that has a string or cord attached to it so it can be retrieved that has a tritium optic sight on it so no batteries that is painted in a sweet realtree pattern to aid in yer escape and evasion of walkers, runners and clickers
 
Im in a dense heavily populated urban area. AR-15 all the way, or in my case the scar 16. I would love the scar 17 I have but I can carry more 5.56 than 308. Theres so many other factors that go into this decision and more information needed. To focus on your cleaning question though. You can clean the ar with bristle brushes and carbon scrapers if you don't have solvent. In basic we got our ar's really clean without using any solvent. Granted once they passed inspection we dropped lube on but they can run without it. If you run into more than one person and you need to break contact your gonna want a semi auto. if your in the middle of wilderness and theres no people then bolt would be fine I suppose. it really depends. that's my opinion on the what if scenario lol.
 
Just a thought: The US gov., has done extensive research, and deployed the Army with the M16 for 40+ yrs. Do you really need more info? The AR-15 handles anything you might run into. Does a good job, for deer, rabbits, etc. And "handles" many other problems. The choice is simple.
 
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