Notice, they didn't show the target grouping on that... I'd be surprised if he hit any of the targets, or might have hit the wrong one and made it look like a 'hit'.

The primary advantage of an AK is that you can throw the thing in the mud, back a dually over it, pick it up and use it again. In the US though, while not being 'uncommon', they are not common either. I can go to the neighborhood 30-stall indoor rifle range, everyone will be there with a hunting rifle of some sort, half will have an AR-15 in a case on the floor, and maybe 1 or 2 might have an AK at home somewhere

Incidentally, the SKS I regard as a better platform, as it uses the same round but can also be a more accurate shooter if so-equipped. You just have to stick to the Russian or Yugoslav ones rather than the Chinese Red Army crap.

I have somewhat of the same philosophy, but angled toward my environment and sporting.

I like the low cost of the 7.62x54r rounds, and I have a Mosin Nagant that was never previously issued (arsenal-grade) and I carefully removed it's beautiful yet commie-utilitarian in a made-from-plywood kind of look wood stock and replaced with an Archangel stock/magazine setup. It's a little 'long' but plucking a soda can at 500 yards is pretty easy with the scope I equipped it with and that round will go through a cinder block. The downside of the 7.62x54 (and the 7.62x39) is that if you don't spend a lot of money on actual brass for those, the advantage to using them is the military surplus, but you can only reload a steel case a couple of times.

Agreed, my .45 Glock and my .45 cal HighPoint carbine are interchangeable. The HighPoint carbine is very nice in that respect, its quick to use with the holographic on it and its quite the little plinking gun at close range for small game hunting. The .45 rounds are plentiful and very easy to reload. I'm not big on handguns, I have a few, but they are just not really my 'thing'. I also have a couple of .44 magnum carbines - a Ruger .44 mag and a lever-action Winchester (my 'cowboy' rifle) in .44 magnum. I don't think I've ever shot either of those, both were more for invest & hold.

Where we diverge is the 30-.06, for big game hunting here in the west, it just doesn't have the combination of reach and punch, so I generally prefer the .300 win mag. I also have a .308 semi-auto, but I'm kind of in the market to trade that one out for either a .300 Win Mag or .338 Win Mag bolt. The thing I do like about the .300 round though is the very 'cheap' brass cost, and its very easy to load with my Hornady setup. Reach-wise, on the prairie, the 30-06, although a good slugging gun, doesn't have the reach.

I'm planning a hunting trip to British Columbia in a couple of years and I can't bring a semi-auto across the border, so hence the interest in a long-reach bolt. It's actually cheaper (pretty much) to go elk hunting in Canada as a tourist than a non-resident license in a neighboring state.

You are missing the .223/5.56 though, rounds are as cheap as dirt, and my AR-15 with its night scope, flash suppressor, stainless steel fluted barrel, and the 30-round mag is very, very sinister looking. For shooting at the range all day, my AR and my High Point are really the only ones that can stand up to it. A typical sporting rifle will get a little squirrelly after a couple of dozen rounds (heat becomes a problem).

When I first became interested in hand guns a friend and mentor told me wheel guns are best because a bad round does not stop the next one from working, so no need to clear. I've been on that page for over 40 years and now you just give me another reason why it was a good plan.

Thank you.

p.s. here is a video of how fast a revolver can shoot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3fgd...

Cut it down further.

--Either-- 45ACP or 9mm. Why have different rounds for the same purpose? Go one way or the other and stock up. (Or go with 10MM and reload your own - everything from pussycat rounds to a competent pistol hunting round).

Same with Shotguns - Pick 12 OR 20 ga. Either is fine, but if you divest, say with one gun in each, split your ammo, and then one gun goes TU? You just cut your ammo supply in half.

I could go further - with the AK vs .308 vs 30.06 - you can build an AR10 that will cycle fine with light load rounds. the .308 is a reach out and touch someone round. But having all 3 calibers - well, same problem as the shotguns above.

My caveat - I do have firearms in other calibers. I have one in a Weatherby Magnum that will dispatch any dangerous game on this continent and ammo to match - but it is a built-like-a-tank bolt action and kept for the purpose of dispatching bear, elk, moose, etc. (As Boris says - "Is moose and un-squirrel gun"...).

And of course 22. Gotta have it. Bricks and bricks of ammo. Because it's awfully expensive practicing with a 375 Wby Mag round... and it WILL turn Rocky into Squirrelburger.

BTW - nothing wrong with a QUALITY air rifle/pistol as well - silent, and still deadly against small game.

All good info. Mine is not for the offensive but the defensive. as for the AK, I faced them on three different continents and you can get 10 minutes of training and hit targets with an AK. Anyone been to basic knows it takes a while to master the M16.

I go with the 45, my wife the 9mm. Also, when I buy I get 2-3 of the same model. parts and redundancy.
Same mags. Also if you work at a job that you have to carry a weapon a good bet is to by that. Combat action drills and muscle memory are a good thing. I worked with 1911 and M9 that's why I own them.

I decided to commonize my ammo and weapons a few months back.
It seems to me that the 9mm pistol round is most likely to weather a leftist ammo purge in both availability and price because it is used by the military and is favored by police with semiautos.
I now have a 9mm pocket pistol and a larger 9mm with more ammo in the clip used as the "car gun" in my glove compartment. My planned next purchase is a 9mm rifle with a lot of shots.
Each month I add more to my 9mm ammo stash.
I also have a .12-gauge pump that I over a decade ago bought when invited to a dove shoot and now keep beside my bed.
For 21 years I had to "NRA qualify" with the same type shotgun for the prison job I've retired from. So I'm quite handy with a pump.
I recently bought a pair of "buy one get one free" bandoliers that hold shotgun shells. Soon I'll have both fully loaded so as to appear to be the Frito Bandino some of you may remember in old TV commercials.
Another recent purchase is a kid-sized Red Ryder air rifle that I can shoot straight if the butt is against the ball of my shoulder.
Next I think I'll add a crossbow with which I can hunt silently if there should ever be a need for that.
I've squirrels galore! Unfortunately, I've never used a crossbow before.

Being elderly and a mere shadow of my former strength, I cannot use anything that requires much hand or arm power. As a result, the BW and I are becoming more proficient with revolvers.

A BAR was not available I have a VEPR, bipod, carry handle for suppressive fire. M1917 custom w/ glass pack and scope for long distance shooting. this works for me

If you have a choice, always go with the NATO round (in this case, the 7.62x54) more readily available than .30-06.

I have the first 3, .22 was a gun my father had and I inherited, 9mm my EDC and 12 gauge loaded with 00B. If they come in my house uninvited, they are only going out in a coroner's van. Sorry, but I worked for what I have and I plan on keeping it for a while. (EDC- Every Day Carry) (00B - Double ought Buck, large pellets but only about 9 per shell, will kill and leave a very large hole center mass)

I never expected to see this subject addressed here in the Gulch, it is one that I have considered myself.

I am pretty much of the opinion that if the SHTF and it came right down to it, I want to be loaded up with 2 different things: ammunition and silver. The ammunition would be entirely for two different purposes - self defense and the ability to feed my wife and me with small game. The notion of bringing the fight to other people strikes me as suicidal given my age and physical fitness (or lack thereof), but the idea of being able to make people think twice when messing with me and mine makes a lot of sense to me.

With that in mind, I have a few boxes of .22 lr and a tack driver of a rifle for taking rabbits, squirrels, birds, or the neighbor's cat if it came right down to it.

For self defense, my wife and I both have identical FNP-9 handguns that carry high capacity magazines, are very reliable and simple to learn. I bought the 2nd one specifically so that she would only have to learn one gun.

More important is being able to feed them is the SHTF scenario came. To that end, I found a Dillon SDB reloading press and a whole bunch of brass for great prices locally on Craigslist, all the powder and primers I need for 4 or 5K rounds at Cabela's and a couple thousand bullets ranging from FMJ target/practice to pulled Federal HST 124 gr. JHPs for anything in dire need of getting shot. I also have probably 100 pounds of lead or so to cast my own bullets along with the melting pot and mould(s).

For any of you that are reloaders out there that are interested in preparing for a SHTF world, you can find pulled Federal HST and Speer Gold Dot bullets from time to time for reloading in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP at Rocky Mountain Reloading - http://www.RMRBullets.com and other sites as well. In order of preference, I prefer the HST from Federal, the SXT Ranger T from Winchester, and the Gold Dot from Speer. They are all very capable of ripping big nasty holes, regardless of caliber. Last time I bought HSTs from RMR, I think I paid $130 for 1000 bullets. For those of you paying $28 for a box of 20, I like my way better. :)

Last thing regarding 5.56 vs 7.62, I don't currently have either, but I think I would prefer the 7.62. I get all the arguments for the 5.56 (more muzzle velocity, tumbling bullets upon impact, lighter weight, more accuracy at distance), but I can't see any scenario where I'd likely being fighting in an open field. The 7.62 is accurate enough, goes through walls and hits like a ton of bricks. The only thing where I would mark the 7.62 down on is the heavier weight, meaning being able to carry fewer rounds on the run.

Lastly, reloading my own means that I am more capable of being able to fend for myself. It's actually kind of fun, and it makes shooting a helluva lot less expensive. I would encourage anyone concerned about this subject to get a press and the supplies needed to become more reliant on yourself and less on others.

Just my $0.02.

Reloading is a fun and useful hobby, and nobody knows what you have as long as you pay cash and you are not in one of the "progressive" states. I have moved to Utah from the PRC (People's Republic of California). When I still lived in the PRC I was visiting Utah and decided to buy some powder and primers. When I went to the counter to pay I said that I was from California and I was not sure what ID I needed to show to buy this stuff. They said "credit card, or cash".

When I was hauling fluids in the gas fields of Wyoming and ND and the money was rolling in, I bought a lot of guns and ammo. .22s, .223s,(AR-15, Mini 14) 7.62 AKs, .308 (for elk), 9mms (Glocks, Springfields, Kimbers), .40s (S&W Sigma, didn't like it), .45 ACPs (Kimber, Taurus, Para). It occurred to me that when the SHTF, I'd be strapped as to which ones to grab, so I sold off some and kept the AK rifle, AK pistol (couple dozen 48-round magazines for both), Glock 19 (2) my "carry" guns, including 33-round mags, and the ParaOrdnance .45 Warthog (3-inch barrel). The best thing I did is get a lot (15,000) of .22 when it was cheap, $60 a case of 5000 which now go for $300 and up (saw some for $900) 9mm, about 5000, 7.62, 8000, .45, around 2000. My wife and I shoot a few rounds weekly (off our deck)

Actually, the 7.62 x 54 and 30-06 can do the same job, so I'd recommend picking either one. The difference in ballistics often cited is due to the then innovative boat-tailed bullets of the 06 when it first hit the market. Reloaded or commercial 7.62 boat-tail rounds compare favorably with the 06.

I've thought about this on the same lines. However, when "liberating" ammo from an occupier, or using found ammo in a SHTF scenario you have to be careful. During the US exploits in Southeast Asia when an enemy ammo dump was found our forces sometimes would replace some of the ammo with rounds that were loaded with the intent of blowing up the enemy's weapons. So, if you're in an SHTF situation and you are lucky enough to find some ammo you should pull some bullets and weigh/inspect the powder. Also, I would be tempted to get out my scale and weigh as many of the rounds as possible just to be sure.

The bird shot is lethal at the 5-7 yard ranges common in home defense situations, more likely to hit the target effectively than buck shot, which can scatter. That sounds counter-intuitive to most people, but there's lots of testing to back it up.

Excellent! Makes stocking up a lot easier when you are "communized". I'm a 9mm girl myself. and 22lr for plinking. Makes it easy to go shopping. Thanks for sharing. Extra loaded mags are a good thing. And practice, practice, practice!

45/9mm controversy, if SHTF happens then we will probable have some 'OUTSIDE' assisting (read occupying) force. The 9mm has been around for over 100 years and there are trillions of rounds. Train with your weapon, use their ammo. The same thing for the choice of the 7.62 weapons a big chunk of the world has these rounds, there are only a few that use the 5.56 US round. BTW for CQB and urban conflict under 200 meters the AK type weapons have a distinct edge. Granted in open ground the M16 based have the advantage

There are many rules to combat, one I follow: Shoot a person with a kill shot and they go down, gut shoot a person and they demoralize the rest of the attackers also if they are so inclined it takes two more to take them away.

#8/9 bird shot may not go far and not kill at long distance but it server it purpose well in home/ground base defense.

I tried keeping to a few calibers/gauges for the first few years.
Fortunately, I discovered reloading and my horizons opened up.

Interesting choices.