Guns for SHTF

[Snake Eyes]

Unlike AK, and AR packing preppers, and end timers weak on common sense, and who envision fighting hordes of zombies tooth and nail to protect their larders of Ramen noodles, and peanut butter; these three will put meat on the table...

Mosine Nigant - ammo is cheap for a lot of range time. Using 203-gr. Soft Point 7.62x54R bullets, it'll drop deer at 300 yards with ease

Remington 870 Express Tactical 12 gauge. Great for deer, and fowl. Doubles for home defense.

Ruger 7722 Varmint in 22 LR

[Truckman]

All good choices and, as always, any choice is better than waiting until after SHTF...The Mosin-Nagant has been around for 121 years now and has been battle proven many times...They'll work in any temperature extreme...If you own one and it doesn't shoot to point of aim, try extending the bayonet...Often that puts it right in the business district of the target...

As for the Remington 870, what can I say?...It's simply the best home defense gun ever...They work every time, and with 18 1/2" barrel they're easily manipulated in a narrow hallway...With extended magazine you get 7 rounds of buckshot to deal with the zombie hordes...I wouldn't add a no-buttstock-pistolgrip or folding stock as many do...Just try one-handing an 870 with your other arm occupied and you'll see what I mean...

I like the small game choice in the Ruger 77/22 also...They are extremely accurate and very forgiving in foul climates also...

Ammo is still plentiful in all those calibers...I'd probably have to pick an AR-15 and a 10/22 for my choices, though, simply because I'm so familiar with takedown and maintenance and the accuracy level is so high...The 870 is a solid choice and is the only shotgun in my gun safe...My recommendation has always been and still is, choose the gun(s) that you are comfortable with, that you have confidence in and that you shoot well with...

Good topic......Ben

[Snake Eyes]

My current Mosin Nigant, a 1929 M91 Dragoon (no bayonet)...is just downright freaky in the accuracy department. Scoped with a cheap BSA pistol scope (2-7x32) it'll place five round groups the size of a nickel dead center at 100 yards shooting suplus Soviet ammo.
What's great about these old battle rifles is that they were made in the millions making them fairly cheap to purchase. So, for around a 100 bucks, one can have a fairly good deer rifle. For another 80 bucks, one can order a spam can (440 rounds) of ammo....great for target practise.
Being made for a peasent army, these rifles are very easy to field strip and clean. Some grumble about the bolt being complicated to take down. I've found that not the case. About the only negative is the recoil, a bit heavy which requires reestablishing one's sight picture with each round.

[Truckman]

Yes, the short versions were always in more demand (M38 & M44) but I like the full size M91 smokepoles for accuracy...Almost any .30 caliber round is inherently accurate and the 7.62X54R is no exception...I always found the Finnish versions to be the most accurate, but I'd love to check out the US produced Remington and Westinghouse versions also......Ben

[Saggy]

Just startin' out with this range shooting'. Got a PMR30 cause for plinking' the 22 magnum is cheap and only need 2 loaded magazines (60 rounds) to carry me thru the 1/2 hour cheap range time. The 22 is a small caliber but even Zombies can't abide 30 little pieces of lead hitting' on 'em in a short period of time.

[Dave Grubb]

While I'm not a SHTF fearing kind of guy I do have my preferences for "friendly funnin" in those categories

First for center fire rifles---at the end of the day if I had to pick just one it would be a Remington 700--most likely in Rem 7MM Mag. I have never needed more than one shot for anything up to and including 1000 pound moose.

As for shotguns--I love doubles--but I do have a couple of Winchester Model 12's that will never leave the collection and that would be my pick for a pump action.

...and for varmints--if it is rim-fire it would be my Model 60 Savage with a tubular mag and 6X scope, SS with laminated stock. Keep it reasonably clean and oiled and it will perform flawlessly all day long!