Tuesday, June 23, 2015

A brief entry on firearms

This is not a complete discussion on firearms. This is entirely opinion and does not reflect my opinions on any firearms not mentioned.

Ruger 10/22 Take Down riffle + .22 LR ammo
 - Many .22 rifle have been considered practice riffles or kids riffles, but many people who take weapons seriously have been impressed with the Ruger 10/22 line of riffles. The Take Down is the standard Ruger 10/22 with one important innovation. It can be 'broken' in half for easy carry and storage. Small and lightweight it is perfect for simple bug-out and survival.  With a few Ruger BX 25 magazines one can easily shoot enough lead at a target to secure a meal or defend against thugs and thieves.

Henry Arms Survival Rifle model A7 + .22 LR ammo - This little rifle is the quintessential survival rifle. The lower trigger assembly, the magazine, and the barrel can all be broken down and stored in the stock of the gun giving it a length of 16.5" stored or 38" assembled the entire rifle weighs 2.25 pounds. The standard magazine holds ten rounds. They generally run between $200 and $250 so they are quite cheap as far as a good firearm goes. These are great little rifles but can be very hard to come by, If by chance you see one for sale BUY IT because when it matters most, these guns are worth their weight in gold.

Springfield Armory XD 9mm subcompact + 9mm JHP ammo - My main reason for this pistol over another model is that it is fairly popular and thus quite easy to find extra magazines or replacement parts. Secondly, it has proven itself to be very reliable and durable. My standard model comes with a single thirteen round magazine and one sixteen round magazine with grip extension. I've added four full sized sixteen round magazines to my armory carried in a single 'molle' magazine pouch. This gives me a carrying capacity of 93 rounds. The sole purpose of this weapon is personal defense against raiders/ hijacker/ pirates/ thugs/ scavengers... thus I use JHP (jacketed hallow points) designed to maximize tissue damage by hydro-static shock and destroy bruise and pulverize a targets internal organs assuring maximum lethality while retaining a comfortable kick.

Ruger 10/45 mark II .22LR - This is just a great little pistol. Take down can be a little complicated but once you learn it's quarks it's really no problem. Accuracy is amazing and shooting .22 LR rounds makes it perfect for practice. In dire situations I wouldn't fret to have this as my only firearm. I would have no problem taking down small mammals and birds with this pistol.

Ammunition - Even if you do not carry a weapon or keep one in your bug-out/ survival gear, A few boxes of ammunition of various sorts could prove useful. Try to keep at least a hundred rounds of each, and for the smaller calibers like .22 LR try to keep at least a thousand rounds on hand. Also try to store some of the more commonly used calibers and shells such as .22LR, .223, 9mm, .40, .45, 12 gauge buck shot and bird shot, 16 gauge buck shot... These can all be used for barter and anybody with a weapon WILL want them. Ammunition will last for a very long time if stored in a dry place and not moved. One thing to realize when storing ammunition is how it can go bad. One consideration is vibrations. As ammunition is subjected to vibrations each grain of powder will rub on adjacent grains causing them to erode each other into finer particles. This will alter and maybe even destroy the ignition properties of the gun powder. As far as oxidation, most ammunition will store with little complications. humidity is the enemy of all metals, and brass is no exception. The green patina of brass is formed by the oxidation of copper within the alloy. This green oxidation can take on a fuzzy moldy texture and cause jams and 'stove-pipe' ejection problems. The best way to avoid this is to limit humidity and water exposure, and make sure your brass is clean before loading. I've even fired bullets that were buried in sand oil and mud for thirty years with no problem (properly cleaned before put into the gun of course).

9mm ammunition side note: My caliber of choice is in 9mm Luger because it is a lethal round, it's very common among police forces and military, about equally common as .40 caliber ammunition. It is a standard round for NATO forces, and is therefore available wherever there is a police force. And contrary to what many people (who have never actually shot a person) will say, It does pack a punch, especially Hollow Points. Sure the slug itself is smaller and lighter than a .40 or .45 and has slightly less gun powder behind it. But the recoil is lower allowing for faster target acquisition and quicker shots on target. And at 300-500 foot-pounds a 9mm slug is plenty powerful. And in a situation where I may be forced to fire shots at a person, I'd rather be able to fire lots of well placed shots than fewer slightly more powerful ones. So, all in all, I carry a 9mm for several reasons, one is stopping power, two is accuracy and three I simply do not like the massive kick from a larger caliber. And accuracy is more important than power.

.22 Long Rifle ammunition side note: There is a proverb that goes something like this; "If you wish you kill an army you need one yourself, all soldiers equipped with swords and shields and spears and riding horses. But if you wish to kill just one or even yourself, all you need is a pin prick." .22LR is a great little pin prick. This is just a wonderful little round; it's very cheap and small enough that a single person can carry thousands of rounds. I've carried just over five hundred rounds in a single sock. Try to carry five hundred rounds of 7.62x39 and you'll quickly realize all your pack weight is all bullets and nothing else. Also being shot with any high velocity chunk of hot lead, even from a .22 hurts like hell and while a .22 round may not drop/ stop a person or an animal instantly it can kill all the same. This is a choice round for anything dog size or smaller which in a survival situation includes birds and mammals all being edible. And again, accuracy is more important than power. A decent shot with a .22 can kill a moose which if you've never seen one are huge animals.

Shotgun (home defense note)- all over the web there is a debate on the perfect weapon for home defense. It's almost a landslide in favor of the shotgun. The reason for this may require a little explanation. A shotgun blast has a feature that bullets do not, a spread. As the blast of pellets or shot travels through the air the individual particles separate into a wider area. Over the span of a few yards a single shotgun blast can expand from less than an inch to over six inches. This increases the target zone. So the farther away the target the fewer pellets or shot make contact but the wider the range of attack. Also shotguns have a variety of potential shells available. For home defense it is recommended that one use bird shot. This is because there is a wider dispersal range and the shot pellets are not massive enough to travel through objects like furniture walls and targets, this minimizes collateral damage. Also when a target (in this case a human enemy) there is a noticeable punch when hit with a shotgun. In contrast to a bullet, which may cleanly puncture through the body of a target, a shotgun may kick back the target allowing confirmation of a hit. The downside to using a shotgun for home defense is that they are fairly long and unwieldy. My preferred weapon for home defense is a pistol, however one should remember that a bullet can travel through a target and the wall behind them and into the home of a neighbor, thus I use hollow points which are more likely to flatten and catch in walls and targets.

update: I have recently discovered the lovely Smith & Wesson M&P 40 pistol. And I must admit, the M&P is a great weapon.

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