Well if all I could have is 1 then I guess it would have to be my Remington 660 in .243 or .308 since i have both rifles.
We are playing in the unknowns here. what are the needs of the caliber , 1. Food , 2. defense , 3 practice/training , Depending on the duration of the catastrophe that one must both defend and feed them selves. It seems to me that defense will require the bulk of the ammo, in most circumstances . It's relatively easy to take out a critter that's not shooting back at you , however , with the prospect that you may well be facing more than one adversary hailing lead in your direction ,you can't just take your time and aim, like your taking out a deer . The adrenaline in an event such as this messes with your mind, and body. If your smart, your not going to be spending rounds practicing , they are a precious commodity , and shooting will give away your position. ( why I value air guns for practicing , and very small game) Post any conflict there will be no more manufacturing, especially ammunition , especially if there is any government around to suspend that action, except for their own needs. Like the last scarcity of .22 occurred, only post SHTF there likely never see .22 again, or any other small caliber arms ammo. A thousand rounds of .22 isn't really that much. A few reload , I have reloading for most of my guns , but mostly for practice , not for hunting. Having a few duds of my own ( no accidents however) I'm a little gun shy when it comes to using my own loads for hunting . By the by , how many cary a ram rod for removing duds stuck in a barrel ?
You got to understand that a nice Centerfire Rifle, can be made to fire light rounds that do not destroy small game... and then full boat loads, for defense, and even some shot loads done with sabot sleeves... All it takes is some creative, Loadings, and some specialty Projectiles. I would think just about any Bottleneck 30 Caliber Cartridge could be used...
Like @BTPost said, the 30 cal is so versatile you can load for a wide range of purposes. Out to 300 meters, your ballistics for the .308 are near dead flat for most projectiles, and you have negligible drop to account for at that range provided you have a 100 m zero, for example. Also, if you know what you're doing you can get a bullet to be transonic and stable (faster than Mach 1) well past 1000 meters. If you are familiar with the twist rate of your rifle and understand the limitations of each load and projectile, you could effectively hunt pretty much anything with your 30 caliber due to the wide variety of bullet sizes available.
One of my Speer manuals from the 1980's has reduced loads for each cartridge. It's possible to cause a problem with a load so light the bullet gets stuck in the barrel trapping all that pressure, so a too light load could be as dangerous as a too hot load. Except for .22LR, 95% of the ammo I shot prior to building my first AR's a couple of years back were my own loads. Never had a single misfire, but I am obsessive about materials and QC. I personally prefer to hunt with my own loads worked up for the rifle I'm using and the bullet I want - Nosler Partitions still chief among them.
@3M-TA3 It isn't really an issue to deal with light loads, if one works up those loadings, carefully, in the first place. All that matters is you follow Good QC Proceedures, to ensure that your light Loads match the Designed Loading Specs, that were worked up when designing the loading, in the first place. At the moment I am looking at designing a Loading for my Custom AR10 w/24" Stainless Barrel, using some 90 Grain Projectiles that I use in my 30M1 Carbine Loads. These will be used for Pot-Shoting Small Game, at less than 50yds, and definitely Sub-Sonic. I already have two Full Boat Loadings for my 1000yd requirements for this Rifle. I might look around for some plastic Sabots for some #7 Birdshot, in the future, just for fun...
I've never had a problem with light loads for those very reasons. I brought up the potential problems with light loads because it isn't always obvious to reloaders that you can do as much damage with not enogh as you can with too much. One of my favorites is a load for the 300 WM that approximates a 270 Winchester but scaled up to 30 caliber. Less recoil and great ballistics than a full bore load and does to Elk and Moose what the 270 does to deer (though that works pretty damn good as well).
......... the question is more theoretical than he is actually in that situation. However it is a useful thought provoking question as i) no everyone here lives in the US and there may well be cases of "you can only have 1x or 2x etc ii) a closet full of guns each with a purpose is not always practical and t can be expensive and finally iii) it may be the cas ethat you need to take one of your many and leave, a thread such as this makes you think about all the +ves and - ves' before such a decision is required. My easy choice to this is this one... ....custom .308Win built up on a Sako AII action. It has taken more than it's fair share of game and with the current load shoots under 1/2MOA.
Why does it HAVE to be a fighting rifle ? It may simply be the tool you need in a particular environment to survive. It may also be the case each person does not or cannot own a "concealable fighting rifle". Either of my 94 Winchesters would also serve me well. The Trapper can be easily rolled into my swag and strapped to my bike. That said for "me" my choice remins as the Sako above. All that said, looking at the tone of the majority of your posts since joining this time it would seem you are mostly here to fan your own agenda.
I don't know , (Questioning my earlier choices) With the volumes of new liberal gun owners , I'd be concerned about "not" having a reasonable fighting rifle . Normally I'd be satisfied with my bolt or lever guns. Being that there is an abundance of those whom are willing to destroy this country it seems prudent to have something semi auto mag fed, and more significant than .22 or .223, seeing that these more advanced weapons, are available to every one. It is foolish and arrogant to think all one's opposition are poorly armed, and less skilled, than you are. Their aim is to kill you, not scare you.
The 30-30 has taken all the four legged critters found in North America. The 7.62 x 51 mm has taken all the two legged critters found outside of North America. So I'll take a an M40 in .30 US. Or a Blueprinted,Trued & Lapped Winchester Bolt Action in 30-06 with a 24 inch Bull Barrel.
I have both the 30-30 and the 30-06. Both are great guns but not for everything. In a fight I would rather have a 30 round mag and the ability to carry more ammo. For food gathering I would rather use something cheap so I could stack thousands of them. Like others in this thread . I would break the rules and have more than one.
Reloading helps yes, but light loads require different sighting. You dont just take a rifle set up for 1000 yard shots and go shoot squirrels with it at 30 yards unless you go through all the set up. I have my 30-06 set up to shoot quarters at 100 to 200 yards. It took a box of ammo to dial it in. If I started shooting sub sonic ammo through it? that set up changes. Simpler to just use a .22 for small game. I dont buy into the one rifle game but you all know this. ha ha ha .
