We need a really good honest firearms debate.

As Survivalists do we really envision shooting snare-able vermin?

Does anyone actually intended to defend thier loved ones with a .22 LR Pistol?

Do Y'all actually intend to go afield (into a possible Battle Zone) armed only with a .22 Rifle? (Yup I'm calling out the supposedly venerable 5.56 NATO) As I've pointed out in threads gone by, it actually takes more weight to carry 35 .223 Caliber rounds than two 7.62 NATO rounds, which are about as effective as 70 .223/5.56 NATO rounds in actual documented Combat.

So let's share an HONEST Really Good Firearms Debate, and the sponsors be Damned! Just what should the average JOE spend his hard earned Republic Credits on to ensure the well being of His/Her Kit and Kin?

I'm sporting a suppressed semi-automatic 7.62 NATO Rifle and a Glock 21SF Suppressed .45 ACP Pistol into any survivalist scenario, so it's time Y'all fire a few shoots at me!

Let the firearms debate begin! LOL

 

21SF Glock here as well (though I'm told it diminishes my manhood!) and an AR-10. The AR-15 never leaves the immediate AO as I feel better about 7.62 for downrange flights. Also a Savage 10FCP with the 18" heavy barrel and expensive glass that also stays in the AO. I found long ago in a land far away that there is no one scenario that will fit all. Area defense is quite different from hunting wabbits, and flanking maneuvers differ from target practice. In a nutshell, I want the maximum weight + velocity delivered to target, within reason. So I made the above choices based on my perceived engagement types and what I feel is most likely in need of being targeted. Hopefully I never need to target anything again...

 

I much prefer high speed, low drag, so a FN/FAL gets the duty for most need, if I were on walkabout, I switch to a 03 Springfield 1903 shorter! If in a over watch, I use a .338 L.M. For hunting my AO. I would use ether a 5.56 or a .22 rim fire and suppressor. And if in urban areas, a AR gets the nod! There is no perfect tool for every job, but the one constant is the FAL, in most every situation I could ever see, it's never too much gun! Pistols are always a 10 mm auto, and a back up 9 mm! Never leave home with out them!

 

Recently, I have been loading a lot of .300 AAC Blackout from 5.56 brass. I loaded some 175 grain FMJBT, some 180 gr SPHP, and some 220 gr FMJBT. The 180 and 220, I loaded sub-sonic. It hits with enough energy to knock down most game in our AO including hogs and whitetail and with a suppressor, shoots as quietly as CB caps. I am getting 3moa at 100 six at 150 but 3" high, 200 drops about 20" with my quietened 10.5 barrel. Haven't tried a longer barrel yet but will after the next gun show in our area. My goto rifle is and always has been a M14 but that is because it is what I learned to shoot long range with when I was a kid and Dad was on the NG rifle team so I had pretty much an unlimited supply of Lake City NM ammo and a tweaked rifle to play with. I just never found anything that I like more although I have numerous rifles and enjoy them a lot, the M14 or M1A just stays with me. My favorite is NM and probably quite collectable given the serial number X006 but Righthand hooked me up with one of their titanium mounts for a Leupold MK4, a unitized gas cylinder, and an extended mag release. I never debate the advantages of other firearms and when friends drop by, we'll spend most of the evening prowling the gun room and picking out fun things to shoot. I own various caliber rifles from .17 to 4-bore as well as an M79 grenade launcher. These are investments that I enjoy playing with. I carry a 1911 most days but some days I'll pack a wheel gun. I love to hunt small game with a .22 Colt Woodsman and I shoot birds with a .410. Get me stirred up enough to come knocking on your door and I'll probably be toting a Bennelli M1 Super 90 with 10 rounds of buckshot. Down here in UCLA (upper corner of lower alabama) you won't see anything 50 yards away in the bush so unless you are shooting down a highway or across a field, not much use for anything that my M14 won't peck a hole in, at least as far as I can see it and I know the weapon like I know which nut to scratch, it just does what I need and want it to do. 7.62 Nato is a great intermediate round and .308 is on the shelf everywhere in a variety of loads. I own several rifles in this caliber because it is a personal favorite.

 

If that is all that I have then yes. One day I will find a person that has been shot a few times by a .22lr and I will ask them to come here and report.

As for what is in my personal gun collection, that is privilege info.

 

Obviously, you've never laid eyes on my turret-mounted .22 atop my tactical wheelbarrow. We're good.

 

Pretty sure I've mentioned this, but I do know a couple of people shot by .22LR. Added to how poorly they penetrate armadillos, I am not carrying one for anything more than small game until my primitive weapon skills pan out more consistent results.

 

Truth.

Any country boy worth their weight in salt will make a "marksman" clam the f up after being witness to the natural handling of said caliber by them.

 

Give me a 22 and I will be your Huckleberry.

 

As @Yard Dart said, you need the right tool for the job - that's why I have 5 different types of shovel. Some of them could do things some of the others do, but no where near as well. I shoot the AR308, but the standard weapon I keep for others and myself (in certain situations) is the AR-15. The 5.56, contrary to it's detractors, kills, especially in the 77gr rounds.

The 7.62 gives much better barrier and body armor penetration as well as range. If I was planning for 20 year-olds lugging weapons around as well as other things I'd consider the 7.62 more, but frankly most of us who prep are past our glory days. An AR-15 is easier for people less familiar to firearms to use as well as those less physically strong. I'm planning for women, older children, older men as I won't have the luxury of young men with strong backs.

My sole machine gun is up for sale with the express purpose of a few effective long range tools, and I'm moving to country where it's easy to get practice.

A .22LR indirectly helps you to defend yourself by not attracting unwanted attention while getting meat. The battle you don't fight is the only one you completely win.

Don't forget the role of comms as a force multiplier, especially against uncoordinated attacks and even more so against coordinated ones.

Also keeping in mind that nothing I could prepare for would withstand even the poorest armed and outfitted military. What I can prepare against are gangs, terrorists, and organized gangs. These groups will target the low hanging fruit first and that won't be me, mine, or my community. It will be a bitch load of hard work and losses for not much gain. I don't have the resources to be an Alaskan brown bear, but I think I can be one hell of a porcupine - lots of needles, lots of pain, and not very good eating.

 

Always thought it be interesting to use the 77 gr rounds in a rifle with a 1 in 9 twist, which would barely stabilize. First thing it impacts, the projectile begins to tumble. You won't shoot 1/2" groups at 100 yds, but within that range, the round would not be very nice.

 

Since relative weights of ammunition were referred to in the OP here is a table I created a while back comparing the weight and cost of 5.56 NATO, 7.62 COMMIE and 7.62 NATO for reference. Costs obviously change over time but likely are relatively the same.

 

Plus in every YouTube video I've seen anything shot by 7.62x39 explodes in a ball of flame and then destroys everything around it...

The SKS is also surprisingly accurate and in some ways the best of the breed. If AR-15's weren't so freaking cheap right now...