Best Milsurp rifle for SHTF

Luckybeer said:
Maybe if you no intention of fulfilling your obligations as a PO..maybe you should rethink your profession..
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Lolll

1- I dont think we'll see a "shtf/prepper's wet dream" come true during our life span. Maybe when my kids have grandchild but I'll be dust then

2- been doing my profession for 15 years now with multiple deployements helping complete strangers to save their country and their own families. I have also helped fellow canadians during multiple floodings, forest fire and other natural disasters and love/loved doing it but IF #### comes to our country in the fashion I have seen in other countries, to the point that a firearm is a necessity, I'll be there for my own family before anyone else without an ounce of shame.

3- I'm not a PO.

4- I will not rethink about my profession, thank you very much Mister
 
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philhut said:
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SKS for all around reliability

However I agree the K98 has its appeal it is easily my most accurate surplus rifle variant. This combined with its power would make it a very effective end of days rifle useful in hunting and basic defense.


I would also like access if possible to a 12ga shotgun and a 22lr rifle but my choice top down would be SKS, K98, SVT40, 12ga, 22lr, Mosin M38, M91/30, Enfield (only because of ammo scarcity)
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Best opt for something bigger than the SKS. The Kar98 when properly loaded with a good bullet and the right charge will do no end of good against dangerous game. We are very fortunate there aren't any elephants around here (save for the few in zoo's and such) but there ARE certainly some big animals that MAY have to be put down. I'm not saying start stockpiling .375 H&H magnums but I don't have much faith in even a hot loaded 7.62x39 when the critters who are trying to have you over for dinner weigh in excess of 1,000 pounds.....
 
DT741 said:
Lolll

1- I dont think we'll see a "shtf/prepper's wet dream" come true during our life span. Maybe when my kids have grandchild but I'll be dust then
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Well although I do HOPE you are right? You sure do seem to be in a state of unfamiliarity when it comes to current events. North Korea being one such problem, China's sabre-rattling and Iran getting pissed off (well... more than usual, anyway). Not only that but with all the sh!t going on south of the border (where a good chunk of our firearms and ammo comes from, not forgetting OTHER essentials) as of late? You seem to think that a second American civil war won't spill over into Canada but IT SURE AS HELL WILL! I guarantee you that!

Antifa are up in Canuckistan too and a few states have already declared them a terrorist org. They are getting a lot more violent as of late! Don't be caught with your pants down blissfully unaware!

Complacency kills far more people than bullets in N.A.
 
DT741 said:
Lolll

1- I dont think we'll see a "shtf/prepper's wet dream" come true during our life span. Maybe when my kids have grandchild but I'll be dust then

2- been doing my profession for 15 years now with multiple deployements helping complete strangers to save their country and their own families. I have also helped fellow canadians during multiple floodings, forest fire and other natural disasters and love/loved doing it but IF #### comes to our country in the fashion I have seen in other countries, to the point that a firearm is a necessity, I'll be there for my own family before anyone else without an ounce of shame.

3- I'm not a PO.

4- I will not rethink about my profession, thank you very much Mister
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DT741 I agree that such a scenario in Canada or even North America is pretty far out unless a rogue state or even home grown militant terrorists set off an A-bomb or let loose some sort of toxin/bio engineered virus.

On the other hand it's pretty easy to see who will be the first victims/fatalities from what I'm reading here. To many movies and Hollywood take offs here. Reality is a foreign concept with all of the social engineering going on.
 
In all probability there will be some police or military presence in a shtf situation in the first few days. If they see you walking with an rifle in your hands you would probably be seen as a threat and dealt with. I would be thinking that some discretion would be in order at the onset of a major shtf situation. A handgun of some description easily accessible would probably be enough to get you by if there is some order. I would opt for a m38/44 type carbine that has at least 5 rounds capacity and is a fairly common caliber. It could be broken down and stored in a large backpack out of sight. A Lee loader a can of powder a box of bullets and some primers would keep you shooting for awhile without to much weight. Most likely if your in a firefight and are out numbered your probably done anyway. Training instinct and knowledge will get you father then all the firearms you could pick to take.
If you were in a situation where you had to bug out either alone or with a group how far and fast could you travel on foot with your gear? If your if bug out bag is abandoned or destroyed what would you have in your pockets to keep you alive? There isn't an easy answer to this question but for me I would go for a handgun in a common caliber and probably an m38 for ease of concealment weight accuracy stopping power and ease of maintenance.
 
I would give my AR to my brother in law as it's easier to shoot. My SKS to my oldest nephew who has lots of experience with one. I'd give my sister a Savage Axis in 223 because she can't shoot. My oldest niece would get the 10-22,and her husband would get the other SKS. I would take my K31 with a 3-9 Burris scope on it, but due to the off center mount I can easily go to open sights in case of a black bear. With my shotgun over my shoulder loaded up with brenneke slugs for anything bigger. Got pistols all in 9mm to go around.
I would scout out a very good position in the mountains with a good view of anyone coming up. I would take the majority of ammo up there, and would bury it. As well as all my other firearms.
Would spend most of the time preparing that place to make it safe, and get all mine and others gear up there to make it home in case we needed to.
Would take shifts digging into the hillside to to make a good bunker, with an escape, and a plan in case we needed to escape.
Would place bookie traps or just sounding lines to warn us someone was coming. Would start hunting and stockpiling food, water.
Build some trenches in terrain that is not as defensible. And would scour abandoned cabins houses for food, ammo, bedding warm clothing.
Ok, holy shiz, I just went full out Red Dawn! Wolverines!!!!!!!!!!lol
Oh ya, and make sure I can find a hot brunette to help. Must re populate the earth afterwards....����
 
TylerM said:
Well although I do HOPE you are right? You sure do seem to be in a state of unfamiliarity when it comes to current events. North Korea being one such problem, China's sabre-rattling and Iran getting pissed off (well... more than usual, anyway). Not only that but with all the sh!t going on south of the border (where a good chunk of our firearms and ammo comes from, not forgetting OTHER essentials) as of late? You seem to think that a second American civil war won't spill over into Canada but IT SURE AS HELL WILL! I guarantee you that!

Antifa are up in Canuckistan too and a few states have already declared them a terrorist org. They are getting a lot more violent as of late! Don't be caught with your pants down blissfully unaware!

Complacency kills far more people than bullets in N.A.
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Everything is possible in today's world. Complacency is a huge killer in any scenarios: war, work, life in general. What I'm saying is, the chance of the SHTF Hollywood dream scenario (a mix of walking dead and mad max) is very unlikely. Mention SHTF on any thread and you get the keyboard commandos wannabe tacticool who just dream about walking around with their tapcoed SKS and a wooden crate of ammo strapped to their back for... 500 meters :p

I'm well aware of what's going on in today's world. Fat Face Jr from NK is pushing some dangerous buttons, the Middle East are just as stable as they have been for millenials and anything happening to our southern neighbors as a direct effect on us. Latest "canadian shtf" has been natural disasters: forest fires, flooding, snowstorm, icestorm.

Anything can happen, and something will happen sooner or later. Denying that is failing before it even happened.
 
1. SKS (one in hand, other buried + crate)
2. Norwegian K98 in 30-06
3. Remington 870 marine magnum in 12ga [technically not a milsurp, but an old design :) )
 
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Surplus1 said:
In all probability there will be some police or military presence in a shtf situation in the first few days. If they see you walking with an rifle in your hands you would probably be seen as a threat and dealt with. I would be thinking that some discretion would be in order at the onset of a major shtf situation. A handgun of some description easily accessible would probably be enough to get you by if there is some order. I would opt for a m38/44 type carbine that has at least 5 rounds capacity and is a fairly common caliber. It could be broken down and stored in a large backpack out of sight. A Lee loader a can of powder a box of bullets and some primers would keep you shooting for awhile without to much weight. Most likely if your in a firefight and are out numbered your probably done anyway. Training instinct and knowledge will get you father then all the firearms you could pick to take.
If you were in a situation where you had to bug out either alone or with a group how far and fast could you travel on foot with your gear? If your if bug out bag is abandoned or destroyed what would you have in your pockets to keep you alive? There isn't an easy answer to this question but for me I would go for a handgun in a common caliber and probably an m38 for ease of concealment weight accuracy stopping power and ease of maintenance.
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The carbine is sort of Israeli milsurp......... With these two you can share ammo, either .38 special or .357 Magnum plus the carbine doesn't look "blackgun scary" and it takes down to two pieces with just a coin. Plus the pump weighs only 6lbs, holds 10 .357s and is very smooth and very fast to cycle.

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.22, more than enough to put meat on the table and protect yourself. Never would have thought I would say that seeing I haven't shot it in 20 years.
 
Reliable .40 handgun and a 12 gauge.

All local pd's use .40 and easy to find. A Glock is a good choice for parts and reliability. For shotty, Remmy 870.
 
LordEvilPepper said:
m1 carbine.

light handy reliable carbine with 30 round mags.

the ammo is light, and the components are common. you can reload it with a lee loader kit.
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I'd like to find a mint Bavarian police carbine. 30 Carbine is a potent little round, easy to reload, and the rifle is indeed very handy. I'd still take an SKS or my Norwegian K98, but definite runner up :)
 
The milsurp forum on CGN seems to be enjoying a long debate (some are taking it personally) on what the best SHTF rifle is. It's kind of a mute point in my opinion. I don't think the rifle is more important than the system you are adopting it into or your proficiency with said rifle.

The best SHTF gun is what you have and know well. My recommendation is to make that platform as easy to feed as possible with a broad range of ammo types and in this case that might exclude most semiautomatics. Why? Watch the video to find out. If a long term situation you may need to parasitize other munitions to keep the rifle running long term and that gets tricky with semi-auto rifles exposed to the elements. Plus the calibre needs to be big enough to effectively drop big game.

Do you want a "Go to war gun" or do you have a long term view of survival, defence and hunting options? I think Claven is dead on the money in post #74 because of all the chamber inserts for shotguns. There are some really neat O/U 410 / .22LR with a 30-30 sleeve combination that I find quite attractive as well. You will be subsisting mainly on small game.

I am an advocate for the Lee Enfield rifle but I think you guys get that about me. Having said that I'd also be OK with any CRF Mauser variant as well.

One other thing about Lee enfields. Most people will feel sorry for you because you couldn't afford anything better than. $200 sporter. They will overlook you and maybe even dismiss you as a threat. That's actually a good thing. If you're running an AR15 (even a rack grade rifle) you will be getting all of the attention and if the police are still viable you will be thrown in the slammer. I prefer to keep a low profile. Plus - never underestimate the lee Enfield or the person that knows how to use it.

Forgive the weird attire - again just some dude who is probably working.
Do you think I'd attract more attention if I was covered in camo?
The only thing I'd add is a Ruger Single Six with dual cylinders and a nice long 6" to 8" barrel.





 
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The best milsurp for a SHTF scenario is what you have and how much ammo you personally have to supply it. For me, it is the SKS. You cannot rely on global supply, sourced parts or reloading as primers/powder/brass run out, and gaining more resources from public placed will be putting yourself at risk and will probably be already looted.

Instead opt for the original long term SHTF firearm. A flintlock musket/rifle/pistol. No primers, no cases that wear out. Just gunpowder and lead or steel shot (or brass if you want). Metal is easily salvagable and local, and you can store or create gunpowder from scratch far easier than smokeless. Plus chert or quartz can be found locally in large supply. Or if the thought of flintlocks scares you, learn how to make a bow-wood is everywhere.
 
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