Your gun should be one in which you’re comfortable and proficient. The threat and scenario your planning for may dictate the weapons system you choose. Carry a primary and secondary weapon on your person and vehicle. You handgun should be concealed and your rifle should be in your vehicle if needed. A shotgun, long range rifle, and 22 Rifle should be at the homestead for a last line of defense, perimeter security, and other tasks. See our Target Hardening guide.
Choose a caliber that is widely available, think bartering and scavenging, we’ve got a guide for this. You’ll want a stockpile of rounds but you’ll also want to easily be able to restock if SHTF. At a minimum. A good rule of thumb is to have 7 times the amount of ammo the weapon’s magazine holds. So if you AR magazine holds 30 .223 rounds you’ll want to have 210 defensive rounds for immediate access. This is a standard loadout for the US Army and is the minimal accepted quantity a prepper should attain. Additional ammo of range quality only can be used for practice.
THE FIVE
🔫Handgun (for concealment, backup weapon, mid range) Example: Glock 19 9mm. Always carry an additional magazine, one in the chamber, and on your person at all times.
🔫Shotgun (for home defense, bird hunting, intimidation factor, close range) Example: Mossberg 500 12 Gauge. Add additional exotic ammo to your arsenal such as incendiary shells.
🔫.22 Rifle (for small game hunting, pest control, and casual target shooting, cheap ammo) Example: Ruger 10/22 .22 LR. Choose a magazine fed option.
🔫Semi-Automatic Rifle AR-15 (for defense, hunting, best overall option) Example: Colt 5.56x45mm NATO. Consider a mounted flashight and red dot sight. Look for an AR with picatinny rail.
🔫Long Range Rifle (for big game hunting and long range shooting, perimeter defense) from outpost) Example: Winchester M70 .308 Winchester. Your scope should be raised so that iron sights can be used for close range or sight failure.
This article was originally written by the Grayman Briefing. Stay in the know, sign up for Intel and Situational Awareness alerts pushed to your phone on emerging threats and preparedness warnings. Click HERE to subscribe to the Grayman Briefing.
