Is a handgun really the best SHTF weapon after all?

[middy]

I would still go with the 12g pump as my primary weapon. No handgun comes close in effectiveness.

By the time the NG is there I'll be able to get out of Dodge, and at that point I will be more than willing to hand over my shotgun in exchange for food, water, and a bus ticket...

Of course, the .357 snubbie will remain hidden the whole time.

 

[Byron Quick]

I realized long ago, that in a evacuation situation that I was a rabbit-not a lion. Yes, the various armaments are very nice to have but not if they get me shot or if the authorities steal them. Therefore, don't carry openly and avoid legalized thieves.

But I wouldn't be in New Orleans for the authorities to steal my weapon. Having your bug out gear is useless if you don't bug out. In good time. In New Orleans that meant every time that the cone of projected possible paths of a hurricane that might go to the upper edge of Category Three or beyond touched the city. No ifs, no buts, no...it didn't look like it would hit...I thought it would do like the last few.

Those of you who live in large, urban areas need to come to grips with the reality of evacuating a major metropolitan area,i.e, if you wait for the official evacuation proclamation then you've waiting too long..

I don't have to have the iron self-discipline you urbanites need to evacuate in a timely fashion. For I don't live in a metropolitan area, nor will I in the future.

I have various tactical gear. Some of it very expensive. I didn't buy it thinking it would make me Billy Bad in a SHTF scenario. The primary role of such gear is to let me move in a covert manner. Having the capability to take a more active role is an option that is nice to have but also one to be avoided if at all possible.

An example: NVG. My NVG's primary purpose is not to target all the bad guys prior to rehabilitation through reincarnation. The primary purpose is to identify potential threats, without attracting attention, and then avoiding those threats while getting on with the business of getting the hell out of Dodge.

Much of my gear won't be used where others can see it until I am well clear of a disaster zone. I will give you water. I won't let you see my filtration equipment or see me using it. My generator won't be used in the disaster zone. It will draw bugs that have to be zapped.

 

[Azrael256]

I would still go with the 12g pump as my primary weapon. No handgun comes close in effectiveness.

Agreed. Shotguns are very handy for just about anything.

A rifle or shotgun would get pretty heavy trying to keep it out of chest deep water.

Nah. No problem.

 

[ny32182]

After reading the news over the last couple days, I too can tell you that I will be avoiding contact with the government at all costs if I am ever stuck in a situation like this. From this morning:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050909...jwbLisB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

some quotes:

NEW ORLEANS - Soldiers and police confiscated guns from homeowners as they went house to house, trying to clear the shattered city of holdouts because of the danger of disease and fire. Police on Friday also marked homes with corpses inside, with plans to return later.

Police and soldiers also seized numerous guns for fear of confrontations with jittery residents who have armed themselves against looters.

"No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons," Riley said.

On Thursday, in the city's well-to-do Lower Garden District, a neighborhood with many antebellum mansions, members of the Oklahoma National Guard seized weapons from the inhabitants of one home. Those who were armed were handcuffed and briefly detained before being let go.

"Walking up and down these streets, you don't want to think about the stuff that you're going to have to do, if somebody's pops out around a corner," said one of the Guardsmen, Chris Montgomery.

 

[thatguy]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=154550

 

[TheEgg]

The government, especially in 'emergency' situations, is always something to be avoided if at all possible. And at most other times as well.

Today, US Marshals "raided" the bar, ordered all people inside "up against the wall" and took all their guns. "Told them to get out of town by noon tomorrow."

Never forget, the police/military organizations will in all probability follow whatever orders they get from their command structure and will be unlikely to question the legality of said orders, at least until it is too late.