Which gun should I buy next?

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touro1979

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Western NY, Several miles north of PA Border
Which gun should I buy next for SHTF purposes out of the following choices?

Mini-30
Mini-14
Marlin 30-30
AR-15 w/ 20 inch heavy barrel.

I have the following guns already.

DPMS AR-15 with 16 inch barrrel (light)
30-06 Mossberg bolt action Scoped rifle
Mossberg pump action 12 guage shotgun (535)
Ruger 10/22
Marlin 981T (.22lr Bolt action"
Marlin 25 mn .22 mag bolt action
Marlin 60
Springfiled xd Service in 9 mm
Ruger 22/45 .22 pistol


Well, what should I get? Feel free to explain your reasoning to.

If there are anything else you think that would be better then the choices I list, then feel free to list them. (I dont want an SKS because my dad has one and I am sure I will inherit someday if I outlive him god willing). I will have a max of 800 dollars to spend which would cover any gun on my list if I am a careful shopper.
 
Since you already have the DPMS AR-15 carbine, I'd say go with the 20 inch heavy barrel. You've probably got the ammo and magazines for it. They're fun to shoot. It'll help increase your accuracy with the .223 ammo. And it won't cost as much for accessories, ammo and such as the others will.
 
I didn't see an AK on your list of options... must have been a typo. I vote for the AK!
 
Well for ammo availability, you're covered for 5.56 with your DPMS, as long as it's accurate. You need something shooting the 7.62x39 or 308 (7.62x51). The Mini-30 is ok and will suffice. An AK will work too. If you can pick up a good semi-auto in 308, that would give you more fire power. It's just important to become proficient with all your weapons, no matter what you chose.

NCsmitty
 
How about one of those belt fed semi auto 1919s with a tripod? If the SHTF to the extent that what you got ain't enough then you will be glad you had it.

Just re-read the post and it says max of $800..... If you are on a budget then maybe consider a 5.45x39 rifle. The Polish Tantal AK-74s look nice, get one through Atlantic Arms with the chrome lined barrel For $610. The ammo is available for $120 per 1080 rounds from AIM Surplus and a few other online dealers, shipping should only be $20-30 which still makes it dirt cheap. I'm personally waiting for S&W to finish up their 5.45 version of the M4/AR which may be pushing your budget a little bit. It's gonna be interesting to see how well a $1000 AR will last through $1000 of Russian ammo :D
 
From what I see you are well covered for anything coming your way. Buy ammo or get into reloading or buy some beer but I dont think you really need any more guns, wanting is something else.
 
Marlin 30-30

Action: You already have at least one of each major action type except lever and break, and this would help fill that gap.

Caliber: A good, readily available, versatile centerfire round that will compliment the 30-06 and 5.56 you already have.

Price: They can be picked up very inexpensively and if you are a very careful shopper, you could get both the 30-30 and the mini-14 and still be within your budget.
 
.30/30 or the AR.

For what it's worth , a Marlin .30/30 is really sweet.

AK's are really nice too. I notice they are not on your list.

Remember that you can only use one of them at a time. That being said, how many SHTF firearms do you need? (A question I asked myself a long time ago.) I now buy firearms that can be handed down to later generations with a bit of pride.
 
If I were you, I would consider a semi auto assault rifle in a heavier caliber such as .308.

With your budget, you could pick up an HK variant or a FN Fal if you do your shopping. Saiga .308 is well within half of your budget and is an option to consider.

Since you already have a 30 06, you might want to consider the Saiga in 30 06 or an M1 garand.
 
Since you want another rifle and wish to justify it with SHTF, why not get the .30-30? Then, since you'll never get to use it to kill someone in a SHTF scenario :rolleyes:, you'll at least have a classic deer hunting and woods rifle. :D You might actually wanna USE it someday in the woods. It'll be more accurate than any of your other choices other than the AR heavy barrel. It'll be more useful than the AR heavy barrel. Hog hunting, anyone? :D

You've already got an AR. Your tacticool niche is covered.

Oh, if you want a .308, check out the Browning BLR. You could cover your .308 with a lever gun. That's one NICE rifle, too. A little more punch and in a military caliber since that seems to matter to the foil hat crowd.
 
If I bought a 30-30 it wouldnt be a self defense weapon. It would be a secondary hunting rifle for deer/possibly black bear. There is much more to prepping for SHTF then stocking weapons to defend yourself, in my opinion the hunting aspect is much more important. If you dont have somethihng to eat you will not live long enough to need to defend yourself. As a matter of fact I consider my selection of .22lr's to be my most important survival/SHTF guns.

Hopefully SHTF will never happen in my lifetime but any student of history should know that it is highly probable to happen sometime in the future of this country. I am sure the average Roman never saw there great civilization crumble but it did. Nothing lasts forever.

As far as the suggestions for AK's, I am not a huge fan of AK's and would prefer to only by guns made in the good old USA. I made an exception with the XD. Maybe sometime in the future I will make another excpetion for the AK but not right now.
 
What ever you want. Maybe a hand gun.

You have SHTF covered with these.

DPMS AR-15 with 16 inch barrrel (light)
30-06 Mossberg bolt action Scoped rifle
Mossberg pump action 12 guage shotgun (535)
Click to expand...

So buy the one you want. I too am toying with adding a 20" AR to the mix. And of Corse every one needs a lever gun.
 
CMP Garand maybe? I know the clips are only 8rds, but with practice, you can slap them in pretty darn fast, and surplus ball ammo for it is pretty cheap, and AP ammo is widely available (not cheap, but not bad for true Ap with quite a bit of power). Also, it certainly fill the USA requirement, is a neat peice of history, you can hunt with it, a good barrel will give good accuracy, great sights, and recoil is surprisingly mild.Plus, since you have a bolt 30-06, in a pinch, you could use the Garand ammo in that (not the other way around though, unless you get the adjustable gas plug to avoid bending the op rod).Garand gives you the power you have with the bolt gun, but in semi-auto.Be a good anti unarmored vehicle gun, if you needed one.Plus, as I said, they are just cool for the history too.


Just a thought, and somebody had to suggest a Garand, so why not me.:D
 
I agree with poster that said for the stated reason you are already covered.. So no 'need' there. Beside for this SHTF thing everyone talks about, I wouldn't want more firearms in the house than I could carry out of the house with the usual occupants.

So, now you only need to ask yourself what your *second* reason for owning a firearm is and buy accordingly!

Looking at your list, couldn't you buy a HB upper for that AR? Not sure how much they are but probably less than your budget?

I've always thought that a revolver and lever gun in .357/.38sp was hard to beat. Some careful shopping and you could possible pull that off as well.

Good luck, I envy anyone in a position to purchase at this time!
 
If I bought a 30-30 it wouldnt be a self defense weapon. It would be a secondary hunting rifle for deer/possibly black bear. There is much more to prepping for SHTF then stocking weapons to defend yourself, in my opinion the hunting aspect is much more important. If you dont have somethihng to eat you will not live long enough to need to defend yourself. As a matter of fact I consider my selection of .22lr's to be my most important survival/SHTF guns.

Hopefully SHTF will never happen in my lifetime but any student of history should know that it is highly probable to happen sometime in the future of this country. I am sure the average Roman never saw there great civilization crumble but it did. Nothing lasts forever.

As far as the suggestions for AK's, I am not a huge fan of AK's and would prefer to only by guns made in the good old USA. I made an exception with the XD. Maybe sometime in the future I will make another excpetion for the AK but not right now.
Click to expand...

Well, you live in Idaho where you can walk out the door and go hunting. Down here, it's all private. However, I live about 100 yards from a bay system full of shrimp, crabs, oysters, and fish. :D I take the food on the table another direction. :D I don't worry so much about SHTF in most folk's definition as just an economy where I have to find food to eat. :rolleyes: 4 dollar gas, 7 dollar projected in a couple of years, that's pretty scary and Barrak doesn't seem to care. But, I won't go into politics, mods don't seem to like it when I do that. :D

Anyway, I've got all KINDS of guns and fishing equipment. I'm getting a kayak soon, don't burn gas like my boat. I can walk down to the water and just put in. Besides, until I need it for survival, I think it'll be fun. :D I can get to hunting land by paddle/sail, but it'd be like a few days trip. My cast net, gill net (illegal, but who cares if I'm starving?) and rods and reels will be of more use than my firearms, though a good shotgun is handy when the ducks are down. :D

Gotta adapt to your landscape, I suppose. Ain't no bays in Idaho. LOL I still think you need a lever gun since you don't have one. My only lever gun is a Rossi .357 mag M92. It's really cool, cast bullets for it, and use the ammo in my handguns. It'd be a little light in caliber for up there, though. My son in law has a .45 Colt version, fires a hot handload, 300 grain bullet at 1400 fps. That should stop about anything in Idaho and you could match it with a .45 colt handgun. :D Just a thought. I have a .45 Colt handgun, too, a Blackhawk, but I have more .357s and that's all I need down here at short range to kill hogs or deer. All that said, not a danged thing wrong with the .30-30 and it's common on ammo shelves. It's an easy caliber to reload for. My only .30-30 is a 12" contender. Had a Savage 340 bolt gun once, very accurate. I'd like to get a 336 or 94 Winchester. But, hell, I'd never hunt with the thing. I'm to stuck on my Remington M7 in .308. Hardly use anything else in my collection anymore for large game.
 
I wish I lived in Idaho, LOL.:D I live in western NY right north of PA border/Allegany National Forest. I guess it may as well be Idaho, except the gun laws here suck.

Somebody mentioned that you dont need any more guns then you can carry for SHTF purposes but I do not intend to go anwhere in the event things get crazy. I live in an area I feel comfortable in defending and do not intend to leave and I intend to defend my home to the last breath.

I also think that self defense is slightly overblown I SHTF scenario as far as your neighbors trying to kill you. I think if the SHTF and final apocalypse happened, life would go back to a more tribal existance. People would gather in small groups, sort of like the native americans. There would be some warfare amongst tribes for hunting rights and territory but I really do not think hordes of people would show up at your door to kill you.

All that being said, I live in a rural area, the closest metropolitian area is 80 miles away. If I lived in NYC or in the suburbs of any large city, then I would worry about my neighbors killing me.

I am really leaning towards the 30-30 or the mini-30 next. Cheaper ammo then 30-06, Light and short so It could be carried on horseback and both rifles would be OK for deer. Hell may be I need to cut back on my expenses a little so I can get both. That would then solve the problem of making the decision between the two.:)
 
The Mini-30 is a 7.62x39 gun that has no part interchangeability with anything, and I think if you were to go with a 7.62x39, an AK these days would be a better choice for parts and reliability. But the ammo is getting expensive. I would give the whole 7.62x39 thing a pass


The Mini-14, well, you already have a .223. But the mini 14 may have an edge on reliability, trading off on accuracy.

The Marlin 30-30 is a "meh" choice in today's market filled with tacticool AR's and reliable and cheap AK's flooding the market.

AR-15 w/ 20 inch heavy barrel.could be a good choice if mated with a good scope...but it may be redundant with your DPMS...A plain jane AR like your DPMS is plenty accurate with the right scope and ammo.

You don't have a nice autoloading shotty in your list. You also do not have any handguns greater than 9mm.

I suggest a nice Benelli autoloader and a USP in .45 ACP

I have the following guns already.

DPMS AR-15 with 16 inch barrrel (light)
30-06 Mossberg bolt action Scoped rifle
Mossberg pump action 12 guage shotgun (535)
Ruger 10/22
Marlin 981T (.22lr Bolt action"
Marlin 25 mn .22 mag bolt action
Marlin 60
Springfiled xd Service in 9 mm
Ruger 22/45 .22 pistol
 
But the ammo is getting expensive. I would give the whole 7.62x39 thing a pass.
Click to expand...
:confused:

Expensive compared to what other round? All ammo prices are going up. However much prices are going up I’m always finding 7.62X39 to be cheaper then .223 and much cheaper then .308 and other .30 rounds.

So yes, seriously consider a 7.62x39 rifle such as an AK or SKS.
 
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