i should trust my gun intuition

rjbs on 2007-06-21T14:44:14

I just finished watching the first season of Jericho, this week. It has made me think that I should turn my cistern into a shelter and stock up on weapons. I thought, "maybe it's time to get that Yugo SKS that I've been thinking about."

Then I thought, "Well, I should see what the experts have to say about this kind of preparation," so I searched Google for "accurate rifle apocalypse." The first result was a page called "PREPARING FOR THE APOCALYPSE" and suggesting the Yugo SKS.


bike intuition

markjugg on 2007-06-21T16:06:50

My intuition tells me to stock up on spare bicycle parts. And get a bike with a dynamo hub, which generates some electricity that I could repurpose for something besides powering the bike lights, in a pinch.

Re:bike intuition

rhesa on 2007-06-21T17:58:05

You mean, like a hair dryer?

Re:bike intuition

sigzero on 2007-06-22T12:46:14

I am just going to kidnap MacGuyver and be done with it.

Bullets are precious.

schwern on 2007-07-03T21:35:42

You want something light, reliable, fairly accurate and easy to maintain. Possibly something you can machine your own parts for. But the most important considering for long term survival is availability and weight of ammo. Light ammo means more ammo. No ammo means you have an expensive club. .223 and .308 are all widely available in the US being popular sporting rounds. 7.62x39 for the SKS might be a bit harder to find, not sure about Europe. The SKS is also heavy weighing, in at 8lbs, and long making it cumbersome to lug around the wasteland.

If you can find something accurate which fires the ubiquitous 9mm pistol round and has some stopping power you're golden. Masque suggested the Beretta CX4 Storm and it seems ideal. Underneath the fancy ergonomic casing is a very simple rifle. Pair it with a Beretta 92FS with which it interchanges not only ammo but also the clips and you've got a compact little weapons system.

Don't forget spare barrels.

I'd also throw in a revolver, a single-barrel break-action shotgun (easy to use, easy to hit things with and the shells can be reloaded), a simple hunting bow, machete and an atlatl.

Re:Bullets are precious.

rjbs on 2007-07-04T01:11:33

Yeah, on one hand, the 7.62mmS is one of the most common rounds in the world. On the other, not so much here in the US, from what I can tell.

The Yugo SKS is actually even a little heavier than the Russian or Chinese SKS, so it's a pain to carry when running from zombies. On the other hand, it's apparently indestructable, and at nine pounds it will make an awesome club when I run out of ammo.

Masque actually said that the 92FS was "huge, heavy, and hard to maintain." If I get worried enough to get something beyond a pair of rifles, it'll be a shotgun of some sort yet to be determined and maybe a Colt 1911. I'll figure more out about then by then.

Maybe part of this problem is that I've only gotten worried enough to want to make it through season one of Jericho. After season two airs, maybe I'll be looking for a much larger arsenal.