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A Primer on Guns for Survival, by The Last New Jersey Conservative
Before his untimely demise, survivalist author Mel Tappan wrote his book Survival Guns some four decades ago, yet it still remains the authoritative source on the topic. Mel also wrote columns for various magazines, expanding upon his previous writings and clarifying some concepts. It is those columns and articles which formed the basis of not only this essay, but also leaving what is now an indelible impression upon my thought process for the same subject. Mel Tappan had a rifle as his first acquisition and a shotgun as his third acquisition; I flip flopped it for this piece due to the fact he lived in the wilderness – where I live in the jungle; an asphalt jungle. That being the case, here goes:
First and foremost, a decisive firearm capable of ending any fight should be your initial purchase. It is here the shotgun excels. The shotgun is the most versatile firearm there is. Based upon the hundreds of loadings, it can take small, medium, and large game as well as zombies in all shapes and sizes. There is no more devastating impact upon an evil doer in and around your home. The 12 gauge pump action shotgun with a short, 18 inch barrel fits this bill nicely. Get a model with “ghost ring sights” and an attached flashlight and you can identify close in targets from contact distances out to engage long range targets with slugs over 100 yards away. At close encounters of the worst kind, “#4” buckshot serves up a multiple pellet rat wound. In law enforcement circles, this round is referred to sarcastically as a ‘crowd pleaser’. As the range extends, fewer yet larger pellets may be the answer, all the way up the high end of the scale at “OOO” buckshot. “OO” buckshot is the law enforcement and military standard loading for anti-personnel use. The exact middle of the scale size is “#1” buckshot, probably the best round to utilize when usage is not defined as to target types and distances. I keep “#4” buckshot in warm months and “OOO” buckshot in cold months in my home protection shotgun – it is a matter of penetrating coats and jackets and vests and whatever else a bad guy may be wearing in the winter versus a likely t-shirt in the summer. The shotgun slug is an awesome round. You should practice head shots on a full size silhouette target at 50 yards with only a bead front sight – then you can rest assuredly hit effectively out to 150 yards and sometimes more with slugs and a “ghost ring sights” setup. Have a spare 28” barrel for hunting birds and fowl with birdshot loads and you’ll expand the utility of the shotgun exponentially. There are also numerous special loadings available in shotshells including: flares, flechettes, gas (riot control agents such as CS or CN or OC), incendiary, etc. Another special loading is the door breaching round, and it is phenomenal when employed correctly to forcibly enter through a secured door.
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Really? While I agree to each his own, I believe you are handing out some information that our leftist leaders are getting woodies from reading. Biden is recommending the shotgun for defense, and everyone on the left is looking down on any gun with a detachable mag. We don’t need to feed the anti gun lobby at all. If you want a shotgun for defensive purpose check out the saiga semi auto. As for handguns a 1911 with a 5″ barrel will shoot circles around most revolvers at 25 yards, and it is an old school semi auto pistol. Bet I can replace the magazine in my semi pistol before you can reload your revolver with a speedloader. I have both and know. Yes everyone needs a bolt action rifle in the arsenal but the first rifle bought in this political climate should be of semiautomatic design simply because it can pull battle duty on top of killing dinner if needed. An SKS is a perfect starter rifle as the 7.62×39 is deadly on human size game and is very capable of taking most game on our continent. And a bolt action rimfire over a ruger 10/22? Give me a break.
I understand that a revolver and a bolt action rifle is less prone to failure than their semiautomatic counter parts but lets face it there is a reason our military and police departments nation wide have swapped to semiautomatics. They are better. If our LEO’s and military have semiautomatics I don’t suggest anyone try to defend themselves with great grandpas six shooter or single shots.
I have never liked the weight of large revolvers. While powerful and full of machismo they do not have the capacity to defend against multiple assailants. I prefer the GLOCK, or SIG SAUER .40 cal. I think people should have both an AR-15 and AK47/SKS. The ten shot, stripper clip fed SKS is a trustworthy companion for protection and hunting. The AR-15 is the NATO fed machine that equalizes the citizen with the totalitarian. And lastly, I agree about the choice of shotgun, the 18.5 inch tactical pump Mossberg is a friend you can rely on. Semi auto shotguns are great if you can afford them and are truly versatile.