If you could only have one gun

[stroo]

Those of you who think the wildlife will be exhausted fairly quickly ought to remember that in an EMP situation, there may be a lot of game out there that we wouldn't consider game right now, like cows, pigs, goats, horses or almost any other domesticated animal. Now in a city you won't find many of those but your aren't going to find much normal game either. Out in the country, you will find both normal game and domesticated animals to hunt.

Given that I am bugging in, the one gun scenario just doesn't apply.

[The Annoyed Man]

Those of you who think the wildlife will be exhausted fairly quickly ought to remember that in an EMP situation, there may be a lot of game out there that we wouldn't consider game right now, like cows, pigs, goats, horses or almost any other domesticated animal. Now in a city you won't find many of those but your aren't going to find much normal game either. Out in the country, you will find both normal game and domesticated animals to hunt.

Given that I am bugging in, the one gun scenario just doesn't apply.

Let me remind you that that "domesticated game" belongs to someone.........someone who spent a LOT of money to make it happen, put a LOT of work into keeping those animals healthy and well fed, and who is just as likely to shoot human predators as the 4-legged kind to protect his property, if that's the kind of situation we're in. After all, that's HIS survival and his FAMILY's too. Again, what kind of person are you willing to become just because you were unwilling to get serious about your own survival today? Are you willing to kill a farmer and his family in order to take his livestock? No? That gives you three choices: work for your food (assuming the livestock owner will employ you in exchange for food); die for your food when he shoots you for trying to steal it; or go hungry. If the answer is "Yes", then maybe you (the editorial "you") ought to take a good hard look at your priorities, and reassess your self-image as a moral person.

[Excaliber]

In Texas, fortunately we have the wild hog population that would likely be sufficient to sustain most those who survive the first few weeks of TEOTWAWKI and know how to hunt them.

[WTR]

In Texas, fortunately we have the wild hog population that would likely be sufficient to sustain most those who survive the first few weeks of TEOTWAWKI and know how to hunt them.

Maybe where you live.

[Bitter Clinger]

I love my shotguns but if we are being objective (is that possible when discussing an apocalyptic fantasy?) then we have to admit that ammunition management is the drawback. Round capacity is limited, reloads are slow (vs. magazine-fed firearms) and while the types of ammunition that can be utilized are varied and multi-purpose try carrying all that ammunition around with you

For us city dwellers, the issue will not be hunting game during the first 3 months of the die-off, it will be other people coming to take what you have. Most scenarios paint a pretty grim picture after 3 days (72 hours). Remember the old rub; "3 minutes without oxygen, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food". Those are our practical limits for sustaining life.

So back to the city. Once power and the rule of law are both extinguished, the gangs, rapists, cannibals, cartels, etc., will dominate. Because our vehicles are no longer available, if you are planning to bug-in, you need at least 3 months of food and water (and coffee and toilet paper!). And most of all, you need a group. You need lots of shooters! If you could see the thing coming (say it was mass civil unrest) and you could bug out (and had a place to go to), that's one thing. But with the EMP, you are stuck unless you have those bicycles with the little trailers like Abraham mentioned. So like TAM, I say you need lot's of guns and neighbors who are similarly trained and prepared. Fending off the criminals, the good people turned predator to save their children, the MS-13 gangbangers, the bad bikers, etc., will not be easy.

So I don't choose a shotty or a .22LR. And while I also love my 5.56 Colt SBR, that would only be my 2nd choice. My number one gun for the end of the world as we know it is my .308 SBR. Reach out and touch someone (cause I really don't want them to get too close, I much prefer a well constructed ambush or sniping from a few hundred yards) but if you have to go CQB, one round will pretty much end 'em. And the majority of light body armor will succumb as well.

I don't even have room to cache anything on this zero lot line property and my neighbors are mostly liberals. So after I clean out the duck pond, I may be coming for them unless they have something to offer that makes them worthy of joining our group. At least we have enough cars to barricade the cul-de-sac...

[Mxrdad]

So if we encounter an EMP, am I correct in thinking most vehicles will still run? Not sure how that will effect the electronics in our vehicles. Now days, every one of them have a computer in them as far as I know. Of course, it will only go as far as whatever fuel you have in it as getting it refilled seems unlikely. But if a guy is lucky enough to have a full tank, and considering the thing still runs, one could have a 3 (ish) hour trip to get the heck out of Dodge. Given that luxury, I would not stay "in the city" and would make my way to the woods. IF I had to choose 1 weapon, which stays in the guidelines of this thread, it would be my 12 ga shotgun. (I sure would like to sneak a small 9mm in my pocket though) LOL. Are there any checkpoints or metal detectors? Any 06 or 07 signs?

I would consider myself about half way prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse. Half way aint gonna cut it when it happens though.

[EastTexasRancher]

My EMP plan is to go dark. Disappear (planned, leave it at that) for those three months, or however long it takes to count ourselves among the semi-permanent survivors.

Once the mass die-off/kill-off is over, re-assess.

As I've shared with my family and "partners" in what this scenario may become, the first priority in the short-term is to fend-off or not be visible to those who want what we have. It won't be safe for a loooonnggg time, as folks are always going to still want what you have. The key is your little group, and how/if that group can become part of a bigger group.

All in all, very scary stuff. I've often said I don't want to live through a nuclear blast. Vaporize me with the rest. Very scary to think of what life would look like post EMP.

Kinda like the Walking Dead, huh?

[Pawpaw]

So if we encounter an EMP, am I correct in thinking most vehicles will still run? Not sure how that will effect the electronics in our vehicles. Now days, every one of them have a computer in them as far as I know. Of course, it will only go as far as whatever fuel you have in it as getting it refilled seems unlikely. But if a guy is lucky enough to have a full tank, and considering the thing still runs, one could have a 3 (ish) hour trip to get the heck out of Dodge. Given that luxury, I would not stay "in the city" and would make my way to the woods. IF I had to choose 1 weapon, which stays in the guidelines of this thread, it would be my 12 ga shotgun. (I sure would like to sneak a small 9mm in my pocket though) LOL. Are there any checkpoints or metal detectors? Any 06 or 07 signs?

I would consider myself about half way prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse. Half way aint gonna cut it when it happens though.

Nope. All electronics will be fried, so the majority of vehicles that may still be running are old vehicles with points and condenser or old diesel engines with mechanical pumps. If you're close to the EMP blast, batteries, starters and alternators will probably be burned out too.

[Mxrdad]

Well, Dadgum. Need to start thinking about this. Bicycles would be a tough way to execute my plan. I mean if it were just me, no problem. Dang, I'd hate to be in an airplane when it hit.

[cmgee67]

Being in an airplane would suck... or what if you were in space? Houston you have a problem..

[The Annoyed Man]

So if we encounter an EMP, am I correct in thinking most vehicles will still run? Not sure how that will effect the electronics in our vehicles. Now days, every one of them have a computer in them as far as I know. Of course, it will only go as far as whatever fuel you have in it as getting it refilled seems unlikely. But if a guy is lucky enough to have a full tank, and considering the thing still runs, one could have a 3 (ish) hour trip to get the heck out of Dodge. Given that luxury, I would not stay "in the city" and would make my way to the woods. IF I had to choose 1 weapon, which stays in the guidelines of this thread, it would be my 12 ga shotgun. (I sure would like to sneak a small 9mm in my pocket though) LOL. Are there any checkpoints or metal detectors? Any 06 or 07 signs?

I would consider myself about half way prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse. Half way aint gonna cut it when it happens though.

Nope. All electronics will be fried, so the majority of vehicles that may still be running are old vehicles with points and condenser or old diesel engines with mechanical pumps. If you're close to the EMP blast, batteries, starters and alternators will probably be burned out too.

Starfish Prime and other EMP facts.

EMP Myths.

Cars dying: Some say that all vehicles traveling will come to a halt, with all modern vehicles damaged because of their use of modern electronics (and one movie even had a bulk, non-electronic part dying). Most likely there will be some vehicles affected, but probably just a small fraction of them (although this could create traffic jams in large cities). A car does not have very long cabling to act as antennas, and there is some protection from metallic construction. As non-metallic materials are used more and more in the future to decrease weight and increase fuel efficiency, this advantage may disappear.

EMP can cause some problems, but I believe that the extent of those problems is sometimes overstated. EMP wouldn't put us back to the stone age, but it could put us back 100 years. A hundred years ago, WW1 was a year away from ending; man could fly; the automobile was entering commercial production; motorcycles were approaching top speeds of 100 mph; and the first transatlantic telegraph cable was already 60 years old. There was a lot going on.

We might temporarily lose the ability to make insulin, but we would still know how to make insulin..........unlike in 1917, when insulin hadn't even been discovered yet.

[Pawpaw]

TAM, I had to attend some of that classified HEMP training the last few years I was in the USAF. I was in charge of teams installing communications into a couple of different HEMP shielded enclosures. If anything the effects of a HEMP pulse are understated, at least for those that are under the blast. Like most things, distance (in this case, from the blast) is your friend.

[Soccerdad1995]

I understand the concern about not taking other people's belongings including perishable items like food, medicine, and domesticated animals such as cows, etc. But if we are assuming that up to 90% of the people are going to die, then there would plenty of situations where the rightful owners are all deceased, and the potentially life saving supplies will be expired / spoiled / dead (in the case of animals) long before the rightful heirs could be identified. In such cases, are people here of the opinion that it would be better to allow the supplies to waste rather then being used by those nearby who can actually use them?

I also think that it is not all that useful to discuss current laws when we are hypothesizing (is that a word?) about a scenario that will include societal breakdown and the eventual establishment of new political systems and laws. This is really more of a moral question than a legal one, IMHO.

[bblhd672]

I also think that it is not all that useful to discuss current laws when we are hypothesizing (is that a word?) about a scenario that will include societal breakdown and the eventual establishment of new political systems and laws. This is really more of a moral question than a legal one, IMHO.

A firm grasp on morals will serve you better than laws when there is no longer any just enforcers of man-made laws.

[Bitter Clinger]

I'd go with the Chiappa M6, not the prettiest thing in the world but it looks like it has a lot of versatility.

* Side note, I've never held, much less shot one of these I've just read and watched video's on them and think the inserts would be handy in the scenario.

Other than that it would be a 10/22

Defender Outdoors has 10/22 magazines on sale for essentially 1/2 price:

http://defenderoutdoors.com/ruger-90548 ... R-Stock-Up