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Inexpensive SHTF rifle?

7K views 114 replies 41 participants last post by  gunsmoker 
#1 ·
I have no money to spend right now, but I've started thinking about my next gun purchase. I don't have a .45 (I miss my Baby Eagle) or a SHTF rifle. I'm leaning towards getting a SHTF rifle next.

Here's what I have: Glock 17, Springfield XD-9 5" (wifes), Walther PPK/S, Ruger Security Six 6" .357 Mag, Hi Point 9mm Carbine (With ATI Stock), and an 1891 Argentine Mauser (7.65 x 53).

Budget will be a major issue when I purchase. Should I look at an AK or SKS? Has anyone here fired a Saiga? It's an AK design made at the Russian IZHMASH plant. Here's a link to it.

Saiga Rifle I was thinking about getting it in .223. There's a dealer in Blue Ridge that has them for $255 in 20" and $260 in 16".

I would like an AR, but can't budget one. Any other suggestions?
 
#103 ·
ptsmith24 said:
I don't really care if I "alarm" people. :censored: 'em, as the great Rammstein said.
That's why I did all that to my AK.

To the uninitiated, or to anyone on the wrong end of it, it's a scary-lookin' little bastard.
 
#107 ·
Adam5 said:
This thread came back to life at a good time. After selling my AR last week, I'm already thinking about waht to replace it with when funds are available. I'm thinking about an AK this time.
I'm pretty sure I'll start with an AK, too. Think we cang et a deal if we buy two at once? What about 3? My brother needs both a rifle and a Christmas present ;)
 
#111 ·
I've been thinking of acquiring a long gun for some time (and will keep thinking about it until the funds are available :lol: ).

I've thought about an AK for some time now, but the ammo is not as cheap as I thought, so range visits would be few and far between. But I started considering recently a 12 gauge pump shotgun, such as a Mossberg 500 tactical for example.
What are everyone's thoughts on a versatile weapon that won't break the bank very much? One that is good for SHTF, range toy (skeet shooting with the shotgun), home defense, etc.? :-k
 
#112 ·
Get a rifled barrel for it, too. You'll be good to 100m. I would think in a SHTF situation, 100m is long enough, and I watched a gentleman with a Saiga 12 rapid fire slugs on a 100m steel target and nail it every time.

Now, for your TEOTWAWKI long gun, you'll need a proper rifle.
 
#113 ·
+1

if you want a "long gun" and not a "battle rifle" and you want it to be the versatile thing you can own, a Mossberg 500, Winchester 1200/1300, or the Remington 870 series are all fine choices. You should have a couple of barrels, maybe up to three: without any choke at all, cut off at 18.25", for use in and around your home, with maximum shot spread. Another should be sporting-length (26" or so) and either modified choke or it should use interchangable screw-in choke tubes. If you want this gun to also substitute for a battle rifle, then get the rifled barrel with a built-in scope base. Shoot saboted slugs thru it and you should be good for 150 yards, and you can take down anything with a pulse, no matter how big or angry it is. You might need a second buttstock or pistol grip for close-quarters defense, and you may want two fore-ends: one sporting and one tactical. But overall, this would serve well in just about any scenario, unless you need to reach out over 200 yards.

Keep in mind, even though you can buy cheap #8 birdshot rounds for 15 cents each, those buckshot shells are more like 40 cents a pop, and slugs nearly a buck a shot.
 
#114 ·
100-400 yards, SKS

If you want an inexpensive and reliable rifle that has real accuracy and can take head shots at 100 yards and drop bad guys at 300 yards and disable vehicles and keep bad guys pinned-down with near-misses at 400 or 500 yards, I'd go with the SKS. Can't you still get them for under $200? I paid $130 a few years ago. 7.62 x 39mm ammo HAS gone up in price lately, but it's still affordable compared to any other centerfire cartridge, rifle OR pistol, military or civilian. The longer sight radius on the SKS makes it easier to aim with precision, and usually it's easier to put a scope on. If you had one of those fixed 4X scopes on it, and if that scope held its zero over months of storage and normal handling, that would be a great RIFLE for little $
 
#115 ·
Clarification

when I said "... longer sight radius" on the SKS, I meant compared to an AK-47 clone.

P.S. When my friends and I went out shooting cement blocks at 200 yards, offhand, all the guns performed equally well-- the Yugo SKS, the Chinese SKS, the Springfield Armory M1A, and the M1 Garand. Shooting them from a benchrest across sandbags may reveal a significant difference in accuracy, but I don't think that difference is as great under battlefield conditions.
 
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