Whilst I’d prefer to stand off at 500 yards with a scoped Mauser, I doubt this scenario will occur short of froeign troops invading. I believe that 75% of encounters will will be at across-the-room range (handgun territory); 24.9% at across-the-street/yard range . For these it’s impossible to go past the 12g repeater. Military studies with moving targets at close range have shown combat shotguns (with buckshot) have a 45% better chance of a hit than submachine guns and a 100% better chance than ‘assault rifles’ (the full-auto kind), so they’re probably three times better than a semi-auto rifle.

I know the arguments about ammo bulk & weight but you need to compare things properly. 100 rounds of ammo doesn’t sound like much, but consider:

1/ Each round of 00 buck has 9 .33 cal projectiles

2/ The pump shotgun is superior to an SMG

Therefor;

Being armed with a 12g pump and 100 rounds of 00 Buck is slightly superior to being armed with a czech Scorpion SMG with 30 X 30-round magazines (900 rounds!!) of .32 ACP and firing 9-round, full-auto bursts! …………….and you’d hardly call THAT ‘under-gunned!!

As far as reaching out to 100-200 yards;

A cyl-bore 12g with rifle sights firing slugs fires 6″ groups at 100 yards -12″ groups at 200 (yes you can look on youtube). That’s as accurate as an AK fires on semi-auto.

Also, don’t forget the PC “it’s just my ol’ deer gun, officer” factor.

Not perfect for sure but as a compromise goes I still say it beats an ‘assault rifle” or anything else.

They can ALSO fire & eject .38 Super ACP rounds with no problems (saw that over 20 years ago in “Combat Handguns”.) 38 Supers are .357 cal and the cases are semi-rimmed. Provided your ejector star isn’t rediculously worn, they work in a .357 magnum revolver just fine.

CAUTION:

>38 supers will also chamber & fire in a .38 Special revolver but……………..
DON’T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think a hi-cap, reliable auto may be better……………………….. while the wheels of modern society still turn! After the poo hits the prop and Brownells, Fed-Ex and the US Postal Service are a memory, there’ll be other considerations:

1/Reloading will be your ammo supply. Forget gov’t armories, gun shops or dead looters. Auto pistols are lousy for reloaders as they chuck the shells everywhere. Storing large vollumes of bulk ammo is impractical. It’s much easier to have bulk powder, primers and projectiles burried in convenient quantities so you can reload your spent revolver cases that you drop in one neat pile upon reloading your gun.

2/ After many years (or decades) when some of your rounds are getting old and losing their ‘bang’; getting slightly coroded etc a revolver will trump the auto here, too.

Maybe a glock & 2,000 round for the first few years to deal with all the sprayers and the DA revolver with 1,000 rounds and components for 5,000 reloads for later on when the looters & free-booters are low on ammo would be a good compromise.

With the number of neo-nazi/militia-types who subscribe to the “my AK and 2,000 rounds will get me whatever I need” philosophy, camoflage gear and EBRs will probably get you a hole in the head from any farmer’s 30-06 deer rifle.

A good, reliable handgun in a sturdy caliber on the belt; a 12g pump by the door; and an accurate, repeating deer rifle for reaching out at 500-600 yards (safe form “AK-spray”) should do the trick.

I think that your advice to Heather is good. Semi-automatics are complicated. I had one of my semi-autos sitting in a safe with a loaded magazine next to it, a good magazine mind you, I brought the gun out to do some recreational shooting one day with the magazine that had previously tested well and what did I find? When I tried releasing the bolt it would snag on the top of the magazine. The magazine had bent slightly do to the pressure that the spring and bullets exerted on it for a few months. The bolt would not go forward after several attempts. I ended up throwing the magazine out. If I had needed it in a life or death situation it would have been useless and it would have turned the gun into a club. Other advice Heather, buy stainless steel.

But then again i live in rural place, and biggest town around here house 20.000 people( i know its more like village to you guys). IF SHTF happens there will be riots, looting and that crap.But what happens when there is no more food in store? or in any of neighbourhood? Gangs of starved and angry people will start to raid outlaying farms for food.
I hope that this will never happen, but judging on economy and the way we live this will happen sooner or later. Its just a question how will this resolve.