[BangBangPlay]

Although some people say the economy is coming back I am one who'd rather be safe than sorry. I have been researching survival list and techniques for a while. I also have been stocking provisions for the unpredictable future and my Mini is the centerpiece for urban survival in a WROL or SHTF scenario. I know there are so many different bases to cover but firearms should be right after water, food, and good shelter.

After reading several survival blogs (there are so many) I was hoping to get a nod from at least some of the so called experts on adding a Mini 14 to your arsenal. Nothing!! One guy did say that matching your ammo to local authorities is a must, and the .223/5.56 will be #1 in a SHTF scenario. LEOs will abandon their sidearms for their AR15s so that ammo will be abundant. I personally have set aside 1000 rounds so far, and expect to add to that periodically. But being able to replenish after Day 1 will be an advantage, especially in a small city. I agree with some experts that you shouldn't put all your faith in only one firearm, and it is good to get some variety for several reasons. I have some bases covered with a .40 pistol, 12 gauge moss, and my mini 14 but having to stock even more ammo can get expensive. Not to mention train with it on a regular basis. I would love to add an M1A or another .308/7.62 NATO rifle to the fold but there are so many other small overlooked things I need first. I am pretty comfortable with my Mini being the go to gun up to this point. It has rate of fire, it's not too cumbersome and the ammo is light too, it's reliable, and it's range is good for urban engagements. What do you guys think?

PS post WROL will not be a cake walk based on how many people are preparing themselves. Firearms aren't as abundant here in NE and I like my chances but you can't overlook the fact many Americans share your distrust with the economy. Also the mere fact that you have prepared yourself will make you a target of the lazy and less fortunate. I know it depends where you live and on other unknowns but be prepared for anything!

 

[kwg020]

Unfortunately, the lack of parts for the Mini is something that holds it back from being the ultimate survival rifle. The fact that there are millions of Mini's out there that can be salvaged for parts make it slightly more viable. Also, I keep an SKS just incase I need to use commy ammo. kwg

 

[LittleBill]

I agree w kwg020. The biggest drawback to keeping one or more Mini's as your EOTWAWKI rifle is the unavailability of spare firing pins, and the fact that replacement bolts have to be individually fitted to the gun. Right now this means sending the entire gun back to Ruger; something that won't be possible if everything goes into the toilet. Many spare parts can be gotten and kept around, but not factory pins or bolts. (Most folks seem to think that the aftermarket firing pins available aren't all that good).

Compared to this situation, every single part of the AR is available and can be installed by the shooter. So you can put together a spare parts kit that will serve you if times get bad. Or swap bolts, etc from another AR if yours breaks. That's why the AR is the favorite 5.56/.223 gun of most survivalists. And AK probably ranks second; not as accurate as the AR, but the ultimate in reliability and durability.

As far as 'shootability', I like Mini's a lot more than AR's or AK's. Even the old Mini's are accurate enough for my purposes (with a little help from a strut); certainly the new ones. And they rival the AK's for reliability in adverse circumstances (i.e., in a sandstorm, after being dropped in a mud puddle, being shot a lot without being cleaned). Good AR's are reliable---but only as long as they're cleaned periodically.

All that being said, I have two Mini's that I'm relying on if the SHTF. I find the Mini provides the best combination of accuracy and reliability: more accurate than the AK, more reliable than the AR. But the spare parts issue continues to be a drawback. That's one reason I have two. As someone said, 'Two is one, one is none.'

Don't yet have an AR or an AK, though I'd like eventually to get both. And an M1A, or HK91, OR FN-FAL.

And don't forget too that in a really extreme situation, we'll be picking up the weapons and ammo of our downed enemies. So it's good to know how to operate a variety of different types of weapon.

 

[BangBangPlay]

Compared to this situation, every single part of the AR is available and can be installed by the shooter. So you can put together a spare parts kit that will serve you if times get bad. Or swap bolts, etc from another AR if yours breaks. That's why the AR is the favorite 5.56/.223 gun of most survivalists. And AK probably ranks second; not as accurate as the AR, but the ultimate in reliability and durability.

All that being said, I have two Mini's that I'm relying on if the SHTF. I find the Mini provides the best combination of accuracy and reliability: more accurate than the AK, more reliable than the AR. But the spare parts issue continues to be a drawback. That's one reason I have two. As someone said, 'Two is one, one is none.'

Don't yet have an AR or an AK, though I'd like eventually to get both. And an M1A, or HK91, OR FN-FAL.

And don't forget too that in a really extreme situation, we'll be picking up the weapons and ammo of our downed enemies. So it's good to know how to operate a variety of different types of weapon.

I have been eyeing the Ruger SR556 for a while, if I am going to buy an AR I probably would sway towards to piston ARs although those parts could be scarce too. That is the dilemma, how to prepare for the unknown? What combo of rifles will work in what situation. If you live in the sticks and know all of your neighbors you may not even fire a single shot. I think it is also safe to say that a handful of weapons (like most of us here probably own) are better than none. I have limited money to allocate towards my survival plan, and ive been buying things periodically. A new firearm would set me back a lil bit. I like the idea of compatibility of ammo and mags so I probably will end up with another Mini before the end of the year. I may just save a little longer and pick up an M1A but that $1500 could be put towards a solar power rig, or more survival gear. I just wanted to see what your thoughts are on the subject. My brother (and many others) refuses to believe that society can simply collapse, and says planning is a waste of money and that is just plain stupid. He will be that guy without a chair when the music stops and will probably be the first person at my door.

 

[nbh40]

Although the 556 and 9mm (or 40 if that's what you PD use) is good to have around when the hoards come rampaging at the breakdown of society. Or indeed in a major natural disaster. These type of firearms only really serve to protect you and yours and have little real world 'survival' application.
From a survival perspective you need to carefully analyse your surroundings, look at worst case, best case and most likely in terms of events and scenarios. Then look at the variety of Courses of Action (CoA) that you would/could take in those scenarios. Only then can you asssess your survival needs. Are you going to 'Bug-in' or 'Bug-out', what will be your food sources etc, what are the predominate game animals. A cheap 22LR and a couple of bricks (1000rds) of ammo should be a core food gatherer, is cheap and can be a good deterent to any less determined aggressors. What are the bigger game that you could hunt/gather, do you have an effective caliber? A 4inch 357 can take a whitetail if you know how to use it, but so can a 556 with good shot placement. But ain't much good if you live where I do and the hunting grounds are home to Grizzlies!
Is the mini a good selection, why not? The chances of you putting 1000s of rounds down it are pretty slim, actually the real chances of you even firing it are slimmer.
What all these survivalist forums seem to miss is the #1 rule of survival - 'avoid danger'.
Just be proficient with your mini, you will be able to acquire a whole bunch of fully ninja'd ARs when the hoards start attacking; cos most of those guys have spent all their money on gadgets and hoarding and can't shoot for S*%t
I have said it before on another thread - the firearm in our house that is central to any SHTF is my son's Marlin lever in 38/357. Can take any game from rabbits to Deer and 10 rds of 357 are pretty effective rampaging hoard stoppers. Also is looks pretty non-threating.
Lots of talk of an M1A. Great guns, but you are in same game as a mini, if it goes wrong you are screwed and semi-auto 308 has limited practical application in civilian world, not to mention the size and cost of ammo to support it. Get a good bolt gun (or 2). If you chose well you could have a complete spare parts bag (bolt trigger group etc) and still have change out of $600.

On another forum a challenge was set (IIRC); SHFT firearms for under £1500 (not including ammo). The vast majority came down to a handgun (9 or 40), 556 Carbine, 22LR and large caliber bolt gun. Interesting most dismissed 12Ga due to logistics of carrying ammo, limited magazine capacity and limited 'most likely scenario' application.

I live on an island. I am therefore surrounded by sea and also have vast woodlands and mountains around. I can go and get food whenever I want it, so my firearms are oriented to that - but I hunt and fish for sport anyway so am always prepared!

 

[nbh40]

My brother (and many others) refuses to believe that society can simply collapse, and says planning is a waste of money and that is just plain stupid. He will be that guy without a chair when the music stops and will probably be the first person at my door.

If you know anyone in Defense contracting, ask them where they thought, as of mid 2010, their next big contract was gonna be. A lot would say 'Libya'. Because it was stable, Bush, Blair and a bunch of others had made friends with Gadaffi and their military needed work. How things can change over night, nobody predicted it.
Look at post Katrina New Orleans, nobody predicted that. Japan, the list goes on.
The only certainties in life are death and uncertainty!

 

[BangBangPlay]

If you know anyone in Defense contracting, ask them where they thought, as of mid 2010, their next big contract was gonna be. A lot would say 'Libya'. Because it was stable, Bush, Blair and a bunch of others had made friends with Gadaffi and their military needed work. How things can change over night, nobody predicted it.
Look at post Katrina New Orleans, nobody predicted that. Japan, the list goes on.
The only certainties in life are death and uncertainty!

I agree, especially with your last sentence. I always laugh at new analysts (or sports analysts) who's job is to speculate and guess. It is a pointless waste of time to try to predict the outcome of current events or sports. The only thing you can be certain of is uncertainty. With current events all you can do is analyze what has already happened and apply it to the future. What I have learned from history is that people don't prepare for anything, and just hope everything turns out ok. Kinda like how New Orleans was built below sea level, dangerous oil rigs explode due to experimental techniques, or how the Japanese build a Nuclear Power Plant in an earthquake/tsunami zone. I learned what there is to be learned, only you can help yourself and family. It is difficult to predict the circumstances, we could all die in an instant because of a asteroid or solar flare. I do know that our planet can only sustain human exponential growth for so long, something has to give. Usually mother nature has it's own way of dealing with overpopulation. I am not going to be complacent, but I have to do it little at a time, piece by piece.

 

[WES213]

I got right around 5 family's all saying that if the SHTF they will head to my house but no bullets and no food is just going to get you to a locked door here, in a house of 3 people you will find about 4 guns per person here and should the food ever get to low keep in mind a body bag can be a make shift M.R.E. :lol:

 

[qwman68]

I have plenty of guns and ammo. Food stored up. Just enough for my family. Yes, my mini is my main go to gun. I dont forsee anything happening to it but if something does then I have plenty to choose from. I have thought about buying another bolt and firing pin for the mini, just to have a spare, but either way Im not worried.

 

[Ignition Override]

If it can help me procure Insulin for my wife's critical requirement, the Mini 30 certainly is a top priority. Would the 2,000 rds. increase the chances?

The Walgreens at Canada/Hwy 64 might have a refrigerated supply in the very remote scenario where an Al Qaida cell sabotages the electrical systems all around Memphis.

Can ammo help you guys supply vital medicines for your families, or is a two-four week supply of pharmaceuticals handy?
Am trying to figure out how the M-1 Garand and Enfields could benefit us, if a weeks-long breakdown left no deer available just outside the city.

 

[qwman68]

Luckily, Im the only family member who needs meds and I have been hoarding back on those too. I would say a mini-30 and 2000rds. of ammo would procure alot.

 

[William]

My arsenal so far does include the Mini-14,

Mini 14, 1200 rounds of ammo
Backup for the Mini - 2 AK47's, 1600 rounds
Remington Apache Nylon 66, .22 cal & Chiappa 1911-22, 4000 rounds
Glock 22, .40 cal, 800 rounds
Taurus 357, 600 rounds
Charter Arms .38, 300 rounds

I will continue to add to my ammo periodically, I would like to have a minimum of 3000 rounds each for the Mini and the AK's. Right now building my food, water, etc supplies. It may not happen in my lifetime, I think it will though, but the SHTF scenario will happen, if not from a government collapse, then it will come from the influx of the millions of illegal immigrants. :usa:

 

[p35bhp55]

"but the SHTF scenario will happen, if not from a government collapse, then it will come from the influx of the millions of illegal immigrants."

This is not the forum for this but if our economy keeps tanking the immigrants will quit coming.

 

[scubadad]

yes i would use my mini as a go to gun. however planning on finding ammo laying around from dead soldiers on either side is not gonna happen. some have 223 and 762 weapons just for that reason. stock up as much as you can. popular hunting calibers would be more likely to be found in abandonded areas.
after going thru several hurricanes i can say yes having supplies is a good idea. planning for shtf or collapse of government is a whole different story. if you think that you and your wife and 2 kids are gonna live on your farm and defend it for the long term. wake up. it will just be a matter of time before you run out of ammo or lose to a larger band of bad guys. forming a defendable community is the only long term solution. look at the early settlers. they were attacked by indians and bad guys. alot survived but alot did not. unless you have a multi billion dollar bunker sooner or later you are gonna have to stick your head out and go forage for supplies. then who is protecting the family? can they stand and fight?
not trying to sound like im giving up but if the end of civilization comes i hope to die in the initial blast. i know its hollywood but after watching some of the movies of life in the aftermath i really dont want to live like that. not to burst any bubbles but none of us are going to be the lone warrior wandering the aftermath saving mankind. those that are left will be locked up in our homes trying to hang on to what we have left.

 

[p35bhp55]

If it can help me procure Insulin for my wife's critical requirement, the Mini 30 certainly is a top priority. Would the 2,000 rds. increase the chances?

The Walgreens at Canada/Hwy 64 might have a refrigerated supply after Al Qaida sabotages the electrical systems all around Memphis.

Can ammo help you guys supply vital medicines for your families, or is a two-four week supply of pharmaceuticals handy?
Am trying to figure out how the M-1 Garand and Enfields could benefit us, if a weeks-long breakdown left no deer available just outside the city.

Are you on the east or west side of the bridge? Kinda guessing west cause of the Hwy 64 reference. If you are on the east side and planning a trip into town after the crash I'm thinking 2000 rounds might not be enough

Ammo can help you travel, but I don't know how many pharms have back up power, guessing not as common as we might think.

As far as hunting goes, I think anyone who isn't very familar with an area is going to be hungry. Fishing would probably work better.

 

[WES213]

Ammo can help you travel, but I don't know how many pharms have back up power, guessing not as common as we might think.

Just so happens i am an electrician by trade and a back up gen is standard as lots of med's and money would go to hell should the grid fail to supply power.

 

[p35bhp55]

Just so happens i am an electrician by trade and a back up gen is standard as lots of med's and money would go to hell should the grid fail to supply power.

Do they have a service contract? Stepdaughter is a PharmD and a whip on meds, but keeping anything running....

 

[p35bhp55]

Back on topic, I have 3 minis and they will be part of any bug in we have here. Even if that means trading one for something else we need. Most guns won't come with a bag of spare firing pins so I really don't think the mini will be any less because of it.

 

[BangBangPlay]

Like some of you said you can only stay barricaded in for so long, but the first few days could be a good time to grab not only what you need, but what others may need. I am glad some of you brought up the need for meds or special supplies. In a WROL scenario (depending where you live) money will loose it's value overnight so it may be wise to think about procuring barter/tradeable goods. "Things" of special value are going be the new money and depending where you are and if you trust (or allow people to approach you) your neighbors you'd be wise to use this to your advantage. If you own a pharmacy for instance you could barter for things you don't have or vice versa. It would also be wise to think about starting a small family business to produce something of value. Drugs, booze, guns and ammo, medical supplies, batteries, livestock, potable water, even trades like dentistry, etc can be used to obtain what you don't have. I mean you can always go out and try to obtain these things by force, but that could be a good way to get yourself injured and killed. This isn't hollywood and small injuries can lead to infection and death, so it isn't worth the risk. I live in the city and I wouldn't hesitate to go on the offensive if my family's lives depended on it. Because I am pretty well stocked up my firearms would be used more for defensive purposes.

 

[sarge1967]

I have a Mini 14. It is my go to rifle. I am thinking about an AR but may get another Mini.

As it sits now I have a 10/22 a Mini 14 and a Glock 23. Have A LOT of ammo for each. I just want a rifle for the wife. If I get an AR she will use the Mini. If I get another Mini it will be the tactical with standard strait stock. The one we have now is the ATI stock version of the tactical so my wife can shorten the stock to her size.