Firearms can be a factor in surviving many worst-case scenarios; however, we acknowledge that some readers may have an aversion to guns, and have no intention of ever owning or using one. We recognize that the gun world can be intimidating, overwhelming, divisive, and at times excessive, perhaps nowhere more so than in the survival sphere. Nonetheless, we encourage you to approach the topic with an open mind...you may find it more accessible than you think.
We will broach this from the perspective of introducing general concepts, not salivating over the latest war machine, nor celebrating the prospect of using a gun against another human. That said, it could happen that even the most peaceful person has to take a life to protect themselves or their loved ones, but that would be a bad day. Anyone who is actually hopeful that society collapses so they can kill people with impunity can fuck off now.
Why?
Let’s start by addressing the basic question: Why would you need a gun in a worst-case scenario such as a societal collapse? Well, two reasons:
1: to harvest food (hunting)
2: to keep others from taking said food from you (defence)
Single gun: Shotgun
Technically, one gun can be used for both hunting and defence, if that’s what your budget allows, or if your relocation plan includes a lot of walking and it’s not practical to carry more than one gun. In our opinion, nothing is more versatile than a pump-action, 12-gauge shotgun; you can load it with shells optimized for home defence, small game, birds in the air, deer, or to drop a charging bear. With some practice, you can cycle a pump-action almost as fast as a semi-automatic. If recoil is a concern, down-charged shells are available that kick less. Shotguns are also really good for hunting in the woods, as the heavy projectiles don’t get knocked off course if they nick a tree branch, like some rifle rounds do. Because of their simplicity, shotguns are some of the least-expensive firearms out there. Just try to get one with a large capacity (the ammo tube is the same length as the barrel), as that is the one weakness of shotguns…the size of the shells limits capacity. Here are a couple of examples, but there are lots of good pump shotguns out there.
Single gun: Rifle
If the area you are in, or plan to relocate to, is more field than forest, a rifle will be better suited for harvesting food at a distance. The challenge with using a traditional hunting rifle (such as a scoped bolt-action) is that they aren’t ideal for self-defence situations, as they have small magazine capacities and aren’t designed to be fired rapidly or reloaded quickly. Further, most hunting scopes aren’t intended to help you aim at close range (in fact, they make it worse). Fortunately, there are hunting rifles that address these concerns, while maintaining the ability to harvest game hundreds of meters away. Our criteria for a rifle that is primarily for field hunting, while still decent for defence, are:
.308 caliber (great long range capability; can buy military surplus rounds in bulk; common enough to be found in scavenge mode; good barrel life, as some calibers wear out barrels faster than others; big enough to take down a moose or bear)
Detachable 10-round (or greater) magazine (can carry extra mags for quick reloads)
Threaded barrel so flash-hider can be mounted (reduces your ‘signature’ if someone is trying to locate where you are shooting from)
Barrel length 20” or less for maneuverability in close quarters
LPVO scope (Low Powered Variable Optic…you can dial it down to a point where there’s no magnification so you can keep both eyes open as you aim at close range threats or game)
Awesome, but not mandatory, is a straight-pull bolt, as it requires less fine motor skill than a traditional bolt, and gives faster follow-up shots
Savage Impulse Predator Example of straight-pull bolt (not common in Canada yet)
There are decent alternatives for less money…just missing the straight-pull function:
Mossberg MVP (we like the built-in sights…good backup if the optic gets damaged)
Semi-automatic hunting rifles:
.308/7.62x51 semis have been used for hunting with great success; however, many have been banned in Canada. Most of the ones available now are the bullpup design (and pricey). These basically flip the equation around: they are excellent for defence, but less suited for hunting, as they can’t match the accuracy of a bolt action.
If defence is the primary concern, there are semi-automatic rifles in .223/5.56x45 caliber that are ideal defence tools, and more affordable than the bigger calibers. They could still be used for small game or deer; they just won’t reach as far into the field, or be effective on moose or bear. (This is the round the police and military use, as an indication of its defence capabilities.)
Note: Magazines for semi-automatic rifles are limited to 5 rounds in Canada, while pistol magazines can legally hold 10 rounds. There are pistols in production that use 7.62x51 and 5.56x45 rounds; as such, it is legal to use magazines designed for those pistols in rifles such as the ones linked above.
“The maximum permitted capacity of a magazine is determined by the kind of firearm it is designed or manufactured for use in and not the kind of firearm it might actually be used in. This means the maximum permitted capacity remains the same regardless of which firearm it might be used in.” RCMP
What else?
Here are some other common-caliber firearms that have their place in the survival realm:
.22 semi-automatic
Inexpensive rifles and ammo; good for small game hunting; no recoil; could be used defensively in a pinch (especially if it has a high-capacity magazine, which is legal in this caliber).
Pistol Caliber Carbine
Semi-automatic; minimal recoil; suitable for close-range hunting or defence; some have a last-round-hold-open feature for quicker reloads; can be paired with a pistol with matching magazines, if you are lucky enough to have owned one before they were banned; some models can be taken apart or folded to fit in a backpack; legal use of 10-round magazines.
7.62x39 SKS
Very common semi-automatic hunting rifle with a military lineage; intermediate cartridge…power sits between the .223/5.56 and the .308/7.62; challenging to get an optic mounted, so perhaps best suited for someone who is good with the factory sights; major plus is low purchase price and the availability of inexpensive military surplus ammo - downside is that the surplus ammo is corrosive, so you have to clean the gun more often (non-corrosive is available, just more costly). In stock form they hold 10 rounds (pinned to 5 in Canada) and use stripper clips to load, which can be awkward, but aftermarket magazines are available. We like the Archangel magazine because it incorporates a lever to release the magazine, which is otherwise a challenge.
How’s your eyesight?
If you wear glasses or contacts, you should ensure you can still shoot accurately without them.
Are you farsighted? If so, you may have a hard time using iron sights…red dots help a bunch with this, but the requirement for batteries and potential for the electronics to fail are a concern. Keep extra batteries, and if you have the budget for it, keep an extra red dot in a Faraday cage.
Are you nearsighted? A magnified optic such as an LPVO may be the way to go for you.
Confused?
Sorry…there’s a lot to take in. Despite all of the above, the best gun may just be the one you already own and know how to use. If you don’t have the budget for a major purchase, maybe just stockpile ammo for the gun(s) you already have. Any major emergency will lead to a run on ammo, if stores are even open, so get it while you can.
If you are contemplating an upgrade, or your first firearm purchase, our advice is to stick to common calibers, even if there’s a less-common round reported to perform better, as you may have trouble finding that ammo in a protracted survival scenario. When deciding what gun suits your needs, consider whether the priority is defence or hunting, and that may help make the decision of what to buy. If you are part of a mutual assistance group, you can see what others are running, and buy the same if it meets your parameters (ideally, you can try a few of their guns to see what you are most comfortable with).
If you have the budget for it, it’s ideal to have different guns for different jobs, especially if you have more than one competent firearms user in your household. You might have a hunting rifle (with defensive attributes) for the field, a defence-oriented rifle or shotgun for whomever is holding the fort, and a .22 for hunting small game inexpensively. While some guns are better suited for certain roles, every gun we’ve listed above can put food on the table AND keep you alive if a dangerous person kicks your door in.
Don’t let paralysis from analysis set in; there’s a dizzying amount of information out there, and everyone wants to offer their opinion about what you should buy (which we’ve just done too, sigh). Get licenced; get something; train with it; store it safely; buy a crap ton* of ammo for it. Do that and you’ll be ready for the rainy day that we hope never comes.
*Crap ton definition, per Reddit: “The basic metric unit is crap load. There are 100 craploads in 1 crap ton. There are 100 crap tons in a shitload and 100 shitloads in a shit ton. You can also go on to fuck loads and fuck tons but for the purpose of your question, we can stop at shit tons.” So yeah, lots of ammo.