Bang for Your Buck: A Guide to Affordable and Reliable Firearms for Preppers

Survival Blog

What We’re Shooting For
This article is intended as a guide for preppers who want to buy their first or first few guns, but have very limited funds to do so. It will give specific recommendations for affordable and reliable firearms in the .22 Long Rifle caliber category, shotgun category, handgun category, and rifle category. It will also endeavor to keep Boredom Poisoning to a minimum.

For whatever reason, I’m betting that you've been thinking about getting a gun for the first time or expanding your gun collection to make it more comprehensive. Perhaps it’s because you’ve been watching C-SPAN. I'm also betting that the recession has put a slight dent in your discretionary income, and that you're a little confused and overwhelmed by the all the opinions on internet forums out there (as they say, a river that is a mile wide is an inch deep). We're often told to buy used guns to save money, but that can be hit or miss both in availability and quality. To help address all these challenges, we’re going to present a list of firearms that meet the following criteria:

Reliable: The gun has to work well.
Available: It has to be fairly common and in a common caliber.
Affordable: We’ll try to keep each gun under $300 out-of-box.

But first, a little gun philosophy for the first-time buyer or the skeptical significant other whom you forced to read this article.

Guiding Philosophy

Guns are tools. Much like other more familiar tools such as screwdrivers, hammers, and saws, different kinds of guns have different purposes and do well in some circumstances and poorly in others. Saws make poor hammers, but we don't criticize the saw for not being able to do the hammer's job, and vice versa. That's why it's ridiculous to expect one gun to handle all situations.

Here's where the analogy ends, because while guns are certainly tools, they aren't really very much like hammers and screwdrivers. You need to get proper instruction on the safe handling and effective use of firearms. Without that, a gun is a liability to you and your loved ones rather than a boon.

So what goes in the judicious, budget-conscious person's gun "toolbox," and what would it run them as an investment? Just like every homeowner should have a basic set of tools, there are certain basic categories of firearm tools that the prudent prepper would want to have. The order of purchase is left for the reader to decide based on his or her own prepping goals and situation. Here's my list of cheap-yet-stalwart guns, placed into four categories: .22LR, Shotgun, Rifle, and Handgun.

.22LR Firearms

Your needs: Building shooting skill foundations, B.O.B. gun, taking small game

Why: Firearms in this category are cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, and cheap to shoot. This caliber is the perfect training round for new shooters because it has virtually nonexistent kick and retort, allowing the shooter to focus on acquiring skills rather than the ringing in their ears or the sting in their palm and shoulder. It's also incredibly versatile. The twenty-two can take small game easily and can serve as a viable defense caliber in extreme circumstances. Of course, a fork can also serve a defensive role (and may be more appropriate in some circumstances), but don't let anyone tell you that .22LR is a wimpy round. Many, many people have been killed with a .22, both intentionally and unintentionally. This round can potentially kill from farther away than you can accurately shoot it. However, remember that while a .22 can serve a defensive role, it is far from an excellent choice for that job. Still, learning the basics of gun use and care with a .22 is top-notch preparation for all subsequent guns. Also, they’re a lot of fun to shoot. In the author’s opinion, no prepper’s firearm collection is complete without a .22 rifle. This is the Duct Tape/WD-40/multitool of your gun toolbox.

Recommended Rifle: Ruger 10/22.
Cost: $180
Ruger knows its stuff. The 10/22 carbine is rugged, durable, dependable, and accurate. For accessories, I highly recommend the high-capacity 25-round magazines that come directly from Ruger, the BX-25's. Also, you can customize a 10/22 to your heart’s content. Some of the more useful options are slings and scopes. Other options include a kit to turn your 10/22 into a .22LR Gatling gun. Your call.

Recommended Pistol: Ruger SR-22.
Cost: $300
Versatility, reliability, and durability are prized qualities for a firearm in a basic, barebones collection. Most .22 pistols fire only high-velocity ammunition. High-velocity ammo is both more expensive and more specialized than regular .22LR. The SR-22 can shoot the same .22 LR round that your 10/22 does. Interchangeability and a reduced variety of ammunition are desirable traits for a prepper, particularly in a Bug Out role. .22 pistols have long been the guns that military survival trainers have either recommended to their students or required them to have during their training and to keep in their Bug Out Bags while on missions (particularly to pilots). A .22 pistol can take any rabbit-sized game from reasonable distances and is relatively quiet. It is light and so is its ammo, allowing a person to carry far more ammunition per unit of weight compared to larger calibers. And, once again, it’s better than having a rock to defend oneself with. All of these traits come together to make this firearm an excellent choice for a B.O.B. gun.

Shotguns

Your needs: Home defense, hunting

Why: You’re going to want a pump shotgun, plain and simple. You will most likely want a 12-gauge due to its ready availability and higher power, but if you find that the 12-gauge kicks a little hard or is a little noisy for you, go with a 20-gauge. Either way, pump shotguns are cheap, durable, versatile, and seriously heavy hitters at surprising distances. Pump shotguns are true workhorses. With proper training, pump shotguns do not lose out to automatic shotguns in terms of rate of fire. For hunting, a longer barrel and either appropriately sized shot or rifled slugs can be used to take everything from widgeons to whitetails. For home defense, a shotgun can be stored with a shorter barrel installed and defensive rounds loaded, and one could not ask for a more potent boomstick in the confines of a bedroom hallway.

Recommended: Maverick 88, 12 or 20 gauge.
Cost: $200
The 88 is based off of the Mossberg 500 and is owned and produced by Mossberg. These guns are reliable, durable, and cheap. Shotguns are quite cheap in general, but Mossberg maintains high quality in its Maverick line while keeping the price in the bargain basement. And if you bought the Ruger 10/22, you'll notice that the 88 has a safety mechanism that is quite similar to the 10/22, which should help to reinforce good gun safety by reducing complexity. Get it with either a 20" or 18.5" smoothbore barrel. If you plan on hunting with it, get the 28" barrel to go with a shorter home defense barrel. The barrels are easy to swap out.

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January 26, 2013

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