I was wrapping up a morning of pigeon control and headed to the truck when a straggler swooped in and perched on a cow barn roof, 40 yards away. Snap… Whap! The .22-caliber pellet struck with a decisive blow. Amidst a shower of feathers, the pigeon slid down the corrugated-steel roof and plopped within inches of a disinterested cow. Others located mere feet from the gun continued to munch on hay. The farmer was happy, his milk supply was uninterrupted, and his dairy was a couple dozen pigeons lighter.

Although downright nasty by air rifle standards, built-in noise reduction features belayed the gun’s full potential. Powered by a pre-charged supply of high-pressure air, its reservoir supplied 45 useful shots. Once back home, I simply hooked it up to a scuba tank and topped it off to 2900 PSI.

by Steve Markwith, author of Air Rifles: A Buyer’s and Shooter’s Guide

Modern Airguns – More Power

No doubt about it, airguns have evolved since the days of Ralphie’s Red Ryder. Actually, you can still buy one, and you can still shoot your eye out!

BUT, you could also tip over a 250-pound hog with some of the latest air-powered systems. Falling in between these extremes are barrel-cocking (springer) pellet guns commonly seen in outdoor catalogs and sporting emporiums – often advertised with extremely optimistic velocities.

Until the last few years, a third level of more exotic pre-charged pneumatic airguns achieved little more than cult status. But, recently, they’ve become more mainstream due to recognition of their true capabilities. Another class of airguns is built specifically for quiet shooting in confined areas. Designed for 10-meter indoor range competition, most true match-grade air rifles shoot .177-caliber pellets below 600 fps. They’re the antithesis of a smooth bore BB gun, but neither generate sufficient power for anything larger than mice or sparrows.

That’s also true of many CO-2 powered airguns which are great for riddling cans. Some are close knockoffs of well-known military arms with full-auto capabilities, and an absolute hoot to shoot! However, for purposes of this post, pest control and small game hunting count, so we’ll need to move up the power ladder.

The upper rung of air guns is occupied by pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) rifles, designed to hunt deer or feral hogs. They’re specialized systems with a bark, and much less suitable for quiet backyard practice. Move downward a few rungs and quiet shooting becomes possible, including elimination of aggravating bird feeder-raiding squirrels. Similar technologies permit hunting in some spots off-limits to firearms. Although less of an issue in my area, I do feel much safer when sniping squirrels from trees with relatively short-range .22-caliber pellets – as opposed to .22 rimfire bullets that can travel a mile.

Modern Airgun Pellet Calibers

Common airgun pellet calibers range from the common BB to .177, .20, .22, .25, and .35. Niche guns also exist in .30, .35, .45, and .50-caliber. The BB is too light for hunting anything beyond small pests, and they’ll ricochet like crazy off hard surfaces! That leaves pellets as the preferred projectile with .177 being the most common.

Most are made from soft lead, with a solid nose that tapers to a wasp-waist followed by a hollow skirt. The resulting low mass boosts speed, but poor aerodynamic qualities limit their carrying range to several hundred yards (or less), making them the safer choice for settled areas.

The small .177 pellets can fly faster than larger calibers, in some cases approaching .22 LR velocities. But .177s quickly fizzle out. Actually, regardless of the airgun, caliber hydrostatic shock is unlikely, so projectiles with greater frontal area are more effective on live targets. Hence, the popular .22-caliber alternative. To a lesser extent, .20 and .25-caliber airguns are encountered.

Some of the “pellets” are actually lead bullets which travel at handgun velocities. Odds of running into them at standard retail locations are remote. All things considered, factoring in useful power and widespread availability, a .22 is hard to beat.

Defining Airgun “Power”

For use against large squirrels or pigeons, I’ll take a .22 airgun with a muzzle velocity of 800 feet per second (fps) or more. At that speed, a typical diablo (wasp-waisted) lead .22 caliber, 15-grain pellet will generate roughly 20 foot-pounds of energy. It will also smack a pigeon with much more authority than a faster .177.

That said, the British have learned to live with less. To avoid onerous Firearms Certificate (FAC) requirements, they use airguns throttled back to 12 ft. lbs. (roughly 600 fps, using .22 pellets). Although anemic by U.S. standards, an entire airgun industry has evolved to meet UK hunting interests which center on rabbits and pest birds. The Brits are careful to take head-shots, and their highly-refined guns have the accuracy to make them. The good news is export FAC versions of these guns have arrived on U.S. shores with no such limitations. As we’ll see shortly, many are pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) types capable of much better numbers – like 900+ fps/30+ ft. lbs. in .22-caliber, with standard 15-grain pellets!

To put things in perspective, an “anemic” .22 Short fired at 900 fps develops around 70 ft. lbs. through a bullet twice the weight of an average 15-grain .22 pellet – 29 grains. Hopefully, this will offer some guidance on the size of suitable quarry. Some of the stuff depicted on the various media venues using .22 or .25-caliber airguns is a bit sketchy. Head-shots might sound good on paper, but my standard involves humane upper-body hits.

Even with those, on average-size gray squirrels, my zippy 900 fps .22 air rifle is noticeably less decisive than a .22 LR subsonic HP. In a pinch, I’d use this airgun on a raccoon, but only with a head-shot inside 30 yards. Regarding woodchucks, a feisty .22 LR HP won’t always anchor one with a well-placed chest shot. I have taken a few with air rifles, but only through careful shots to their noggins. Some folks hunt western coyotes with .25s, but .30s or .35s are preferred. Deer are the domain of .45-caliber or larger airgun slugs fired from those big-bore PCP rifles. And, in all cases, shot placement matters greatly!

Useful Airguns

Sticking with backyard or smaller woodlot airguns, to achieve the 20 ft. lb. threshold you’ll need an air rifle – either a PCP, or a potent springer. A few PCP pistols can come close though, and less velocity could even be preferable in some situations.

Pistols: One possible pest contender is Benjamin’s U.S-built .22 Marauder. This PCP bolt-action repeater clocks around 700 fps and offers 20-25 shots per charge. Since airguns are not federally regulated, you can even buy one with an accessory shoulder stock! The receiver is grooved to accept optics, too. However, it’s far from a tiny pistol (although I’m still trying to resist one). Pump-up pneumatic and CO-2 pistols will be lucky to break 500 fps in .177-cal. Some springers can do a bit better but they’re big and hard to cock. For critters, the answer is a pre-charged pistol.

Pump-up (multi-stroke) pneumatic rifles: As a youngster, I saved up for a .20-caliber (5mm) Sheridan, which seemed like a true magnum at the time, but probably struggled to exceed 650 fps. It also had an audible snap, a product of instantaneous decompression; but, it laid a number of starlings and gray squirrels low through careful shooting at prudent distances. Decades later it’s still holding air!

Instead of using the maximum eight strokes, I sometimes just give it 3; just enough to smack the south end of a feeder-raiding squirrel without any lasting effects. These guns are hard to scope so I stick with the open sights. You’ll get plenty of exercise between each shot, meaning long plinking sessions are unlikely. Don’t exceed the recommended pumps or you’ll risk air-locking the valves, but store it with a couple strokes of air to maintain their seating (which keeps out dust particles).

Springers: My experience with these guns goes back to the late 1970s, when Dr. Beeman began importing elegant European models. I’ve owned a bunch of ‘em since and still keep a good barrel-cocking gun nearby, along with a tin of pellets. It’s a perfect grab & go rifle for use against marauding pest birds that invade the backyard feeder.

Mine is a German-built Beeman R-9 in .22-caliber (a bit uncommon since most R-9s are .177s). Typical of most springers, it’s listed velocity of 740 fps is actually 680 fps using standard-weight 14.8 grain pellets. Still, it’ll clobber starlings out to 35 yards or so. I zero it at 30 yards using an airgun-rated scope. Quarter-size groups are the norm with JSB 14.8-grain Exact Express pellets, but it shoots Crosman 14.8-grain Premier HPs nearly as well and they’re stocked at the local Walmart. So are some barrel-cocking guns of varying lineage and quality; often sold as package guns with scopes.

But big-box businesses are not the realm of guns like the R-9 or good JSB pellets, most of which must be mail-ordered from airgun dealers or off Amazon. Odds are strong you’ll get what you pay for, too. More power comes with increased size, weight, and cocking effort.

Some springers can reach 800 fps (or more) in .22-caliber, but they won’t be small. They’ll also be harder to shoot due to vibration and their unique recoil, which creates a phenomena known as “hold sensitivity” (example: don’t test for accuracy off sandbags). These forces can also unravel scopes not designed for the unique impulse. Springers also shouldn’t be left cocked for long. However, some recent gas-piston designs work like gas struts which eliminate the spring altogether, meaning they can remain cocked (at least, for a while).

I just stick with my German springer because it’s simple and only weighs a bit above eight pounds, scoped. Most 800 fps guns will weigh that much without one. Although decent open sights are often standard, full potential won’t be realized without an airgun-rated scope. Those who can live with a hefty gun might consider Sig’s new ASP20 .22 gas-piston barrel-cocker, some of which come with a decent Sig scope. It has a legal built-in “sound moderator” too, although many springers are fairly quiet without one.

Pre-charged pneumatic rifles: To reach 800 fps or more without lugging excess weight, I simply switch to a pre-charged pneumatic. These guns are totally recoilless and dead-nuts accurate, but they do require an external air source to pressurize their onboard reservoirs. Some use separate bottles while others like mine employ a tube below the barrel.

Using a fitting supplied with the gun, I simply connect it to a HP hose assembly and decant air from a scuba tank. Some use a special HP pump, which I avoid due to concerns about accumulating moisture. A few diehards even use pricey compressors designed for these guns. Whatever the source, it needs to produce clean dry air, usually at 3,000 PSI or above! At such pressures, a bare-muzzle PCP gun will produce quite a snap. Fortunately, most are now “moderated” via a barrel shroud that greatly reduces the report. Some aren’t much louder than a heavy-duty stapler!

For pigeon control jobs inside barns or stables, I use the above domed 14.8-grain .22 JSB Expresses, shot at 800 fps/20-ft. lbs. The gun of choice is a British-built Air Arms repeating carbine, cocked via a side-lever, and fed from a small revolving 10-shot magazine.

Zeroed at 35 yards with a 3×9 AO scope, it’s capable of tiny groups. The gun’s operating pressure is 2,900 PSI. The power is adjustable, so I throttle it back a bit to gain 40 useful shots from its carbine length air reservoir. The gun’s onboard gauge will then read just below 1500 PSI, meaning it’s time for a refill.

For outdoor pigeon missions, my ultra-quiet, 920 fps, single-shot bolt-action .22 Air Arms rifle is noticeably more effective. Its longer air cylinder also provides 45 useful shots despite the extra 100 fps. That gain wouldn’t matter much with head shots, but because light pellets drift in wind, the upper body is a safer bet.

Even at that, I’ll often wind up holding a half-bird or more to the side at 35-40 yards. Lightweight airgun projectiles quickly shed velocity, but pigeons are still doable at 60 yards (or further) with a rangefinder. Zeroed for 40 yards, it can shoot dime-sized groups with 15.9-grain JSB Exact Jumbos. Out to 50 yards, all impacts will be within an inch or so of the crosshairs. This gun has also accounted for a number of crows, some beyond 80 yards; however, that’s pushing things. Results are much better inside 50 yards. For extra oomph, you could go with the increasingly popular and harder-hitting  .25-caliber, assuming the rifle is potent enough to flatten its trajectory.

One viable PCP choice (among many) is Benjamin’s Marauder, a U.S.-built repeater. Available in .177, .22, and .25-caliber, it sells for half the price of many high-end imports. My British guns have served me well (one for 13+ years). Like other airgunners, I store them fully charged (to 2,900 PSI). But eventually, at separate times, each needed servicing to fix a slow leak. The repairs involved shipping to a distant airgun specialist. Repairs to the popular Marauder could be less problematic. Its lower cost could also offset the requisite extras like a tank and hose-assembly, or a pump.

More power! You’ll absolutely need a PCP gun to drive the big-bore specialty slugs, many of which travel at .45 ACP speeds. Each shot will suck through lots of air, so frequent recharges are the norm, placing these guns in the realm of true airgun aficionados. Some do have interesting capabilities though – like the ability to shoot arrows!

Airgun Options and Costs

You’ll pretty much get what you pay for. If nothing else, especially with extra time on-hand, it’s fun to surf the net. There are several good airgun dealers spread out across the U.S. The following are just a sampling that I’ve dealt with:

https://www.pyramydair.com/

https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/

https://www.pomona-airguns.com/shop/

After brief visits, you’ll quickly note that covering everything would be impossible. So, what follows is just a guide, based mostly on personal experience.

Quick and Dirty Guide to Airguns

Bargain barrel-cockers: Some people will settle for a $200 “package-gun” which may come with its scope mounted – or not. With only casual use, it may even do the trick. I’d be thorough regarding product reviews, though. Even some of the well-known firearms manufacturers will rebrand guns from regions that also produce viruses. Good chance those supply lines could soon dry up. Also, I’d be leery of buying a used springer. I’ve encountered some in gun shops that were cocked, much to the detriment of their springs.

Next price-point: For more money, several time-proven springer imports can be had. A few example include British Air Arms choices, Germany’s Diana (RWS) offerings, and guns from Herman Weirhrauch (HW) which also makes the Beeman R-series.

A number of these guns sell for well below $500. My middle-of-the-road R-9 springer is still available, scoped for that amount. For around $600, the aforementioned Sig ASP20 gas-piston package can be purchased. Sig is all-in on a full line of shooter-worthy products. Their latest gas-piston rifle is new, but they’ll stand behind it.

Pre-charged choices: The high-end British and European PCP imports from Daystate, Air Arms, Brocock, BSA, and FX, etc., are true works of art. Some easily exceed $1,000. However, most can be serviced through U.S. dealers, and those that value quality won’t be disappointed. The U.S. firm Airforce builds some really interesting guns at various price-points, including models in big-bore calibers.

Benjamin’s PCP Marauder rifle is available as a scoped package for just above $600 (less the charging gear). Benjamin is part of the established Crosman marque, which has been building airguns for decades. They also sell much more affordable PCP choices, some of which come complete with hand-pumps.

Others: Speaking of hand-pumps, Benjamin’s $400 PCP pistol is a good candidate for one. Unlike rifles which will give you quite a workout, the pistol’s smaller reservoir needs less strokes. Or, you could go with their lightweight multi-stroke pump-up rifle. Several strokes per shot will do it, and the Benji has recently been upgraded with a bit more punch, for around $200. Add a tin of pellets and you’re in business for casual use.

Modern Airgun Summary

Regardless of your choice, read the manual! Just for starters, high-pressure air and some lubricants don’t play much better than BBs and eyeballs, and there are other concerns unique to each system. Thus, two designs worth a revisit are springers and pre-charged rifles. Thinking back to my first PCP purchase, I remember being baffled about the charging process, not to mention other details. Turns out springers also have their share of quirks, beyond those briefly covered here.

Stay tuned for future posts on each. Meanwhile, happy and safe shooting. Oh, and be careful, or you’ll shoot your eye out!

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Read the author’s book Air Rifles: A Buyer’s and Shooter’s Guide for more information.

The post Modern Airguns: Calibers, Power, and Types appeared first on SHTF blog – Modern Survival.

This article was originally published by John W. Whitehead at The Rutherford Institute. 

“If 2019 was the year of the street protest, of tear gas and rubber bullets, 2020 might be the year the street protest died, or perhaps fell into a deep sleep, and went online.”—Journalist Christopher Miller

Despite all appearances to the contrary, martial law has not been declared in America. We still have rights. Technically, at least.

The government may act as if its police state powers suppress individual liberties during this COVID-19 pandemic, but for all intents and purposes, the Constitution—especially the battered, besieged Bill of Rights—still stands in theory, if not in practice.

Indeed, while federal and state governments have adopted specific restrictive measures in an effort to lock down the nation and decelerate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the current public health situation has not resulted in the suspension of fundamental constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and the right of assembly.

Mind you, that’s not to say that the government has not tried its best to weaponize this crisis as it has weaponized so many other crises in order to expand its powers and silence its critics.

All over the country, government officials are using COVID-19 restrictions to muzzle protesters.

It doesn’t matter what the protest is about (church assemblies, the right to work, the timing for re-opening the country, discontent over police brutality, etc.): this is an activity the First Amendment protects vociferously with only one qualification—that it be peaceful.

Yet even peaceful protesters mindful of the need to adhere to social distancing guidelines because of this COVID-19 are being muzzled, arrested, and fined.

For example, a Maryland family was reportedly threatened with up to a year in jail and a $5000 fine if they dared to publicly protest the injustice of their son’s execution by a SWAT team.

If anyone had a legitimate reason to get out in the streets and protest, it’s the Lemp family, whose 21-year-old son Duncan was gunned down in his bedroom during an early morning, no-knock SWAT team raid on his family’s home.

Imagine it.

It was 4:30 a.m. on March 12, 2020, in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic that has most of the country under a partial lockdown and sheltering at home, when this masked SWAT team—deployed to execute a “high risk” search warrant for unauthorized firearms—stormed the suburban house where 21-year-old Duncan, a software engineer and Second Amendment advocate, lived with his parents and 19-year-old brother.

The entire household, including Lemp and his girlfriend, was reportedly asleep when the SWAT team directed flash-bang grenades and gunfire through Lemp’s bedroom window.

Lemp was killed and his girlfriend injured.

No one in the house that morning, including Lemp, had a criminal record.

No one in the house that morning, including Lemp, was considered an “imminent threat” to law enforcement or the public, at least not according to the search warrant.

Now, what was so urgent that militarized police felt compelled to employ battlefield tactics in the pre-dawn hours of a day when most people are asleep in bed, not to mention stuck at home as part of a nationwide lockdown?

According to police, they were tipped off that Lemp was in possession of “firearms.”

So instead of approaching the house by the front door at a reasonable hour in order to investigate this complaint—which is what the Fourth Amendment requires—police instead strapped on their guns, loaded up their flash-bang grenades, and acted like battle-crazed warriors.

This is the blowback from all that military weaponry flowing to domestic police departments.

This is what happens when you use SWAT teams to carry out routine search warrants.

This is what happens when you adopt red flag gun laws, which Maryland did in 2018, painting anyone who might be in possession of a gun—legal or otherwise—as a threat that must be neutralized.

These red flag gun laws allow the police to remove guns from people merely suspected of being threats.

While in theory, it appears perfectly reasonable to want to “stop dangerous people before they act,” where the problem arises is when you put the power to determine who is a potential danger in the hands of government agencies, the courts, and the police.

Remember, this is the same government that uses the words “anti-government,” “extremist” and “terrorist” interchangeably.

This is the same government whose agents are spinning a sticky spider-web of threat assessments, behavioral sensing warnings, flagged “words,” and “suspicious” activity reports using automated eyes and ears, social media, behavior sensing software, and citizen spies to identify potential threats.

This is the same government that keeps re-upping the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which allows the military to arrest and detain American citizens with no access to friends, family or the courts if the government believes them to be a threat.

This is the same government that has a growing list—shared with fusion centers and law enforcement agencies—of ideologies, behaviors, affiliations, and other characteristics that could flag someone as suspicious and result in their being labeled potential enemies of the state.

Let that sink in a moment.

If you believe in and exercise your rights under the Constitution (namely, your right to speak freely, worship freely, associate with like-minded individuals who share your political views, criticize the government, own a weapon, demand a warrant before being questioned or searched, or any other activity viewed as potentially anti-government, racist, bigoted, anarchic, or sovereign), you are most likely at the top of the government’s terrorism watch list.

Moreover, as a New York Times editorial warns, you may be an anti-government extremist (a.k.a. domestic terrorist) in the eyes of the police if you are afraid that the government is plotting to confiscate your firearms, if you believe the economy is about to collapse and the government will soon declare martial law, or if you display an unusual number of political and/or ideological bumper stickers on your car.

Needless to say, if you happen to be passionate about the Constitution and a vocal critic of government corruption, you’ve already been flagged in a government database somewhere.

Likely, Lemp was, too.

Now Lemp is dead and his family is devastated, outraged, and desperate to make sense of what appears to be an insensible act of violence resulting in an inexcusable loss of life.

As usual in these kinds of shootings, government officials have not been forthcoming with details about the shooting: police have refused to meet with family members, the contents of the warrant supporting the raid have not been revealed, and bodycam footage of the raid has not been disclosed.

So in order to voice their objections to police violence and demand answers about the shooting, Lemp’s family and friends planned to conduct an outdoor public demonstration—adhering to social distancing guidelines—only to be threatened with arrest, a year in jail and a $5000 fine for violating Maryland’s stay at home orders.

Yet here’s the thing: we don’t have to be muzzled and remain silent about government corruption, violence and misconduct just because we’re wearing masks and social distancing.

That’s not the point of this whole COVID-19 exercise, or is it?

While there is a moral responsibility to not endanger other lives with our actions, that does not mean relinquishing all of our freedoms.

Be responsible in how you exercise your freedoms, but don’t allow yourselves to be muzzled or your individual freedoms to be undermined.

Understandably, no one wants to talk about individual freedoms when tens of thousands of people the world over are dying, and yet we must.

The decisions we make right now—about freedom, commerce, free will, how we care for the least of these in our communities, what it means to provide individuals and businesses with a safety net, how far we allow the government to go in “protecting” us against this virus, etc.—will haunt us for a long time to come.

At times like these, when emotions are heightened, fear dominates, common sense is in short supply, liberty takes a backseat to public safety, and democratic societies approach the tipping point towards mob rule, there is a tendency to cast those who exercise their individual freedoms (to freely speak, associate, assemble, protest, pursue a living, engage in commerce, etc.) as foolishly reckless, criminally selfish, or outright villains.

Sometimes that is true, but not always.

As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, there is always a balancing test between individual freedoms and the communal good.

What we must figure out is how to strike a balance that allows us to protect those who need protecting without leaving us chained and in bondage to the police state.

We must find ways to mitigate against this contagion needlessly claiming any more lives and crippling any more communities, but let’s not lose our heads: blindly following the path of least resistance—acquiescing without question to whatever the government dictates—can only lead to more misery, suffering and the erection of a totalitarian regime in which there is no balance.

If You Want To Be Free, Stop Complying With Tyranny

Looking for an alternative to the suppressor? Trying to shoot quietly but don’t want to spend $200 and deal with the hassle of a federal stamp? This post is for you.

by Steve Markwith, contributing writer and author of Survival Guns

At the time of this writing, COVID-19 is running rampant. Beyond meager supplies of hand sanitizer and toilet paper, perhaps the cupboard is looking alarmingly bare. The neighbor’s cat could be safe for the time being, but those annoying backyard squirrels might have more appeal with each passing day. Making matters worse, there sits a perfectly useful .22 rifle and a 500-round brick of .22 LR cartridges.

Suppressor sales are booming. But, alas, procrastination has also left the gun safe devoid of a now-coveted “silencer;” the perfect answer for some quiet sniping through the kitchen window. At that point, brother Billie’s air rifle comes to mind. It sits in his closet unused, 20 miles away, and might as well be on the moon due to social distancing. The brick of .22 LR ammo grows more tempting with each passing day.

The Problems with Noise

Trouble is, even in many less-settled areas, the crack of a .22 LR could be beyond acceptable, and a silencer alone won’t totally eliminate the telltale signature of every load. Actually, most centerfire rifles will be as loud as a bare-muzzle .22 LR, even when fired through a silencer (commonly referred to as a suppressor or “can”). Turns out spinning one on offers no immediate fix. There are a few reasons for that:

1. The federal requirements and process, including a $200 registration stamp.
2. Local restrictions and/or prohibitions.
3. A pesky hurdle otherwise known as the sound barrier.

Related article: Converting a .223 Rifle to .300 Blackout

Hence, the appearance of the .300 Blackout, which achieved quick popularity due to its suppressor-friendly characteristics. It can function in AR-15s via extremely heavy .30-caliber bullets lobbed at just below the speed of sound. The result is a very quiet rifle cartridge – with the trajectory of a brick. Recognizing this shortfall (pun intended), many also shoot lighter .300 BLK bullets driven at much higher velocities.

Suppressor Alternatives

However, the unavoidable supersonic crack is unmistakable; roughly on par with, perhaps, a .22 LR high-velocity CCI Stinger. A suppressed .223 (5.56 NATO) fired from a similar-length 16-inch carbine will sound more like a .22 Magnum. Some may wonder about a switch to subsonic bullets, but beyond the myriad functional challenges, at that point you’d be entering .22 rimfire-equivalent territory. It just makes more sense to screw a can on a .22 Long Rifle barrel and fire readily available subsonic loads – assuming you own such a device. If not, all is not lost! Other solutions exist.

The ubiquitous .22 LR can digest some really interesting loads. Unsuppressed, some will be quieter than trendy .300 BLK combinations. Velocity will also be similar; a tad below 1,000 fps. One obvious difference will be their much lighter projectile weights (around 20%), which could actually be a good thing. As such, the twenty-two makes a good starting point.

Quiet .22 Rimfire Alternatives

I’ve covered these before but they still rate another look. Many gun owners have a rifle on hand stamped .22 LR. If so, it can safely accept some useful lower-powered alternatives based on .22 Longs and .22 Shorts. Actually, many tubular-magazine lever, pump, and bolt-actions can fire all three interchangeably. Most semiautos won’t function without .22 LR ammunition, but the lower-powered loads can often be chambered manually. As a frame of reference most economy-type .22 LR loads (purchased in bulk packs) launch their 40-grain bullets at somewhere around 1250 feet per second (fps). As such, they generate a supersonic crack. The speed of sound varies by temperature but averages around 1125 fps at 70 F. Many .22 LR subsonic offerings clock 1050 fps and are noticeably quieter through a bare muzzle. But, there are other rungs on the noise ladder so let’s descend by volume level.

.22 LR CCI Quiets: Being a lower-power .22 LR load, the Quiet makes a good repeating-rifle choice. Its standard-weight 40-grain bullet is rated at 710 fps, so trajectory will be noticeably steeper but, sometimes, this disparity can be overcome through creative aiming tricks. For example, I can shoot plinking-class 50-yard groups that coincide with the lower duplex/crosshair juncture of one variable 3-9 scope, once its magnification is adjusted to 3X. The host bolt-action is zeroed at 50 yards with standard-velocity (1,180 fps) ammo and, by using this trick, the scope’s turrets are never touched.

CCI’s Quiets feed normally through its 5-shot magazine, making it a useful backyard trainer. Same story regarding several other rifles with tubular magazines (I’ve cycled them manually through semi-autos). Although the report is, maybe, the equivalent of a tack-hammer, the impact of bullets on steel silhouettes is actually louder. In the woods, Quiets are just that. With careful shooting they’ll take small game (like gray squirrels) inside reasonable distances, with less worries about collateral damage. CCI now lists a 45 grain semi-auto version rated at 835 fps but, so far, I haven’t tried them.

.22 Shorts: I often enlist a basic single-shot .22 LR bolt-action for anti-critter duties. The load is a 29-grain CCI .22 Target Short with a listed muzzle velocity (MV) of 830 fps. This stuff shoots a tad flatter than 40-grain Quiets. Unlike some high-speed versions, Target Shorts also reduce noise by another rung. However, as many seasoned shooters know, they’ll still work for small game. I shoot them out to 50 yards where they hit much harder than most so-called “magnum” .22-caliber air rifles (which typically launch pellets weighing only half as much at similar velocities).

Using the above single-shot, loading is as simple as dropping a Short into the action and closing the bolt, making it a great combination for use with new shooters. However, these little cartridges can be fiddly to chamber in some actions. They’ll also produce an annular fouling ring which can interfere with .22 LR chambering and extraction over time. That’s why I gravitate to the simple bolt-action. Brushing out the chamber is a breeze after tool-less removal of the bolt. It’s 24-inch barrel is also the key to full reduction of the report.  

.22 CB Caps: Like .22 Shorts, these loads employ a 29-grain bullets. The main difference is less propellant, resulting in an even quieter report and, of course, less velocity. From a rifle-length barrel the loudest sound may be the firing pin  striking home. I most often use CCI CB Longs which employ a LR case, but CB Shorts are also available. CCI lists both at 710 fps, the same speed as their .22 LR Quiets. But, due to their lighter mass CBs seem to fizzle out sooner. Still, they’re useful out to around 25 yards. For feeder-raiding squirrels, CBs are hard to beat.

.22, Colibris & BB Caps: Aguila sells even milder Colibris, available in two power levels, both loaded with 20-grain bullets. The plain Colibri is listed with a MV of 420 fps. their Super Colibri is rated at 590 fps. Both are crazy-quiet in rifles and not much louder in handguns – unlike the others described above. But, Aquila cautions against use of the slower load in rifles due to the risk of a stuck bullet from friction. Regarding either, novelty aside, usefulness should be measured in feet. A similar and now obscure BB Cap is in the same boat. CB Caps are the more practical cut-off concerning noise and practicality.

Note on brands: I have no affiliation with CCI rimfire loads, beyond personal use. Equivalent loads are available from other well-known manufacturers like Winchester, etc.

A caution: if an easy-to-load .22 rifle is employed, all of these loads are great for starting newbies of various ages. However, concern is a higher incidence of ricochets. Unlike many high-speed .22 LR bullets, the slow loads don’t always disintegrate upon contact with hard surfaces.

Quiet .22 Handguns

The above loads help, but none will be truly quiet. After several optimistic but futile trials involving revolvers (invariably louder) and semi-autos (with feeding issues) I hit upon the idea of a simple bolt-action single-shot pistol with a 10 ½-inch barrel. This .22 LR Crickett shot everything well to great, and velocities didn’t seem to suffer much. But, it was still noticeably louder.

CB longs sounded sorta like .22 LR Quiets in a 24” rifle; useful, and even a bit faster, but not fully stealthy. Thus, my hopes of dispatching highly annoying red squirrels that chattered incessantly during bow hunts were dashed. But, it’s still a hoot to shoot with CCI Quiets right behind the house!  Move up to centerfires and you’ll need a pistol with a suppressor. So, from now on, it’s all long guns.

Quiet Centerfire Loads

Although far from dead-quiet, some handgun calibers are much less noisy in bare rifle barrels. This accounts for the popularity of 9mm AR-15s which sound more like .22 LRs when fired in carbines.

If .38 Specials are fired in .357 Magnum rifles, noise decreases substantially while velocity dramatically improves. People equate suppressors with noise reduction, but tactical folks also use them to eliminate muzzle-flash within confined spaces. Turns out, pistol-caliber carbines do pretty well sans cans.

Other rifle owners have some new subsonic options. Hornady has expanded their expanding SUB-X line beyond .300 Blackout to .30/30, .45/70, and .450 Bushmaster. The bullets employ Hornady’s Flex-tip technology making them safe for tubular magazines. I’ve taken coyotes and bobcats with their .300 BLK 190-grain load (1050 fps), which is extremely quiet when suppressed. The bare-muzzle report is pistol-caliber class, however semiauto function could be iffy without the increased back-pressure of a can. Of course, most manually operated rifles like a lever-action .30/30 should cycle them just fine.

Quiet Shotgun Solutions

I’ve been known to play with some weird toys but my Metro Gun Systems barrel ranks right up there. Picture a 33-inch choke tube full of holes. You thread it into the muzzle of your shotgun as you would any other removeable choke. At that point, the factory choke is installed on the muzzle-end of the Metro-barrel extension. Believe me, it feels even weirder than it looks!

The first time I set mine up, I almost poked a hole in a ceiling and knocked over a lamp. But I will say this: on crossing targets you won’t stop your swing! Also, any bystanders will be shocked by the lack of noise, assuming the right shells are fired. The two I use are subsonic offerings intended to reduce noise and recoil. Federal’s 12 gauge 2 ¾” Top Gun Low Recoil-Subsonic Target Load squirts out 1 1/8 ounces of #7 ½ shot at 900 fps, and is designed for this device. Winchester’s 12 Ga. AA Low Recoil/Low Noise #8s are marketed per their label, but work equally as well at around 980 fps despite a lighter 26-gram payload. Both pattern awesomely through the extension with an improved-cylinder choke. The report is sometimes described as a car door shutting at 100 yards; not silent, but pretty darn quiet.

My Metro barrel is threaded to fit Beretta’s Mobile-choke system. Even when installed on the shorter 24-inch barrel of my AL-390 auto, it’s way too long for a vehicle. No problem. I just assemble it on site and get to shooting, which goes surprisingly well – in more open spaces. I achieved reliable function with the very light loads by installing a lighter gas-valve spring but, for many, a pump-gun could be the better bet. Within 35 yards or so, it’s downright deadly on clay birds or crows, etc. These barrels are still available on a semi-custom basis in several popular choke patterns. Classified by BATF simply as extensions – no federal stamp is required.

And, even without this extension, the above factory loads have value. They do indeed cut down on noise and recoil, offering smaller-gauge performance perhaps similar to a 28 Ga., but without the need for a separate gun.

Chamber Adapters

Do an online search and you’ll see several versions, most of which function as chamber sleeves. Those designed for shotguns permit the use of smaller-gauge shells, although short rifled barrel inserts are another option. A perfect candidate for either is a break-barrel shotgun. I used a 12/.410 insert in an H&R single-shot with great results. A similar gun would be the best choice for metallic cartridge adapters.

Some survivalists pack an easy-to-carry 9mm converter for use as a backup rifle of sorts, however, the report will still be clearly audible, and accuracy will be iffy sans an aiming system. Other caliber-reducing adapters function similarly, one example being a .223/.22 LR chamber insert. These designs accomplish rimfire ignition either via an eccentric bore, or through use of separate offset firing pin plug. Other simple inserts permit use of .32 ACP pistol cartridges in centerfire .30-caliber chambers like .30/06, etc. The report is fairly quiet and the host-rifle’s sighting system can improve accuracy, but point of impact will deviate. Surf the Web for further details.

Airguns as Alternatives

You can still buy a Red Ryder BB gun, but today’s choices have matured by quantum leaps. Many gun people are now familiar with quiet barrel-cocking air rifles, many of which claim optimistic .22-caliber pellet velocities exceeding 800 fps. But, the recent genre of pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) guns now imperil even hogs via .35-caliber (or larger) “pellets,” expelled by blasts of high-pressure air. Some can even launch arrows! This topic warrants stand-alone coverage, meaning it’ll wait for an upcoming post.

Crossbows

Here’s another technology that’s grown by leaps and bounds. Driven largely by an explosion of whitetail deer herds in many regions, crossbows have now gone mainstream due to liberalized hunting regulations. They work, too. Although, there’s more going on than meets the eye. I’ve hunted with horizontal bows (as well as conventional vertical types) long enough to gain some practical experience including their plusses – and minuses. So, crossbows also warrant dedicated coverage.

Suppressor Alternatives – Closing Thoughts

The above alternatives might not be perfect, but for the most part, they’re legal options. None are federally regulated, meaning they can even be ordered by mail, short of any local restrictions. That’s one beauty of airguns and crossbows. If nothing else, a nation-scaled emergency presents opportunities for learning.

The post Suppressor Alternatives – No Noise or $200 Stamp appeared first on SHTF blog – Modern Survival.

The recent coronavirus outbreak has brought with it an economic crash the likes we haven’t seen in more than a decade. But don’t panic. There are 10 simple tips to follow for survival.

RELATED STORY

Should You Seek Shelter or Bug Out During a Crisis?

Tip No. 1

Be patient during an economic crash. Although your undoing may seem to have occurred almost overnight, it was, in reality, a lot longer than that in the making. Likewise, months and years of effort may be required for you to come out on top. As you practice patience, be somehow employed so you have money coming in to live on in the interim, and live frugally so you have funds for your project. Your diligence in both areas will pay off.

Tip No. 2

Be willing to let go. Our possessions can become so numerous that they own us instead of our owning them. They take time, effort and funds to maintain, they require costly space in our home, and they burden our minds. Letting go of all but the necessary is freeing. What you have left will fit nicely in your small home without cluttering it.

Tip No. 3

Keep building costs down. Try to gather as many of the building materials you can find at little or no cost before you start sketching. Choose materials with the most value per dollar when you have to buy at or near full price. The shape and style of your small house may depend on making the best use of available materials during an economic crash.

Tip No. 4

Always have a plan for tomorrow. You’ve found yourself in a difficult situation, but look beyond today. As you design your new small home, plan to incorporate features that will keep your month-by-month living expenses low once you do move in.

Tip No. 5

Think small, but plan long term. You may at first be willing to live in an 8-foot-wide, 12-foot-long crate, but shortly after you’ve invested in its construction and electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems, its romanticism will have worn off. Just how small of a house will you really be willing to live in over the long haul?

Tip No. 6

Plan big, but build small. You’ll want to incorporate all the basic amenities in your home so that life isn’t burdensome, even if you aren’t able to afford all of them initially. Plan places for eating, relaxing and sleeping, along with bathroom facilities and laundering.

Tip No. 7

Design it for DIY. This may mean the difference between going ahead with the project or not.

Tip No. 8

Be reasonable during an economic crash. Although the initial years of getting back on your feet in your small, off-grid home may be a little like roughing it, plan improvements so that life gets easier and, actually, quite enjoyable as trial and error turns into success. Likewise, don’t immediately go hog wild on the most elaborate of alternative energy systems and burden yourself with those high upfront costs.

Tip No. 9

Limit multiple-use features. Converting features in your home from one use to another is fine for the occasional weekend when grown children come home, but setting up and taking down on a daily basis gets old fast.

Tip No. 10

Be committed. Single or married, building—and living in—your small, off-grid home will require commitment on the part of all who dwell within. Soon you’ll wish it hadn’t taken a crisis to move you into a lifestyle that’s better than before.

This article was originally published in The NEW PIONEER. Subscription is available in print and digital editions here.

When it comes to your food supply, you just can’t risk not having enough. These no cook meals will be a great addition to your food supply planning. Check out the recipes below!

No Cook Meals to Help You Through the Pandemic

As of the writing of this article, there are 20 meat processing plants that have been shut down due to COVID-19 infections. We have been worrying about these types of effects on our food supply for months now, and this is the first real sign of how infections can affect the food supply.

When you walk into a supermarket, you might not see all the choices you had in the past. An empty meat case is a humbling thing for your eyes to fall upon. It’s the shocking realization that the seemingly infinite supply of chickens, pigs, and cows that are butchered for us has begun to run dry!

To deal with this issue, we are going to present four no cook meals that will help you create dinners at home that will feed your family without worrying so much about what’s available, or unavailable, in the meat case.

1. Smashed White Bean, Avocado and Salted Pork Sandwiches

As preppers we get beans. There are a bunch of ways to use beans and this a great example of how you can pack a sandwich with great nutrition and protein.

Serving: Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• Can of White Beans
• Olive Oil
• 1 Avocado
• 8 Slices of Whole Grain Bread
• 8 Slices of Salted Pork (Prosciutto, Ham, Virginia Ham)

Instructions:

• Begin by draining your beans in a colander then smashing them up in a bowl add a few glugs of olive oil, salt, pepper. This little mix is delicious. If you add some minced rosemary, you can even turn this into a delicious dip.
• Pit your avocado and cut it in half and then quarters lengthwise. Leave the skin on.
• Lay the bread out on a clean work surface for assembling the sandwiches.
• Spread your mashed bean mix onto one side of the bread.
• Peel your avocados and slice 1 quarter for each sandwich. Spread slices over the bean spread.
• Add a few slices of your pork to over the top of the avocado.
• You can finish this sandwich with some lettuces, fresh sprouts, or just eat it as is.

2. Delicious Crab Salad

Canned crab is a protein option that will likely be around through much of this meat crisis. It does have to be kept in refrigeration, but it’s delicious and this chipotle mayo salad is great in the spring and summer.

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Crab Meat
• 1 Bunch of Asparagus
• Chipotle Mayo
• 1 Bunch of Green Onions
• 1 Bunch of Cilantro

Instructions:

• Drain your crab in a colander and set it in the sink.
• Slice your asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Throw them into a bowl.
• Thinly slice your onions and your cilantro and throw that into the bowl, as well.
• Gently toss in the crab meat.
• Squirt on enough Chipotle mayo to coat everything and toss gently not to break up the crab meat.
• Chill in the fridge and serve.

3. Simple Greek Salad

The combination of simple summer ingredients makes for an incredible quick salad that you could add other proteins, too, if you wanted. These could be canned meats.

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Tomatoes
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 Red Onion
• ¼ Cup of Feta Cheese
• A Few Sprigs of Fresh Mint
• ½ Cup of Kalamata Olives
• Balsamic Dressing

Instructions:

• I like to cut the tomatoes in large chunks and have them kind of be the main course in this salad. Peel and slice your cucumber in half. Remove the seeds and either dice or slice in half-moons.
• Peel and slice your red onion in half. Julienne your, or thinly slice, your half onion.
• Add all these ingredients to a bowl. Finely slice your mint.
• Add your olives, crumbled feta, and mint to the bowl and add enough dressing to coat everything.
• Stir it up and allow this to chill for at least an hour for the flavors to really blend.

4. Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps

Using some similar ingredients and adding a protein like tuna, you can create some delicious lettuce wraps. The key to a good lettuce wrap is to have most of the items around the same size. So, consider that when you are preparing this dish.

Ingredients:

• Iceberg or Butter Lettuce
• Canned Artichokes
• Canned roasted Red peppers
• Fresh Cucumber
• Feta Cheese
• Minced Olives ¼ Cup
• 2 Cans of Tuna
• Green Onions
• Basil

Instructions:

• Start by peeling all the full leaves from your lettuce. Set them on a plate either cover them with a wet paper towel or put them back into the fridge.
• Dice the peppers, artichokes, and cucumbers into cubes. Go no larger than ½ an inch.
• Thinly slice your green onions and basil and add them to a bowl with your diced vegetables. Add your loves to this bowl and mix them thoroughly.
• Crumble your feta cheese over the mixture.
• Drain your tuna thoroughly and then add that to the bowl, as well.
• Gently toss this mixture. Try not to break up the tuna and the cheese too much but incorporate it thoroughly.
• If you want, you can add some olive oil to the mix or a few glugs of balsamic vinegar. It’s also delicious just how it is.
• Scoop a few tablespoons into a lettuce leaf, wrap it up and eat up!

These no cook meals should help lessen the stress you feel when thinking of what to feed your family. If you don’t have the specific ingredients, use your creativity, and use what you have. You might discover a new recipe while you’re at it!

What’s your favorite no cook meal recipe? Please share it with us in the comments section!

Up Next:

• Essential Survival Fuel: No-Cook Overnight Oats
• Dehydrated Foods to Try This Weekend
• 13 Dried And Canned Foods With The Longest Shelf Lives

Not only has one salon owner refused to close, even after a citation from the overbearing police state we’re being subjected to, but she also said she’s not paying the fine and ripped up the citation in front of 100 people.  Which was also in violation of totalitarian “social distancing” commands.

This is exactly what needs to happen all over the United States, and the world.  We need to come together, and live freely so the tyrants who think they can control us continue to lose power. We’ve said it before, this is the only option. Protesting is simply begging those who put the chains on you to take them off. Disobeying is breaking those chains yourself.

After Brainwashing People For Decades, MSM and Governments Are Losing Control of People

We should have all seen this coming.  People are finally waking up, but it needs to happen faster if we want to avoid complete totalitarianism and poverty.

Protests Expand: Is Massive Civil Disobedience Next?

Standing up to tyranny and the police state takes courage, but there’s true power in it. In Dallas Texas, hair salon owner Shelley Luther was issued a citation but she still refused to close her business. She had two stylists and a nail technician on duty, a fraction of her normal staff. Several supporters came to the salon, including a man carrying a long gun he made into a pole for a Texas flag with a coiled snake on it reading “Don’t Tread on Me,” according to propaganda outlet, ABC News. Luther went on to rip up her citation:



A Houston-area restaurant opened to customers who wanted to eat inside, demarcating available tables by the color of their tablecloths in an effort to ensure social distancing. A table with a white cloth was open for seating. A table with a black cloth was closed.

“The right to open up in a safe manner, that should be our right,” said Matt Brice, owner of Federal American Grill in the upscale enclave of Hedwig Village. “We shouldn’t be told we have to shut our business down.”

In Auburn, California, hair salons have also defied orders to shut down their businesses and impoverish themselves. “I have to do what I have to do. I’m fighting to provide for my children and myself and my family right now,” explained Curtis. “It’s been very hard. I’m pregnant. I have children at home,” said For Clip Cage owner Breann Curtis. After losing thousands of dollars, Curtis told FOX40 that it was time to take a chance and reopen.

She was forced to close her shop in March meant she could no longer work to support her family, missing out on thousands of dollars in lost income.

It’s never easy to take a stand against tyranny, especially because they often employ the threat and use of violence to keep their slaves in line.  Anyone caring for their basic human rights should support those who are disobeying the tyrants.  The goal has been impoverishment, and that’s become apparent.  This was never about health, but total and complete enslavement.

People all over the country are standing up in defiance of tyranny.  Hopefully, the powers-that-shouldn’t-be get the message soon that we are not their cattle. We are not their slaves. We are free human beings capable of living without them.  We don’t need them. They need us, and Americans everywhere are removing their consent to be governed.

Business owners everywhere are starting to figure it out! It’s past time to rise up, and get off your knees!

I’ll cut right to the chase: What is the best SHTF rifle? There it is, the $64,000 dollar question. Well, if you’ve been a long-time reader of SHTFblog, you’ll remember my article on the SHTF Shotgun and how, in my opinion, it’s not so SHTF-ey. So, whether you agreed with that article or not, I’m going to give you my own personal spin on the best SHTF rifle – one gun to rule them all!

by Drew Forge

So, to get a handle on this entirely massive question, we need to boil down what this “Best SHTF rifle” needs to accomplish, right?

For the purposes of this treatise, we’re going to assume that this gun is IT for you. No accompanying handguns or secondary backup missile launchers, grenade launchers, chainsaw hands…you get the drift. This one rifle is all that stands between you and the great Hypothetical Situation in the sky. So, this rifle will need to perform several vital tasks, and do them all well enough to keep you from an untimely expiration.

What’s a SHTF Rifle Gotta do Around Here to Get Noticed?

First, the Best SHTF Rifle needs to be useful BEFORE SHTF. That’s right. What’s the use in having a gun you keep locked in the back of the safe while you pray for the world to end so you can deploy your apocalypse arsenal? There’s no practicality, and if the world never goes all Book Of Eli, then you just shafted yourself out of resources that could have been put towards other useful items or training.

For example: If your ultimate SHTF rifle, your one gun, has been deemed, after careful consideration, to be a .50 BMG Barrett M82 (If so, know that I wish I had your expendable dough levels), what real-life use does it have today? I’m not debating freedoms or gun rights or need (you needed it for SHTF, right?), I’m talking utter practicality here.

Let’s be honest: You’re going to dig out that monstrous rifle to wow friends and to take it to the range to annoy people on the firing line who are trying to carefully sight in their deer rifles or bullseye pistols. Maybe once every Fourth of July you’ll take it to a sandpit, wrap yourself in an American flag, and blow up a few pounds of Tannerite a half mile away. But really, that’s about it. The rifle is too expensive to feed, too powerful to hunt anything but light infantry vehicles, and just…too much.

So why have it taking up room in your safe and deeply denting your savings account when you could have bought a couple MUCH more practical arms, a few cases of ammunition, and a couple-few excellent training courses for the same amount of money? Buy a SHTF rifle that is reasonable to feed and own; you’ll be able to utilize it and train with it anytime you want.

Your best SHTF rifle also needs to be useful and sustainable AFTER SHTF. To this end, you should be looking at rifle platforms that are easily maintained, with ammo, mags (if the gun uses them), and accessories that are readily available in the area you think you’ll be populating… for instance, it would be super difficult to maintain and Grandpa’s old Savage 340 in .222 Remington that you saved because you’re a sentimental fool. No, once that magazine breaks or drops out of the gun and gets lost, the rifle is a really nifty single-shot rifle in a hard to find caliber (though admittedly really cool and one of my favorites). 

Romanticized Rifles

People of the prepper ilk often romanticize and make decisions based on what they think scrounging and “battlefield pickups” will yield. But be honest with yourself. Go to local gun shops and see what they have for ammo, parts, and magazines on the shelf. Visit local ranges and see what calibers are being shot most frequently. Talk to the people in your SHTF group (if you have one) and standardize platforms with them to maximize parts and caliber compatibility. Check online bulk ammo suppliers to see what they offer in large volume. Read, read, read!

If you’re planning on robbing the bodies of the theoretical dead policeman that you think will be littering the streets when you come out of your bunker, well, you might be pretty disappointed. Be smart and do some homework and head-scratching first.

Effective Rifles

Your best SHTF rifle must be in an effective caliber and platform for your perceived location! If you’re planning on making a long pilgrimage and living in Ted Kaczynski’s old cabin in the Montana woods, but all you brought with you is a Ruger 10/22, you’ll likely immediately regret your firearms decision as soon as you realize – via close proximity –  just how freaking big brown bears are.

On the flip side, if you chose a sweet NEMO Arms OMEN in .300 Winchester Magnum and you live in the close woods of New England, you’ll probably hate yourself as soon as you try swinging that beast of a boomstick onto a fast-running whitetail buck 25 yards away. Get out from behind your Xbox controller in your mom’s basement and spend some time scrutinizing your area and needs based on locale.

Suit Your Rifle to Your Surroundings

Are you in an urban concrete jungle? Do you live in suburban hell? Are the thick woods creeping into your lawn and destroying your outhouse and cousin Randy’s abandoned El Camino? These are things you really need to take into consideration before chasing that perfect SHTF rifle.

Your Best SHTF Rifle must be in an effective caliber and platform for your perceived targets! What are you thinking you’ll be using your rifle for post-SHTF? Be realistic with yourself. Everyone stares off into the sky and thinks their SHTF rifle needs to be capable of fending off mass waves of heavily-armed and odored raider bikers who are attacking your bug-out location in a riotous last stand. If that’s what you’re truly banking on, then fine. Slap that 90 round drum in your Norinco AK and go dump some mags from the hip in the sandpit at some Bin Laden targets and don’t look back.

However – if you’re rooted among the practical masses, then think about what your rifle will REALLY be used for. You may live in downtown Detroit and an SBR’d rifle with a lot of mags and a fast-running red dot may be what you need to get out of town with your life. Or, you could be like me and live in semi-rural small-town America, and a SHTF rifle will most likely be called upon to dispatch nuisance pests in a garden, or harvest game as needed.

Whatever you’ve got going on, be up front with yourself and realize that if just one gun is all that you can run out the door with, then that Mosin-Nagant M44 might be more of an impediment rather than an asset; a pedestrian CZ 527 in .223 with a good optic might be a better rifle for you. Look at options, look at your plans, then decide.

Related: Operation Peak AR

Your Best SHTF Rifle needs to be a mission-appropriate package. This statement runs in concert with the above parameters, but your rifle, and gear for the rifle, must fit into your regimen – physically and materially. We all (should) have a plan on our options after the balloon or mushroom cloud goes up. Where does your rifle fit in?

Of course, security is arguably the most tantamount of needs to consider first – if you aren’t safe from immediate harm, why bother looking for food or water? But here’s the deal – this “best” SHTF rifle needs to be with you to provide security or to harvest game. If the thing is too damned heavy to schlep along with your pack and other accouterments, it’s not going to be with you when you need it most. Many has been the time (you’d think I’d learn) when I have left a rifle behind with a pack while tracking wounded deer because the length and weight of the rifle is an impediment to tracking in thick brush – only to emerge from the brush to jump the deer on the other side. In my opinion, short and lightweight trumps beefy and powerful.

Also, your mission may require you to not raise hackles with your armament selection – maybe that old lever action or a wood-stocked hunting rifle might get you further without being harassed than a dressed-out battle rifle as you saunter around people’s property lines. People might not give a hunter a second glance – but someone dressed and armed like they just walked out of a Call of Duty video game will get attention,

The Best SHTF Rifle needs to be simple. The popular “KISS” (Keep It Simple, Stupid) concept will apply well to the rifle. A rifle bogged down with huge optics, heavy mounts, lights, rails, crazy slings, fat magazines that hold a lot of ammo, vertical foregrips, – you get the idea – simply has more junk bolted on it to fail.

As a suggestion, look at battle rifles from WW2 for inspiration. The US M1 Garand – “The best battle implement ever devised” – defeated axis powers across the world, and all it had for accessories was a determined rifleman, lots of ammo, a leather sling, and sturdy iron sights. That’s it. Don’t be drawn in by sexy, CDI (Chicks Dig It) accessories that you saw some guy who met a Navy SEAL once put on his spray-painted AR-15.

I took a tactical shotgun course a few years back, and one of the guys showed up with a pump shotgun with every conceivable bolt-on accessory you can think of screwed to the poor scattergun. Angled Fore Grip. Light. Big fat red dot. Bandolier ammo carrying sling. Collapsible stock. Heat Shield…you name it, he had it. The shotgun must have weighed twelve pounds when loaded!

However, over the course of the course, all that crap got in the way, and by the end, he’d whittled that shotgun down to its original configuration – just a straight-up pump shotgun with an ammo carrier and single-point sling. Everything else got in the way, impeded function, ruined handling, or loosened up and started to fall off.

There’s a lesson or two to be learned here – but the biggest takeaway is that sometimes, when it comes to rocking and rolling, simplest is bestest. My SHTF guns usually just have high quality slings, a lightweight but powerful illumination device like a Streamlight TRL-1HL, and sometimes a good optic. That’s really it.

The best SHTF Rifle and its accessories needs to be rugged. This goes without saying, really. And remember: metal does not always equal strongest! Take an aluminum GI AR-15 magazine and place it lovingly on a concrete floor. Now get your heaviest boots on and stomp on the magazine. You now have a useless, mashed piece of metal junk. If you try that same test with a Magpul P-Mag, you’ll have a working P-Mag.

Heck, I drove over a P-Mag, dragged it behind a truck on a dirt road, threw it down a dirt road, and shot it with a 12-gauge and a 5.56. You know what? It still worked. While I agree sights should probably be made of metal, preferably steel – don’t discount guns or accessories simply because they’re plastic or polymer.

Synthetic stocks are lighter and tougher than wood stocks. Steel rails and mounts are stronger than aluminum ones. Review the job of the accessories and parts, review what they do, and think about them being dropped on rocks when you slip on wet leaves. Sliding off the tree you propped it against and landing on a piece of granite. Slipping off your shoulder when you’re climbing a tree stand and dropping to the ground. You get the idea – if you think a part might not be sturdy, it isn’t. Upgrade to something better now before you find out the hard way while you’re in a hard way.

What’s the BEST SHTF Rifle?

What’s THE VERY BEST SHTF RIFLE EVER? There isn’t one. Sorry to make you read through my mental drivel to get to this point, just to find nothing definitive. The best SHTF rifle for me may not work for a Nebraska pig farmer or an Alaskan Bush pilot.

I WILL describe my SHTF rifle, which I’ve built on the previous parameters – but it’s not the gun for everyone! I have some ideas on honorable mentions though, and I’ll tell you why. But really – you need to soul search, mentally and physically walk around your part of the world, and review options for YOU. But enough about you, on to me.

MY SHTF Rifle

First off: Here in my little corner of Maine, I am within one day’s walking distance of two of the scummiest and drug-addled towns in the lovely Pine Tree State. A hospital with a pharmacy is right down the road, as is the county jail. Therefore, I do need to take into consideration that my SHTF rifle needs to be able to provide an elevated level of security, as the possibility is quite real that there will be multiple people leaving a small, trashy city en masse to head for the hills while robbing medicine cabinets and gun safes along the way.

Hunting for game up to a whitetail deer in size – though moose and bear are certainly possible in my area – is necessary. However, I also like to be able to hunt the more plentiful small game – squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks, etc., as well. What’s a boy to do?

So, here we go: For my personal situation under the above circumstances, the venerable AR-15 is my choice for the best SHTF Rifle (go head and roll your eyes, I totally get it.) – but it’s the best SHTF Rifle for ME. Not you. Possibly. 

My AR is fairly straightforward – 16” heavy barrelled carbine, with Magpul grip and ACS stock for a bit of storage. Lightweight Troy free-floating handguard to muckle onto and provide short sections of rail to mount the Sig Sauer flip-up back-up sights and the aforementioned Streamlight TRL. A Magpul MS3 two-point sling and Leupold Mk AR 1.5-4x scope on a Burris PEPR mount round it out.

I’ve selected P-Mags to take the trip with me out the door, and the coup de grace – a CMMG .22 LR conversion kit with a pair of magazines and a couple small boxes of ammo. The CMMG .22 LR conversion kit and its accouterments fit nicely into a MOLLE triple-magazine pouch.

This combination ensures I have the capability of providing security and food for my family with one rifle, without a ton of hassle. I’ve run the snot out of the whole works in the field, in dirty sandpits, and in tactical rifle training courses – the entire package works just fine, and I can maintain or replace most of the rifle’s various parts with a cut-down 1/16” punch (which lives in the Magpul stock, along with a selection of detents and springs). The setup works for me, and I’m confident it will fulfill all my perceived SHTF rifle needs until I run out of ammo.

What If I Lived Somewhere Else?

What about if I lived in an area (like Connecticut, NY, or CA) where I can’t buy what I want due to local laws? I would look to a Scout Rifle type setup (covered further in an upcoming article), and probably (laws depending) grab up a Savage 110 Scout Rifle in .308 or Mossberg MVP in .223, which takes standard AR magazines.

Jeff Cooper’s Scout Rifle concept has a TON of merit for the prepper/survivalist who can only consider one rifle, as the Scout Rifle idea was generated around the idea of supporting a “Lone Rifleman.” The rifle needs to be good at everything, even though it may not be THE rifle you’d pick to handle a certain specific scenario. Lightweight, effective calibers, accuracy, and ruggedness are hallmarks of the idea – attributes you should embrace when chasing the best SHTF rifle, no?

If I was the aforementioned Nebraska pig farmer, with wildlife ventilation at longer ranges being my primary reason for owning a rifle post-SHTF, I might look at the Scout Rifle here too. It straddles the line between precision hunting rifle and battle rifle. I might also pursue an early Ruger Model 77 or Remington 700 with iron sights and a good higher-magnification Leupold scope… probably chambered in .308 or .30-06. If I felt saucy, I might look for a good chamber adapter to fire low-powered .32 ACP pistol cartridges in my rifle – though the pursuit of multi-caliber adaptability can be frustrating once you get into the larger calibers. An AR-10 in .308 would be a great compromise for the gotta-have-a-semi crowd. Again, I’d try to stick to common calibers – no Short Magnums or Weatherby calibers for me, thanks.

In an urban area, a quick-firing pistol caliber carbine that’s easily and effectively suppressed could be a great choice to lead your charge out of Dodge. Nothing gives me the “yeesh”es more than watching Brad Pitt in “World War Z” duct tape a kitchen knife to the muzzle of a Remington 700BDL and try to clear an apartment building. He made do with what he could find, but it’s a good Hollywood example that the right tool for the right job should work way better than a completely inappropriate rig cobbled together in the hopes of surviving. A little forethought and preparation goes a long way!

Wrapping Up SHTF Rifle Selection

The best SHTF Rifle for everyone doesn’t exist. However, YOUR best SHTF rifle exists and you can likely find it after some careful consideration for your individual situation. Try before you buy where possible, and look everywhere you can before you succumb to instant gratification. That sexy accessory-encrusted AR or AK or SCAR would be cool for sure – but it might not be the best SHTF rifle for you.

I’m not telling you not to buy it (you totally should!), but if you’re searching for that ONE rifle that you can carry out the door with you when the shit hits the fan, don’t be afraid to come to the conclusion that what everyone else thinks you need is actually going to be the best rig for your situation. The coolness factor carries a lot less weight once you’re heading for the hills and one rifle is all you got.

Questions? Comments? What’s YOUR perfect SHTF rifle?

The post What is the Best SHTF Rifle? appeared first on SHTF blog – Modern Survival.

The rate at which the U.S. economy is unraveling is absolutely breathtaking.  On Thursday, we learned that another 4.4 million Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, and that means that a grand total of more than 26 million Americans have lost their jobs during this pandemic so far.  To get an idea of just how dramatically this record-setting unemployment spike dwarfs what we witnessed during the last recession, check out these charts.  Prior to this year, the record for new unemployment claims in a single week was just 695,800, and now each of the last five weeks has been at least four times larger than that old record.  And as I discussed in an article earlier today, millions of those workers have absolutely no incentive to go back to work any time soon, because thanks to Congress they are bringing home more money now than when they were actually working.  So even if efforts are made to return the economy “to normal”, millions of workers will want to stay home until the $600 per week “unemployment bonus” finally expires.  The sad thing is that this new economic crisis is largely a self-inflicted wound, and I will explain why that is true later in this article.

But first let’s talk about where things currently stand.  Based on the unemployment claim numbers that we have been seeing, experts are now projecting that the current rate of unemployment in the U.S. “is about 16 percent”…

With a labor force that totals about 162 million people, the claims figures suggest the unemployment rate is about 16 percent, or roughly one in six Americans — significantly higher than the 10 percent peak seen during the 2008 financial crisis. The previous one-week high for jobless claims was 695,800 in 1982.

For a long time I have been warning that the next crisis would make the last recession look like a Sunday picnic, and now that has actually happened.

In addition to an unprecedented number of initial claims for unemployment benefits, we have also absolutely smashed the all-time record for the number of “continuing claims”…

A person who has filed an “initial claim” for Unemployment Insurance (UI) and still doesn’t have a job a week later is added to “insured unemployment.” The number of the “insured unemployed” – often called “continued claims” – skyrocketed to 15.98 million, by far the highest in the history of the data series. The high before this Covid-19 era was 6.63 million in May of 2009.

And now that Congress has given workers a tremendous financial incentive to stay unemployed, the number of “continuing claims” is likely to keep going higher with each passing week.

Of course this isn’t just happening in the United States.  Over in Europe, business activity is falling at the fastest pace ever recorded…

“The eurozone economy suffered the steepest falls in business activity and employment ever recorded during April as a result of measures taken to contain the coronavirus outbreak,” it said.

The company’s purchasing manager’s index (PMI) dived to a record low of 13.5 in April, from the previous all-time low of 29.7 in March, confirming private sector gloom that is savaging the 19-nation eurozone.

To put those numbers in perspective, any reading below 50 indicates a contraction.

Needless to say, these absolutely horrific statistics are the result of the coronavirus lockdowns, but were these lockdowns actually necessary in the first place?

As I discussed yesterday, the only reason why any sort of a lockdown should be implemented is if the hospitals in a particular area are being overwhelmed, because if people are unable to get medical treatment that could definitely push the ultimate death toll from the pandemic higher than it otherwise would have been.

But in most parts of the U.S. and Europe right now, hospitals are not being even close to overwhelmed.

Keeping everyone at home is not going to defeat this virus or end this pandemic.  When you are dealing with a virus that spreads from person to person this easily, there is no way that you are going to contain it.  In fact, the U.S. just had 31,900 newly confirmed cases in the 24 hour period that just ended even though most of the nation has already been locked down for weeks.

Yes, these lockdowns have temporarily slowed down the spread of the virus, but the lockdowns have also extended the duration of this pandemic.  Ultimately, this pandemic is never going to be over until it sweeps through the population and “herd immunity” is achieved.  And as I discussed yesterday, 70 to 90 percent of the population is going to have to develop antibodies in order to get to that point.

And if you are waiting for a “vaccine” to get us out of this mess, you are going to be waiting for a very, very long time.  There has never been a successful vaccine for any coronavirus in all of human history, and the task of trying to develop one for COVID-19 has become exceedingly more difficult now that scientists have discovered that there are 30 different strains of the virus.

So the truth is that this outbreak is going to rip through our population, and nothing that our politicians can do will be able to stop that from happening.

But the good news is that new numbers from New York seem to indicate that we are closer to “herd immunity” than we previously thought…

Preliminary results from New York’s first coronavirus antibody study show nearly 14 percent tested positive, meaning they had the virus at some point and recovered, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. That equates to 2.7 million infections statewide — more than 10 times the state’s confirmed cases.

The study, part of Cuomo’s “aggressive” antibody testing launched earlier this week, is based on 3,000 random samples from 40 locations in 19 counties. While the preliminary data suggests much more widespread infection, it means New York’s mortality rate is much lower than previously thought.

However, another study that was conducted in L.A. County found that only 4 percent of their residents had developed antibodies, and that is probably more representative of the nation as a whole.

In any event, everyone agrees that the vast majority of the U.S. population has not developed antibodies, and that means that there will be many more cases and many more deaths in the months ahead.

And that is going to happen no matter how our politicians respond to this crisis.

So as long as our hospitals are not being overwhelmed, there isn’t a need for any lockdowns.  The final case total and the final death toll will be roughly the same whether there are lockdowns or not.

But these lockdowns are definitely killing our economy, and tens of millions of American workers now find themselves unemployed.

And if we continue to try to keep the U.S. economy shut down for a few more months, the economic damage will be incalculable.

Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying.  I am not saying that we should sacrifice lives in order to save the economy.  What I am saying is that about the same number of people are eventually going to die whether we have the lockdowns or not.  And if we can’t handle this, how in the world are we going to deal with what else is coming?

If you are elderly, have a compromised immune system or are in some other high risk group, you are going to have to quarantine yourself for the foreseeable future, but that would be true whether there are lockdowns or not.  The mortality rates for high risk groups are much, much higher than for the general population as a whole, and the danger is very real.

But everyone else should be allowed to get back to work, because most of the population is eventually going to catch this virus no matter what we do.  As long as our hospitals can handle it, we should proceed with life as normal.

Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen.  Most of the current lockdowns are going to remain in place for quite some time, and this new economic depression is just going to get deeper and deeper.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.  During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.

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With everything that’s going on, you might already be considered starting your own backyard garden. Why not? It will guarantee your food supply. But first, what are the best plants to put in your survival garden?

Survival Garden Plants You Can Start With

Pristine raised beds with perfectly manicured robust plants, void of weeds or any other blemish – this picture might come to mind when you think of a garden. The survival garden is a different thing.

Your perfect raised bed garden is designed to please the eye as much as it will please the stomach.

You can grow a lot of food in a traditional garden but the problem is, it’s as pleasing to your eye as it is to many others. Any onlooker will appreciate a great garden and when hard times arrive they might decide to appreciate that nice garden while you and your family sleep. They might help themselves to the things they want.

The benefit of a survival garden is that it blends in with the landscape and looks more like a bunch of overgrowths than an actual garden. No one has perfected this practice like Rick Austin the Survival Gardener and his books are best pieces of literature on the topic to date.

So, what are the best plants to include in your hidden survival garden?

1. Perennials

There are no better plants to include in your survival garden than perennials. These are literally plants that come back year over year and provide you with food for truly little effort. You can add these anytime to your survival garden you are going to want to add them.

They can be a bit of an investment and many do not produce until the second year they are in the ground.

Another great thing about perennials is they are harder to identify than more traditional plants. Examples of great perennials are:

• Asparagus
• Horseradish
• Sunchokes
• Egyptian Walking Onions
• Sea Kale
• Day Lilies

2. Fruit and Nut Trees

Planting perennials around fruit and nut trees will give you a great base for the rest of your survival garden. Now, you will have food-producing trees, which very few people can identify, surrounded by hard to identify perennials that will all produce food for you.

Fruit and nut trees will require some mulching, pruning, and maybe even some fertilizing to assure you get some high-quality production.

These trees are another great investment that will produce food for years. Here are some easy to grow fruits and nuts to plant in your survival garden:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Paw Paw
• Plums
• Almonds
• Hazelnuts
• Walnuts (these will get HUGE but they will produce a lot of walnuts)

3. Herbs

 

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Herbs are a unique addition to your garden because they can be used to enhance food, used as alternative medicine, and to ward away bad pests and insects destroying your survival garden.

They can also double as a ground cover. Plants like thyme are great for this.

I am going to give you a list of some of the best multipurpose herbs for your survival garden. These are:

• Lavender
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Sage
• Mint

4. Brambles

 

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Raspberries and blackberries are the very best of these to add to your survival garden. Not only do they produce an incredible amount of berries, but they also come back year over year.

These caning bushes will put up new shoots year over year and if they are not tamed they can even become quite invasive.

Because they are dense and thorny these brambles can also be used as deterrents to keep people out of your garden. Imagine a naturally occurring perimeter of these brambles around your robust food forest.

You might have naturally occurring blackberries in your area; these are very easy to transplant. You can pull up a single cane and transplant that to your property. In a couple of years, you will be building a nice blackberry patch.

We also keep Blackhawk raspberries, and they are very prolific.

5. Annuals

What would a garden be without some great annuals? The mistake we make most is that we allow the annuals to dominate our garden year over year. Because of this, we find ourselves with mountains of work each spring because we are starting all over!

The survival garden is the opposite. It is dominated by trees and perennials.

That does not mean that we cannot use it to grow some annuals but just be careful. You want to grow annuals that produce the most food per plant. These are easy to identify.

1 carrot seed makes 1 carrot.

1 green bean seed makes dozens of green beans.

That is the difference. Choose the right plants and you can grow tons of food in a small area. If you dedicate your garden to low yield plants, well, you will have a low yield.

Start with these:

• Sweet Peas
• Green Beans
• Corn
• Pumpkins
• Butternut Squash
• Acorn Squash
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Kale
• Spinach
• Zucchini
• Summer Squash

A Garden for Your Survival

You might have a prolific garden in your backyard already. If you choose to call this your survival garden, that is okay, but there are some tremendous risks in that. Namely the fact that this garden can be had by anyone who is willing to wait till you fall asleep.

Now in normal circumstances that would not happen, but we are not preparing for normal circumstances, are we?

Your survival garden should be a hidden location that offers up a collection of food-producing edible plants, trees, and medicinal herbs that looks as much a mess as any other collection of woods. When you walk into that section of woods, you will understand what you have created. But for most other people, it will be a mystery.

Do you have other ideas for survival garden plants? Let us know in the comments section!

Up Next:

• Americans Take Up Gardening As Food Shortages Continue
• How To Start A Garden In 7 Easy Steps
• 10 Vegetable Garden Plants To Grow Now For A Quick Harvest

Fire. It is one of those topics that gets talked about a lot in the outdoor community, and it happens to be one of my …

Read moreTop 7 Best Survival Stove Reviews for 2020: Cooking During Survival

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