I sat down one afternoon, after visiting a gun show in which I purchased a Mosin Nagant 91/30 and a Springfield XD 9, to contemplate what firearms to purchase next. There are a lot of different ones that I would like to get, but then I got to thinking about what would be best to own in case the worst case scenario(s) were to happen. The worst case scenarios would be: defend against a foreign government, defend against a tyrannical US government, defend against others due to total civilization collapse.
In the case of a foreign government invasion, I had to figure out what caliber ammo they would use. Most likely the arms used will be Russian or Chinese made, so that would mean: 9mm, 7.62x39, 5.45x39, and some 7.62x54R used in sniping. I have seen some reports that the Chinese have developed some other calibers, but the ammo has not become commercially available so it would mean that they are out of the picture.
In the case of a tyrannical US government, we would be looking at: 9mm, .45, 5.56 NATO (.223), 7.62 NATO (.308), and .50 BMG. There would be some .338 Lapua also for sniping. I also understand that there is some 6mm caliber used also as an intermediate round in an attempt to combine the best attributes from the .223 and .308 in a single round.
In the case of a total melt down of civilization, well... there is no expected standard round so anything goes, but I would still lean toward those that have the largest base: 9mm, .45, .223, 7.62x39, .308, 7.62x54R.
Now your probably wondering why I would be interested in that info, because how would you keep your weapons fed in these situations once you have used up what you have stock piled? In the first 2 situations you won't be able to go to the store to buy more and the 3rd will most likely have stores looted. In the first 2 situations, I would grab the ammo from the dead and maybe raid the enemy's ammo stockpiles. I would also attempt to stockpile the weapons that are taken off the enemy also, for use against them or for parts.
So what firearms will I be putting on my list? Well, I want ones that will be reliable in almost all conditions, easily maintained, etc. Oh yeah, I also want them as as inexpensive as possible. As I have said, I already have a good reliable 9mm and a reliable 7.62x54R (although it is bolt action).
For a .45, I am going to go with a 1911 due to that being the most common firearm in that caliber. I have heard good things about Rock Island Armory and Para has come out with a nice low cost one also. Wouldn't mind getting a mill and making my own.
.223 is another caliber that is an easy one to figure out a weapon for it, the AR15. Why? It has the biggest parts base, so you could scavenge parts easily.
7.62x39 would be AKs and SKSs. Both of which are extremely reliable, but I would lean more to the AK as it has a larger base like the AR does.
Deciding on a weapon for the venerable .308 comes up with a lot of good firearms. There is the AR10, but there aren't a lot of them out there. I instantly think of 3 battle proven rifles in that caliber; the M1A, the FAL and the HK G3. While I respect the M1A (would love to own one), it is not the most affordable weapon. So that means I have a choice between the FAl and the G3. I am at a stale mate on which I want to get, I'd like both. I have seen some parts kits for the FAL at decent prices so I may get that.
While I already have a weapon that handles the 7.62x54R, I would love to get a Dragunov SVD but the price is out of reach. I am considering getting a Romanian PSL just to have a semi auto in that caliber. While a lot of people have complained about this weapon, it isn't a true sniper rifle and it does shoot respectably. It can be improved to shoot a little better also.
One other weapon that I will be adding is a 12 gauge shotgun.
I would love to add a .50 BMG along with a few other weapons, but they will be on the back burner until I get my basic armory collected (unless I get a steal of a deal on one of these).
