Friday, May 8, 2015

accuracy or reliability

ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY

When choosing a military long gun you are able to choose one of two desired qualities, accuracy or reliability ( the HK-91 system, German, the original Spanish-sometimes- or now American, combines both but is the higher priced arm. For Po’ Folk, they can be a hard sell for the budget ). Both in my discussions on the old World War Two Enfields verses the Mauser and the just posted AR verses the AK, I’ve stated that my personal preference is to choose reliability over accuracy. Yet most of the rest of the time, I’m screaming like a little girl about how you are limited to the rounds of ammunition on hand after the Apocalypse and you need to coddle and squeeze and perform unnatural acts of love on each and every round and not waste them ( for our purposes here, I’m NOT reversing my position that semi-auto’s are evil and will waste ammo for all but an extremely small portion of survivalists who will be able to actually manage fire discipline under a flood of adverse brain chemicals beyond anyone’s control. I’m assuming you choose to buy semi’s for their ruggedness and design functionality-not for speed of firing but for their higher standard of engineering- but will deactivate the bolt cycling mechanism ). So which is it? Am I telling you to waste shots in an inaccurate weapon or am I telling you to make every shot count? You can’t have it both ways, right?

*

Okay, here is my thinking on the subject. The mid-size caliber rifles/carbines are based on the finding that the average range in a combat encounter is around thirty yards or so. For these weapons, three hundred yards is at the far range and the average shooter is relying on luck more than skill getting a hit. At the six hundred yard range of the thirty caliber rifles, well, those are sniper ranges. So, thirty cal is over kill for your average infantryman. Survivalists like the thing for its stopping power ( stories of "skinnies" taking three shots of 223 to go down, etc. ) but they do tend to give themselves too much credit for imagined skill at long ranges ( yes, I loved "Unintended Consequences" all to pieces myself. But he was a life long trained sniper-you certainly are NOT ). If you scale your rifle shots down to realistic ranges, one hundred to one hundred and fifty yards, not only can you actually see your target without glass, you can also actually hit it. Even if your gun is not a fabled "one inch group". You might have been operating under a set of misconceptions about your military weapon. As in, it is actually the best there is because the government wanted its military to excel. But almost everything EXCEPT optimal performance goes into its selection. Logistics, political power, economics, bribery, etc., gets first dibs. A politician who cares a serf was slaughtered because his weapon malfunctioned? Where? When? That creature doesn’t exist. It is up to you to chose the weapon that keeps you alive. And a quick to foul and jam gun, even if it is accurate, is not in your best interests in keeping YOU alive.

END


Please support Bison by buying through the Amazon ad graphics at the top of the page. You can purchase anything, not just the linked item. Enter Amazon through my item link and then go to whatever other item you desire. As long as you don’t leave Amazon until after the order is placed, I get credit for your purchase.  For those that can’t get the ads because they are blocked by your software, just PayPal me occasionally or buy me something from my Amazon Wish List once a year. *
The Old Bison Blog on CD: Over five years of work and nearly two million words of pure brilliance. Here is the link to order:http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00KX7Z1I                         Also as a free e-book, but not cleaned up or organized, at Lulu*Contact Information* Links To OthersTop 20 Survivalist FictionLand In ElkoLord Bison*my bio & biblio*My books: http://bisonprepper.blogspot.com/2015/04/my-book-links.html*By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there.
 



26 comments:

  1. Good points, but the best weapon is the one you. are familiar with. Garland TX is a prime example. One cop with a 45 took out 2 goons with rifles and body armor meaning most likely head shots, snap shots at that. He probably had beaucoup time at the shooting range to do that. Lesson here being whatever you end up buying, get out and use it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Which in my case does mean my military weapons, the AR and 45. More rounds out of them than my civilian ones. I KNOW I need more practice.

      Delete
    2. I think that most folks don't the underlying point about semi's.
      Plain and simply, fire control !
      I have a mini 14 and maybe a couple thousand rounds....just cuz.
      My preferred long term rifle ? 30/30 Marlin lever gun with a ruger 45 colt back up pistol.
      Bug out rifle ? 10/22 and a 22/45 pistol...

      One must prep for many different possibilities....

      Above all ,in the long term view. No matter your choice in weapons, fire control, aim, aim ,aim ! One shot=one kill !
      Spray and pray=you are gonna die one way or another...eventually.

      Never have understood the logic behind a .303 tho. Double the cost for ammo and not common.
      This being why I chose the 30/30 lever gun. Both gun and ammo are everywhere and cheap.
      O course I've been at this prepping game a lot longer than even you Jim. So I've also accumulated lots of everything lol

      But the bottom line is one shot , one kill always !
      More importantly know when to run n hide first.....

      Delete
    3. Fire control most likely is NOT possible in the heat of combat with adrenilin and other chemicals the brain secretes without your consent. Hence, work with the gun, not against. The 303 is barely a premium over the 308, at least now. As far as common ammo, reloads go a long way. Even reloading with powder/bullet from the commie bolt, much more popular. And need we mention bayonets? Granted, the rolling sagebrush hills are not the eastern jungle/forests.

      Delete
    4. The Garland TX story doesn't add up?

      First this:

      "A traffic officer working after-hours as security for the event and armed only with a service pistol killed both men, who were wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles".

      Then this:

      "In addition to the officer, who used a .45 caliber Glock, four SWAT team members with high-powered rifles also fired at the suspects, according to a source familiar with the officers involved in the shooting."

      Why, if they were already dispatched?

      Something stinks worse than my ex's cooch here?

      http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/04/us/garland-mohammed-drawing-contest-shooting/

      Delete
    5. pathetic attempt at false flag event, unworthy of comment

      Delete
  2. I've noticed James that every so often that the sportsmans guide has the pre-1898 rechambered Mausers for sale for around $400.00 if I recall correctly?

    The Mausers might not be up there in quality and reliability with the Enfields, but the pre-1898 by passes the FFL requirement, and that all telling “paper trail” which would make such a purchase a very desirable option.

    “If you scale your rifle shots down to realistic ranges, one hundred to one hundred and fifty yards, not only can you actually see your target without glass, you can also actually hit it.”

    Wrenchr2 made mention in the other post, that one of his favourite guns was the single shot 12 GA shotgun. Probably my favourite all time gun, and the one that I always seemed to reach for first, was my Stevens model 9478 12 GA single shot. I mention this because it is my understanding that the new Sabot shotgun slugs are said to have a 150 yard effective range, while still providing the versatility of a shotgun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Be advised your purchase of anything will be turned over to feds to combat terrorism. Even MO sales of no paperwork rifles. Or 80% recievers for AR or AK's.

      Delete
    2. Deep down, I guess I already figured as such James. So in hindsight, I'm going to recant and suggest that private sales are the only way to go.

      Delete
    3. Most guns shoot better than most people can shoot them. I have only ever seen 2 truly inaccurate rifles, one, strangly enough, was a old 303, I suspect the barrel was totally shot out, all the slugs were tumberling. The other was a brand new ruger 77 44mag bolt action. It was shooting dinner plate sized groups at 50yards with a proven lepold scope. In hidesight I should have sent it back to ruger but instead I sold it.

      1/2 inch groups at 100 yards are great, but only if you got a good steady rest and time to take careful aim. As if that's likely to happen in a gun fight. Pshtf senerio gun fights you don't need human kill shots, miniut of torso shots will be good enough.

      Good point about single barreled shotguns. I once read were under the fog of war conditions most grunts were more likely to make a hit on a enemy with a SG loaded shotgun out to 100yards than he was with any other personal weapon!! Single barreled shotguns, preferably with a external hammer would be the only gun I would consider arming a trusted non shooting sheeple. Aussie

      Delete
    4. Correct.
      Nothing but private sales from here on out for me, no paperwork at all.
      Tell me that's not an infringement.

      Delete
    5. Plenty of private sales locally, but mostly AR's and shotties.

      Delete
    6. Aussie-singles are great for newbies. And, of course, WAYYYYY after SHTF for ammo conservation and increased mobility

      Delete
  3. If the average range in combat is 30 yards, as you suggest, and I couldn't have an AR or an AK, then I would choose a .22 semi-auto. Two rounds in the head, three in the abdomen, and one in the left nut should put a stop to most enemy combatants, with a minimal expense of ammo. Remember the old (pre-1980's) Ruger 10-22's? File down the firing pin and you have a full auto. A 200 round banana clip would, of course, be in order. Maybe spray-and-pray for their eyes. That should stop 'em. Just don't melt the barrel!

    I love the Enfield, but their recoil just destroys a person's shoulder. Forget about that gun for an all-day fire fight.

    If a person goes with a twelve gauge shotgun for survival combat, then I would recommend alternating rounds between buckshot and slug (load them 'every other'). That should kill 'em down dead. Good 'n hard.

    If 20 minions sent the Lord Bison $10 then he could get himself a non shoulder destroying apocalypse defense weapon. I can afford to send $5, but you can afford more. Send it. Save Jim's shoulder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't find much difference from a Smelly and a shotgun, recoil wise

      Delete
  4. What is the perfect rifle? It isn't an M16Ax, M4x, or M249, cuz' they burn through the ammo you don't have and need too much unavailable (no parts, no armorers) love.

    You want the advantages of Uncle's rifle, like cheap magazines, and over-optimized lightness (more rounds per pound), but withthe even-simpler pump or bolt action, or somewhat ammo-wasting but not so needin-cleanin' (gas piston semi-auto). There aren't very many low-cost options here: Mossberg pump carbine (Cali legal!) or Kel-Tec SU-16 (how come Kel-Tec doesn't make 50,000 more of these?). Both can have Tech-Sights, which make everything more peepy. Even if you don't get more accuracy, you get more precision.

    There is no such thing as no documentation firearms unless you find a sack of rifles in the creek. If you do, SHUT UP. Clean them and see which ones work.

    pdxr13

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "down by the creek, under a bridge" can be a metaphor for a closet triple-parked with heavy boxes full of leaking wet-packed 1980's canned food, previously owned by a reclusive mail-order prepper with a C&R FFL holder in the family.

      The lucky clean-out guy had a MOPP suit with a MCU-2P gas mask to help endure the mighty stench of rodentia, while hand carrying the contents to a curbside dumpster or trunkster. The coddled-scum children had already emptied the not-used-for-bone-cancer narcotics bin (some people actually like being functional, even if it hurts), extensive liquor collection, mom's furs/jewelry, electronics, visible tools, etc. Writing a check to do the nasty leftovers was no problem, since the checkbook had been found almost right away (after the dope and booze). Having an estate sale was deemed "too much trouble (perhaps below their imagined self-worth)", and not fast enough to get the house empty for "staging" by the Property Sales Vultures who "Garrrranteeee yer house sold in Fity-Nine Days or WE'LL BUY IT!".

      All right, just empty then?
      Empty next week, after about 100 hours of glorious labor.

      Si. Empty. Mucho dinero for the dump fees, since it wasn't even sorted for recycle.

      Vultures did their job, with full-commission. Worthless children went back to be worthless, raising the next generation of worthless. Much hate over division and theft of house proceeds. They do as they are.

      Clean-out guy got 2 weeks wages in a week, and a trunk full of metal.

      Delete
  5. I personally enjoy the AK74. Better ballistics (flat shooting) of an AR with an AK47's reliability. And ammo was reasonable until recent ATF manuvers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would think the 762x39 would be allover the place, as opposed to the 74 round.

      Delete
  6. Found a good deal on wool blankets James. $10.00. And if you're not near a harbor freight store the shipping is $7.00 flat rate.

    http://www.harborfreight.com/60-inch-x-80-inch-wool-blanket-92625.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Read the comments, couldn't find any weight listed. Which is how I compare. If too light, not very warm. Damn, good price, too.

      Delete
    2. If you scroll down on the specifications James, it says product weight 3 lbs.

      Delete
    3. Thank you, I didn't see that option. Not too bad, not great. My 2.5 lb blankets are mighty thin, but it IS hard to find 4 lb's, so this might be a nice middlin size. I would order twice the blankets you think you need, and the results should be more than satisfactory.

      Delete
    4. That's what I figured James. For that price, I'll just go ahead and order 4 right off the bat. Though I do live near a Harbour freight, my extremely reclusive habits tell me to pay the $7.00 to avoid people :D

      Delete
    5. $7 each time in mail order adds up to quite a bit over time. Yet, that one time you are avoiding town, and the SHTF-priceless.

      Delete
  7. If you're interested, this fellow has his Enfield up for sale. $375 for the rifle and 250 rounds of ammunition - http://www.militaryfirearm.com/Forum/showthread.php?31583-Enfield-for-sale&p=337925#post337925

    ReplyDelete

COMMENTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED