Caliber Wars

Ok, what I am about to talk about is sure to start some discussion. I'm going to talk about my choice for a personal defense/survival cartridge.

Now these are just my personal choices based on my experience. Not on stuff I read in a magazine or on a web site. I choose these on a number of factors from my personal experience to date.

Ok, for a personal defense round in a hand gun.

I prefer....... .38 Special/.357 Magnum I know it's a bit of a cop out as it's two different rounds. However I own pistols in both calibers and several family members as you've read on my blog now own one of them as well.

My reasoning: I've carried a Taurus Model 82 with a 4 inch barrel and Pachmayr Gripper grips since 1992. I carried it while I was working security at the St. Louis City Housing Authority and St. Louis County Housing Authority. I've put several thousand rounds of standard velocity and +P velocity ammunition through it and I've never had any problem with it other than 3 ammunition related failures. It's recoil even with +P rounds is light enough my 10 year old twins prefer to shoot my .38 over my Heritage .22 Single Action. The +P rounds have good enough kinetic energy that a center mass shot will be a debilitating shot. Coupled with it's light recoil follow up shots are not a problem. Yes it is only 6 shots then it's time to reload. However a recent study which I don't have the link to at the moment, I keep finding the Clayton Cramer study and not the report I read before, most gun fights are over after 3 rounds are fired. And the study said there were only 2 or 3 cases where reloading was required. Well my Taurus with 2 speedloaders is 18 rounds of 125 grain JHP Golden Saber +P's. I pray I never have to use it to defend myself or others, but if I do? I'm comfortable with what I carry. Yes, I have a 1911A1 .45 ACP and extra mags, I, however am not as good with it as I am my revolver. And that is the main thing. You have to be comfortable, proficient and knowledgeable with your carry piece. And I am with my old Taurus Model 82. That's for self defense, but what about "Survival" situations?

In a survival situation some may think I am under-gunned. Not really. While it's not recommended a .38 special can be used for hunting anything from rabbits up to to deer and javelina. Yes I said Javelina, Wild Pigs. Which are such a problem here in south Texas a permit isn't even required to hunt them. Not even 2 weeks ago an older gentleman who lives about 6 miles from me used his Colt Police Positive in .38 special loaded with hardcast 158 grain SWC's he loaded himself took 5 of javelinas with 1 shot each. They had been destroying his garden which he had just started planting, so they had to go. He and a few of his neighbors now have full freezers, and I'll be getting some sausage from him at church. So the .38 special can take down larger game animals. It's all in where you aim. So I am really not out gunned with my Taurus. However for a survival situation I would still prefer to have a rifle or shotgun over a handgun.

Let's move on to that rifle. I have several rifles, a single shot Rossi .22 that can have it's barrel swapped out to a 20 gauge shotgun barrel, but in a survival situation you might need a quick followup shot. So a top break rifle or shotgun might not be the best. What is my rifle? Well actually I'm torn between my old Sears 102 which is a copy of the Savage Model 29A that shoots .22 short, long and long rifle. and my Romanian SKS. Yes I said SKS. I know, I know. I have a HK91 clone in 7.62X51 that offers increased capacity, more power, better sights and longer range. But am I really going to be shooting beyond 100-125 yards? Most of my shooting in that situation will probably be within 50-75 yards. And increased capacity? Why would I need more than 10 rounds to take down dinner? Yes, I know what some of you may be thinking. What about a gang of marauding scavengers that walk on two legs? I don't believe and pray that it never comes to that, but if it does I am rather good with my stripper clips and can put out quite a bit of aimed fire in a short amount of time. Did you catch that? I said "AIMED" fire. This isn't Hollywood where you can just point the weapon in the general direction and keep pulling the trigger and hope you hit something. You will probably have a limited amount of ammunition, and who knows when the stores will open back up, so you had better make sure every round you fire counts. You're not in the army where you can get on the radio and request a resupply. If you are mobile either in a vehicle or on foot, you only have what is with you. So make sure every round is an aimed one. Which leads me to sights on my SKS. The original SKS sights are ok if you are in combat and most of your fighting is done inside the 50 yard range. Beyond that however is where they let you down. Many people have gussied up and tacticooled their SKS's with picatinny rails and scopes and lasers and collapsing stocks and this and that. Well me? I do have a side folding stock on my SKS. That is so it will fit behind the seat of my truck. I do have a receiver cover 4X scope and mount. It's still on the shelf of my safe. I've used it maybe 3 times. The wandering zero on it from the recoil forces makes it not really worth the bother and weight. So what I do have to help me put rounds on target is an old Tapco fully adjustable rear sight. Tapco no longer makes this sight, which makes me kind of sad as it is actually a decent sight. I have also replaced my front sight with a neon green sight post, to help me pick it up easier in low light situations. At the 25 yard "Battlefield" zero I can shoot 1.75-2.5 inch groups. At 100 yards, well I can barely see the target at 100 yards, but I can put all 10 rounds from my SKS into about a 7 inch group if I take my time and watch my breathing. That is centermass, that is all I am concerned about. Now saying all this, I'm glad my Sears Model 102 is a break down one, so I can take it along tucked into my backpack. 22 ammo is easier to carry large amounts of, it's less expensive. For what I pay for 100 rounds of 7.62X39 I can get over 500 rounds of .22 LR, and it takes up the same amount of room and weight on my gear.

Now what about shotguns? Well I already mentioned my Rossi that is both a rifle and a shotgun. however the reload time is bit long. I also have several 12 gauge shotguns, from a top break one to several pump action ones. I'd love to get an old Remington side by side, but I just don't see the utility of a double barrel shotgun other than intimidation factor. My NEF Pardner top break is a decent shotgun. It can take 3" shells and has a modified choke barrel, it's great for shooting some old fashioned loads such as cut shells or wax shells if necessary, but if I need a shotgun I think I'll need more than 1 shot. Saying that however I'm torn between 2 of my other shotguns. My High Standard K1200 Riot gun,with an 18.5 inch barrel and which has it's buttstock cut down to a pistol grip. And my Maverick 88 by Mossberg with a side folding stock and an 18.5 inch barrel. Now a pistol grip only shot gun is hard to fire accurately. Inside of 15 yards though it can be devastating, with the proper loads. However the High Standard has a fixed barrel, so I'm limited to that 18.5 inch barrel. The Maverick however, I have extra barrels for. A 24" barrel with screw in chokes and a full choke in it and a 28" ribbed barrel with screw in chokes, at the moment it on has a modified choke in it. I plan on getting an extra full and a rifled win choke for it to use with slugs. The ribbed barrel with it's much longer sight radius the center pin and the front bead which I replaced with a green Hy-Viz sight and the rifled choke will allow me to shoot slugs much more accurately out to longer distances. Something very important in a survival situation when you are trying to put food in the pantry on on the table. I like the portability of the High Standard, but the utility of the Maverick weighs more heavily for me.

Now I might need a back up weapon. Well I already have a second Taurus Model 82, but for this I'd choose my Heritage Single Action. It is a .22 single action revolver with a 7.5 inch barrel, but the kicker is the extra cylinder in .22 WMR. That's .22 Magnum if you aren't familiar with it. It's a nice shooting little .22 if you know it's foibles, and mine shoots high at 7 yards. About 3 inches. 7 yards is 21 feet. The most common self defense distance. Since I'm aiming for center mass it's not really a problem. However at longer ranges, say against a prdeator animal, wild dogs, javelina and such. It can be a very big deal. 3 inches can mean the difference between wounding and annoying them, making them more angry and harder to kill, and putting them down immediately. So be aware of where your sights print on your target.

Now I know I'm probably going to get a bunch of people saying well you need this caliber or gun or this piece of gear. That's fine. Remember these are my choice based on my own experience. your experience may be different from mine. And you may have a better way of doing something than I do. If so I'd be glad to hear it in the comment section. Please just keep it civil is all I ask.