what do you calber rifle do you use and y ?....

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  • sgt1968

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    I was talking with my brother and we both have diffent ideas for what rifle wr are going to use for hunting when (shtf )
    .:ar15:
     

    sloughfoot

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    Interesting question. If you consider that suddenly thousands of like minded people are going into the woods to hunt when SHTF, whatever that is.....But I guess we are considering that our normal food supplies have dried up? I choose a big net. Dropped from a helicopter. Because I think game is going to get real scarce, real fast. Along with tasty little dogs and cats.

    But, what the heck do I know. I'll bet you will shoot the very last deer or possum in your county....3 days into the emergency. With a 22LR in the left eyeball.....hoorah

    As for me, I grow food. Not because it is cheaper, but for the day when the grocery store does not open. And I protect that with many types of weapons. Including my 22LR.
     
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    Leadeye

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    I live in the woods and have no plans to do any hunting other than animals very close to the house. A 22lr works just fine on most anything in that case.
     

    RAMBOCAT

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    30-06 and .300 WIN MAG for long shots on big game. I plan on trading up to .338 LAPUA. But, the two guns I shoot the most are my .22s and .17 HMRs.
     

    SSGSAD

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    .22lr, .223/5.56, .308/7.62, .44 Mag., .30 Carbine..... 12 ga.,

    y, because they are what I have, and they will do the job, I want .....
     
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    ModernGunner

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    Yeah, agree with some of the others, it depends on what the rifle is being used for.

    JMO, but hunting bunnies and squirrels and such with a .50 Beowulf might be considered 'overkill'. On the other hand, trying to down a grizzly with a .22LR will probably just make said bear mad enough to tie the rifle around your neck like a bowtie.

    .410 ga., 12 ga. both good scatterguns for their intended uses.

    If the choices are limited (due to funding or other factors), I might choose 'versatile' firearms like the .22LR, the 12 ga., the .357 Mag / .38 Spl and 44. Mag / .44 Spl., and probably the .223 and .308 rifles. All or some combination of those would pretty well cover anything and everything.
     

    1861navy

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    Interesting question. If you consider that suddenly thousands of like minded people are going into the woods to hunt when SHTF, whatever that is.....But I guess we are considering that our normal food supplies have dried up? I choose a big net. Dropped from a helicopter. Because I think game is going to get real scarce, real fast. Along with tasty little dogs and cats.

    But, what the heck do I know. I'll bet you will shoot the very last deer or possum in your county....3 days into the emergency. With a 22LR in the left eyeball.....hoorah

    As for me, I grow food. Not because it is cheaper, but for the day when the grocery store does not open. And I protect that with many types of weapons. Including my 22LR.

    This is sage advice. So many people are going to be "hunting" in(variable SHTF situation) that after a few days, whatever game is around, will either be already eaten or scared off and hiding. Unless you got a lot of land with no neighbors, then you might be in better luck.

    Growing food is a wise choice, so is preserving. With knowledge of wild plants, you can supplement the food you've grown and preserved. Most/all game in Indiana can be taken with .22, which is what I would probably go to for hunting out of firearms I own. The next choice would be my 1851 cap and ball in .44 because I can shoot damn near anything that fits in the cylinder. A wise choice for many might be a single shot shotgun for use with caliber adapters that accept various common rounds.

    Mainly though I would rely on either bow and arrow or throwing stick for small and medium game, and an atlatl for larger game. These are much easier to make depending on where you are in shtf situations.
     

    indytechnerd

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    I'm not going near the woods for a good couple of weeks if/when TSHTF. Not because I think all of the game will be gone, it won't be. The problem will be the large number of dead morons who were mistakenly shot by the other morons who've decided they can just hunt for their food. I know a guy here at work, he's got a nice AR15, an 870, and has never taken an animal in his life. He's the last dude I want to see wandering into that patch of trees across the road from my house, but he claims that he'll just go hunt for his food if things go south.

    I'll wait for the knuckleheads to thin their population a bit, since all of the game will have gone to ground anyway. I'll eat the stuff I have on hand, which I procured ahead of time. At the end of that month or so, I'll sneak out into the woods, collect the firearms off the corpses I find, and go back to eating food that I already have. Immediately post-SHTF is NOT the time to be out procuring food.
     

    shibumiseeker

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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    I'll wait for the knuckleheads to thin their population a bit, since all of the game will have gone to ground anyway. I'll eat the stuff I have on hand, which I procured ahead of time. At the end of that month or so, I'll sneak out into the woods, collect the firearms off the corpses I find, and go back to eating food that I already have. Immediately post-SHTF is NOT the time to be out procuring food.


    This. And most regular SHTF that is likely to happen won't have most people taking for the woods. That's more of a major TEOTWAWKI, and the best bet there is to set the mines and tripwires and fortify in place until the idiots have allowed natural selection to run its course.
     

    dmbowditch

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    Some interesting input in this thread. The guys who mention "growing" their own food, do you can, freeze, or dehydrate your food for long term storage?
     

    Leadeye

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    I think a mix of food is good, some from storage, some grown. We can and dehydrate a variety of things.
     

    sloughfoot

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    I have stealth gardens. In places nearby and not so nearby. Others could benefit if they stumble across one, but only I know exactly where they all are. Seeds are cheap and it doesn't take much to push them into the ground every spring and harvest what survives through the year. There are no plowed fields, fences, or property signs for my little spots. There is food planted in various places around my little suburban lot and the common areas. People don't pay any attention, even in the nearby county park. Of course nothing is planted near the walking trails.....

    I especially like to grow potatoes. Nobody pays attention. They don't require any attention during the growing time and even after the first freeze the taters are just waiting to be dug up. Root plants like carrots and potatoes are best for stealth gardens. Most people don't know what a potato plant even looks like. Hundreds of pounds of food every year that lasts long enough if properly stored. Food preservation is pretty far down my list of things to do..I just grow more next year. Hopefully. But I think you can live a long time on a diet of carrots, potatoes, and fish.

    A package of seeds is like 65cents. I plant seeds everywhere it makes sense to me as insurance for the day the stores are looted or burned out. Lets say my bugout place is 20 miles away. I could plant some veggies enroute that I could harvest as needed while I am traveling to that location. Theoretically. Cheap insurance.

    The Potawatami Indians in Northern Illinois had 5,000 acres under cultivation with beans, squash, and many other plants planted and harvested during the year. The white settlers in the area in like 1830 had no clue. The Indians did not use plows or fences or row crops. But they grew plenty for themselves. When they resisted removal to Iowa, it was mainly because they would lose access to their food supply to survive the next winter. Read up on the Blackhawk war. (the Chicago Blackhawks are the only team named after an individual Indian. That's how much he scared people.)

    Even for them, hunting supplemented their diet. Fishing and farming are a far more reliable source of food than hunting for four legged animals. Those critters resist being shot. But a kernel of corn will catch a fish.

    Think outside the box. It is a lot more fun. And maybe more productive too.
     
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    1861navy

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    Good post and info sloughfoot!
    I can some things and dehydrate some things, mainly soups, stews, beans, etc for canning. Vegetables and fruits that lend well to it, I'll dehydrate. That gives me food for winter. Warm months its whats in season for dinner, whether it be domestic plants or wild ones.

    Instead of planting seeds for "stash gardens" I just encouraged wild edibles to grow in their natural habitats. It takes time to go feed and water them, thin them etc. So its not for everyone, but I know where they are and its absolutely free. Started doing it in my yard too, this year with wild spinach, chickweed, garlic mustard, dandelion, and violets. Had several free salads from my yard, and never broke ground to prepare soil. Its been pretty nice.
     

    DanO

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    Agree w/ Shibumi and Sloughfoot. Canned items, stored items will be first source supplemented with what we grow and catch. If its really SHTF, time to take out the snares and gill nets. If I have to shoot it will be with a suppressed .22 or .300 BLK single shot. Run silent, run deep.
     

    Woobie

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    Pigs and rabbits multiply rapidly. Chickens provide a steady source of protein. Sheep/ boer goats are quality red meat with much lower space requirements than cows. All of the above can be harvested with a knife. There are many ways to preserve that meat, but it preserves best on the hoof.

    Gardening, both conventional and the guerrilla method sloughfoot articulated are great annual systems to add to your food supply. Again, multiple ways to store, but many root crops store in the ground where they grew quite well. Butternut squash will keep indoors for months at room temperature if left whole. Combine this with nut trees, berries and fruits which provide many pounds of groceries per plant, and require little annual maintenance once established. Start now, and you'll have that level of redundancy when you need it.

    Make friends with your neighbors, help them start their own gardens, barter with them (eggs for milk, whatever), and you won't have to worry about them stealing your stuff if shtf. And they might provide mutual protection.
     
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