Arming the Neighbors

[viiiupndhead]

I finished "Lights Out" a couple weeks ago and it got me thinking about arming the neighbors. Sure, all of us INGO nuts have a go to EDC, Combat Pistol, EBR, HD Shotgun, and probably a bunch of other little friends. What about the neighbors? Which of YOUR guns are you willing to indefinitely "loan" to them in a time of crisis to help protect your block, subdivision, or apartment complex?

Ideally, we'd all spend some time with our neighbors and convince them that they too should prepare, but its more likely that they'll decide to prepare the moment that they're no longer able to. So the question here is, why not have a couple around just for that purpose. Common caliber with ammo you've stockpiled, inexpensive, dependable, simple to operate.

Insert your here:

 

[Dsgnr_81]

This is a great reason to have some M-91/30's hanging about. Simple to operate, looks sufficiently "mean", and downright cranky when you put the bayonet on it. a few battle packs of ammo, a half hour of training, then your neighbors have grown some teeth.

BTW, be certain to stockpile some Russian pelt caps too.

 

[sbcman]

BTW, be certain to stockpile some Russian pelt caps too.

Check

 

[eldirector]

Many of my neighbors are already armed. Just .22 rifles or shotguns, but better than slingshots.

My collection isn't large enough to share, but some surplus long guns or cheap 22s would be my choice.

 

[Dsgnr_81]

Check

If you're going to be handing those out, I'm moving in next door to you bub.

 

[Jerry D Young]

I plan, when the time comes, to lay in several Auto Ordnance .30 M1 Carbines, magazines, ammunition, and LBE for handouts for last ditch protection of the BOL until a relocation can be undertaken.

 

[Sylvain]

I would love to do that if I had enough guns for myself.
Im more in the situation where I would need my neighbors to help me.

 

[sloughfoot]

Any of my neighbors that need my assistance with arms better dam sure take my orders too. I have no interest in arming folks who are not serious about quickly learning how to use them and take up guard duty and everything else that comes with them. I sure don't want to hand a rifle to someone who is going to take off for parts unknown with my rifle.

They have to show that they are a sheepdog and I think I can identify those with that potential pretty fast.

I think a bolt gun with one extra 5 round clip until they prove themselves would be a good start. Maybe the gun just gets passed around for guards?... A 38 Special revolver could even serve the same purpose. Checked in and out of the armory.

I haven't thought it all the way through, but I am not just going to hand the guy down the street a M1A when he glared at me when I loaded my match AR into a vehicle on my way to a rifle match last week...

Not everybody gets to take advantage of my largesse. Especially if they slow down whatever team of sheepdogs that we create.

 

[longbow]

I think 3/4's of my neigbors are better armed

 

[iamaclone45]

Those neighbors would have to be REALLY good friends of mine before I provided them with arms.

Wouldn't want them turning the tables on you.

I'm hoping they will already have acquired firearms, if they are really interested in arming themselves during a SHTF situation.

 

[WETSU]

I'm not a fan of arming neighbors. When things get desperate, those same guns have a way of being pointed 180 degrees back toward you. You just gave a man the means to take your stuff and feed his family. Last month he was your buddy, you drank a beer at his cookout, he coaches your son's little league team. Today he has a hungry family and a gun and you have food.

Unless you know them, I wouldn't arm anyone.

That said, in extreme situations, I would arm my neighbors to stand guard on a barricade. Weapons would be issued. There are a handful of folks I would trust. The couple across the street are both prior service: she-an Army captain, he-a Navy enlisted. Good, solid people. Thats about it. The VN vet/MP moved.

But that is for an extreme situation. Not for days, weeks on end.

 

[ultraspec]

Even if you know them very well whos to say they wont still turn on you? No guarantees in life. Hell even family turns on one another all the time.

 

[WETSU]

Yep.

 

[edsinger]

High Point?

 

[Lex Concord]

I'm not a fan of arming neighbors. When things get desperate, those same guns have a way of being pointed 180 degrees back toward you. You just gave a man the means to take your stuff and feed his family. Last month he was your buddy, you drank a beer at his cookout, he coaches your son's little league team. Today he has a hungry family and a gun and you have food.

Unless you know them, I wouldn't arm anyone.

That said, in extreme situations, I would arm my neighbors to stand guard on a barricade. Weapons would be issued. There are a handful of folks I would trust. The couple across the street are both prior service: she-an Army captain, he-a Navy enlisted. Good, solid people. Thats about it. The VN vet/MP moved.

But that is for an extreme situation. Not for days, weeks on end.

^^^
This

I know several of my neighbors are armed. The ones I don't know about wouldn't be trusted with a BB gun...they're either unfamiliar and dangerous or entitlement-oriented and, therefore, dangerous.

 

[sloughfoot]

Most people are sheep and don't have a clue about what is going on around them. They just want to keep on munchin grass.

The sheepdogs are already prepared, at least to some basic extent. Budding, interested sheepdogs can be armed. Heck, they might be the children of sheep, but I think they will stand out pretty quick from the sheep.

The wolves are coming, I fear.....

 

[.452browning]

I live in the country and I wouldn't arm my neighbors. Lady on one side is VERY anti-gun. I get calls from her telling me to stop shooting on my own land because she doesn't like the noise and is afraid I will accidently shoot her house. (even though my home is 300 yards away from hers and I'm shooting into a very large hill as a backstop shooting the complete opposite direction from her house). Other neighbors are troublemakers. The cops are there at least a couple times a month and late one night one of them was drunk running around in our woods getting chased by the cops. We have also received bird shot coming down on our porch during squirrel season from these folks. To say the least there is no way in hell I would arm these people. In fact these are the ones I'm concerned about dealing with when SHTF. But about 1 mile down the road is a US Marshall, Sheriff Deputy, and FBI Agent who I will arm and will be armed from.

 

[Johnson]

This is one of those questions that you can't really answer until you are in the situation. Personally, I can't think of many scenarios that get better with me arming someone who didn't think to arm themselves beforehand. However, I will have several additional firearms for those living with me when it hits the fan.

 

[patience0830]

Family

I'd arm SOME of my family members. And the folks with the wisdom to be part of the Mutual Support Group. Prolly already armed there tho'.

I'm of the opinion that unless they have skills or food or ammo to trade and a motive to assist the group, they should have bought guns sooner.

 

[viiiupndhead]

I definitely see the point that some neighbors probably shouldn't be armed... ever. I guess the ones I have in mind are the type that don't have guns now because they don't see a need for them rather than dislike or fear of them. I like sloughfoot's armory idea. Check them in, check them out, account for each round.

A firestorm of 22 LR would slow down and turn away a casual marauder. That would take a good number of loaded magazines. At the very least you would keep them at bay until more heavily armed guards could react. I like the M-91/30 for its price, inexpensive sealed ammo, and the use of stripper clips. The round may be a little overpowered for this purpose. I definitely don't want a freshly trained neighbor shooting my direction with steel cored 7.62 x 54R. That stuff eats concrete and steel, with range to spare. Mosins would be an excellent option for an isolated group of houses with a substantial perimeter.

My neighborhood doesn't have a perimeter to speak of. There would be no opportunity for a shot over 200 yards unless shooting straight down a road. A medium range rifle or shotgun would have plenty of range with the most basic iron sights.

I disagree with arming any neighbor with a sidearm. For the price of even the cheapest sidearms you can buy a decent milsurp rifle. If your neighbor ever decides to turn your gun on you, they could get much closer with a sidearm. If I had a choice between "loaning" out a handgun vs leaving them unarmed, I'd probably choose unarmed unless they we're the kind of neighbor that you trust your kids and pets with. Even then; hard times, lack of sleep, and the power of hunger could have them looking at you as the only thing in their way of your stuff. At least you can see them coming with a long gun.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the SKS/AK platform. Rifles are cheap enough and tend to hold value, ammo is affordable and readily available in spam cans. I'm probably partial to the SKS because you could have a dozen sitting around and not worry about having to stockpile a ton of magazines to feed them all. Stripper clips could be loaded far in advance and distributed fairly easily.

Scatterguns would be equally useful as defenders, but more expensive to stockpile ammo. They would also be harder to load in a hurry (unless you're sitting on a pile of Saigas). I'd want at least two in the house for myself so I suppose anything beyond that might be "loanable".

What else would be good to keep around as a "loaner"?