With an extended 18-round Glock magazine, my friend has a lot of longer-range firepower available in about as inconspicuous a package as one can imagine. Plus the price is right. Note that Kel-Tec also has a 5.56mm version of the same concept, the SU-16, but, due to the nature of the rifle and its operation, its folded out-of-service length is much longer at 26.4 inches. Personally, if the out-of-service length is the same as some of the folding stock weapons out there that can be shot while folded, I will tend to want to go with the folders.
Long-Range Weapons
Long-range rifles for shelter-in-place defense can be of multiple configurations, including bolt guns. Although bolt-actions are not my first choice, if I had one nicely set up for sniper use, I wouldn’t give it up. But I also wouldn’t buy one. I want repeat-fire capability. Right now, my duty sniper rifle features a Sun Devil Manufacturing lower combined with a Stag Arms Model 7 upper in 6.8 SPC, a cartridge with “just right” ballistic performance at extended range. Set up with a Vortex Scope, Harris Bipod, and 20-round magazine, it has great precision.
By the way, Stag Arms is now featuring a 2012 Executive Survivors Kit that features the following items for just over $2,000 complete. The setup includes a Stag Arms Model 2 AR-15 rifle with Diamondhead Versa-Rail handguard; EoTech 517 Holographic Red Dot Optic; a Stag Arms Field Repair Kit; an OTIS AR-15 Cleaning Kit; a Silent Sling; two 30-round Magazines (10 rounds for restricted states), and 60 rounds of quality ammunition of undisclosed brand.
That’s a great package, but what also makes this an emergency survival kit is the inclusion of other survival items. These include: a set of Gerber MP 600 Multi-Pliers; Gerber Omnivore LED Flashlight; a dual-purpose human/pet first aid kit (nice touch for the pet inclusion part); an MRE field ration meal; and a Pelican 1700 long case. While this kit is not complete, it is a start and the components are kept in one place, which would be good for travel (although water needs are not included). If anything, it shows how prominent the topic we are discussing here has become, and manufactures are catering specifically to this segment of interest (although sometimes they are more interested in upping their profit by bundling things you may not need). At least the concept is solidly out there. From there it’s up to you to evaluate the things that writers such as myself and product manufacturers have to say, see if it makes sense and, most importantly, see if it works for you.
In any event, remember this. Most mobs, if they are not somehow extremely determined or composed of religious fanatics (such as the Mogadishu mobs in the Black Hawk Down incident, who were also amped up by the drug “khat”), will likely be turned back with very few rounds, especially if you can pinpoint the leaders or primary agitators. Most groups intent on looting would fall into the easily turned category, at least until they become desperate from starvation. Any setup remotely like mine will work well for you, including direct impingement .308 ARs, such as the SDMR variants. One such example would be the .308 LRT SASS rifle from DPMS, which was recently selected as the new, primary sniper rifle by the Columbus Police Department S.W.A.T. team to replace the Blaser bolt-action sniper rifles now relegated to backup status as they are phased out. Select what you can best afford and fire accurately, but select quality for the long haul.
Alternate Action Platforms
What if you can’t legally possess what the news media calls “assault rifles” in the jurisdiction in which you live, but still want some modicum of longer-range firepower that’s comfortable to shoot, like the AR, AK, or M1 Carbine? Or what if you regularly travel to areas where these weapons aren’t looked upon with favor and you want to keep a lower profile, even though possession of the semi-auto guns wouldn’t be illegal. The lever-action rifle may be your best option in these scenarios.
While I’ve said that our own M1 Carbine could be considered the very first assault rifle (lightweight, compact, firing an intermediate cartridge), it is actually the first semi-automatic assault weapon. Looking back, the 16-round lever-action .44 Rimfire Henry Rifle, as deployed in the Civil War, could be seen as an assault rifle, at least in concept. While it wasn’t compact or lightweight by any stretch, it was referred to by Confederate forces who faced it as “that damn Yankee rifle that you load on Sunday and shoot all week.” Compared to the muzzleloading .58-caliber Springfield Rifle, it was quick firing and quick loading, due to its use of an actual copper-cased self-contained cartridge of adequate close-range power. A number of Union soldiers armed with this personally purchased weapon could easily overwhelm opposing Confederate forces armed with their single-shot Enfield rifles.
I know we don’t face single-shot muzzleloaders much these days in massed charges, but the lever gun still has potential. One I favored for examination was the Marlin 1894C chambered in .357 Magnum/.38 Special. The 1894C is a trim, handy firearm, actually compact enough for close search activities, yet accurate enough for somewhat longer-range use, especially when firing .357 Magnum cartridges. Using either .38 Special or .357 Magnum loads, you can generally expect a 200 to 300 fps improvement in velocity over what you’d get from a four-inch barreled revolver. Plus you get a magazine capacity of nine to 10 rounds, depending on which cartridge you choose and which bullet is loaded in that particular round. I prefer this version over the .44 Magnum, because the .357 Magnum recoil is considerably less, allowing for the fastest possible follow-up shots. Let’s take a look at some of the other pros and cons of this gun.
Power range in the area of the M1 Carbine, but because it fires the same rounds a .357 revolver does, your ammo supply can pull double-duty. It’s also legal to own anywhere that firearms are legal to own, and the price of the weapon and ammunition is reasonable.
Not much ever goes wrong with Marlin lever guns. A bigger plus is that, unlike a detachable pistol or rifle magazine, you can’t lose the feeding system, because it’s part of the gun.
This last point is also one of the gun’s disadvantages. The tubular magazine is slower to reload that any box magazine-equipped firearm. The gun itself is also more difficult to make safe and totally clear. From a maintenance standpoint, detailed field stripping isn’t going to happen, the gun just wasn’t designed that way.