Best Survival Firearm

I'm going to wade into one of the biggest bar fights in the survival/preparedness world: what is the single best firearm to have for survival/preparedness?  I am going to add some qualifiers, because of course if you have an unlimited budget, then you could of course purchase one of each.  I'm going in with the idea that the budget is limited ($300 for the gun, accessories, and some ammo), and you can only buy one gun for defense/hunting.

So what's my choice?  The Ruger 10/22.  Here's why. 

Let's start with hunting.  In most cases (urban/suburban) the most plentiful game around most folks will be small game (squirrels and rabbits).  A 22 is perfect for those.  Even turkey and ducks (sitting on a pond: sitting ducks!), which I see very frequently here in Florida with the preponderance of retention ponds and some wooded areas on the outskirts of town.  Sure there are deer also, which would provide more food, but they are much harder to find and hunt down.  If I had a larger caliber I could go for those, but I couldn't go for the smaller game.  I will take a frequent squirrel over the infrequent deer.

Security.  Yes, I'm trading a lot for security, but I won;t need it to protect myself if I'm starving.  Plus, I think in alot of situations, just throwing some lead at folks will drive them off.  Now, the person that only has a 10/22 would definitely have to pick your battles.  And you would only pick the ones that you absolutely could not avoid, and then you better get the first shots in.  There are nice 30 and 50 round clips available for the 10/22, so you could pump alot of lead down range very quickly and disengage.  Plenty of folks have been killed by 22s, so it's at least better than no gun in this case.

Budget.  For $300 I can get (all this at Gander Mountain) the gun ($229), 2 x 25 round Ruger mags ($30 x 2 = $60), and 100 rounds.  OK, I missed my target by $.99, and I didn't include tax.  But still, a reliable firearm like the 10/22 and 100 rounds for $300. 

I don't think you can beat this with any other set up.  You might get a higher caliber (Mosin Nagent for under $150), but again you are going to limit your hunting opportunities to bigger game.  You could probably get a pistol for a bit under the $300 target (new) or used for maybe closer to $200, but you again limit your hunting options.  I guess in my calculus for 'best' I'm going to weight hunting equal or maybe even higher (60/40?) to defense.  Let's be honest, there is no one perfect weapon for defense and hunting, they are two different realms all together.  If you live in the woods, and those woods are full of deer, I could see going for a larger caliber hunting rifle, if you were confident in your deer hunting skills.  But I would still want a 10/22 for the urban/suburban setting.

Situational Awareness

SA as we called it in the Navy.  As a pilot, SA ranged from the status of the aircraft systems to a visual scan outside for traffic to our current and projected geographical/navigation location.  Working on the flight deck of a carrier, it meant knowing what planes were turning, watching out for the ones that were going to start moving, and definitely being conscious of where you were on the deck (look out for those foul lines!)

But what does SA mean in everyday life?  And what's it all about?  Having situational awareness means being conscious of all aspects of your surroundings, environment, and of your personal existence, including your health, gear, and physical intersection with that environment. Having good SA results in not being caught by surprise.  I apply SA in all aspects of my life, with what I think are good results.

For instance, just by having good SA on the gas gauge in your car means you will never run out of gas. Knowing you have kept up with oil changes and other routine maintenance means you are not worried about your car breaking down.  SA is very important when driving (ie, defensive driving).  I'm always watching out for the other guy, and assuming he won't do what I think he will do.  Thus I have only been in one accident in 30 years of driving.  My SA paid off in that case because when that guy started to turn across in front of me I was not reduced slamming on the brakes and t-boning him. I actually downshifted and sped up, and almost got by him - he slammed into my rear wheel.  (I had no lateral options). 

Good SA is one of the best skills you can develop and should be used all the time.  To me having SA in a public situation means a good defense because I am ready for offense.  I'm watching out for the trouble maker, so I can avoid him if possible.  If something does happen, I now have options to choose from, rather than just reacting and handing the bad guy the initiative.  Options can range from escape routes to defensive barriers to weapons to immediate action strikes.

Being someone who is 'prepared' is a result of good SA on society as a whole, in a sense.  Obviously you should be prepared no matter what the social climate is, because in the end you never truly know what is going to happen.  But by just having that SA on society, whether it is local crime rates or the coming Euro implosion, you now have some more information with which to prepare.  That info might only be driving you to prepare, or it can focus your preparations (such as hurricane season).  Believe me, just having some SA on the world around you puts you ahead of probably 75% of your fellow countrymen.  They only have SA on the Kardashians or Justin Bieber: alot of good that will do them when TSHTF.

Keep that scan going, from the world news to your local news, from the status of your preparedness to what's going on in your neighborhood.  You'll be one step ahead of everyone else when something does happen.

See TEOTWAWKI.Blog: Get Prepped on $40 a Week

One of my favorite blogs, TEOTWAWKI Blog, is starting a series on Getting Prepared on $40 a Week.  I love this idea to provide a simple plan for folks to get started.  I need it too!  It will be interesting to see what kind of gear he recommends on that budget.  That is just the kind of straight forward, easy to follow stuff I want to provide here.  So I'll be linking to it each week (it will be every Wednesday), and commenting/expanding on his ideas. 

He starts off on a good note, by planning to equip EDC, then 72 hr bag, then 30 day food supply/barter items.  EDC, besides your wallet, phone, and car keys, will be at least a knife and flashlight.  These are two areas I'm VERY interested in his recommendations for budget minded folks (see my previous post on low cost pocket knives).  For survival prepping, fire starting would be another EDC item.  This is one time when smoking kelps you, because you probably already have matches or a lighter on you, and could also use your smokes as fire starter (that's probably sacreligous, but I don't smoke, so that only seems like a logical way to use them).  There are alot of small fire starter steels/magnesium to use with your knife, or some small pendant type fire starters.  All great ideas if you think you could end up in a situation where you only have your EDC.  EDC philosophy would say to always be prepared for that case.  I need to get firestarters in my cars, because my EDC is on the light side because of my work environment. I don't think a scenario exists where I wouldn't be able to get to my car, or be at home, and end up in a situation where I needed fire.  Now if I'm in the woods, definitely, but that is a different case. 

Another part of my EDC is lip balm.  I need this because my lips get really dry, and if I just lick them alot then they get chapped.  Plus here in Florida, I need some SPF on them to protect them from the sun.  Lip balm is almost like Vaseline, so it would be useful in making a fire.  So my lip balm is dual use :)

A multi-tool is another good EDC item.  You could carry a multi tool as your knife to reduce your load.  I tried with a Leatherman Skeletool CX, which I love as a multi-tool. 

Plus it just looks plain bad-ass cool. But it was a little too heavy to carry ever day at work in my pocket. 

I'd like to try a Leatherman Juice,

which is half an ounce lighter, or maybe try and find something even lighter.  I have some tiny multitools (about 1.5 inches long) but the blade is just too small in those to be useful.

From here on out, EDC items for me would be going into a bag.  If I had 'work' to take home every night, I would be all over a messenger bag, and would love getting some good EDC kit in there.  But I don't (take home work that is) so I don't have a need for a daily carry bag, which in this case would become a Man Purse.  BUT, I can see the utility and prep-ed-ness in having a daily bag to expand the EDC.

Some items that would go in a bag:

1. A Nalgene water bottle (with a good after market drinkable top)
2. A small First Aid Kit (bandaids, antibiotic cream, moleskin, tweezers, needle, Motrin, Tylenol, Imodium, Tums, Benedryl, steri-strips)
3. Emergency Rations (Clif Bar, Power Bar, Trail Mix: easy to eat, good energy, not candy bars that would melt in the Florida heat)
4. Expanded fire starting kit (Tinder Quik, homemade tinder, fire steel)
5. Another flashlight
6. Cell phone charger cords (120v and 12 v)
7. Small notebook and pen (I'm very partial to the Zebra F-301: cheap, about $5 for 2, but metal case and clip that feels substantial in your hand without being bulky like the -701)
8. Pair of socks
9. Watch cap
10. Sunglasses (current EDC home is in my car) and cleaner cloth
11. Encypted/password protected thumb drive with critical documents and photos
12. Towel (right Ford?)
13. Hmmm, something to ponder.

So get started with your EDC gear: a good pocket knife, a good flashlight, and go from there.

EDC Pocket Knives

So, after a bit of a rant yesterday about favoring skills over tools, let's talk the most important tool you can carry: a knife.  I grew up hunting and fishing with my Dad, and when we were out I always had my sheath knife (a Buck knife I think) with me.  But I was never one to carry a pocket knife.  Then I started getting interested in 'preparedness', and found this site, EDC.  The basic tool loadout for EDC was a knife or multi-tool and a light.  Made sense to me!  I had recently purchased a Gerber Paraframe for my oldest son for Christmas.

I really liked the look of this knife, so I bought the Mini version to start my EDC.  As soon as I started carrying this knife, I suddenly found out how much I needed to be carrying a pocket knife!  Granted, a lot of the needs were to open that Death Plastic they package things in nowadays, but it was a need.  Around then I got back into camping too, so obviously lots of needs there.  The mini was the perfect size for me, since I wear slacks for work every day and did not want anything too large and bulky.

Now, I can hear all the Spyderco or Benchmade or Sebenza guys laughing at me and my $12 knife.  Which actually brings me to one of my main points.  You can easily go broke, or if not broke then at least spend an insane amount of money, on any of the tools or kit you need/want.  And I'm not looking down on you if you do.  You definitely get what you pay for, and I'm sure that $200 pocket knife is really, really sharp, will stay that way, and you can drive over the thing with your Hummer and it will just laugh at you.  But I don't have $200 for a knife.  So far, my $12 Paraframe is doing all I ask of it.  What I'm saying is, don't worry if all you can afford is a $12 knife.  It's better than no knife, and if you take care of it it should serve you well.  I plan on upgrading, to something like a $30 (or even $50!) knife this year, but I'm not worried that I'm carrying a $12 knife.

Actually, I worry about it so little I bought another $12 knife, the SOG AC-01 E-clip.  This is my EDC knife right now. It is very light because the handle has no metal frame.  That makes it feel a bit plasticky, but I really like the light weight.  I'll see how it stands up in the field to a little more abuse.  For corporate EDC, both of these knives are serving me very well.

The argument that I will be sorry I didn't spend more for higher quality when these break under duress is a valid argument.  But for me right now, economically, these fit my plan and my budget and so are the right ones for me.  I'm better off having one of these guys on me than no knife at all.

Use Your Brain: Be Ready to Handle Life

There is a time and a place for everything.  This place is for being ready.  For what you ask?  No, I'm not a Doomsday Prepper getting ready for an EMP event, or giant solar flare, or some other world wide cataclysmic event.  I mean being ready for a hurricane (my neck of the, er, coastal swamp of north Florida), or tornado, or LA style riots, or Paris style anarchy/riots, or losing your job, or getting lost in the woods on a hike.  I think we (those of us that reside in the US of A) are going to see more social unrest over the next 5 to 10 years than we have every had before.  It's not going to be pretty.  It's not going to be cannibals in the streets or anything, but the more prepared you are for 'tough times' the better off you'll be when they hit.  Because it will be 10 times harder to prepare when they do hit than right now.

I know, there are tons of blogs out there about prepping, across the spectrum.  I visit alot of them every day, such as TEOTWAWKI Blog, and Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest.  How am I different?  I'm going to try and focus more on realistic, day to day preparedness, safety, security, and survival.  Sure, I might touch on Bug Out Bags, or a cool knife, or things to do with paracord.  But I'm going to try and share ideas, philosophies, and skills, and learn some new stuff myself, rather than audition for Doomsday Preppers.

So first off, lets tackle the skills versus stuff question.  I definitely fall on the skills side of the question.  I truly believe that a good foundation of skills, and even more importantly the basic ability to FIGURE IT OUT (or 'MacGyver it'), is the most important quality anyone can have.  The only thing you are guaranteed to have with you in any situation is your brain.  Plus cool tools cost money, don't always last, and you may not have them handy when you need them.

So how do you make the most of your brain power?  I think it starts very early with what you play with as a kid, and how you play.  I'm deeply worried about the Xbox generations we are raising.  Using your imagination as a kid and creating fun toys and environments just using hte stuff you find laying around trains your brain to see the possibilities in every item.  Rocks and sticks become tanks and cars, forts and swords.  Sticks can be constructed into buildings and other tools.  Any kid that has built a little fort in the bushes for themselves in the backyard out of sticks and newspaper (another disappearing item that has many uses!) and an old tarp, is way ahead of most people if they ever have to build a shelter in the wilderness to get out of the elements and survive. 

I think Legos were a huge factor in my MacGyver quotient.  Days of taking a bunch of rectangle bricks and making a house, a car, a spaceship, or a castle taught me very valuable thinking skills.  (I grew up in the 70s and 80s, when Legos were just that, rectangles, rather than the custom part for every need nowadays.)  Planning is the most important step of any MacGyver situation.  You probably have limited resources, so it doesn't help your situation to use them up with trial and error.  Planning in these situations starts with envisioning, and listing, the qualities or specifications you are trying to achieve ('Know where you are going').  The next step is collecting and analyzing your resources.  But the key here is to not just see what it is (a coat hanger, for instance) but what it can be (wire, hole punch, hook, supporting element, spear tip, framing element, spring).  I call this 'What am I going to use?'.  Finally its 'How am I going to get there?'  How can I use these tools and resources to accomplish my goals.  Kids do that in terms of 'How can I have fun?'  which is good, because then they have fun and they keep doing it and practicing. As an adult in a 'situation', whatever that might be, you need to be more practical.  But it is still fun when you can say 'I made a tool out of that coat hanger that accomplished this task, saving me a trip to Home Depot and at least $30!'

Some useful skills that are multipliers in the MacGyver quotient are: knot tying, sewing, knife skills (whittling), and basic engineering (forces, levers, counterbalancing, load paths). 

What could you build if you had a knife, using sticks and vines and bark and branches and anything else you could find in the woods? A shelter, a litter, a cooking teepee (to hang a pot from), a chair, a bed, a paddle, a tray, a bucket, a crude seine or net, a spear, atlatl or other weapon, a sling, a fire?

So overall, I think it is very important to raise your kids as makers, imaginative creators, who can create their own toys and play spaces using simple 'ingredients'.  Those thought processes will serve them well in any situation, including school.  They will know how to THINK, use LOGIC, and FIGURE THINGS OUT.  That is the most important thing anyone can know.