By: Gerald Loeffers

Hi all! Thought I would get off the culture wagon and go into prepping today. So, you’re a gun owner and you have an emergency bug out bag. If things get that bad, will you be traveling by car? Or on foot? Will you be in a city? Or in the great outdoors? Are you in great shape and in good health? Do you know the limits on a B.O.B. system which includes weight and volume? This is an overview of guns that are size and weight efficient and won’t break the bank.

POCKET ROCKETS

Pistols and handguns are small and handy and are made to be portable. By design, they are limited in power, but good for close range defense. Revolvers, while accurate, are bulky and heavy for the most part and only carry between 5 to 8 rounds depending on the model. They can be awkward to reload even with a speed loader, unless you have a lot of practice. Please avoid those cheap micro-pistols in .22lr, .32, .25 and .380 from companies like: Hi-Point, Lorcin, Jennings, Cobra and others like them. They jam and are of a low durability. They won’t hold up to long term back pack storage and these little guns are not that light weight in the first place. Stick with a 9mm single stack polymer framed pistol of good quality. Check out the following:

KEL TEC PF-9 13OZ 7 ROUND MAGAZINES MSRP – $260
SMITH AND WESSON M&P SHIELD 19OZ OPTIONAL 7 OR 8 ROUND MAGAZINES MSRP – $400
KAHR CW9 OR CM9 BUDGET MINDED DESIGNS CW9 7 ROUND MAGS CM9 6 ROUND MAGS MSRP – $350
RUGER LC9 15OZ 7 ROUND MAGS MSRP – $380
SCCY SCX-2 14OZ 10 ROUND MAGS MSRP – $290

Also avoid buying those eastern European and Soviet Block surplus pistols. The rounds they are chambered for are getting harder to find and more expensive. The guns themselves are heavy to pack around and the parts market is getting slimmer by the day. The reason to stay away from .380 is that it’s too low powered. It’s getting harder to find and more pricy then 9mm and a lot of the guns in .380 have lousy reliability records.

STEW POT RIFLES

Okay. You’re out in an emergency — out in the great outdoors. Your food is low and you want to help feed the larger group you’re with. Now… how do you do it? A good quality .22lr survival rifle will do the trick. The .22lr has a track record of taking down both small and medium sized game with ease in the right hands and with practice and knowledge. Again, look towards size and weight and your mobility capability. There are several break down and folding rifle options out there that are under 4 lbs:

KEYSTONE .22LR CRICKET SINGLE SHOT BOLT ACTION RIFLE 2.5 LBS – UNDER $200 FOR MOST MODELS
HENRY ARMS AR-7 SURVIVAL BREAK DOWN RIFLE SEMI – AUTO 7 ROUND MAG UNDER 3 LBS ALL THE PARTS FIT INSIDE THE STOCK; IT’S WATER TIGHT AND IT FLOATS THEY CLAIM – A WARNING: THE RELIABILITY OF THIS SYSTEM IS UP AND DOWN SO BE FOREWARNED – $240
HENRY ARMS .22LR SINGLE SHOT BOLT ACTION RIFLE UNDER 3 LBS – AROUND $300
MARLIN 70SS PAPOOSE 3.5 LBS BREAK-DOWN RIFLE SEMI-AUTO CAN USE THE MARLIN FACTORY 7 0R 10 ROUND MAGS – AROUND $300 – A WARNING: THIS IS A NICHE PRODUCT FOR MARLIN LIMITED MANUFACTURING RUNS – IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND UNLESS USED
SPRINGFIELD ARMORY A-6 SCOUT RIFLE OVER AND UNDER .22LR/.410GA SHOT GUN SKELETONIZED FRAME AND STOCK BREAK ACTION

I like the RUGER 10/22 BREAK DOWN rifle, but I can’t recommend it as a pack away stash rifle. It’s too heavy at 4.5 lbs and the halves are too bulky for most bug out bag systems and I can’t recommend the Kel Tec SU-22 folding rifle either. Just for the fact you can’t find one retail and the Internet prices are ridiculous.

Now, if you know of a better product out there for this use, please leave a comment below. I like to learn more. These suggestions will keep your carry weight down and your system compact as much as possible. I hope you never have to face a situation like this, but be prepared for it anyway. It’s just common sense.