Domestic Crisis?

I want someone to break into my house :twisted:

No, seriously though. When I went hunting in the desert with a friend on our way there some dudes stole a brand new Tahoe and got it stuck in the desert the car was still running the steering wheel stripped they weren't far.(this is a frequent stop for car jacks) Weren't worried though we were definetly packing

Anyways we met up with a friend who left at around 8:30pm and said he would come back but he had to work in the morning, I didn't think he would come back and by 11:00pm he was still gone. So at around 11:15pm we see two vehicles in the distance coming our way, our friend was in one car so I didn't think this was him and being out in the middle of nowhere, trust me nobody would have known if we were dead. So we got a lettle blood rushing through our body and I pulled out my mini-14 and stood behind the truck. When they passed us it was our friend and he brought another person. I was very glad to see him but I can honestly say that was the closest I have come to shooting at somebody.

Muzzleblast, your not in la-la land.

In the S.E. US we are long over due for a monster earthquake ( I mean realy big). What happens when there is no order? Looting, stealing.....and all of that crap. When the first looter hits the ground the rest will get the idea that this is not the house to enter. Now, I never want this to happen but if some nasty natural disaster did happen I want to be prepared.

Oak Ridge, TN is just up the road a bit (nuk. power plant) thank God that I am out of the blast zone!!

Just below my house is the deepest lake (manmade) East of the Mississippi River. 427' +/- deep, now that could take out of bunch of houses!!

No I am not worried about an invasion (ie movie Red Dawn)

I like to get out, way out, on the weekends and do a little caving (ie: caver101 :roll: ) There has been several times that we have been in the same situation as Drew. Most of the areas we cave are very very remote. (The move Deliverance was filmed in this area :shock: ) It has been as helpless as lost **** hunters wandering into camp at 3 in the morning or walking into someones small private "garden". The ones that worry me are the drunk/high locals at 3 in the morning on ATV's or 4x4's running through camp tring to steel your adult beverages, trucks and yes even your tent. Funny thing how the cold barrel of a Glock will sober a drunk every time, sometimes you can just invite them over for a beer and they warm right up and will leave you alone all night. Or drug deals going down. I would rather stay out of those situations.

Always be prepared, no matter where you are!!

I think that an SKS would be a rather handy piece for solving those rather distressing social interactions....

But the key thing here is to have a gun and to know how to use it.
One should also have lots of ammo on hand.

And I might suggest the venerable 1894 Winchester .30-30 as a social rifle. It is handy, relatively light weight. flat and it fires a decisive cartridge. And this kind of rifle does not offend the rabbit people. (At least not too much that is) In skilled hands it is a very serious problem-solver.

And of course you also might want to consider the ancient Lee Enfield rifle. If you are lucky you might find one of the "jungle carbines". I like to load mine with 123 grain Hornady bullets. These are the same slugs that are used in the AK. And in my Lee Enfield, I can exceed the ballistics of the 7.62x39mm and the recoil is mild. Now that would be a serious piece if push ever came to shove.

The key thing is that you do not need to spend a fortune in order to protect yourself. There are a number of effective affordable firearms available and you need not go broke buying something fancy.

Finally, I have one more thing to say. Shotguns.


Mad.

Right on Mel, if all it takes is the sound of the action to end the situation peacefully, so much the better. I would want that. And as for the bird shot, I'm a firm believer that it could take the fight out of someone even out to 30 m, not point blank like some people say. Too bad the only scattergun I have right now is a O/U haha...No "Sheck-Sheck" there Just think though, really...for all the times someone does shoot in defense, how many cases slip by where all it took was the sight of the gun, or a verbal warning?

Happy to hear so many replies too, I was honestly just curious about different regions, and more importantly, suggestions on what you would rely on. Topics like this can bring "gun nut" stigma and that wasn't my intent.

I hear ya Mad, having a weapon is what counts. She might not be the hottest, but I'm bringing a girl to the dance haha. As for the Enfield, excellent choice! If I reloaded, I would try that 7.62x39 load...I forgot those are really .311 after all and not .308. I have two enfields, a No 4, and one modified and sold as a hunting rifle.

Was anyone here victim of that monster blackout along the eastern sea board last year?

Also, where I live, we might not need riots to get the weapons out. I forgot to wash the BBQ after a steak night last year and we had a black bear on the porch...

Nice load, Mad. Is it true with common 303 brit loads the jungle gun has a fun kick? Always read such, never fired one. My full sized rifles are pussycats though.


I had read that too, Yimmy.

Isn't the aimed fire record with the SMLE something like 38 shots in one minute at a target 275 meters away or something like that? A Sgt Snoxall, I believe?

Fastest bolt action ever.

Yup Jeff, the AK would be nice, especially for one on a budget as its been said. People like to say that it rivals 30-30 winchester, but I'll believe that when I see it pushing 170 grain core lokts and dropping animals it has no business shooting at haha

#4 shot is pretty cute on waterfowl, I know that...and patterns well. Some of it will penetrate plywood at 30 m. #2 goose is another powerful enough load. In lighter buckshot, No4 Buck has 24 pellets I think, thats not bad.

Never taken anything with buckshot yet, but I have seen a deer that was killed almost instantly by two pellets of double ought, one in the chest and one in the throat. Dropped where it was shot, supposedly.

You don't want to fire a full house .303 from a Jungle carbine. The recoil is vicious. The jungle carbine has a little rubber butt pad, but this pad is so small that it actually magnifies the felt recoil. I would rather fire a .416 Rigby than a Jungle carbine with full-house loads. Have you ever heard of Jungle carbine thumb? If you are not careful holding the carbine, the recoil of a full house load can jam your thumb into your nose. Sounds funny, but when it happens to you the humor disappears--believe me.

Now there is something interesting about Lee-Enfields. At every gunshow you can find Lee-Enfields that some moron has "sporterized". These poor rifles are almost beyond hope. But not quite.

Here's how I like to rescue them.

Go to your local gunshow or pawn shop with a set of .303 British headspace gauges. ( Brownells no. 319-418-240; 319-418-241; 319-241=242). And when a butchered Lee-Enfield is encountered, the condition of the bore is checked together with headspace.

The seller is never offered more than $100.00. With luck one should come away with a perfectly good Lee-Enfield action.

The action is then mated with a synthetic Ram-Line stock. ( Available from Brownells for $65) The result is one tough, no-nonsense affordable rifle with rugged aperture sights.

With my previously mentioned load, we actually have a fast bolt action version of the SKS.

This is a perfect rifle for your truck. Actually for those residents of occupied territory ( California, New Jersey, New York, Mass., Maryland etc) this is a very serious defensive rifle.

But don't tell anyone that I told you so.... It is supposed to be a secret.

Finally, about the 6.8 SPC: Mel's Twedish scout rifle in 6.5x55mm is light, short and deadly. And from its 17" barrel, he can expect to send 120 grain bullets at 2600 fps or faster. He can duplicate or exceed the 6.8 SPC. I like to think of his little carbine as a bolt action CAR-15.

Mad

So far, I have tried only wolf HP and FMJ in my sks, and the HP seems to make uglier holes than the FMJ, I've found that a lot of the times you can actually find the jacket of a round or two actually lying on the surface of the gravel I was plinking into. I've shot it through a block of dry kindling that was about 10 inches across, but it was not hardwood and very dry. I've seen failure to penetrate 8 inch birch, wich didn't suprise me. Remington SP seems to penetrate better.

Conversely, I've put a round of Federal 180 grain Speer hot cor through 15 inches of poplar from my 300 mag...Not to be used in the house, as if it needs to be said!

8mm mauser seems to be just about a duplicate of 303 brit, with the 303 having a slight edge at least from the Federal factory specs. Not much of a step up from 30-30 Win. But, at least it has soft points.

Whoa, I didn't know a jungle gun was so brutal. I also heard about their wandering zero problems...Now I know thats just from troops flinching! lol

Good advice on saving a 303 Enfield. They usually sell here for about 75 bucks after Bubba got his hands on them. I was happy to find a No4 in original condition, only at the moment (the way it was as I bought it) it's missing a front sight lol. Have to order one this weekend. Oh, and that was the first time I had ever heard of Enfield thumb. I found out about Garand thumb the hard way. Was humourous to onlookers, not to muzzleblast.

That synthetic SMLE would be a pickup truck rifle to be reckoned with.