BWA’s Pick – Top 10 Survival / Zombie Firearms

Global financial collapse, New World Order, Armageddon, The Apocalypse, The Rapture, Biblical Natural Disasters, The Zombie Hoarde - whatever you want to call it, it seems there is a looming possibility of some sort of disaster for which we feel the need to prepare for.  With all of the turmoil and chaos around the world that is prevalent in the news we are constantly reminded with the growing instability in our world.  As we have become accustom to technology and modern comforts, we find more and more people shifting a little back towards self-reliance and preparing “just-in-case”.

So this got us thinking, what are the top firearms we would have and recommend in a crisis or survival scenario?  As mentioned in the title, the term of “Zombies” is good to prepare for – even though it may be unlikely (depending on your level of paranoia ), it is a worse case scenario we can look at.  After a little bit of thought and discussion, we came up with a Top-10 list of firearms we find appropriate.  The firearms we picked are largely based on commonality of ammunition, commonality of parts, reliability, and accuracy. 

Please note the list is not in any particular order!  The gun you carry should be the one you will carry and feel comfortable with.  If you’re going to carry a firearm(s) as a fighting system in a survival scenario, it’s good to have a primary (long gun) and a secondary (handgun) you are familiar with and skilled at.  And again these are in no particular order, we have the AR-15 and AK-47 listed for several reasons, but we don’t intend to turn this into an AR-15 vs. AK-47 fight

1. AR-15 (5.56mm NATO)
The AR-15 rifle is without a doubt America’s fighting rifle.  Since its development by Eugene Stoner and adoption by the U.S. Military during Vietnam, the AR-15 has evolved as the most wide-spread and versatile fighting rifle in the United States.  Current production AR-15′s are reliable, accurate, light weight, easy to maintain, and shoot the widely available 5.56mm (.223 Rem) cartridge.  As with any of the firearms listed, it should be easy to find spare parts, ammunition, and magazines for this rifle since it is used by the U.S. Military, Law Enforcement, and civilians for both sporting, hunting, and self-defense use. 

One of the great things about the AR-15 is that it is so easy to customize and modify.  Since assembly doesn’t require anything special like a hydraulic press, welder, or a riveter; almost anyone can learn to fully build and service the AR-15 with only a small investment in the correct tools.  In addition to simplicity, the 5.56 cartridge is an excellent stopper.  Even though there is a lot of myth surrounding the 5.56, it’s a high velocity rifle cartridge that is excellent at penetrating soft armor, and tends to fragment and cause massive damage from the shock caused by the high velocity.  The other great aspect of the 5.56 is that it’s light weight and easy to carry lots of ammo, and out of a 16″ barrel is capable of hitting targets out to 600 meters.

2. AK-47 (7.62×39)
The AK-47 is without a doubt, the most recognized rifle on the planet – it’s used everywhere and by everyone.  The loose construction and simplicity of operation allows anyone to use it and literally run it into the ground and have it keep ticking.  Just like the AR-15, the AK-47 is so widely used that you should be able to find magazines and ammunition if necessary.  Even if you’re not a huge fan of the AK, its good to keep one around just in case you have to scavange ammo.  The 7.62×39 cartridge is also a great choice for stopping power.  It’s heavier weight bullet (avg. 123gr) will penetrate barriers better and is excellent for stopping power. 

There are perhaps two drawbacks to the AK-47 – 1. Due to the loose nature and cheap ammo, they aren’t as accurate as rifles like the AR-15 and won’t have quite the effective distance as other rifles. 2. Even though the AK-47 can keep on ticking through just about anything, if they have to be repaired it is more difficult since there is a lot of riveting involved, and the barrels require special equipment for installation.  All hesitations aside however, the AK-47 is a rifle that everyone should have available in their personal survival collection.

3. Glock 17 (9x19mm)
The Glock 17 pistol, just like the AK-47, is prehaps the most prolific and most recognized handgun on the planet.  Some love it, some hate it, but you can’t argue that the Glock is essentially the AK-47 of the pistol world.  It’s design is simple, straight forward, and reliable.  You can ignore it, abuse it, not oil it, get it sandy – no matter what you do it’s hard to make a Glock fail.  In addition to the robustness of the pistol, they are fairly accurate and easy to learn and train on.  The 9mm cartridge fired by the Glock 17 is also the most popular and common cartrdige in the world, and can be found just about anywhere. 

As far as stopping power goes, the 9mm gets a lot of grief, but for the wrong reasons.  Most of the weak performance from the 9mm comes from people using BALL AMMUNITION.  The reality is just about any handgun cartridge for self defense should be a hollow point.  115gr 9mm ball ammunition tends to zip right through a target and generally not perform well.  Quality hollow points that open correctly will have adequite stopping power.  Even if you are stuck using 9mm ball ammunition, proper shot placement and volume of ammunition will still get the job done .

And for those of you that still don’t like the Glock, any of the modern combat firearms (generally based off of the Glock ) will substitute.  Many pistols including the Smith & Wesson M&P, Springfield XD an XDM, and the Ruger SR-9 for example are largely birthed from the original design of Gadsden Glock.  Other common pistols like the Beretta 92 / M9 and Sig P226/229 are excellent choices – the main point being a widely adopted platform.  Regardless of which flavor you choose, make sure you have a pistol in 9mm!

Oh and as a side-note if you’re dead-set against 9mm, grab a .40S&W.  They’re right up there in popularity and are commonly used by Law Enforcement agencies across the nation.

4. Glock 21 (.45 ACP)
Ok now why two Glocks?  Well as we said, they always work!  The reason being for the Glock 21 is the fact that it’s a .45 ACP.  When it’s time for pure stopping power, it’s hard to beat the .45 ACP.  It’s America’s pistol cartridge and it hits hard.  It’s common, easy to find, and oh did we mention it hits hard?  The Glock 21 is an excellent choice for high capacity .45 (standard magazines hold 13 rounds).  But again if you don’t like Glocks, there are good substitutes.  The Smith & Wesson M&P 45, FN Herstal FNP-45, Springfield XD45 and XDM45, and Sig P220′s are all excellent choices.

5. 1911 Government (.45 ACP)
If you don’t like John Browning’s 1911 – you’re a Commie!  And if you are a Commie and are reading this, you probably need to find a different blog and website to follow.  Ok now with that out of the way, the 1911 is America’s handgun.  It’s been around for 100 years and still is hard to beat. They’re accurate, elegant, hard hitting, slender (great for conceal carry), and just feel good.  The 1911 is still used by U.S. Armed Forces in combat, and Law Enforcement departments around the country.  As we discussed before, the .45 ACP is hard to beat for stopping power, and easy to find.  Why .45? – Because they don’t make a .46! (ok they make larger now but it’s not too practical ).  As far as brand goes, take your pick.  The low price guns do have budget parts and are a little more prone to fail, but just about every 1911 out there will get the job done.

6. FN F.A.L. (7.62×51 NATO / .308 WIN)
This may be a surprise to some, but the FN Herstal FAL is the most prolific battle rifle in the world.  There are more FAL’s than AK-47′s, and more countries (over 90) use the FAL as the main battle rifle than any other.  First prototyped in 1947 in Belgium by FN Herstal, the FAL has been around forever and has proven itself as a reliable work-horse.  Like the AK-47, it’s tolerances are loose and allow for reliability under dirty conditions.  FAL’s do the the advantage over AK-47′s as being a little more accurate depending on the particular flavor of FAL you come across.

Once again magazines, parts, and ammunition for the FAL shouldn’t be too hard to find.  It’s fairly popular in the United States and fires the .308 (7.62×51 NATO) cartridge – which has both advantages and disadvantages.  The two main advantages of .308 are commonality and stopping power.  The .308 is the hardest hitting round we have discussed so far, and can even be used to take down big-game if necessary.  The main draw back is weight – it’s quite heavy compared to the smaller rifles cartridges and will basically lead to less ammunition you will be able to carry.

As an alternative (especially to U.S. Military purists), the M1A rifle chambered in .308 is a great alternative.  The M1A is still currently in service in the U.S. Military and is an extremely popular and common firearm in the United States.

7. Smith & Wesson 686 (.357 Magnum / .38 S&W Special)
This list wouldn’t seem complete without a wheel gun.  The classic and clear choice is the Smith & Wesson 686 (or any other flavor of S&W revolver).  Revolvers are simple to operate, reliable, sturdy, and you don’t have to worry about magazines.  One of the main points here is that it is chambered in .357 magnum – this chamber allows you to shoot .357 mag and .38 S&W Special.  The .357/.38 cartridge is extremely common and easy to find, and it has great stopping power.  The .357 magnum will outperform just about every pistol caliber out there except for a few.  The only real draw back to a wheel gun is low ammunition capacity, and the inability to reload as fast as a semi-auto pistol.  Aside from the Smith & Wesson revolver, other revolvers like Ruger and Taurus will work fine (we just like the S&W a little better).

8. Remington 700 (.308 / .30-06 / .300 Win Mag)
The main benefits of a bolt-action rifle are stopping power and range.  They’re once again simple and easy to operate, and with the right skills you can stretch out beyond 1000 meters if you need a little distance!  Choosing the Remington 700 was a little trickier of a decision.  We know we needed a good bolt-action rifle, but there are several good contenders.  Our main alternative is the Winchester Model 70.  Both rifles are extremely popular and well proven.  The Remington 700 has an edge in being a little more accurate, but the Winchester Model 70 has a slight edge in reliability / functionality because of it’s improved bolt and extraction system.  Regardless of what you choose, we felt it important to have a good bolt-action rifle.  The cartridge was also tricky since there are plenty of good options, but we wanted to stay with a common cartrige.  The .308, .30-06, and .300 Win Mag were our top 3 choices.  All three are .30 caliber projectiles, and are extremely common in the U.S.A.  All three have been, or are being used, by the U.S. Military which also makes it easy to find.  These three are also hard hitting and can take down just about any big game animal in North America.

9. Remington 870 (12GA)
In addition to the bolt-gun, we definitely needed a shotgun.  The Remington 870 seemed the obvious choice since it’s so common and easy to use.  An alternative would be the Mossberg 500/590 shotguns since they are also very popular and tough.  The gauge of choice is 12GA for several reasons.  Again like every caliber we have discussed, it is common and easy to find!  The 12gGA is also very versatile in the fact that it can fullfill various roles depending on the load you choose.  If you need self defense, buck shot and slugs are almost unbeatable for stopping power.  If you’re going after small game (birds, rabbits, etc) 7 1/2 and 6 shot are excellent choices.  If you are going for larger game, slugs will do the trick as long as you’re close enough to take a shot.  And of course if you do find yourself amongst a Zombie Hoarde, a 12GA shotgun is a classic choice.

10. Ruger 10/22 (.22LR)
Last but not least is a .22 Long Rifle.  The Ruger 10/22 was any easy choice since it’s a simple semi-auto .22 that is extremely popular, and a lot of us grew up with this as our first rifle.  The .22 is versatile, quiet, small, light, and cheap!  You can carry of ton of .22 since it’s so light, and not put a large hole in the wallet by doing so.  Aside from the 10/22, any relaible .22 will do the trick.  We also found it important to mention a .22 pistol as well, since they’re smaller and easier to conceal.  And for those of you really looking to be discreet, a good .22 cal sound suppressor with sub-sonic ammunition is a nice addition .