Firearms.. Prepping 101. Rifles

Rifles. The quintessential tool of American history. The rifle has been there at our founding. It has grown with us, though thick and thin. Served by our sides and in our hands from the revolutionary war to the current conflicts in the middle east. Today we talk about the rifle and it’s position on the preppers, Prepping 101 list.

Action types.

Like the shotgun we talked about last time, the rifle comes in multiple action types. They also come in different firing types. Namely Rim fire and Center fire Each has it’s pros and cons Let’s sort through them.

Rim fire.

Rim fire rifles are usually in in the calibers of .17 HMR, .22 long rifle and .22WMR (.22 Magnum). These rifles are great for gathering game, and in a pinch defending yourself and homestead. People scoff at the “lowly” .22. The old .22 has dropped almost every game animal in the country. 

The .22

In the USA, the 22LR has the distinction of having killed the most people. This is due largely to its widespread availability and use in a number of popular platforms — not its absolute lethality. No one expects the elderly or handicapped to open up with a .22 “get off me gun”. While a gun larger than a .22 is recommended for self-defense, if this is the caliber of gun you can best handle, it is better than no gun at all. When times were real bad, a lot of people I know, myself included, have used the .22 to put food on the table. I also know a few people, who do not fell under gunned at all when all they have is a .22

The Single Shot Rifle

Single shot rifles have the same limitations as single shot shotguns They are slow to reload. They are extremely accurate The come in break action, bolt action. They can have the lowest cost of all the rifles.

Image via CVA

The CVA Hunter is a center fire single shot that comes in most center fire calibers. Prices for it are in the low $200.00 range

Bolt Action Rifle

The bolt action rifle is normally an internal magazine fed weapon. 4 to 5 shot capacity. The Bolt action has amazing accuracy potential, depending on the shooter. The ability to have a quick follow up shot can be a lifesaver, or drop that deer that may mean the survival of your family. Bolt actions are light, versatile and reliable. It is very very rare to have one malfunction. Bolt action rifles range from the mid $300.00 range to the sky is the limit.

Remington M700 via Remington USA

The Lever Action Rifle

The Lever action rife. The Classic American Rifle. The one that won the west. The lever action rifle has faster fire than the bolt action. It does not have the inherit accuracy if the bolt actions. Reloading is a bit faster than the bolt action. The lever action rifle with tubular magazines must be loaded with flat or round tip ammunition. This prevents chain fires in the magazine due to recoil slamming onto the pointed bullet below onto the primer above.

The flat and round tip ammo does limit the range of the gun. Hornady fixed that issue by putting a polymer tip on certain rifle rounds and the LEVERevolution® was born.

The LEVERevolution® round gives the lever action almost the accuracy of the bolt action. The Model 94 Winchester is the standard of the industry. But me being the contrary cuss that I am love the Marlin lever action. I feel it has a stronger action. And being a side eject it allows a scope to be mounted square to the receiver instead of offset. The model 1895 Marlin is a hard hitting 45/70 Government cartridge. I know more than a few men that left the AK and AR behind for the lever action rifle.

Winchester Model 94 Image via Winchester USA

The Marlin Model 336 Image via Marlin USA

The Semi Automatic rifle.

This could fill volumes. As could each of the other categories Semi autos come in 2 major variations Civilian origins and military origins/surplus. The Ruger Mini 14 and Mini 30 along with the older Remington 740 are civilian auto loaders The AR15 series of rifles, for all the hardware that people hang off of it, it is still a pure civilian rifle.

Its kissing cousin M16/M4 series are pure military rifles. The AK rifle. Both in the 7.62 and 5.45 mm varieties are pure civilian rifles. The military version of the AK is a select fire weapon. And if it is built after 1986, is illegal for civilians to buy in the US, thanks to President Clinton.

The SKS rifle however is pure military. They were only made in semiautomatic and saw action from the end of WW2 to fights across the planet today. The SKS is my personal weapon. It’s receiver is machined from 1 block of steel. It is a top load and eject. If you have detachable magazines for it and happen to lose them all it can still function very well as a single shot. The AR and AK are slow to load from their ejection port.

My SKS

Palmetto State Armory AK47 Image via Palmetto State Amory

PSA AR-15 Image via Palmetto State Armory

Which Rifle?

Which is the right rifle for you? Only YOU can decide that. The rifle is the long range weapon that is needed for putting food on the table. Or for defending you home or homestead. Sometimes you need tack driving accuracy at 400 yards. Sometimes you need suppressive firepower. The Rifle is the tool for that. One that is pretty useful in this series is Prepper Guns: Firearms, Ammo, Tools.