Sometime back I posted an article on Survivalist Blog thesurvivalistblog.blogsp...man-survival-arsenal.html detailing a bare bones set of survival weapons that would allow the survivor to hunt small, medium and large game for the pot, as well as defend the retreat, all for under $350, not an easy task at today’s prices. Almost as soon as I hit the publish button, my email inbox became flooded by readers suggesting other more expensive firearms or those wanting to ad more weapons to my basic three gun list with some readers becoming downright rude and offensive because I had failed to include their preferred artillery.
It seems the main point of the article went over those reader’s heads or maybe I failed to make myself clear; the poor man's arsenal was never intended to be the be all and end all to choosing survival guns, only recommendations for those of us who are on a strict budget and needing to make every dollar count toward acquiring preparedness preps.
So being the great guy that I am; I decided to write an update to the original post, this time working with a core budget of one thousand dollars. Even with the increased purchasing power our choice of firearms are limited to those weapons at the lower end of the toll. The important thing to remember is just because weapons are purchased at a lower price doesn’t mean they are of lower quality, often times the opposite is true.
It seems most gun owners choices at the checkout counter tend to feed the ego instead of the need of practical usage. We as Americans want the biggest and best available, we must have the most prodigious of everything, no matter the cost, even when the job could have been done just as well with another efficient tool purchased at much lower cost. Forget about impressing your buddies at the range with the brand or cost of your arsenal, instead work on your skills and out shoot them at every range and speed.
The Arsenal
( 1 ) The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk I, II and III was the main battle rifle used by British Commonwealth forces during the first half of the 20th century. It was the British Army's standard rifle from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957. Equipped with a ten round detachable box magazine the fast-operating action and large magazine capacity enabled a trained rifleman to fire between 20 to 30 aimed rounds a minute, making the Lee-Enfield the fastest military bolt-action rifle of the day.
The current world record for aimed bolt-action fire was set in 1914 by a musketry instructor in the British Army — Sergeant Instructor Snoxall — who placed 38 rounds into a 12" target at 300 yards in one minute. Some Accounts dating from WWI tell of British troops repelling German attackers, who subsequently reported that they had encountered machine guns, when in fact, it was simply a group of trained riflemen armed with SMLE Mk III rifles.
(2) Mossberg Maverick 88 12 gauge pump shotguns are assembled in Eagle Pass, Texas using foreign (Non-USA) manufactured parts, mainly from Mexico; which contributes to their relatively lower price in comparison to the Mossberg 500 series of shotguns which is assembled and manufactured in the USA.
The trigger groups will not interchange between Maverick 88 and Mossberg 500 guns, but the majority of other parts including barrels, stocks, and shell magazines will (the barrel and magazines must be the same length). I have owned several over the years and found them to be just as strong and reliable as the Mossberg 500 series of pump action shotguns.
(3) Smith&Wesson model 10 or Taurus model 82 both are well made, reliable .38 caliber revolvers that will serve you well and are great survival handguns for those on a budget.
(4) The Ruger 10/22 is a semi-automatic rimfire rifle chambered in .22 Long Rifle. It has a removable 10-round rotary magazine which allows the magazine to fit flush with the bottom of the stock. Higher capacity magazines of 25 / 50 rounds are available for this little carbine as are folding stocks, after market sites and a number of other accessories. It is my opinion that the 10/22 Ruger is the best semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle available on the market.
Well there you have, my suggestions for a budget survival arsenal for under $1,000. If nothing else it should get your mind to working on your own list, what would you add / subtract or rearrange to make the budget arsenal more useful and effective? Remember you must stay under the $1,000 limit.
Poster Comment:
The only thing I would change is a mauser or SKS for the SMLE. .303 ammo seems to be hard to find. But that is just me. To each his own.