Caliber decisions in TEOTWAWKI

[Scratch]

For some reason, I woke up today with this thought in my head and wondered what others think of it.

Let?s say tomorrow the grid goes down, power goes out, no internet, you hear distant explosions, and smoke, and random gunfire off in the distance in all directions from you. There are stories about hearing from ham radio this is effecting at least the entire country but nobody is sure if it?s zombies, aliens, Russia, China, WW3, etc?

You have to bug out for some reason and can only take 2 firearms.  You have a 9mm pistol and an AR15. You have a 9mm upper and a 5.56 upper for the rifle and they?ve both proven themselves extremely reliable. But because of space and weight reasons, you can only take one.

Do you take the 9mm upper since you have only one ammo to bring, or the 5.56 since it?s got more power and distance and is capable of penetrating soft armor?

Discuss?

[PAX]

First off, during my "prepper" phase years ago, I assembled all manner of web/harness/chest rigs with hydration in a few pistol and rifle caliber combos. The other day I tried one on. Guess what? At my age I'm not running anywhere with that crap on. I'm going to hunker down and cover your escape. Fly be free little butterfly! The reality of my situation, is that I'm in the middle central Kali ag dirt, surrounded by silos of nuts and live crops that need tending. I'll tell you one thing, farmers are gonna farm, even if it means perimeter security. I'm fortunate to live in a tight nit ag community, I'm certain the folks in these parts will muster. We have the highest concentration of active and retired LEO in the county. We're in Kali with all its restrictive BS, but when push comes to shove, the backhoes and shovels will come out to retrieve buried iron . PAX

[JimmyJamesKY]

5.56mm for distance.  Dropping someone at 500yd from a concealed location should make whatever threat think about a path less travelled.  Also, if push comes to shove, which would be the case in TEOTAWKI, you could take some game with 5.56.  You could make the argument that you could do that with 9mm, but you'd have to be close..

[Onepoint]

Think about application, a 9mm upper is fun and accurate, but 9mm is fairly pathetic in ballistics.  The pistol is for concealment, being armed with a rifle is going to be a warning and make you a target at the same time.  I tend to think if you are openly carrying a rifle then you better be on a mission and expect to engage rather than just "prepared".  Of course the time of year and location will matter, a short barreled like 11.5" will do everything you will likely need and still be relatively concealable with a coat.   So for me, the AR in 5.56 or 300blk or whatever rifle caliber flavor people choose is preferable in any situation of a possible gunfight.  But if you are bugging out refugee style, trying to stay unnoticed and move fast, have it broke down or hidden and easily accessible while your pistol readily available. 

Like PAX, my days of larping are over, I may kit up if it comes to it, but will be most likely a delaying action for the threat of whatever I'm supposed to be protecting while they escape if caught unaware and ill prepared. 

[JimmyJamesKY]

Good point about a rifle making you a target.  You would definitely be the first one shot if you're in a group and are the only one sporting a rifle.  I chose 5.56mm because this was an either/or scenario.  Best set up would be a concealed pistol and a rifle stowed somewhere nearby or hid in your vehicle.

Honestly, a concealed pistol may keep you alive longer by not making you an obvious target, and giving you some defensive capability should you need it.  If I could have only one, rifle all the way, just because someone with a rifle could take me out before they were even in pistol range.  But having a rifle may make you a target when you wouldn't be otherwise.  That's the conundrum right there.  Be less armed and unassuming, or well armed and be perceived as a threat.

I would definitely be hunkering down and not bugging out.  I would be a pretty soft target with two boys and a wife in tow.  I need to get to know my neighbors better!

[Onepoint]

I'm kind of thinking in a lawless yet relative calm situation, the pistol is there concealed to fight my way to my rifle if not on me.   Of course its always going to vary in real life, along with what you are trying to do at the time. 

Say something like a natural disaster of some sort of situation of disruption of order, and you are trying to go buy gas or whatever and don't want to get car jacked, we would like to think a slung rifle is a message to stay back.  But that doesn't always work that way in real life in chaotic situations, look at the cases where they just attack you anyway, like Rittenhouse, or ICE agents now.  There is a cognitive disconnect with people who are unstable enough to want to use violence that there is no thought of consequence, even immediate, so a rifle pointed at them is no concern for some, maybe too many cases now. A concealed pistol may or may not be a viable alternative.  I mean if they are going to walk into a rifle, what's going to change if they don't even think you are armed?  It may give an edge of surprise, though they likely already have the initiative, and you are reactionary anyway.  So I guess know your situation and act accordingly.   

Having said that, absence of authority is generally temporary so maybe going full warlord is not the best strategy long term, even though I lean to the 'kill them all, let god sort them out' strategy in a high threat scenario. Even in the old west they hung thieves and murderers when there was no law enforcement around, so you have to take into account your own consequences,  as we do now with a highly controlled system.

 I'll be hunkering down as well, unless some sort of calamity forces us out,  it's probably most likely any real threat of unknown origin that are successfully dealt with,  without any authority around to come clean it up, will be resolved as some lonely patch of disturbed earth somewhere on the Wyo-braska plains.

[easy]

Not going anywhere unless pushed by fire.  We are over a mile from the pavement with trees to drop before anyone gets near.  We're far enough out that we haven't seen the sheriff on our road in many months.  For those idiots that feel the need, we also have a tractor disposal, not to mention all the wild hogs around.