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M1A: Too Outdated for Self-Defense, or Best Bug-Out Gun Ever?

Tenbones said:
Bug out? Bug out to where? Do you have a place to bug out to? For how long? Unless you plan on bugging out in a U-Haul, you can load only so much in a car or pickup and bugging out will only get you so far. You may have access to only so much gas and then you may have to abandon your vehicle before you reach your desired destination and after that you can only pack so much ammo, food, clothing and shelter before that will eventually be gone. Best bet is to stay home, if at all possible. Home is a known defensible location and you can store all the supplies you need and it is good shelter for the long haul.

Granted, this won't work for everyone, but you need to carefully evaluate you particular situation and be brutally honest in assessing your situation, abilities and capabilities before you decide on which bug out gun is best.
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You know most guys only thinks of their guns and as far as anything else, "we'll figure it out as we go along". :D
 
greywolf1961 said:
Assuming I use the AR15, and assuming I don't want to use 5,56, I would go with 7.62x39 as a reasonable caliber. I have about 5000 of those little pills. They are still fairly easy to find. They Are not much heavier. I can always have a friend with an AK47 come along and still be single caliber. Make the AR a pistol, and you will have reduced the weight quite a bit as well.

Lots of good thoughts from all of you. And lots of take aways.

Being in my 60s with a wife who wouldn't be able to do the cross country running, I would most likely stand my ground. Fortunately, I'm in a community that would, most likely, band together.

Truth is, you're more likely to survive with larger numbers working together.

While I love the idea of "running through the jungle with my M16", I'm no longer that lean, mean, fighting machine that I was 40 years ago.

Having said that, defending my home, family, and friends is a different story.

Here i would have my choice of rounds and weapons. I have the high ground, sufficient open area, space, reinforcements, and the armory to back it up.

Real life may not allow the bug out scenario. But you can still do what you have to.
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We're in the same boat, though my wife's in better shape for walking than I. Uncle Arthrite has decided to attack my hips and knees, so attempting to walk very far, is not a viable option, but a last ditch effort.
I too prefer the AR in a caliber other than 5.56, but went with .300 Blackout instead of 7.62 X 39. Though I've an AR in 5.56 and a couple of thousand rounds in both calibers. If I really need to reach out and touch someone, I've my old Bolt Gun in .338 Win Mag, and it'll reach farther and hit harder than a .308 ever can.
I've been a reloader for close to 50 years, so the last couple of years I've been stockpiling components more than ammo (though I won't pass on really good deals when they crop up).
Our plan is to stay put. Water and growable land is close by. Our chickens are laying like crazy, and we can incubate to keep them going.
Compared to our original Bug Out destination, we're better off staying put.
 
HansGruber said:
Methinks one mushroom cloud and you won’t need a second shot.

Just sayin’.
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The odds of you finding an atomic shell are probably just a little bit lower than you finding conventional munitions.

The advantage of the M110A2 has is ,as I said, it's its own vehicle.

It's armor plated so it provides its own protection. And I can drive right over your car with it.

So I have Mobility and I have some place to carry all my junk.
 
Lexie__M said:
You know most guys only thinks of their guns and as far as anything else, "we'll figure it out as we go along". :D
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And that, is a big mistake, and a recipe for disaster. There are some areas of the country that it's possible to live off the land, but out West in the Rockies (where we're at), there's a reason why the Natives lived a nomadic Hunter/Gatherer lifestyle and not in established communities like their Coastal cousins. Growing seasons are shorter. Not as much crop variety grows. And you have to follow the game migrations, as it doesn't come to you.
 
Bemused Berserker said:
And that, is a big mistake, and a recipe for disaster. There are some areas of the country that it's possible to live off the land, but out West in the Rockies (where we're at), there's a reason why the Natives lived a nomadic Hunter/Gatherer lifestyle and not in established communities like their Coastal cousins. Growing seasons are shorter. Not as much crop variety grows. And you have to follow the game migrations, as it doesn't come to you.
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Isn't this thread about bug-out and not native hunting gatherers which is a different thread?

You sound like you may live off the gird at least part time?
 
Bemused Berserker said:
And that, is a big mistake, and a recipe for disaster. There are some areas of the country that it's possible to live off the land, but out West in the Rockies (where we're at), there's a reason why the Natives lived a nomadic Hunter/Gatherer lifestyle and not in established communities like their Coastal cousins. Growing seasons are shorter. Not as much crop variety grows. And you have to follow the game migrations, as it doesn't come to you.
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Tribes in low-elevation parts of the northern Rockies had established year-round communities. But they still seasonally traveled to various areas to hunt and forage.
 
Lexie__M said:
Normally I would say 5.56 mm however now days you may run into those with armour vest of which a 5.56mm does not fair as well. The Taliban knew, you have to shoot the US military in the head to bypass the body armour. Lucky for the US the AK is not known for it's accuracy but a Taliban sniper is a different animal.
Even the US military in now using a 6.8mm hybred as a squad weapon because they run into others using armour vest.
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Since you mentioned armor. It makes me wonder how my German .308 rounds will do. They are not brass FMJ. They are steel tipped FMJ. Yes, it is harder on the barrel, but they would also have better penetration.
 
greywolf1961 said:
Since you mentioned armor. It makes me wonder how my German .308 rounds will do. They are not brass FMJ. They are steel tipped FMJ. Yes, it is harder on the barrel, but they would also have better penetration.
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They aren’t steel tipped.

They’re nickel-alloy jacketed.

And they won’t do any better than any other FMJ.
 
edmerc said:
How would you rank the BAR DBM against the M1A Scout?
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Very similar shooters but:
Bar is easier to mount traditional scope.
Bar is less noise and concussion due to no muzzle break but recoil is just as soft or softer.
Bar is lighter than m1a.
M1a magazines are available in more sizes and less expensive.
I like both but no need for both so I sold my bar today.
I have an optic on my POF rogue and an mro on my ma scout and now $2k in my gun kitty.
 
jng1226 said:
How could the answer to the title question be any different considering the source? Bias much?
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BCM recce 11 or SA saint edge are Best ar’s I’ve ever owned.
5.56 is only bug out caliber that qualifies. 5.56 will be available anywhere and everywhere in the US where as all the other great calibers we all luv, will be hit or miss.
 
I think that for many of us, the choice between the M14/M1a and the M-16/AR is what you trained with and took into combat.
 
The roles of my M1As are (1) as a DMR and (2) as support rifles to primary .308/7.62x51 HB bolt guns.

None of which are my best self-defense and/or bug-out guns.

My .02
 
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So hard to pick just one rifle.
I’ve sold everything I don’t luv and still have a dozen.
I shoot pigs with a different one each week.
Most recently been using the smallest of them, an 8”” 300 bo, suppressed of course.
Subs and supers, got all the hold overs figured out for all the loads.
Oh the fun of guns.
Vote wise, save the 2A.
 
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