Author: Vhyrus

Expecting your favorite barbarian sodomite? Not today, ladies! I kicked his happy ass to the curb* and we’re going to be talking about the most American of pastimes: Shooting shit! You need a dose of some good old fashioned testosterone up in this joint, and Vhyrus is filling your prescription weekly. This post was originally going to be part 2 of my get home bag series, but it’s now become the premiere post of Firearm Fridays. So sit down and start reading, and don’t mind that itching under your blouse… that’s just all the hair this gun talk is putting on your chest. This week I have a long, boring post in which I show off my guns and talk about how much of gun nerd I am. I promise future posts will be a bit lighter.

You’ll recall in part 1 we discussed a basic functional layout for a get home bag, of which the primary element is a long gun. For the sake of clarity (if not brevity), I did not go into great detail about the possible choices for a defensive rifle. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of different long guns available for purchase on the market. Some of these naturally lend themselves to a combat or defensive role more readily than others, while some are less obvious but have a few benefits that may outweigh their shortcomings in certain situations. We’re now going down the rabbit hole into hardcore ammosexuality to take a look at the various types of guns, their advantages and disadvantages, and what would make a good weapon for your particular case. SVD (that’s Standard Vhyrus Disclaimer, which is cool cause it’s also the name of a sniper rifle) that this is entirely based on my opinion and that I am a moron so you should stop reading and ignore everything I have to say.

I am going to organize these guns by tiers. Tier 1 guns are the absolute most effective in terms of overall capability. They are usually based around a proven military design and many are well known throughout the world. Barring any legal or financial obstacles, this should be the gun you want. Tier 2 guns lack either the firepower or the dexterity of tier 1 weapons, but make up for it in other ways. Tier 2 guns are still extremely effective, just not as much as tier 1. Tier 3 guns are guns that are picked because they are legal or more practical in places tier 1 and 2 guns are not. In this tier are the non self loading firearms. These guns usually have reduced capacity and rate of fire, but are still decent weapons in their own right, and some make up their shortcomings with excellent knockdown power and/or accuracy. Tier 3 guns are definitely compromises, but with training they can be wielded with great success. Tier 4 guns are not recommended except for very limited conditions. These weapons are hunting type rifles or WW1 or 2 era surplus rifles. They are simply too slow, too large, and too heavy to be effective. Mind you, these guns will still put a bullet on target, and they are generally the most accurate of the 4 tiers, but their disadvantages are numerous. Avoid if possible. One final note: I will avoid naming brands as anything other than examples, unless a specific model of gun does something special or noteworthy, in which case I will call it out for consideration.

We will start with the best possible choices, the tier 1 guns. The two most obvious, and by far the most common, are the AR 15 and the AK 47. The AR 15 is the civilian version of the M4 and M16 in use by the US and other various militaries since the 1960s. It is commonly chambered in 5.56×45, also called .223 remington. While 5.56 and .223 are not technically interchangeable, any AR made in the last 15 years will be able to shoot both so you can ignore the distinction. The primary advantages of the AR include light weight, low price, enhanced accuracy, commonly available parts and ammo, excellent ergonomics and extremely modular design. Disadvantages include a difficult cleaning, many small parts during field stripping, and a non folding stock. The AK refers to a number of semi automatic clones of the Russian AK 47 in service throughout the world. It can be found in the armories of just about every banana republic and tin pot dictator from Castro to Kim Jong. AKs are commonly chambered in 7.62×39, henceforth referred to as 7.62S. Advantages of the AK are a robust, simple design, ease of maintenance, available folding stock, and an abundance of inexpensive ammo. Disadvantages include reduced accuracy, higher weight, awkward controls, and a lack of customization. A decent AK is now also slightly more expensive than a base model AR currently.

The main difference between these guns primarily lies in their common calibers. The 5.56 is a very small, fast round. It uses kinetic energy over weight to inflict most of its damage. This gives the AR a very flat trajectory and long range. It also gives the AR one other distinct advantage: it can penetrate all but the highest level body armor using 55 grain M193 rounds, which are commonly available under the Federal ammunition brand. It is the only common semi automatic caliber I am aware of capable of doing this. While this advantage would be highly situational in use, it is still worth considering. The 7.62S round used by the AK is much larger and slower. It has more drop at longer ranges and slightly more recoil. As a result it is not considered useful past 300 yards. It does, however, possess superior wounding capabilities at close range compared to the 5.56. With this in mind, I offer this recommendation: If armor penetration, extreme accuracy, or long range effectiveness are of critical importance to you, the 5.56 is the better caliber. If close range performance is your most important factor, 7.62S is what you want. If you want 7.62S performance in an AR, there are conversions which allow you to shoot it from an AR platform using special magazines, or you can look into 300 blackout, which is specifically designed to feed in an AR platform. This is a bit outside the realm of this article so I will let you do your own research into those options if you are so inclined.

A whole article (hell a whole book) could be written about the various different calibers and options available for the AR platform, so I will add one final note about twist rate and move on. The most common barrel twist rates available for the 5.56 are 1:9, 1:8, and 1:7. This refers to the number of rotations a bullet in the barrel makes while travelling down the barrel. 1:9 means one rotation every 9 inches, 1:8 means one rotation in 8 inches, etc. The tighter the barrel, the heavier a projectile it will adequately stabilize, but a twist rate too high will over spin a lighter bullet and cause poor accuracy. Most military barrels are 1:7, and most higher end ARs are as well, but I actually recommend a 1:8 twist. A 1:7 will allow you to stabilize 70 and even 80 grain projectiles, but most people never shoot anything heavier than 62 grains. A 1:8 will allow you to stabilize everything between 40 and 80 grains, with the sweet spot right around 60 grains. This will allow you to shoot essentially every commercially available load for the AR with at least reasonable accuracy. This matter is still hotly debated, and I encourage you to research more, but I have noticed that many of the newest ARs are coming with 1:8 barrels from the factory so I believe this idea is catching on. A few years ago you would have been hard pressed to find any 1:8 barrels and now they are sold on almost every gun website.

While the AR and AK will give you the best bang for the buck in terms of an affordable lead slinger, there is another class of rifles I feel deserve mentioning, because these offer something a bit extra for those inclined. I am referring to bullpup rifles. A bullpup rifle is a rifle that moves the action behind the trigger, where the stock would be. On most rifles the stock is just a useless piece of wood or plastic to rest your shoulder on, but bullpups actually use that space to house the working components. The result is a gun with a full length barrel that is 20% shorter than a traditional rifle. This makes the bullpups the shortest rifles legally available without an NFA tax stamp. They are usually as short or shorter than an AK with the stock folded, yet they are always ready to go. They excel if you have to get in and out of vehicles or work in cramped hallways and doorways due to their small size. There are some drawbacks, however. Bullpups can be a little ergonomically awkward, requiring some extra training to master. They are generally not ambidextrous, although there are exceptions. They are also not cheap. While a base model AR can be had for as little as $400, the cheapest bullpups start at $1000 and go up past $2000. I am personally a huge proponent of bullpup rifles, and if you have the money I definitely recommend at least swinging by a gun store and checking a few out.

Now let’s discuss tier 2 weapons. These are guns that offer some sort of compromise or trade vs the tier 1 guns. This is a rather large category so I will have to break it into sections. The first set of guns in this tier are what I call the featureless or ranch rifles. These are guns that have the same basic function as an AR or AK but look more like a traditional hunting rifle. The two most common are the Ruger mini 14 and the Kel Tec SU 16 that I mentioned in the first article. Both of these guns shoot the 5.56 cartridge (Ruger also makes a version called the mini 30 that shoots 7.62S). The Ruger takes proprietary magazines while the SU-16 takes AR magazines. The Kel Tec has the added bonus of folding in half. These guns are less intimidating and/or conspicuous than the assault rifles** in tier 1, but they shoot just as fast and hit just as hard. They lack some of the features of the assault rifles, such a pistol grips or muzzle brakes, which means they can skirt some of the more onerous assault weapons bans in the less free states. If you want the most firepower but you live in a ban state, a gun like this is your best option. If you are on a budget you can also look for a SKS. These guns are a cousin of the AK and shoot the same round, but they feed from 10 round internal magazines and can be reloaded with stripper clips. You can usually get them from around $400 – $500. The trade off is that these guns will not have the level of aftermarket accessories and magazines available to them. You may have to pay more to get what you want, if they even offer it at all, and the controls are generally less user friendly on these guns. Some of these guns can also be fairly pricey for what you get, especially the Rugers. Also, if you are picking these to get around assault weapons bans then you are probably limited to 10 round magazines which makes these guns a bit of a weak choice. With so few rounds a larger caliber may be more desirable.

The next set of guns up for discussion are short barreled rifles or SBRs. These are rifles (usually ARs or AKs although there are others available) which have a barrel shorter than 16 inches. These rifles can be extremely light and compact, taking up no more space than a laptop, yet still able to give a high rate of firepower in a controllable package. In theory, these are the best of both worlds: the size of a large pistol, the firepower of a rifle. So why are they not tier 1 guns? Well, for one thing they’re almost illegal. In fact they are illegal in some places. Even where they are not banned by state law, they are heavily regulated by federal law. In order to make or buy one, you must go through a lengthy registration process and pay a $200 tax per gun for the privilege to have one. You have to keep this paperwork with the gun wherever it goes. You cannot allow anyone not authorized to possess it to use it or even have access to it outside of your direct supervision, and you must file paperwork with the ATF if you plan on taking it across state lines. That’s every time you cross state lines, not just once. Oh, and it usually takes 6 to 12 months for the feds to approve your application. In short, it is the definition of a pain in the ass. This alone should make you think twice about going this route.

If you look at an AR SBR (the easiest one to make) you are not even saving any space. Because an AR stock does not fold, even an AR SBR with a 10 inch barrel is going to be roughly the same length as a bullpup, but a bullpup doesn’t come with a suitcase of red tape and you are not compromising your barrel length. Furthermore, because the gun has a short barrel, you are significantly hindering your firepower. In general, the shorter the barrel, the less velocity you produce. Reduced velocity equals reduced power, which means your rifle isn’t hitting like a rifle. In fact it is this reason that I do not recommend using any short barreled AR weapon chambered in 5.56. 5.56 is a very velocity dependent cartridge and using short barrels cuts too much velocity off the round for it to work effectively. There are commercially available rounds that are effective out of a 10 inch barrel but that is beyond the purview of this article so I leave it to you to do your research if you want to go that route. The only SBR I can comfortably recommend is an AK SBR with a folding stock. It is small enough to actually gain significant movement and concealment but still large enough to hit with authority. You are still going to pay out of the ass for it and have a suitcase of paperwork to haul around, and God forbid if the thing gets stolen out of your car.

So, if SBRs are out, what can you do? Well, there is another option. It is called the AK pistol. You see, we have kind of screwed up gun laws in America. If you take an AK and chop the barrel down, that’s a short barreled rifle, but if you chop the barrel down AND take the stock off, that’s a handgun. Makes total sense, doesn’t it? With an AK pistol, you can run a single point sling off the back of the gun and use the sling as a stabilization point, kind of like a reverse stock. This gives you a nice small gun with lots of maneuverability and plenty of power. The downside is that an AK pistol is simply not as stable as a rifle. The stock adds a lot to the accuracy of a gun, and your follow up shots are definitely going to be slower and less consistent. AR pistols also exist but because the problems with AR SBRs extend to AR pistols I would not recommend them either. If you want maximum concealment and maximum firepower, this is the only way to roll.

Or is it? You see, there is a third way. A company called SB Tactical makes something called an arm brace. Here is a picture of it on my AR pistol:

Now, you are probably thinking “Gee Vhyrus, that looks an awful lot like a stock.” Why, yes it does! Despite this, the ATF has ruled that this thing is not a stock and can be placed on any pistol without making it a SBR. I am not going to sugar coat it: this thing is the definition of ‘grey area’. Up until very recently, the ATF publicly stated that if you had one of these on a gun you could not legally touch it to your shoulder or you would be making a short barreled rifle. They backed off of this very shaky and nigh indefensible stance in the last few weeks, but being the arbitrary and capricious motherfuckers that they are, they could change their mind at any moment. Still, as of this writing, there is nothing explicitly forbidding you from equipping a brace to your pistol and using it like a short little stock. I have used one of these, and while it is short it is definitely usable, especially if you’re wearing a plate carrier. The only way to really get the most out of it is to put one on a folding stock tube so you can get the smallest possible package, otherwise you might as well just get a bullpup. This adds about $200 – $300 to the price of the gun but you are getting an almost SBR with none of the SBR legal entanglements. The brace comes with it’s own legal baggage though, so you have to weigh the pros and cons. FWIW, if you’re dead set on a SBR I would go with a AK pistol equipped with a brace on a folding tube. You can get a Yugo M92 with the brace and 3 mags for about $650 right now and then you would need to do a little work to add in the folding mechanism.

On the other end of the spectrum are the .308 rifles. These are semi automatic military rifles of usually cold war origin chambered in .308 winchester or 7.62×51 (also called 7.62 NATO). The 308 is a considerably more capable round than 5.56 or 7.62S. It flies farther and hits harder. There are many effective guns chambered in this caliber that make excellent defensive rifles. The AR-10, M14, SCAR, FAL, CETME, HK91, and their derivatives are all available and reliable systems. I would never feel outgunned with one of these in my hands. The drawbacks are primarily related to size and weight. A 308 is simply overkill for most situations. Most people do not need an 800 yard effective range in a defensive rifle, and the additional power is wasted. Recoil is increased significantly over 5.56 or 7.62S. Furthermore, a 308 is going to be larger and heavier than an intermediate caliber rifle, and the ammo is larger and heavier as well which means you won’t carry as much. These guns also have reduced capacity compared to the tier 1 rifles, with magazine capacity typically around 20 rounds. 308 is also twice as expensive as 5.56, and the guns are usually more expensive as well. If you live in a ban state and are limited to 10 round magazines then it would actually make sense to go with 308 since you need all the power you can get to make up for the lack of capacity, but otherwise it’s a lot of unnecessary weight.

The final type of guns in this tier are semi auto 12 gauge shotguns. A shotgun is a very versatile and capable platform, able to shoot many different kinds of ammo to fill various roles and can adapt to many different scenarios quickly. In terms of close range lethality, there is absolutely nothing more powerful than a semi automatic shotgun loaded with buckshot. Each trigger pull sends nine 9mm sized shots at your target, and you could easily empty 10 rounds out of a modern shotgun in less than 3 seconds, making a semi auto shotgun as powerful as a full auto mp5. Using slugs, a shotgun can make hits at 100 and even 200 yards with practice. Ammo is plentiful and readily available, and can be changed at will to suit your particular needs. Sounds like an excellent platform, so what are the drawbacks? There is a reason the shotgun is a niche weapons in all modern militaries. Shotguns are large and heavy, for one. Secondly, ammo capacity is severely limited. The average tube fed shotgun has a maximum capacity of about 9 rounds, and even magazine fed shotguns usually top out at 10 unless you use heavy and expensive drums. Recoil is punishing, especially with slugs. Reliability can be hit and miss with certain loads or models. Reloading is slow, especially with tube fed guns. Ammo is large and heavy, which means you will be able to carry less. Accuracy is considerably diminished over rifles, and range is greatly reduced. Groups at 100 yards will be around 6 inches with slugs, and will most likely require some holdover to get on target. Buckshot is essentially useless beyond 50 yards.

Now we get into tier 3 guns, which includes pump and lever guns, and pistol caliber carbines. Pistol caliber carbines (henceforth abbreviated at PCCs) are rifles that shoot handgun rounds. 9mm is the most common, but you can get PCCs in just about every popular autoloading caliber, including 40, 45, and 10mm. PCCs can use either proprietary magazines or feed from commonly available handgun mags. GLOCK mags are the most common. Obviously one immediate advantage is that your rifle and pistol can use the same round and the same magazines interchangeably, which greatly simplifies your loadout. Also PCCs tend to be light with almost zero recoil. The disadvantages of a PCC lie in their ammo. To be blunt, pistol rounds suck. They are low power, have poor penetration, poor ballistics, and poor range. 200 yards is a stretch for a PCC and would require significant hold over. Not only that, but because of our barrel length laws, a PCC is going to be roughly the same size as a full size AR or AK. You aren’t gaining any advantage size wise but you are taking a real firepower hit. These guns are usually subject to the same assault weapons bans that the rifles have, so you aren’t winning on that front either. The only major advantage is magazine commonality, and that is a lot to pay for a relatively minor advantage. Unless you are extremely recoil sensitive I would not go for a PCC as my first choice.

There are two notable exceptions to this that I must mention. Two specific PCCs get a pass into tier 2 due to their design. The first one is the Kel Tec Sub 2000. The Sub 2k is a PCC chambered in 9 or 40 that takes mags from one of several major handgun brands. What makes the S2K unique is that it can fold completely in half without tools and deploy in seconds. This gives you a gun no wider than a standard laptop that can deliver rounds on target and then fold back up into a small backpack. You are still dealing with a PCC so range and firepower are limited, but it’s extremely low weight and folding ability are enough to put it above the rest. If you have to pick a true PCC, pick that one. The second gun that moves up a slot is the FN PS90. The PS90 is the duck billed platypus of the gun world. It is neither a rifle nor PCC but it shares characteristics of both. The centerpiece of the PS90 is the 5.7×28 round. It is designed like a shrunk down 5.56 cartridge, so while technically a handgun round it has similar ballistics to a rifle. It is effective out to around 200 yards with minimal drop. The gun itself is a bullpup design which keeps the size to the minimum allowed by law. What makes it really stand out is that the proprietary magazines can hold 50 rounds, almost double the standard capacity of an AR or AK. The rounds themselves are very small and light which means you can carry more. A standard loadout consists of only 2 or 3 full magazines vs the 4 or 5 needed for an AR. Ammo and mags are somewhat pricey and you aren’t going to find them at your local walmart, but it is definitely one to look into if you have the money.

The other half of the tier 3 guns are lever/pump action firearms. These are manually operated firearms usually fed from a tube under the barrel, although some do use detachable magazines. If you’ve ever seen an old west movie, you have probably seen a lever action. These are chambered in older rimmed calibers like 357, 30-30, 44, 45-70, or 45 LC. They are simple steel guns with wood stocks and basic sights. Some have been modernized and can mount a scope or a red dot. They are very light, simple, and reliable firearms. Their greatest asset is that they are not semi auto so they can get around even the most restrictive firearms laws in the US. Since they are not scary black assault rifles there is a very good chance that most people that would normally get agitated from the sight of a rifle would ignore or discount a simple cowboy gun like a lever action. Make no mistake, though. These are serious guns. They fire fast and hit hard. They have the added bonus of being chambered in revolver calibers, so if you carry a revolver you only need to carry 1 type of ammo for both. A 357 or 44 magnum out of a 16 inch barrel is no joke, and will do a real number on whatever you hit. Range is limited by ballistics but 100 – 200 yard shots should not be too much trouble for most calibers. The downsides are the obviously low rate of fire and low capacity, as well as outdated cartridges. No lever action is going to keep up with a semi auto, and rounds must be hand loaded individually. If you do get a lever action, I strongly recommend getting one with a side loading gate which will greatly decrease your reloading times. Rossi makes a very affordable version in many calibers. If this is the best you are able to get, train hard with it and learn what it can and cannot do. As for shotguns, pump action is much more common than lever action, though both do exist. Manual shotguns have the same drawbacks as semi auto shotguns but a slower fire rate. Their reliability is much better, however. The main advantage to pump shotguns are their low price and accessibility. Many people already have a pump shotgun they can simply put a shorter barrel on, and those that don’t can pick up a simple 12 gauge for as little as $200 brand new. Many police still carry 12 gauge pumps as their long gun, so they definitely have their uses as defensive weapons. If you want simple, reliable, and cheap, you can’t do much better than a 12 gauge.

There is one shotgun I feel I should call out as a cut above the rest feature wise. I don’t feel that it’s good enough to be considered a tier 2 weapon, but if you really want a pump shotgun and money is not an issue, I would recommend looking into the Kel Tec KSG. The KSG is a pump action 12 gauge but it is nothing like any other gun on the market. For one, it is a bullpup, which makes it a very compact and handy weapon. You could easily stash one in a large backpack. Secondly, the KSG had dual feed tubes. Fully loaded it holds 15 rounds. That is double the average shotgun and more than even most magazine fed shotguns. Because it feeds from each tube independently, you could do some really clever things like fill one with slugs and one with buckshot, which would allow you to switch back and forth whenever you like. They are considerably more expensive than a standard pump 12 gauge, coming in around 700, but the added features are worth the extra price.

Finally, we’ve reached the bottom of the barrel, tier 4. These guns are simply not recommended for defensive use. They are fine weapons, but they are simply too outdated or outclassed by more modern guns. I am talking about bolt action and single shot rifles and shotguns. These can be hunting weapons or surplus arms from the world wars. They can also be super expensive precision rifles for shooting the wings off a fly at 1000 yards. They come in literally every known caliber and price range, from $100 all the way up to many thousands of dollars. Most are fed from internal magazines, although some do have detachable box mags. They are simple, reliable, and ballistically they can have impressive numbers, but the downsides are just too great. They are slow to load, slow to reload, have very limited capacity, and are not ambidextrous. If you live in a very rural area where shot placement and extreme accuracy are your only considerations, then a bolt gun may be the ticket, but in a defensive situation it would be extremely rare to justify shooting at someone from hundreds of yards away from ambush, which would be the only place a bolt gun would really work. It simply doesn’t make sense.

That about covers it. This was considerably drier than my last post so hopefully it was at least somewhat educational. This is a huge topic but I tried to give the best possible overview of the situation without going too deep into any particular detail. If you have specific questions or want to call me a moron, comment below.  

*Not really. I begged them to let me do this and they felt sorry for me. 

**I know they’re not really assault rifles. Just let me trigger some progs for a bit.