by JIR, SurvivalBlog

For budget preppers, I think the Enfield bolt action rifle is an excellent choice for a main battle rifle. Most of them are British weapons chambered for .303, which is an obsolete caliber. I don’t recommend a .303 weapon, but it would be perfectly adequate if you could get ammunition. A better choice is the Ishapore 2A1 rifle. It’s a redesigned Lee Enfield SMLE Mk III (one of the best rifles ever issued to an army) but chambered for 7.62×51 (7.62 NATO) and has a 10 or 12 round magazine. (The later production 2A1s have a 12 round magazine. Mine both do). This is a no-nonsense weapon in competent hands and fit for serious business.

A little known feature of the Enfield SMLE family of weapons is the speed sight, which also makes a pretty good night sight. These rifles have a U shaped post or frame around both the rear and front sights. If you paint these posts with white or luminous paint, you can quickly index the rifle in almost complete darkness. The posts are large and easy to see. It works as well as most night sights and it’s free.

Other than painting the night posts to increase visibility, I don’t suggest modifying this rifle in any way. It’s a fine weapon just like it is. One of it’s few faults is that mounting a scope is not very easy or neat because it was not designed for that. Most scopes also interfere with the capability to feed from clips. If you want to modify it much and “trick it out”, you will probably be happier with a modern rifle. Right out of the box, the SMLE is pretty nice, but it’s not easy to improve.

The 2A1 is fairly heavy at roughly 10 pounds loaded with a sling, and it kicks slightly harder than a .303 SMLE (or a M1A for that matter), but it feels and shoots almost the same as the SMLE. Here is why I love it:

• It fires 7.62 NATO rounds. They are standardized and easy to get. Because it has a gentle bolt action, It will also shoot .308 civilian ammunition with no danger of a slam-fire. Some .308 rounds are reportedly a little hot for a 7.62 NATO rifle, but the tolerances of the Ishapores are pretty generous. I have never heard of an actual case of one being damaged in any way by firing .308 rounds. I routinely fire .308 factory loads and reload the brass. I have never noted any signs of too much pressure or deformed brass from the chamber dimensions.
• All SMLE load from stripper clips. This is a very powerful feature that was once considered mandatory for a military rifle, but it’s mostly a forgotten loading method these days. The original SMLE uses 5 round charger clips, but you can get 10 round (M-14) clips for the nato rounds and they fit the Ishapore perfectly. NcStar .308 stripper clips are available on Amazon, cost 13 dollars for 20 clips and work well in the Ishapore. Once you get used to using clips, the 2A1 reloads very fast and the sustained rate of fire using clips and the Enfield action is excellent. While not as fast as an automatic, it is still pretty good. With practice an average shooter can maintain 20 rounds per minute of accurate fire until the rifle catches fire from the heat. You can shoot twice that fast for a short string. BTW, the speed record for a bolt action rifle is held by the SMLE. Check out this article. It’s not made very clear in this article, but the standard was 15 hits in one minute on a 12 inch round target at 200 yards (not 300 yards). Every recruit in 1914 had to be able to do at least that well. The real pros were twice that fast. In competent hands, this is a real killer.
  I have trained with these rifles and I am confident in their ability to hold their own in a gunfight. I can sustain well over 20 rounds per minute and hold every one within a E-silhouette target at 200m with absolute surety (I can’t do very much better with an automatic). This may not sound like very good shooting, but you should try it with your choice of weapons. I consider it more than adequate. I carry a 2A1 in preference to my M1A (which is also no slouch). After training with it for a while, the SMLE rifle just feels good to me.
• 3. It is very accurate. If you take your time and really aim, you can hit about anything you can see using only iron sights. Most of the models I have fired are around 1 MOA right from the arsenal, which is better than I can shoot. The sights are excellent and adjustable out to 800 meters (and that’s no lie! It will reach out that far accurately enough to kill someone’ in a few rounds if they don’t take some serious cover.
• 4. It’s super tolerant of dirty or old ammunition. It always shoots. If you reload, you can load light loads for small game. (Warning: Be careful to use a safe load , as very light cast lead loads can leave a bullet lodged in the bore, which might then cause a virtual detonation if followed up by another shot!). I use a 120 grain cast lead bullet and 5 grains of Unique and the report is about the same as an air rifle. If you don’t reload, you can buy a chamber adapter for .32 auto and shoot commercial ammunition with similar results. The 70 grain Speer loads sound like an air rifle and don’t destroy small game too badly.
• 5. It’s cheap to own a complete weapon system. You can still get one for around 200 bucks and since you don’t have to buy scopes and rings to have a good weapon, there are no hidden costs. Clips are dirt-cheap and can be left loaded for eternity without damage. I suggest a shoulder bag to carry clips of ammunition. This is much cheaper than web gear and maybe more convenient and faster. You can use the money you save to buy more ammunition…you will need it.

So, what’s the catch? Here it is, and it’s a big one. You have to train with this rifle. It doesn’t shoot itself. You have to manually chamber each round and then get back on target. You also have to practice reloading from charger clips to develop any kind of speed. Get some dummy rounds (at least 20 if you are serious) and dry fire it until you can do it in your sleep. Load and fire thousands of times from the standing, kneeling and prone positions. Aim your rifle at a distant target each time you dry fire it and concentrate on marksmanship and speed. Then take it to the range and do it with live rounds. This is no M16 that can be trained using only a couple of hundred live rounds. You will need a thousand at least.

I wouldn’t feel under-dressed carrying a 2A1 in a gunfight unless it happens at extreme close range. Even then, it’s hard to feel too outgunned carrying a SMLE. It’s a very solid, reliable shooting platform that will never let you down. Having used a M16 and variants in the Army, I love the solid, feel of the SMLE. If you are on a budget and can’t afford a quality automatic, scope, and lots of magazines, the 2A1 (or even a .303 SMLE or No4 rifle) gives you the ability to buy a complete weapon system for a fifth the price. The 2A1 is (IMHO) a viable choice for a survival MBR.

by Robert J. Avrech

An Ethiopian Jewish woman soldier takes aim. Both men and women serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. Thus, there is a weapon in almost every Israeli home.

Before our son Ariel Chaim ZT”L passed away, age twenty-two, in 2003, we spent a good deal of time discussing the Second Amendment, the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Ariel was amazed that so many American Jews—overwhelmingly liberal and secular—aligned themselves with the advocates of gun control, in reality a movement to banish the private ownership of guns by lawful citizens.

Trapped and Defenseless
During the Los Angeles riots of 1992, my wife Karen and I, Ariel and Offspring #2, were inside a film theater. Abruptly, an angry mob congregated outside; soon they were trying to break down the doors. Trapped inside, we were all terrified. I held Offspring#2 in my arms; she shivered like a frightened rabbit. Karen gripped Ariel’s hand.

“Don’t worry,” we were assured, “the police will be here soon.”

But the police did not arrive that night, nor did they protect the city from arson, looting and murder. In fact, we watched in disbelief as news cameras captured images of police officers standing idly by while looters gleefully committed their crimes.

A few days later, I purchased a pistol, a 1911 .45 ACP.

I bought a gun because I realized that the day will most certainly again arrive when civil order breaks down and we are flung into a cruel Hobbesian landscape.

Here’s my three part series on the LA Riots, Hollywood is Burning:

Part I

Part II

Part III

As Ariel’s conservative political opinions took form, he logically and ethically fell on the side of legal gun ownership. But because he was first and foremost a Torah Jew, first and foremost a Talmudicscholar, Ariel placed gun ownership into the framework of Jewish law, halacha.

Ariel wanted to put down his ideas on paper. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to write an article on halacha and gun ownership.

And so I humbly jot down a few of Ariel’s ideas. Any mistakes in this article are mine and mine alone. I write from an imperfect memory, from conversations with my beloved son held years ago, and from the few notes he managed to scribble while sick and undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.

The Sword is Not the Cause
Ariel pointed out that in his commentary on Genesis 4:23, Ramban, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, the towering medieval scholar, writes with refreshing clarity:

“The sword is not the cause of murder, and there is no sin upon him who made it.”

In other words, a weapon, be it a sword or a gun, is neutral. It can be used for good or evil. Thus to label a gun as “bad” makes no sense, for a gun can be used in self-defense which the Torah sees as an obligation.

The Torah (Exodus 22.2) teaches that, when necessary a householder may kill a burglar to save his own life.

The Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin (72A) says:

“He who rises to kill you, you must kill first.”

It seems odd to have to defend the most basic notion of self-defense, but in America today, the shrill and self-righteous voices of pacifism and appeasement have become alarmingly prominent.

Ariel and I agreed that if gun control advocates had their way, the only people with access to guns would be the police, who cannot be counted on for security, and criminals, who can be counted on to be, well, criminals, with no respect for the hundreds of firearm laws already on the books.

Jew with gun. An Israeli soldier of the elite Nahal Brigade, during the Second Lebanon War.

Tyrants Ban Gun Ownership to Secure Their Power Base

Ariel also pointed out that in the story of Purim the Jews were granted royal permission to defend their lives. The King’s edict did not order the army to protect the Jews. Instead, the Jews were permitted to purchase arms in order to defend themselves.

Obviously, as a minority in the Persian Empire, Jews were forbidden weapon ownership.

This is not unique in Jewish history. During the Roman occupation of Judea, Jews were forbidden to own swords, spears or any implements of war. What better way for a ruling empire to control an unruly and rebellious population?

And of course, in Europe, one of the first laws that Hitler imposed was an all-encompassing weapons ban. Imagine how different Jewish history would be if every Jewish family in Europe owned at least one gun that had six bullets in the chamber.

Surprise Folks, Evil Exists

One of the hallmarks of modern Liberalism is an astonishing inability to recognize, much less confront, evil. Therefore it becomes psychologically necessary for the liberal to place the blame on an inanimate object—the gun—rather than on the person who pulls the trigger. It is easier to fault the gun manufacturer for the horror at Columbine, rather than admit that two sixteen-year-old boys are evil.

The Jewish attitude, Ariel maintained, is to place the blame where it squarely belongs: on the two young men; to declare their evil, and never again utter their names. For just as goodness is a reality, so is evil.

Try and imagine, said Ariel, if one or two Columbine teachers had guns with them. Imagine if these armed teachers had been able to protect the students who were massacred.

There was another aspect to these stories that Ariel detected and deeply troubled him. The media invariably referred to Columbine and 9-11 as “tragedies.”

“They are not tragedies,” Ariel insisted. “They are atrocities.”

A tragedy is when people are killed in a flood, a fire or an earthquake. But when people are murdered in cold blood, it is an atrocity. Again, Ariel pointed out, the media—overwhelmingly liberal and marinated in moral equivalence—is unable to distinguish malevolent acts from natural disasters because their moral compass is broken.

Ariel concluded that Jews in America should be at the forefront of the right to keep and bear arms. For Jews to rely on the power of the state for protection is sheer foolishness. Time and again, Jewish history reveals governments cruelly betraying their Jewish citizens.

And though Ariel felt that America was “different,” he maintained that allowing the state to make ownership of weapons illegal is a dangerous policy that opens the door to tyranny in the name of social justice.

But like so much else in American Jewish life, liberal/progressive Jews have signed on to aggressively utopian ideologies that go against their self-interest. Instead, countless Jews espouse principles that feed their need to feel virtuous. But in the end, these beliefs defy common sense and display an appalling ignorance of Jewish history, halacha, and human nature.

“
“Announce this among the nations:prepare for war; arouse the mighty; let all the soldiers approach and ascend. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning forks into spears; the weak shall say, I am strong.” Joel 3:9

Copyright © Robert J. Avrech

by Terence Gillespie

For those who’ve decided to own a gun I have some observations to save time in deciding which are optimal for your Armory.

The world of guns can be confusing and inaccessible. If you’re an optimizer like me it’ll leave you spinning in a hundred different directions down a thousand separate paths. Whether you want to cut to the chase, immediately, or enjoy going down those thousand paths (as I do) this article will provide perspective on what is Your Optimal Armory.

Purchase the least number you need. If Gun #1 is enough then stop there. That keeps your cost and maintenance down while focusing your skills on what you have.

Gun #1, Personal Defense & Utility (85%)

If you’ll only have one gun then purchase The Best Gun in The World, a 5-shot .357 magnum revolver or a Glock 23 .40 S&W depending on your skill level. You’ll need to be a bit more comfortable with a sidearm to feel comfortable with the Glock 23. For that comfort you’ll get 8 more rounds at your disposal.

This revolver or semi-auto will do almost everything you’ll need at close range and is small enough to be carried with you everywhere. That makes it most likely to be there when you need it. It’s your tool for rabid animals, snakes, bad guys, dog attacks, home invasions, varmints and may even put protein in your belly in a survival situation. Its not the best tool for every job. But, it’s the tool you’ll most likely have with you when the job needs to get done.

Get training, store it in a bedroom safe and practice enough to feel totally comfortable using it at all times & situations. Use .38 rounds in the revolver for cost-effective practice before you’re ready for the .357 magnum round.

That’s it. Perhaps 85% of what you’ll ever need a gun for is now covered. How’s that for a timesavings?

Gun #2, Home Defense & Utility (95%)

If your optimal armory will have two guns then I recommend adding a 12-guage pump-action shotgun.

The 12-guage is the most diverse and powerful long gun there is. Depending on what kind of shells you load it with the same gun will shoot birdshot, buckshot, slugs, darts (fléchette rounds), explosive fragments, bean bags, pepper gas, tear gas, rock salt, rubber slugs/buckshot, pyrotechnic whistles, bolo’s and even flares.

What do all these shells do? Almost everything except provide long-range precision. That’s where a rifle comes into play.

NOTE: Most people will have accomplished 95% of what they’ll ever need a gun for with only these two guns! Because these two guns do so much I recommend getting them first and foremost before considering a third gun. I make that recommendation even if you’re interested in the remaining 5% utility (as I certainly am) not covered by the first two. You’re better off practicing and experimenting with the different types of ammunition for each before deciding to add a third gun to your armory.

Gun #3/4, Long-Range Precision (99.9%)

If you need long-range precision then you’ll need a third gun: A long-range rifle. This is where things can get complicated. So complicated, that I’ll need to reveal the key to how I decided on the recommendations for the first two guns in the optimal armory: Ammunition.

The best way to sum it up and keep this article from getting out of control is to say that shooting is rocket science! You’re better off deciding on the rocket before building the launching pad. Likewise, choose the bullet first and the gun that shoots it second. The coolest rifle is just extra weight if the ammo doesn’t do the job, costs so much you won’t practice or isn’t available. Consider these aspects of ammunition:

• Stopping power
• Specific use most likely
• Range & accuracy
• Types of same caliber available
• Overall utility (in addition to most like use)
• Availability
• Number of suppliers
• Price
• Ability to make your own reloads
• Weight (limits # you can carry?)
• Various gun models available that shoot same ammo

For these reasons I recommend one of the following rifles for Gun #3:

1. A lever gun that uses the .357 magnum rounds you already use in Gun #1.
2. A .308 hunting rifle.

Lever Rifle

The lever gun rifle is the rifle equivalent of a revolver: It’s simple, easy to use, easy to maintain, will fire even when dirty and is more likely to be available when you need it. This option economizes on existing ammunition and keeps things simple for your armory. It provides increased range, power and precision in an easy-to-maintain package.

.308 Hunting Rifle

If you need more range, power and precision than a .357 rifle can provide then go with a .308 hunting rifle. It is arguably the most accurate long-range cartridge in existence. In exchange for that accuracy you give up little power over other competing long-range rounds. There are more powerful cartridges available. However, why have a more powerful round that doesn’t hit the target?

Consider Getting Both

If you’re trying to minimize the number of guns you need to maintain then just choose one of these long-range rifles. However, if your choice is the .308 there’s little cost to adding the .357 lever gun, as well. It shoots the same rounds you’re keeping for your revolver and is easy to maintain. For times when a high-powered .308 is too much you’ve got the lever gun like a hammer in your toolkit.

Gun #5, Practice for Less

A .22 caliber Long Rifle will enable cost-effective target practice without breaking the bank on .308 rounds. $1 apiece for .308 rounds is not too bad when you consider all that the round can accomplish. But, you can shoot the .22 LR’s all day for practice until you’re ready for the .308.

The .22 LR is also a great varmint gun extending your reach (but not necessarily power) out to 100 yards. These come in lever or semi-automatic so can mirror your Gun #3/4 choices for practice.

Gun #6, Liberty Comes From the Barrel

Anything a .308 rifle can’t handle is an emergency or you ran out of bullets.

In fact, I chose the .308 cartridge for those two reasons: If you need to handle an emergency or are running out of bullets then you’re escalating to a semi-automatic battle rifle. Working backward from the ammunition the military has standardized on the .308 calling it by its metric name: The 7.62x51mm NATO rifle cartridge.

What this means is that your .308 hunting rifle may use the same ammunition as two of the best battle rifles: The M1A and the FN-FAL. This could make your armory more efficient by keeping only one round for both.

In practice, the two cartridges are not identical. Any .308 can shoot any 7.62mm round, but, not the other way around. You may have to make a tradeoff in performance on each gun but you could, theoretically, settle on one .308 round for both guns in your armory. You would get very familiar with the characteristics of the round and might even be making them, at that point.

NOTE: Some hunters have gone right to a .308 semi-automatic rifle in effect combining Gun #3 and Gun #6. To make that tradeoff you’ll have to be willing to carry a much heavier gun while you’re hunting. For perspective, some troops considered the 9.5lb M1A to be heavy in WWII. A .308 semi might be somewhere around 9–15 lbs not including a scope or ammunition.

More Than One Shooter?

The optimal armory, so far, assumes one shooter. If there’s more than one shooter then Gun #7 starts at the beginning arming the 2nd shooter with The Best Gun in the World. The second shooter can be trained on the .22 LR prior to being issued their .357 revolver.

With two shooters in the home its time to create home defense procedures. People have to be aware of lines of fire, well-known positions to take in the event of a situation, what are the rules of engagement for the house, etc. That starting to sound like a different article, isn’t it?

by Terence Gillespie

The best gun in the world is the one you’ll have with you when you need it.

Seriously, the features of a gun you don’t have with you don’t matter.

Like most tools there’s an optimal gun for every task under the sun. The task here is to ensure you’ll always have it with you when you need it. This article will talk about the features of a gun tool that will get that job done. And yes, I have a specific make and model in mind.

If a gun is:

• Too big
• Too heavy
• Too hard to shoot
• Too dangerous to carry
• Too hard to maintain
• Feels awkward to carry, store or shoot
• Does not fit your wardrobe
• Does not fit your hand
• Does not fit your lifestyle
• Can’t handle most jobs you want it for
• Misfires when dirty

. . . then you’re less likely to have it with you when you need it. All this and yet a gun should becomforting, not comfortable.

Carrying no gun at all would be the most comfortable. If that’s your solution my wish for you is that all the creatures you encounter feel the same way and be smaller than you. To be comforting a gun would need to:

1. Have enough power to stop most bad guys.
2. Have enough power to stop most dangerous animals.
3. Be built to last while shooting the powerful rounds needed for 1. and 2.
4. Use rounds that are widely available and affordable.
5. Handle safely and easily (by you).

It would be a very special gun that had none of the drawbacks and all of the advantages listed above. You might even say it would be the Best Gun in the world. The Ruger SP101 .357 magnum fits that description and is my choice for the title. I prefer the model with the 3 1/16″ barrel for more accuracy and better performance of the magnum rounds. I also prefer it with the hammer for more deliberate round placement when the situation calls for it. Hammerless and with the shorter barrel is better for concealed carry. For me, that’s not worth giving up the accuracy and better performance of the magnum round.

Yes, I wish it had more than 5 rounds. And that would also make it larger and harder to reinforce the frame to withstand the punishment of the hotter .357 magnum rounds. One study of 6000 armed confrontations showed an average of only 2.6 shots fired.

Yes, I’d prefer a larger caliber to cover ALL dangerous creatures on the earth. And that would make it too heavy and big for life’s daily routines (Where I rarely see elephants or polar bears).

Yes, it is 12 oz heavier than similar aluminum alloy revolvers. And those models hurt my hand when shooting the magnum rounds.

There’s an optimal gun for each purpose under the sun. In future articles I hope to recommend such optimal tools given specific purpose. But, if I had to choose only one gun for anything life may bring it would be the SP101. Get the hammerless with a shorter barrel for purely self-defense if that’s what it takes for the SP101 to be the best gun in your world.

To all who would point out the many fascinating and useful features of a different gun I say “fantastic!” as long as you don’t have to retrieve it from your gun safe when you need it. Because . . .

“The features of a gun you don’t have with you don’t matter.”

by Paul Scarlata

Many of us, sometime in our shooting lifetimes, will purchase a used firearm. Sometimes this will be done for financial reasons, and other times, nostalgia might play a big part in certain purchases and then there are those spur-of-moment type transactions resulting from your coming upon a “good deal.”

Firearms differ from other consumer products in that – with proper maintenance – their serviceable life can be measured in generations. I own several firearms that are over a century old but, thanks to proper maintenance and the fact that proper ammunition for them is still available; they are as useful today as they were in the 19th century.

But that being said, there are a lot of “dogs” out there! All too often a firearm is put away in a closet (probably a damp one?) and forgotten. Needless to say, such treatment does little for the firearm’s appearance, to say nothing of mechanical integrity or overall safety.

Besides finding a good deal on a used firearm, the search itself can be an enjoyable and educational experience. The key to a successful search for a used firearm is preparation. Good preparation can be broken down into four stages: research, examination, questioning, and suitability. For example, let’s assume you are looking for a used rifle or shotgun for hunting. The four stages of preparation would look something like the following:

Do your Research
It behooves the smart shopper to decide, if possible, on a particular brand and model before the search begins. Then, with a bit of further research into the brand or model you can save a lot of time, trouble and money in the long run. Some things to consider:

Make a Through Examination
Examination of a used gun is essential. When looking at used guns you should always keep in mind the old axiom, “Beauty is only skin deep.”

Ask Questions
When you find a gun you are interested in, you need to ask the seller a number of questions. Armed with the knowledge from your inspection of the firearm, you are in a better position to know if the seller is being truthful.

Often, you can learn a great deal about the gun’s history and its level of care by asking a few questions:

Lastly, to avoid purchasing a potential problem do three more things.

Determine the Suitability of the Firearm
Before you lay down your hard earned cash, pause and consider a final few things:

Other Considerations
If you are purchasing the gun from a private party, for your own protection, insist upon a signed Bill of Sale indicating the gun’s model and serial number, the seller’s name, address, phone number and driver’s license number.

After your have completed your purchase, we recommend you do the following.

While a firearm with proper care can last for generations, the purchase of a used firearm should be done carefully to ensure you are investing in a worthwhile purchase.