I am still playing with abandoning my ALICE and my Three Day Assault Pack and going with a mix of my web gear I had for WW-2 reenacting and some M56 gear I had leftover from when I was in the Army National Guard in the 1980s and my dad had when he was in in the late 1960s through the early 1980s. I plan to carry some spare clothing and a compressible sleeping bag in my M1928 Haversack with an M61 Field Pack (butt pack) to carry some basic survival gear. I already have a small first aid kit on one side of the M61 pack in an M56 universal ammo pouch and another larger field first aid kit on the other. Strapped underneath is a ponch and ponchliner. On the Haversack is a meat can pouch with a mess kit and utensils and an M1910 e-tool carrier and an M1910 T-handle e-tool. The belt I use since my rifle is an M1 Garand is an M1923 cartridge belt with ten pockets each holding one 8 round enbloc clip for the M1. To allow for more ammo for the Garand I have two five pocket Mosin Nagant bandoliers from Strike Hard Gear. These each hold two Mosin Nagant 5 round stripper clips or one M1 enbloc per pocket. On the belt I have a KABAR USMC combat knife, an M1942 first aid pouch with a field dressing and two M1910 Canteen carriers with Canteens and Cups. One cup is for drinking the other for cooking. In the field pack is a Stanley Camp Cooker nested within an 18 oz. Walmart Ozark Trails stainless cup. Food is one pound bag of long cook rice, one pound bag of beans, three to four 2.5 oz envelopes of tuna, three to four packages of ramen and four to six granola bars. I also have a ziploc 1 qt. freezer bag with bags of green tea and another of coffee singles. I am adding a water filtration device to the mix and may carry that and some of the food in a Lightweight Gas Mask Bag as what was used to carry the M4 Gas Mask in WW-2. I have used a vintage one to carry some of my bits and pieces when I reenacted an US Infantryman and in that I had a cleaning kit for the Garand, some spare food (reproduction K or C rations that now will be granola bars and reman), playing cards, a New Testament with the Psalms and some spare socks. Since my Mutual Assistance Group is also preparing for operations beyond protection of our BOL I am going to carry spare ammo in there as well as the field pack and may trade out the haversack for a Mussett Bag and a set of M1936 X Suspenders for the belt.

My tactical carry holster is my M-7 Tanker's Shoulder Holster. My EDC holster is either my JBP two position concealment or my Blackhawk CQC Concealment holster.

As I recall my first aid training in the Guard you only use a tourniquet when you need to stop severe bleeding and the limb is lost anyway. We were told only to use them as a measure of last resort to keep the other soldier alive.

Exactly the second best one to consider since it has become more popular would be 7.62x39 as it is available via imported ammunition and domestically made sources in most any sporting goods or gun shop anymore. Then there is the good old .30-06 Springfield. So many sporting rifles are still chambered in this cartridge and there are millions of M-1s out there still serving on in the hands of private individuals and you can still find sources of M2 Ball for them as well as newer commercial loads.

The way I see this is that it is about like the debate over ARs and AKs. It all depends on the owner and the user. You get what you need to meet your shooting needs. Now I don't know for sure about the availability of .300BLK, but I am sure that 5.56/.223 cartridges or rounds are more available and will be especially so in a grid down situation.

As I am from Kansas I don't worry about hurricanes, but my home sits on the path that the June 1966 tornado took that wiped out a good portion of the city of Topeka back then. We are like only a quarter of a mile from the initial touch down site on Burnett's Mound. The twister sped up through our neighborhood and on into the center of the city. The house my mother and little sister own where we three live is the second house to exist on this site. We are an a slope about midway between the summit of the ridge line that bisects our neighborhood and the nearest creek which about forty to sixty feet below us. The summit is about another twenty to thirty feet above us. We are in the middle of our block on the flattest spot on the slope everything is downhill for us on three sides and up hill on the fourth. The hazards are winter storms which can make the street out front a pain to navigate after even six or eight inches of snow, but even worse when that snow has a layer of ice of any thickness under it and severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes from spring through fall. Other than the power substation about four blocks away we don't have to worry much about wind, tree limbs, or ice bring our local power grid down, yet we do keep alternate forms of illumination available just in case. If marauders or other gangs came through during a serious crisis it could be a bit nippy as the visibility because of the proximity of other homes makes any engagement just about always close quarters. If our neighbors and us worked together we could possibly set up security checkpoints at the intersections that lead into the neighborhood. That hinges on getting folks even those who are prepper minded to work together for the security and safety of the neighborhood prior to a crisis.

I might consider this tool if I get an AR. At the moment I own an M1 Garand and an M59/ 66A1 Yugo SKS. The eFECT would be a good tool though if I get an AR. Now it would be great if Gerber came out with a similar tool that could be used with an AK or similar rifle. I was thinking of getting the AK because of the amount of 7.62x39 I already own.

thanks I am looking for a shotgun to use as part of my prep armory, but have heard that pistol grip only shotguns are hard to control and want one with a full buttstock. I know several will suggest some pump or another, but even this classic design would work.

So is there a version with a full buttstock?

When it comes to selecting firearms for many it will be the firearms they already own. For the more prepared it will be those firearms they acquired in advance of their world situation going south. For me I already own three military grade firearms. I own two rifles and a sidearm. The thing is that many only own sporting grade firearms and actually for defense of their families that may be enough. However if the end of the world as we know it is not a collapse caused by a poor economy or a change in physical environment, but a change in social environment like a coup, an invasion or even an uprising or a central government becoming more totalitarian and seizing powers not granted it under the nation's constitution then perhaps while they still can many should get at least those surplus military grade firearms available in their jurisdictions.