My acquisition of an AR-15 “pistol” (above) generated more than a few comments, but the one that interested me the most was this one:
Your friends are logically planning for group support. They’ve got your back, and you’ve got theirs.
Armies standardize platforms and calibers for a reason. Sometimes, that’s a compromise.
The scenario in question is a group defensive action, and one of you runs out of ammo. If it’s you, and you’re the one shooting .375 H&H, you’re just outta luck. If it’s your best friend, and all you’ve got is 7.62×39, he’s dead. Because you won’t give up your outdated niche calibers.
Harsh, but true.
Then again, I remember back when 7.62x51mm NATO was the mainstream, and the .223 Rem was the varmint-appropriate “niche caliber”. But that’s not the point.
Frankly, knowing my friends as I do, if there were any suggestion of a “group defensive action”, I know that each of them has at least one “spare” AR-15 poodleshooter to hand me, and let’s just say a sufficiency of ammo to share (actually, they singly and collectively have enough ammo for about a company of troops let alone just me, but let’s not go there). I think we’re covered, in that regard. (Oh, and by the way, if they happen to be at my place when the SHTF, let’s just say that I have the means to do the same for them, just with a sufficiency of 7.62x39mm as the “common” ammo, and the necessary guns to shoot them.)
What worries me is if I’m flying solo in a SHTF scenario. In that dismal eventuality, the ammo-intensive “spray and pray” mindset is never going to be an option for me — my habit of “making every shot count” dates back at least half a century, and is unlikely ever to change. And I practice, endlessly, to ensure that I have the ability to support such an activity.
In that scenario, my go-to gun — if I have the time to make the choice — is always going to be an AK / SKS-type rather than an AR simply because when it comes to self-defense, I always want to be absolutely confident in my weapons.
I ditched carrying 9mm pistols for that precise reason — because I always felt “under-gunned” with the High Power despite its 15-round mag — and now I carry only 1911s or (if I’m feeling like a change) a .357 Mag revolver. And I understand that in these modern times, both of these gun types are “quantity-deficient”, ammo-wise. To compensate for that, I just have to carry sufficient backup magazines / speedloaders (which I do) and practice reloading of same, which I also do; the latter activity for something like an hour every single day of the work week, using empty mags and / or dummy ammo for obvious reasons.
As for the long gun option: rest assured that my pack-out ammo load is sufficient to inflict a considerable reduction of numbers in any goblin horde I may encounter. And I don’t want to wound or incapacitate said goblins, or shoot to make them keep their heads down or chase them away or whatever; in that final extreme, if I’m really going to be forced to shoot, then I want fucking death to occur at the naughty end of my firearm.
And my caliber choices reflect that mindset.
Now all that said, as I think about this issue, there is a definite reason to keep the AR-15 pistol: as a practice tool if ever I’m going to be forced into a “group defensive action” with my buddies. It’s all very well to have a spare gun handed to you, but it’s useless if you don’t know how to work the damn thing.
So I guess it’s probably going to stay in Ye Olde Gunne Sayfe. But we’ll see… because if we’re looking at a small carbine (which is what the AR-15 pistol really is), then all sorts of options come into play — such as this lovely thing.
And everyone — my friends as much or more so than many — will have some .45 ACP lying around.
By the way, that insistence on ammo compatibility does not extend to our handguns. Doc carries something chambered in 10mm (because he’s a big, tough guy — no sarcasm or irony, he really is), and CC (who is also big and tough) carries either a 9mm pistol or occasionally a .357 Mag snubbie revolver. Interestingly enough, on a day to day carry basis I think I actually carry more spare ammo on hand than they do. And in a SHTF scenario, I almost certainly have more backup .45 ACP mags than either of them have for their carry guns.
