Guns 2

My own weapons follow very closely to what I suggested in the last entry. Each and ever one of my long guns are bolt action. I feel that when one gets used to an action, they are better with it and have no trouble switching from type to type of gun. My first weapon was a 12 gauge shotgun and I just kept on adding bolt actions as I added weapons. I have nothing against any of the otere actions including semi-autos, it is just that I find bolt actions easier to understand, (fix), cheaper and sturdier. For those of you purchasing weapons in an action where a pistol caliber may be had might want to try to go with a .44 mag. rifle as well as a .44 mag handgun. This would mean that you would only need three types of ammo. Shotgun, .22 rimfire and .44 mag. You can also get the rifles in .357, but I do not feel that .357 is quite as good for hunting. However, should you already have a .357 handgun and are looking for a rifle, by all means do it. Another way to save money is to make your centerfire rifle a surplus military rifle. My personal survival centerfire is a Russian 7.62 x 54R. You can usually purchase surplus military ammo to keep on hand for emergencies and soft nosed ammo for hunting. The military amm os very inexpensive and can be used in practice and should you need to defend yourself. It is not good for hunting as it is full metal jack and goes right through and animal without expanding. Hunting ammo needs to expand when it hits a deer sized animal, to do as much damage as possible. If you do not want to go with a military rifle, the old standby 30.-.30 is about the best bet. It can be had in most actions, it is adequate for any big game in the U.S., ammo is cheap and ammo is available almost everywhere. More about ammo next time.