semi intelligent

SEMI INTELLIGENT


A lot of good ideas over the weekend for possible articles from your favorite survival writer ( that’s me ), for which oodles and gobs of thanks are hereby randomly vomited to the responsible parties. Here I pick one, not because it is necessarily the best ( it could be, I’m not promising anything ) but because it is the one that stuck to the Velcro receptacles of my mind. I can’t be held responsible for what sticks or what doesn’t, that is out of my control. It could be random firing neurons, it could be an evil imp residing therein, it could be proof of A Beautiful Mind. And I want you all to consider this my gift to you. Yes, yet another Thing To Behold, at little to no cost to yourself. Because that is just the kind of guy I am. Always thinking of the little people. And, verily, behold the shining hair! A comment went something to the effect that while the long suffering minions had been inhumanly subjected to the ranting and wrath of my feelings towards semi-autos, could I pretty please give my opinion on the best one to own, if one were foolish enough to wander from The One Path Of Bisonian Wisdom. Hey, glad to help out. Just keep in mind this IS IN NO WAY AN ENDORSEMENT of semi-autos. While fun and dandy to play with, a semi-auto in untrained hands ( which is 99% of you, myself included ) will waste and piss away ammunition and endanger your life after the collapse. However, assuming you are trained to such a degree that under the extreme stress of combat you will revert to training and practice fire discipline rather than pray and spray in a blind panic, here are my picks and the logic behind them.

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If you are poor and still must simply have a semi-auto no matter what, your only choice is probably going to be an SKS. It is half the price of the closest competitor. You can fire prone with it, there are no magazines to buy, it is easily turned to bolt action, it is by most accounts more accurate than an AK. And of course it is inexpensive. However, should you have more money, and your needs are for a longer range weapon, you can do much better. I would recommend that you skip the entire family of AK’s ( with the exception of the SKS ) for a very simple fact. They can’t hit crap. The AK is meant to be the most rugged, easiest and cheapest to manufacture assault carbine ever, and it fills that role wonderfully. But the weapon is indeed meant to be a pray and spray weapon. Period. It isn’t meant to be anything else. Without a supply of cheap and abundant energy, ore and chemicals to resupply the ammunition for it, this is a useless weapon. The only reason to consider the SKS is because it is so cheap and is the more accurate of the bunch ( disregarding expensive custom versions ). But it still has the flaw of being pretty inaccurate. After the apocalypse, with limited ammunition, you DO NOT WANT an ammo pig or an ammo waster ( why fire slow and aimed shots yet still hit little because the weapon is inaccurate? ).

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The AR-15, as I just said a few days ago, is a wonderfully accurate rifle, assuming you have the right ammo for it. If the AK is a plump, squat pig farmer of a wife, the AR is an anorexic, hypochondriac former beauty queen with cancer. They are both deeply flawed in one form or another, so you pick your poison. If you use it as a mid range sniper rifle, never as an assault rifle, it will work pretty well for you. But the price is $800 whereas the SKS is about $250 to $300. So, what is a semi dreaming boy to do? Pay way too much and get a tack driver ( knowing of course it is a weak hammer compared to a 308 ) or pay less and sacrifice accuracy? The Mini-14 is about the same price as the AR, so don’t consider that. I’ve heard too many bad tales of needing to ship the bitch back to the factory ( but, granted, that could have been one dissatisfied guy whose tale ballooned out of control ). Even if that weren’t an issue, the spare parts aren’t as available as the AR. And you can rule out HK-91’s, the Garands, M1’s, etc., as they are $1200 plus. Okay, the Garand might not be that much, but, again, parts availability. As a rule, the 308 semi’s are out of control. However, there might be two exceptions.

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If you were going to spend $800 on an AR, why not spend the same on a Russian sniper ( I believe the east European models are this price, not the genuine Russian- if my info is out of date, please forgive me )? You can buy dirt cheap ammo for it and it should be much more accurate than the AK’s. But since the sniper rifle is based on the AK system it should be nice and rugged. Now, keep in mind you need to do your research on this gun. I’m just going on sketchy info. It is a possibility to consider, is all. And for one to two hundred bucks less, you can buy the Spanish version of the HK-91 ( I believe a minion told me the Spanish developed the weapon and the Germans licensed it ). According to Boston’s Gun Bible, these rifles are fine except that some of them come with wildly out of alignment iron sights. If you are using this as a sniper, this shouldn’t matter. Use glass. And then you have an HK at half the price. With cheap mags and spare parts available. This would be my number one recommendation, the Spanish HK-91 ( I think they are called the CEMTE or something like that ). This weapon uses a non-gas system to reload, so the fouling is virtually zero. The round is powerful, the parts almost never break. The perfect survival gun. I agree with all the old 70’s survival guru’s on this one. The HK-91 is #1 ( of course the German version is superior, but IF the only issue with the Spanish one is the iron sites, then I give it a #1 recommendation ). Again, proceed after your own research. I’m passing on second hand observations, not personal experiences. I’ve picked the Enfield for its overall performance and price, and I can only vouch for that rifle ( and I’ve gone through four months of training with the M-16 and hate it as a semi ). If you don’t feel comfortable with the last two choices, than I would have to recommend the AR. For the price ( half the others ), AND if you don’t use it close range spray and pray, it will suffice. I think it is far too dainty for the field, and the round pathetic, but if you think the SKS is too inaccurate, the Russian sniper too expensive or if unavailable ( the weapon or the spare parts/mags ), and you feel the Spanish quality is too low, what other choice is there?

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AR owners, do not consider this a victory. I only pick the lesser of evils. But there is a lot to be said for conserving ammo by using a one shot, one minor wound weapon.

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My e-mail is jimd303@netzero.com
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