shtf/hunting rifle, best on a $400 budget?

[Wadesauce]

I'm looking into a good rifle soon, something I can reliably hunt deer with and count on in a shtf situation. Preferred a semi auto, but I'm open to bolt/lever action. What do you guys think do I take on a project mosin? What's a good anti-deer caliber for shtf? I'm new to rifles so I'm ready for all opinions and general info. Me personally I have a budget of $400. I like the idea of a project rifle. Something I can make mine. Thanks all.

[BigD_in_FL]

$400 to include a scope or not? That makes a big difference

[TX Hunter]

Just from the sound of this thread I would make the asumption that Your not an experienced Hunter, and somewhat of a firearms enthousiest who is looking for justification to purchase a Rifle of sorts. In this case given Your requirements and limited budjet I would look for a lever action 30 30 or an sks. If You just need a good Deer Rifle and dont really need a mall cop toy I would get a Stevens 200 in 30 06.

[scottycoyote]

im going to agree with tx on this one, imo its hard to find a rifle like you are contemplating for the price level. Lever action carbines were the goto shtf hunting rifle for years and years, not tactical but would get the job done.

[jmr40]

You'll get more gun for the money buying a bolt rifle in 308 or 30-06. Even over a lever action 30-30. At $400 I'd look used, but the Stevens 200 or Marlin XL-7 would be at the top of my list. I'll throw the Ruger American in the mix as well, but don't like it as well.

At just over $400 if you can squeeze a bit more into your budget, look at the TC Venture, Weatherby Vanguard or Howa 1500.

[RedBowTies88]

SKS or Mosin Nagant.

[tahunua001]

I agree that $400 total does not leave much room for optics, if any.
I tried going to mosin route. $150 for the rifle, $100 for a good stock+a couple hours for proper fitting, add another $150 for a decent bent bolt and scope mount(STAY AWAY FROM ATI KITS) and you no longer have enough money for a decent scope. and that still doesn't leave any room for trigger upgrades, barrel cut+recrown and glass bedding, things that are necessary to offer good accuracy in a MN, which any survival rifle needs.

a sporterized mosin nagant, no matter how much money you put into it will never be as good as a factory new model of any make of equal value invested. a factory model like a weatherby vanguard or Ruger american but then neither of them still offers anything for a scope once you get rings. me thinks thou must spend more dollars if thy wishes to have a decent survival rifle.

[Brian Pfleuger]

No question in my mind, if I wanted a general purpose rifle on a $400 budget, it'd be one of the Savage 10/11/110/111 combo deals.

[Wadesauce]

Ok. As I said, new to rifles. I have hunted before, just with shotguns. I grew up on shotguns. I can see what you are saying about the mosin. Realize, I'm not trying to be tacticool, I'd rather buy something milserp or used, refinish the wood. The sks was something I was considering.

Another question though, what is a 30-30? Sorry if I should know, but I've never seen that round, what can it do ballistics wise? Could I reasonably find it shtf?

[shouldazagged]

The .30-30 has, I suspect, taken more deer than any other single caliber. It would certainly be in the top three. Not a long-range round, but at reasonable distances it'll get the job done. May not be as versatile as what you're looking for, but a good .30-30 lever gun would be one I'd like if the manure impacts the ventilation equipment.

[tahunua001]

Ok. As I said, new to rifles. I have hunted before, just with shotguns. I grew up on shotguns. I can see what you are saying about the mosin. Realize, I'm not trying to be tacticool, I'd rather buy something milserp or used, refinish the wood. The sks was something I was considering.

Another question though, what is a 30-30? Sorry if I should know, but I've never seen that round, what can it do ballistics wise? Could I reasonably find it shtf?

I for one don't buy into tacticool as much as practicool. I don't need 4 rails, flashlights, lazers and forward pistol grips but adjustable stocks and pistol grips have their advantages and uses. I recently tried out an SKS, it's one of the U fix ems that you get for fairly cheap and I fixed it up to make a very nice STHF rifle. here's (http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5465421#post5465421) the thread I made detailing the modifications I made and how they work as well as the legal requirements when modifying SKS rifles.

as for 30-30 it is one of the most popular sporting cartridges in the US. it is rarely found in bolt actions as it is a rimmed cartridge much like 7.62x54R and it's difficult to design a non-tubular magazine around such a casing design but single shots and lever actions do very well with the 30-30 cartridge. it is very similar to 7.62x39 ballistically only 30-30 holds little faster velocity and is better suited to heavier weight bullets. a marlin 336 lever action in 30-30 would not be hard to find in your budget range and 30-30 is affected less by hoarders in the face of impending disaster.

[taylorce1]

Another question though, what is a 30-30? Sorry if I should know, but I've never seen that round, what can it do ballistics wise? Could I reasonably find it shtf?

Nope, you won't be able to find it if that happens. Ammunition of all types could become scarce. So buy something you can stock up on, and learn other skills to help you just in case.

Ammunition is a finite resource, and even if you reload what happens when your powder and primer supply run out? Best bet for that to be able to use a firearm long tem when supplies are scarce is a rimfire of some sort. You can pack around several hundred to several thousands rounds of ammunition pretty easily. Take down any small game that you may want to hunt to eat. I still don't know anyone who wants to get shot by one so it will work for HD, but you might have to use a few extra rounds on a BG to get them down.

If you want to buy a hunting rifle, buy something in a popular cartridge like .30-30, .243, .270, .308, or .30-06 and forget about the rest of the stuff. Plenty of good rifles out there that will get the job done and several of them were already mentioned. Getting anything in a semi-auto for less than $400 is going to be tough right now as well as finding any ammunition in stock for the popular semi-autos. If $400 includes scope I'd look at single shot rifles that had iron sights as well as used lever and pump action rifles as these usually have iron sights as well and forget the optics.

[Art Eatman]

I suggest going to one of the larger gun stores--Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop--and just look. Same for browsing around at a gun show. That will give you a feel for what's "out there".

You can enter cartridge labels (.30-30, .30-'06, 7mm08) at Wikipedia and see a good bit of explanatory material.

As far as prices? Good bolt-action hunting rifles are a drug on the market at this time. Pawn shops are commonly loaded with them. They usually have at-most half of the asking price as their cost. If you are any good at all in bargaining, that's a likely place. In general, any rifle that's not obviously bruised and abused is likely a good shooter.

As far as "advice", the usual offer to a newbie rifle-shooter guy is to suggest the old stand-by, the rimfire .22. However, with today's panic in the marketplace for ammunition, odds are that the present least-cost (if available) would be .22 Magnum. (Just a guess, anyhow.)

Nothing at all wrong with a lever-action .30-30. Plenty of power for any common use, and skill will allow rapid and accurate fire if there is a need for "social work" in a self-defense situation.

[sir_n0thing]

As most others have pointed out, semi-auto for $400 is a tall order, unless you can find an SKS deal out there. With quality ammo, the SKS will bring home dinner reliably as well as help protect your home.
A good bolt gun can be had with a scope for that price, if you shop around.
A lever-action .30-30 is also a great option to consider!

And to all those that think they need to sink an extra $500 into a $100 Mosin to make it "adequate"... seriously? If you can hit a target the size of a paper plate, you can bring home dinner (or stop a threat in a defense situation). No one needs sub MOA 5 shot groups to bring home a deer. In a hunting situation, after the first shot your target is NOT going to be standing in the exact same spot and therefore the ability to put a second shot within 1/2" from the first is completely irrelevant.
"Minute o' Vitals" is all you need.
:D

[Plumbnut]

IMO a savage .308 win. with accutrigger bolt action. Maybe learn how to bed the action yourself.

You would have an accurate rifle with a popular round at a resonable price.

Just an opinion and I'm no firearms expert...thats for sure. Plenty of people here with way more knowledge than me. But I've seen a cheap gun out shoot plenty of guns that cost twice or three times as much in the same hands on the same day with the same ammo.

[Wadesauce]

thanks all. yea, i seen a lot of sks at the gun show in my area last month. im not worried about optics just yet, like i said, project gun, i can add optics later. for now the sks seems like the best semi auto, and i can find it in my area for under $400 im pretty sure. im either going to get that or if i can find a good deal on a nice lever action.

you guys really helped me out today.

[tahunua001]

And to all those that think they need to sink an extra $500 into a $100 Mosin to make it "adequate"... seriously? If you can hit a target the size of a paper plate, you can bring home dinner (or stop a threat in a defense situation). No one needs sub MOA 5 shot groups to bring home a deer. In a hunting situation, after the first shot your target is NOT going to be standing in the exact same spot and therefore the ability to put a second shot within 1/2" from the first is completely irrelevant.
"Minute o' Vitals" is all you need.


nobody said anything about sub MOA and this isn't just for a hunting rifle. the OP is asking about a possible STHF(which is a banned topic here so I paraphrase it to be survival) rifle. a 4 MOA rifle in a situation where you have to survive off hunting is a horrible tool. you want every shot to go where you need it to. a paper plate doesn't move and if you try to hit that same paper plate when it's the same color as it's back drop then guess what, it's a lot harder to guess where to place your shot and when you are barely able to hit a paper plate by aiming at the center while it's stationary, what makes you think it'll cleanly kill an animal when you misjudge holdover, windage, leading, ETC?

if you are stranded somewhere and all you have is a pocket full of ammo and no food in your belly and all you can find are grouse and rabbits, what makes you think that that paper plate sized group is enough to bring home dinner?

1.5-2 MOA is the absolute minimum amount of accuracy you should accept in a STHF/survival situation. hunting by itself is a completely different matter. if you go hunting and you wound a deer and it gets away and you have no more ammo left because you have been blasting away all day then you can just hop in your truck, grab a hoagie at the gas station on the way back into town and grab a box of ammo at your local sporting goods store. if you make that same mistake while trying to survive in the wild you now have no food, no way of getting any and most importantly no way of defending yourself should you run into a bear, large cat, wolf or other potentially dangerous animals.

[triggerhappy2006]

I agree that $400 total does not leave much room for optics, if any.
I tried going to mosin route. $150 for the rifle, $100 for a good stock+a couple hours for proper fitting, add another $150 for a decent bent bolt and scope mount(STAY AWAY FROM ATI KITS) and you no longer have enough money for a decent scope. and that still doesn't leave any room for trigger upgrades, barrel cut+recrown and glass bedding, things that are necessary to offer good accuracy in a MN, which any survival rifle needs.

I'm gonna argue against this statement, a bone stock mosin nagant is more than suitable for pretty much anything other than +300 yard shots. I've rattled oil drums at 150-170meters with no problems, not even really focusing on shooting technique. I would argue that a lever gun would be a better choice (my survival/truck gun is a 1895 45/70 with the XS scout setup, 45/70 is in the same range as a 458 SOCOM, 450 Bushmaster or 50 Beowulf for you AR guys), but a mosin in off the rack form will suit all your needs. Just another two cents, 30-30 is comparable in ballistics to x39. If you want something with a bit flatter trajectory, go with the .308 Marlin, in a 336 I have yet to hear a bad thing about them.

[kilimanjaro]

Few weeks ago walked out of a pawnshop with a nicely-sportered 1917 Eddystone 30.06 bolt action, with sling, smooth action, good sights, mint bore, for $330 out the door.

For SHTF, a $400 SKS is a good bet, but when the SHTF, you'll need both. One to hunt, the other to defend.

[buffalo]

I'd get a 30-30,after some practice you can get pretty good/fast with them. I have several Winchesters and they are excellent and have never failed me in the field hunting in snow and mud.

[Justice06RR]

I would also suggest a SKS or a Ruger American in 308 and 30-06. Stay with more common calibers if possible for availability and commonality with what will be around during a shtf scenario. I highly recommend the SKS because its a cheap accurate semiauto that still packs a punch, and holds 10+rounds.


I agree that $400 total does not leave much room for optics, if any.
I tried going to mosin route. $150 for the rifle, $100 for a good stock+a couple hours for proper fitting, add another $150 for a decent bent bolt and scope mount(STAY AWAY FROM ATI KITS) and you no longer have enough money for a decent scope. and that still doesn't leave any room for trigger upgrades, barrel cut+recrown and glass bedding, things that are necessary to offer good accuracy in a MN, which any survival rifle needs.



I will also agree to disagree with this one. :p

A sporterized Mosin can cost less and can shoot close to a factory gun like a Ruger or Winchester--if setup and sighted in properly. you don't necessarily need need a bent bolt or spend $100 on the stock.

The ATI stock doesn't cost much, maybe $50 on Amazon. If you get a Mosin for $120, add a decent scope you will be under $300 easy. My sporterized Mosin 91/30 was $140 for the original rifle and I paid $20 for the ATI stock (a little while ago). A basic scope for $40 and i'm at $200 for a decent rifle that will serve hunting and shtf purposes if needed.

Your setup depends on you. Spend good money on glass and training/ammo and you'll be good to go. Nothing wrong with a project gun if you spend the time to make it accurate and useful. If you don't want to go the Mosin route, Ruger American for $350 is a good option and you have the choice of different calibers as well. But you will probably end up spending over $400 total because of the optic.

[tahunua001]

I'm gonna argue against this statement, a bone stock mosin nagant is more than suitable for pretty much anything other than +300 yard shots. I've rattled oil drums at 150-170meters with no problems,
really? oil drums? at 150 meters? you are talking about 15 MOA at it's narrowest point are you seriously considering that as accurate? I've hit squirrels with a 22LR at that range.

I will also disagree with this one.

A sporterized Mosin can cost less and can shoot close to a factory gun like a Ruger or Winchester--if setup and sighted in properly.

The ATI stock doesn't cost much, maybe $50 on Amazon. If you get a Mosin for $120, add a decent scope you will be under $300 easy. My sporterized Mosin 91/30 was $140 and I paid $20 for the ATI stock (a little while ago). A scope for $40 and i'm actually at $200 for a decent rifle that will serve hunting and shtf purposes if needed.

alright you can buy a $120 mosin if you find a good deal, add a cheapassed ATI stock, mount and bent bolt kit that irreversably modify and damage the strength of your action by drilling and tapping every major component for $75-100 and then that leaves you with about $150 for a scope which you can do pretty good with optics at that point but you still have a stiff, rattly, wobbly, action on a rifle that is still heavier than a modern rifle with less than average accuracy. as I said I went the mosin route and I tried all those cheap modifications and as I stated, there is no way in hell I would take it out over my rem 700, ruger M77 or heck, my bone stock Arisaka 44. they are all lighter, more accurate, smoother actions, more compact and did I mention more accurate?

[Justice06RR]

Not arguing with you Tahuna, but of course we cannot expect that kind of accuracy from a very old Milsurp rifle compared to a Rem700 or even a Ruger American.

What I meant was you can still get decent accuracy out of a Mosin (maybe 3-4MOA) if that is all you need. I also did not buy/need a bent bolt; I'm still using the standard Mosin bolt and it runs just fine. The action on my 91/30 is also very smooth. I just have to take it out to a range 100yards or longer to see how much accuracy I can squeeze out of it.

Now if you had $700 or more to spend on a quality rifle, sure go for a Rem700 or something nicer. My roomate has one and it is a very nice and accurate rifle indeed. But if all the OP has is $400, my vote goes for the RA or SKS.

[Garycw]

You CAN'T go wrong with a good SKS ! A Chinese or NORINCO would be a good choice. I'm partial to the paratroopers, but the standard length barrel would be better for hunting. Fixed 10 round mag.,& the aftermarket 20 & 30's are easy to find. Tough as nails and easy to field strip. May have to look a little while for a $400 one these days though.

[L_Killkenny]

alright you can buy a $120 mosin if you find a good deal, add a cheapassed ATI stock, mount and bent bolt kit that irreversably modify and damage the strength of your action by drilling and tapping every major component for $75-100 and then that leaves you with about $150 for a scope which you can do pretty good with optics at that point but you still have a stiff, rattly, wobbly, action on a rifle that is still heavier than a modern rifle with less than average accuracy. as I said I went the mosin route and I tried all those cheap modifications and as I stated, there is no way in hell I would take it out over my rem 700, ruger M77 or heck, my bone stock Arisaka 44. they are all lighter, more accurate, smoother actions, more compact and did I mention more accurate?

Agreed. A Mosin is a rifle you buy for one of 2 reasons: 1) for the hell of it cause they are cheap or 2) cause you don't have enough money for something better.

To be honest, finding a decent production bolt gun in the OP's budget is pretty dang easy and the list for those to avoid is much shorter and easier to discuss. Namely avoid the Remington 710s and 770s, Mossberg had issues with early APV's but MIGHT have the bugs worked out. I'm sure there are others but those models come to mind sitting here. Most of the other guns from the lowly Savage Axis on up are consistently accurate and have proven durable enough over recent years. As you move up in price tag comes along better fit and finish, better stocks, better triggers etc etc. So except for a few "must be avoided guns" the OP just needs to get his hands on a couple dozen different new and used guns and pick the one he likes and that fits him the best.

Buying bolt guns is not rocket science.

(edited to add) If quicker follow up shots might be called for look hard at the Remington 760 pump rifles. The ones I've seen will easily shoot 2 moa or under, they're durable, use detachable mags, they're handy and come in a variety of good cartridges. Priced pretty decent too on the used shelves.

[twobit]

A used Remington model 760 or 7600 pump rifle would fit the bill. Available in many calibers. Good hunting rifle, and it has a detachable magazine. Rapid follow-up shots are easy with a pump. Affordable too.

[Garycw]

As the OP said he preferred a Semi Auto, which brings back the best $400 rifle is the SKS, IMO
A ATI folding stock will also make it lighter & easy to transport.

[seansean1444]

I would buy a sks rifle without a scope or a ruger American rifle

[Moloch]

A 12 gauge pump action shotgun of your choice with rifle sights, thats a true multi tool that serves more than just one role in a SHTF scenario.

You can breech doors and open locks with a well placed slug, hunt birds and other small game with small shot to keep you fed (in a SHTF scenario deer will be completely gone in a couple of months), its a great self defense weapon that is capable of fast follow up shots, accuracy with slugs is good up to about 75 yds and kills big game easily. Ammo is readily available.

Personally, with a budget of 400 I'd get a good Mosin Nagant m44 and a cheap 20'' single shot shotgun with sights and a couple of screw-in chokes.

[idek]

Personally, with a budget of 400 I'd get a good Mosin Nagant m44 and a cheap 20'' single shot shotgun with sights and a couple of screw-in chokes.
Does such a creature exist?

[Moloch]

No, with chokes probably not, though a shortened single shot can be had for 120 bucks, installing rifle sights shouldn't put it past the 160-180 mark.

[Wadesauce]

i already own a couple shotguns. its what i know. hopefully in shtf, i would have a small group of people, where we would have rifles and shotguns covered. can't completely prep for that, but that's ideal.

To start out, $400 and under, i feel like the sks is the way to go. i really like the idea of tooling on the mosin, but im inclined to believe what people are saying. an old milserp weapon just cant compete with modern firearms in terms of accuracy. i dont feel as bad about the sks, its a semi auto, and 7.62x39, makes ammo more plentiful. also, i feel that i could get accurate enough with a milserp weapon within 75-100 yards, and in shtf, im probably not going to shoot at anything past that. and within 75 yards, i'd much rather have a semi-auto for defensive purposes for shtf. i think sks wins over mosin nagant. i feel like the mosin nagant is probably just a budget level sharp shooter. not what im looking for exactly

[Moloch]

Accuracy might not be THAT important in a SHTF scenario, all you need is practical accuracy. If accuracy is all you needed when some sort of cataclysm happened everyone would bring a single shot target rifle.

Pretty much all milsurps are more accurate than the shooter, I had a Mosin Nagant 91/30 that would shoot sub-moa with a 4x scope with S&B factory ammo, a friends 43' Mauser shoots MOA even with a burning hot barrel. Another buddy nails man-silhouettes at 600yds with his Enfield Mk4.

Most people complain about bad accuracy with milsurp rifles because they shoot total junk ammo through it and then compare the accuracy with target rifles shooting handloaded match-grade ammo.

With good modern ammo a milsurp rifle can be accurate enough for any situation you might encounter.

[Boomer58cal]

For the money you can't get a better semi-auto than the sks. If you stick to the standard standard10rd internal mag the sks's reliability is beyond reproach. As long as the firing pin is still floating it'll go bang.

A 30-30 lever gun is also a great choice as long a max range is not an issue.

Boomer

[Garycw]

Here's a few if my sks's that were all under $400. First is my favorite paratrooper, second is a yugo sniper set up and third is a modified paratrooper.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/07/ehame7es.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/07/a2yreneb.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/07/rymesara.jpg

[BusGunner007]

Get a Paratrooper.
Do NOT change anything.
Buy a LOT of ammo.

Be happy.
:D

[Garycw]

Get a Paratrooper.
Do NOT change anything.
Buy a LOT of ammo.

Be happy.
:D

All good advice. The modified sks's I have we're already that way when I bought at too good to pass up deals.

[steveNChunter]

If I were a newb and preparing for S H-ing T F :confused: I believe a Ruger American in .308, .30-06, .270, or .243 would do the job very well. But by the time you buy one new and pay tax your knocking on the door of your $400 limit. But $400 isnt gonna buy you a great rifle/scope combo unless you look used. Even then, it will be a tough find.

My advice from that point on would be to save $150+tax and go buy a Burris Fullfield II or E1 3-9x40. By the time you buy that and a set of Weaver rings you will have about $550 invested and a rifle/scope combo that will shoot very well by most anyone's standards.

Then start saving a little each month and buy ammo as you can afford it. Because if S ever does HTF it won't matter that much what rifle you have, as long as you have plenty to feed it.

If your heart is set on a semi-auto, I second the sks suggestions.

[boltomatic]

I would go with a bolt action .22 and a nice scope. I just got a savage mk II and a mueller APV for about $350.

.22 can kill a lot of animals. People don't use it to hunt anything other than small game because ethical shots are difficult, but in a SHTF scenario where you are hunting for food to survive, who cares about ethical shots?

Here's why I think the .22 is the best:

1) Cheap. IF your budget is $400, you are going to have a hard time finding a decent centerfire rifle and scope.

2) light- the gun is light and the ammo is light. you can easily carry 500 rounds of .22. One person can probably carry about 10,000 rounds of .22 ammo, try carrying 10,000 rounds of centerfire!

3) lethality. A lot of people think the .22 is weak, but its NOT! What is lacks is stopping power, not lethality. Not many things can survive with a .22 caliber hole in their body. For deer, its fairly easy to score a headshot with a .22 you just don't hear about this because its illegal, but poachers use .22's all the time to kill big game because they are quiet. The recoil is also so light that most people could easily put 2-3 shots in a deer's kill zone with a semi auto .22.

4) cost- the gun an ammo are cheap. That means you can train a lot and stockpile a lot.

Another option, if you really want a powerful rifle, is a mosin-nagant. You can find a sniper model for $400 or less. The sniper models were the same as the other models, except more accurate. There was a lot of variability in these guns so they would have soldiers shoot the new one's and the most accurate one's were scoped and given to sharpshooters. The mosin-nagant has killed for decades, its a good gun. Get ammo for cheap in a sealed spam can online.

[Mike38]

Preference being a semi auto, used Saiga in 7.62x39 or .308, used Mini 30, or a SKS.

[chris in va]

Bolt action 308 or 30-30 lever gun. Both will allow optics for hunting. The Mosin and SKS aren't readily designed for a scope without modification which would certainly put it over the $400 price point.

[tahunua001]

from personal experience. do not take on a mosin nagant. you will never be satisfied with the result unless you put a heck of a lot more than $400 into it. with some shopping around an SKS can be made into a pretty good sthf/hunting rifle. I've done it, perform a search on this forum for "SKS, poor mans EBR" and you will find a description of what I did to mine. mine it easily 2 MOA with tula and if I got match ammo would probably hold MOA.

[DennisCA]

Def a SKS and you have a built-in bayo in case you have to get stabby.

Also you get one of these:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/405/polishm44overview.jpg
1953 Polish M44

Sure it's kinda heavy but it shoots a decent round (that is fairly common) and it also has a bayo-thingy

[jersurf101]

Its too bad the internet wasn't around when my grandfather was alive. He would have been able to read about how he hunted with an inferior Mosin Nagant for his life after the Marine Corps. This rifle should not be discounted. Most are more than capable than the shooter behind them.

That said if you need one to double as a shtf rifle I would get a lever action. The Marlin 336 would fit the bill here. Good iron sights and a reliable action. Look for one with a JM stamp.

[Tucker 1371]

My younger brother took his first deer with an SKS using 124gr soft points. I would imagine it would also work fantastically as an SHTF rifle. As for making it yours, there is tons of aftermarket for the SKS.

The only problem I see is price, right now they are scarce for under $400, if you check armslist regularly you might find one in your area for cheap.

[Garycw]

You're right Tucker, the SKS is still a underrated rifle by many. Too old, too heavy etc etc. I find them a lot of fun to shoot, cheap ammo and very capable of taking all kinds of game, as well as a good defensive weapon.
By the way, are you near Greeneville?

[Waspinator]

I'm going to suggest something much different and maybe controversial considering the suggestions posted thus far.. but...


How about a Hi-Point Carbine in 9mm, .40 S&W or .45acp?

http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/carbines/default.html

By all accounts they are accurate and reliable and only cost about $300 +/- depending where you buy. They are a compact semi-auto rifles that would work great for self defense and are in calibers that are easily come by including +p rounds. You can mount scopes and carry a higher capacity then most hunting rifles.

http://www.gunbroker.com/All/BI.aspx?Keywords=Hi+Point++Carbine


And yes, you can hunt with them as well....

http://www.hipointfirearmsforums.com/Hunting-with-your-Hi-Point-Carbine.html

I don't know... that can be a viable choice for a shtf/survival type weapon.... just sayin...

[Art Eatman]

Probably pretty good odds that the OP has already made his decision, back almost a year ago. :)