Gun and Run

We, the gun-blogosphere 'we', have discussed what you grab in a SHTF scenario.  15 minutes or less to grab the Go Bag, your best rifle, your CCW pistol, and out the door.  Jeff Cooper would have grabbed his Scout Rifle (he'd already have had the 1911 on his hip...)

What if you have more time, and a safe full of guns.  Like a day.  The slow moving magma from the Hawaiian volcano is coming to your neighborhood, say.  You can load the car but there is no time to get a trailer or moving van.  You are leaving your house 'forever'.  And you can't take everything in your gun safe.  You gotta choose a subset.  And this is after the valuable, important papers, photos, and favorite family heirlooms that are portable.  Great Grandpa's gorgeous roll top desk might not make the cut.  Not because you don't want to save it badly, but because you just can't fit it in the trunk of the Grand Marquis.

What got me thinking on this was JayG and his travails moving his household goods to Virginia.  And also where he is crashing, MBtGE's house.

Now, MBtGE has a big and full safe.  Like JayG.  But some of those guns are better than others.  MBtGE has a Hi-Point, for example. Other Saturday Night Special wannabes.

He'd leave that Hi-Point behind.  He'd prolly choose ARs over Mini-14s.  The Ruger revolver would come, but the Taurus?  No.  MAYBE the ancient family double barrel shotty, but maybe not.  Maybe NONE of the shotguns would make it, or only one.  12 gauge shotguns and ammunition are still plentiful and cheap.  Certainly anything with NFA cache would come.  Mainly for the expense, but also the utility.  I don't see him leaving many Glocks (he has dozens) behind because they are small, but onesy twosy things like a FiveSeveN or knockoff Single Action Army that really is less fun to shoot because of the reload times and the rarer caliber... Bye.  Miss you... 

You'd also might think "commonality".  Anything that takes a glock magazine, anything that takes an AR magazine.  Or you may think to leave some of the less expensive magazines behind and take the guns and mags that cost the most.  A whole class of caliber may be abandoned.  Sorry .40 stuff, I already have 9mm and .45 in the case.  A pile of ammo would get left, but definitely some would come for the ride beyond the already loaded.  But NONE of the cheaper stuff would have a spot on the lifeboat, is my guess.  Poor .32 Iver Johnsons...  Poor .270 bolty....

For me, my safe isn't as big.  I'd leave behind pump .22, and lever .357 and all shotties.  Take at least 2 or 3 1911 (gah, I have more than 2!  Can't believe that...)  No 1903.  Sadly.  No SIG.  All the revolvers (.22 and .357s) and a 10/22.  Half the loaded magazines.  Maybe less.  The Garand?  I dunno....  It has a scope...  Maybe just the scope.  Damn, that would depress me.  The M1A and the AR definitely.

The next thing is... why do you have those guns that you'd abandoned?  Well, I have them because they are neat.

I bet if Tam had this exercise she'd take the "User" guns and spares, and leave all but the cream of the "Collecter" guns.  But she is less sentimental about it.