Warning: I’m autistic–yes, really–and guns are one of my life-long special interests. So, wall of text incoming.
PCCs (pistol caliber carbines) are handy, but I don’t know if I’d want to rely on one as a do-all bug out rifle. In my opinion, for most able-bodied people, PCCs have the worst features of both rifles and pistols; they’re bulky enough that they can’t be concealed easily, and the bullets are less powerful and have significantly shorter ranges than rifles. Some PCCs also have reliability issues, but I don’t know which ones specifically. (That said, the Kriss Vector is cool as hell, doubly so if you can get it as an SBR and silenced. Not always super reliable, but still very neat. And expensive. So, maybe not that.) On the other hand, recoil is very minimal. If you really like PCCs, then I’ve heard good things about the KP-9, which also happens to be produced by a very decent person (e.g., non-chud). PCCs are particularly good for people with some level of disability that prevents them from using a typical pistol effectively.
If you’re a normal person with normal person funds, where buying a rifle is a large purchase, I’d get a 14" AR-15 ‘pistol’ with a solid ‘wrist brace’. As long as you’re buying something nicer than Bear Creek Arsenal or Palmetto State Armory, the brand isn’t going to matter a lot. Don’t waste your money on Daniel Defense or KAC. A reliable red dot optic that’s zeroed at 50y completes the minimalist bug-out ‘pistol’. In this case, I would suggest an enclosed red dot, like the Lead & Steel Promethean; enclosed dots are less likely to get gunked up. Get a bunch of magazines, Magpul 30 rounders if your state allows them, and 10 rounders if your state doesn’t. A “combat load”, IIRC, is 210 rounds, or seven 30-round magazines; if you need that many rounds in a bug-out situation, you are well and truly fucked.
If you’ve got money to burn, I’d suggest getting a piston rifle like the Sig MCX-Spear LT in 11.5" or an FN-SCAR in 11.5" (both will be SBRs, so you’ll need a tax stamp), and then a B&T Print-X VERS36 SS silencer (.30 cal, titanium, modular, full-auto rated–which is unusual for titanium silencers–and yes, you need a tax stamp for it). Both rifles are 5.56x45mm, which means ammo is both cheap and readily available at almost any gun store anywhere. Both rifles are also piston-operated, rather than being direct impingement (DI), so the stock can fold to make it more compact. Yes, piston rifles are slightly less accurate than DI, but at the ranges that a bug-out rifle would be used, that’s probably not an issue. I’d probably get a Dead Air KeyMo adapter and mount for the silencer so you could take it off and put it on quickly, since a silencer is going to add 6-8". If you can afford it, holographic sights are slightly nicer than red dots (albeit with shorter battery life; EOTech and the Vortex AMG UH-1 are the only holographic options), and a 4x flip-up magnifier extends your range. (I use an LPVO and an offset red dot on my primary competition rifle, but that’s a bit much for a bug-out rifle.) You might want a weapon light; Surefire is the standard choice, but I use a relatively inexpensive Steamlight, and it works well enough for night matches out to about 150y or so. At the ranges that you’d ever be likely to need to use a bug-out rifle, that’s likely not a significant issue.
Personally, I don’t worry about a bug-out rifle. That’s low on my priority list. I have enough cats that bugging out means driving with eight pet carriers, not walking, so a full-sized rifle is fine for me. I’m more worried about having a good carry gun. :)
you had me at ‘special interest’ - i’m writing that BEFORE i dive into your wall of text because i want you to be assured that your expertise is appreciated <3
Pity that you can’t teach cats to use crew-served weapons…
The obvious choice is to buy a multi-piece rifle, full size or pcc is up to you, that breaks into 2+ pieces.
That’s pretty much al AR-15s; you can entirely separate the upper and lower receivers. But you’re probably thinking more of take-down rifles. I don’t think that most take-down rifles would be ideal in a SHTF kind of situation. And, to be very, very clear, I think that a very sudden SHTF situation where you need a rifle is very, very unlikely. I think that suddenly needing to evacuate due to weather or fires is more likely, and the kind of civil unrest that might require a rifle, well, we’re already the frog in that pot, and the water keeps getting hotter… Someone is going to throw the first rock at a protest, then it’s going to get very, very ugly, very, very fast.
Warning: I’m autistic–yes, really–and guns are one of my life-long special interests. So, wall of text incoming.
PCCs (pistol caliber carbines) are handy, but I don’t know if I’d want to rely on one as a do-all bug out rifle. In my opinion, for most able-bodied people, PCCs have the worst features of both rifles and pistols; they’re bulky enough that they can’t be concealed easily, and the bullets are less powerful and have significantly shorter ranges than rifles. Some PCCs also have reliability issues, but I don’t know which ones specifically. (That said, the Kriss Vector is cool as hell, doubly so if you can get it as an SBR and silenced. Not always super reliable, but still very neat. And expensive. So, maybe not that.) On the other hand, recoil is very minimal. If you really like PCCs, then I’ve heard good things about the KP-9, which also happens to be produced by a very decent person (e.g., non-chud). PCCs are particularly good for people with some level of disability that prevents them from using a typical pistol effectively.
If you’re a normal person with normal person funds, where buying a rifle is a large purchase, I’d get a 14" AR-15 ‘pistol’ with a solid ‘wrist brace’. As long as you’re buying something nicer than Bear Creek Arsenal or Palmetto State Armory, the brand isn’t going to matter a lot. Don’t waste your money on Daniel Defense or KAC. A reliable red dot optic that’s zeroed at 50y completes the minimalist bug-out ‘pistol’. In this case, I would suggest an enclosed red dot, like the Lead & Steel Promethean; enclosed dots are less likely to get gunked up. Get a bunch of magazines, Magpul 30 rounders if your state allows them, and 10 rounders if your state doesn’t. A “combat load”, IIRC, is 210 rounds, or seven 30-round magazines; if you need that many rounds in a bug-out situation, you are well and truly fucked.
If you’ve got money to burn, I’d suggest getting a piston rifle like the Sig MCX-Spear LT in 11.5" or an FN-SCAR in 11.5" (both will be SBRs, so you’ll need a tax stamp), and then a B&T Print-X VERS36 SS silencer (.30 cal, titanium, modular, full-auto rated–which is unusual for titanium silencers–and yes, you need a tax stamp for it). Both rifles are 5.56x45mm, which means ammo is both cheap and readily available at almost any gun store anywhere. Both rifles are also piston-operated, rather than being direct impingement (DI), so the stock can fold to make it more compact. Yes, piston rifles are slightly less accurate than DI, but at the ranges that a bug-out rifle would be used, that’s probably not an issue. I’d probably get a Dead Air KeyMo adapter and mount for the silencer so you could take it off and put it on quickly, since a silencer is going to add 6-8". If you can afford it, holographic sights are slightly nicer than red dots (albeit with shorter battery life; EOTech and the Vortex AMG UH-1 are the only holographic options), and a 4x flip-up magnifier extends your range. (I use an LPVO and an offset red dot on my primary competition rifle, but that’s a bit much for a bug-out rifle.) You might want a weapon light; Surefire is the standard choice, but I use a relatively inexpensive Steamlight, and it works well enough for night matches out to about 150y or so. At the ranges that you’d ever be likely to need to use a bug-out rifle, that’s likely not a significant issue.
Personally, I don’t worry about a bug-out rifle. That’s low on my priority list. I have enough cats that bugging out means driving with eight pet carriers, not walking, so a full-sized rifle is fine for me. I’m more worried about having a good carry gun. :)
you had me at ‘special interest’ - i’m writing that BEFORE i dive into your wall of text because i want you to be assured that your expertise is appreciated <3
The obvious choice is to buy a multi-piece rifle, full size or pcc is up to you, that breaks into 2+ pieces.
Have your pet carriers modified to carry the pieces and some utility things like ammo/cleaning/batteries/etc.
Now when you load up your pets, you also have your carry gun!
No part of this was thought out for practicality, results may vary from intent.
Arm your kitties.
Pity that you can’t teach cats to use crew-served weapons…
That’s pretty much al AR-15s; you can entirely separate the upper and lower receivers. But you’re probably thinking more of take-down rifles. I don’t think that most take-down rifles would be ideal in a SHTF kind of situation. And, to be very, very clear, I think that a very sudden SHTF situation where you need a rifle is very, very unlikely. I think that suddenly needing to evacuate due to weather or fires is more likely, and the kind of civil unrest that might require a rifle, well, we’re already the frog in that pot, and the water keeps getting hotter… Someone is going to throw the first rock at a protest, then it’s going to get very, very ugly, very, very fast.