Jim Stone
I have owned many guns. These are the best ones:
The last two guns I mention are the SKS and 30/30, which you should be able to get for $200.
By far the most popular useful high powered rifle is the 30.06. If you want the best all around popular rifle that will work very well and be easy to keep going, that would be the one. Most body armor will fail against this. They are not cheap. You will spend $500.
If you want to snipe with something that is not hard to find that is still good all around, it is the .270. There is no body armor that would stand a chance. A .270 that is excellent will cost more than a 30.06 You will spend more than $500.
If you want a useful cheap handgun for beginners, get the 38 special. They are dirt cheap, not very powerful (but still good enough) and the ammo is cheap too. They are only good inside of 50 feet. The super cheap knock offs are fine. Don't go up against body armor with one, they are gutless. The good thing with them is that you can get them for less than $100 NEW.
If you want the ultimate long term cheap to operate rifle that can still kill someone at 100 yards (300 feet), get a .22 long. Don't bother with .22 short. Bullets are cheap and for some reason the rock bottom super cheap .22 rifles with tube feed semi auto are seemingly always excellent even if purchased used. If I had to choose only one thing for survival, it would be a .22 because anyone can pack 2000 bullets and persist forever. If the enemy got close enough to matter and you were a good shot, a .22 long with 17 rounds in the tube would be very bad for them. Don't bother shooting body armor though, if it was the only thing to aim at it would be much better to not shoot at all. You should be able to get one in excellent condition USED for $100, or $150 new, and ONLY GET THE TUBE FEED that holds more than 10 bullets. Never get a .22 that is not semi auto.
If you have nothing, from my experience the cheap bushnell scopes are good enough for starting out, and even advanced shooting if you happen to get a good one.
Those are the most remarkable easy to get guns in my opinion. The 38 special and .22 have very little power, but the point with them is that they can still kill and are CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP and the useful thing with a .38 special is the fact it can be hidden easily. Forget long range shots with one. If it was all you could buy, it would be much much better than nothing. The 30.06 and the .270 are the nastiest of the nasty common rifles an enemy could ever go against, and would be much better than an AR-15 which body armor is designed to stop. The AR-15 may be accurate at long range, but it is a gutless wonder against anything real. The bottom line is that the .270 is something no military made plans to go up against and it is too powerful with a small cross section for anything other than an APC to handle, and maybe even that would not handle it. And the 30.06, even in the military, is a HUGE step up from the M-16 (AR-15). It is simply a much much more feared round that is meant for much harder targets.
Don't let the deer rifle look fool you, ALL deer rifles, no matter what they are, are BAAAD. I'd take even a 30/30 before I'd want to try an AR-15 against a real armored enemy. The 30/30 might actually get through the body armor. Some areas won't even let you use an AR-15 to hunt deer because it is TOO WEAK and they don't want a bunch of injured deer running around. The AR-15 is really only good for accuracy with clear open shots, and a human in the sights that is wearing no body armor.
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH VERY LITTLE CASH:
FINAL COMMENT: I never owned these because they were too cheap/not appropriate for my shooting skills. But the 30/30, if you want something powerful and have to go really cheap, will be good. It's a kid's beginner "serious" rifle that really is serious (to a degree). And the SKS is also cheap, but it is going to be a lot lower quality and less accurate than any 30/30. But it is powerful enough and might be accurate enough for someone who is just starting out. If you have VERY little cash, those would be the ones because they still have decent power and the 30/30 will at least have some accuracy. The SKS is a rambo looking semi auto for CHEAP. It would be really good for close up panic situations where accuracy took second place to being able to put out a lot of bullets. Inside of 50 yards it would be brutal to go up against and if you are not an experienced shooter you should not try shooting farther than that anyway because all you will do is let the enemy know where you are by trying to do more.
One final note: If you have nothing, and get a cheap gun (SKS would be great for that if you don't already know how to shoot) you HAVE TO get gun oil and a cleaning kit. If that is a force feed at the end of the gun sale (a high pressure add on pushed by a salesman,) THE CHEAPEST OF THE CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP will work so don't go for expensive. (it wont last as long, but if you are not shooting much anyway who cares) and you HAVE TO HAVE IT because if you don't your gun will jam from being dirty after being fired. Gun powder will get it dirty. Always clean and oil your gun after using it. You probably have a friend who has guns. Have that friend show you what to do. NEVER shoot a gun that has anything plugging the barrel. It might explode even if what is plugging it is only paper or plastic.
Obviously shotguns are going to be worthless for anything other than an in home encounter, or with slugs at close range. GET A RIFLE INSTEAD. Even an SKS will be far more accurate than any shot gun.
General Trump might end up needing you. If you don't have a gun, you had better get one. You will THANK GOD you at least have an SKS if that is all you can get, it would be 5000 times better than nothing.
Even if you don't end up needing it, you will still be happy you have it, THAT is one thing I can promise.
