Survival Rifles

In episode 6 of the new Survival Cache podcast, Doc Montana and Drew review the famous Ruger 10/22 from its humble beginnings in the 1960s all the way through the modern age “Ruger 10/22 Takedown” iterations. Both Doc and Drew have extensive experience with the 10/22 platform, and they discuss their loves, their gripes, their… Read More

Sometimes, especially in the prepper/survivalist equipment world, one can tell upon cursory visual inspection or review of specifications that an item or piece of gear has value; but until you actually put the piece to work with your own bare hands, the level of utility and the piece’s place in the universe is often difficult… Read More

The Magpul BEV Block is the second in Magpul’s two-deep lineup of armorer’s tools. The other tool, Magpul’s Armorer’s Wrench, is an exceptionally well designed and executed tool that works equally well for the professional and the weekend armorer. The BEV Block, at over 11 ounces, is roughly 4.5” x 2.25” x 1.25” and the block… Read More

Like the occasional sore throat or stubbed toe, factory 10/22 triggers are just a fact of life we live with. They crunch and grind along through their take-up. Then they hit a wall until the pressure on the trigger shoe dents the finger pad. The kra-chunk of the release is less of glass breaking, and… Read More

The wizards at Magpul have done it again. This time with the humble rifle bipod. From its earliest start of two crossed sticks, to the dedicated but standalone bipods of the 19th century buffalo hunters, to the advent of the bolt-on bipods of bolt actions and machine guns in the 20th century, bipods have proved… Read More

You’re all talk. Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking to you, dear reader. Yeah, you say you’re a prepper. Or a survivalist. Or an outdoorsman. Or whatever. Yeah, you say you’re all set to survive after a SHTF event drops down around your ears. Your bug-out bag is packed and your AR-15 is oiled, sparking clean… Read More

Hollywood is an easy target for the teaching of poor to impossible gun skills. The number of errors and impossibilities in any gun-filled movie gives the general population a wildly distorted understanding of guns, shooting, and expectations of a bullet; all a good thing in my survival book. As long as potential adversaries are living… Read More

The concept for the Designated Marksman Carbine or DMC has been around for awhile now, but not in the pure DMC form. Instead it was either hopping up a 5.56mm to maximums, or dumbing down a larger cartridge so it could be shot effectively off-hand. To really capitalize on the Designated Marksman Carbine concept, I… Read More

I peered through the ocular lens of the scope, reached up with my trigger hand, and cranked the magnification dial up to 9x. I needed precision for this shot; my quarry wasn’t going to let me get a second chance if I missed. Fifty yards away, the beady-eyed, fanged animal peered back through the cross-hairs… Read More

In the never-ending journey for the ultimate survival arm, a quest buried deep in the DNA of everyone concerned with preparedness, yet another giant leap in the evolution of survival arm capability just spread it wings across the USA (via gun stores, UPS and FedEx). The Magpul X-22 Backpacker Stock for the Ruger 10/22 Takedown… Read More

The .450 what?  Yeah, dude, the .450 Bushmaster or maybe what should have been named the .450 Bush Wacker.  Originally, the .450 Bushmaster was designed to be used in M-16/AR-15 platforms using 5-round magazines.  Now Ruger puts in it the ultimate prepper bolt action rifle, the Gunsite Scout model.  This model utilizes the forward mounted… Read More

The number designation 10-22 has universally become synonymous with America’s most popular rimfire rifle.  It is perhaps the most prolific semi-auto rifle firing the venerable .22 long rifle rimmed cartridge ever to be manufactured in this country.  There is little doubt this very capable .22 rifle is a perennial favorite among shooters.  This admiration, too… Read More

The Tree Trunk of a rifle is the “stoc” or as we say today, stock. In a nutshell the stock holds the important gun parts and is placed against one’s shoulder when shooting. I think tree trunk is an apt description since until recently, gun stocks have evolved about as fast as trees. But today… Read More

Just the idea of having a custom rifle built to your own specifications is enticing.  In fact, having anything created on our own behalf for personal use is rather satisfying.  For the prepper looking for something a little more special than a stock weapon, a firearm from a custom machine and gun manufacturing build shop… Read More

I admit it – like most gun culture involved individuals in America, I also got way too caught up in building an “ultimate” AR-15.  While I didn’t go as wild as some, I definitely spent way more money buying and trying different setups until I settled on my current “Goldilocks”configuration. I use and shoot the… Read More

If you were charged with putting together a basic 3-gun set of weapons for prepping and survival use, how much money would you need to spend to get the job done.  If you are new to this game, then this may be a perplexing question.  It is one I highly recommend for some judicious research… Read More

Times are tough. The economy is rolling, but not like a freight train. The country is in heavy debt from social spending and the support of conflicts abroad that are not really our conflicts. The middle class is taxed to death. The oil industry is still dragging. Ironically, we continue to import oil from the… Read More

Dear survivalists and preppers, have we gone AR and AK nuts? Hey, you know what, there are viable alternatives to the multi-round, mag latch, muzzle flash black guns so often associated with the bug out movement. For one, this author contends a good ole reliable, lever action 30-30 has a role to play in our… Read More

The Presidential Election, mass shootings and terror attacks on our soil have touched off a “mini-panic”, not quite the size or scale we saw in 2013 after Sandy Hook.  This mini-panic has again focused the attention of would-be gun owners, and current owners of two type of firearms: handguns and semi-auto rifles.  The two most… Read More

I’ll say from the outset that I’m less familiar with air guns than “traditional” guns. Air rifles, to me, have always fallen into the category of a BB gun, the “Red Rider” type that Ralphie wished for in the classic movie, A Christmas Story. A “rifle” that kids use as a precursor to getting a… Read More

I was fortunate enough to be able to have some trigger time recently with a Sig Sauer MPX-C 9mm carbine.  It wasn’t nearly enough time – probably 200 rounds over a couple of days – but it was enough to form an opinion on Sig Sauer’s next-generation pistol caliber carbine.  It was also enough to… Read More

We recently had a reader email into the Survival Cache team with a couple suggestions for articles he’s like to see(those types of emails are always welcome, by the way!).   He’d mentioned one specific item he’d like to see gone over.  He wrote, “Another article I’d like to see if/when you and your team get… Read More

Backup Iron Sights probably got their start by doing absolutely nothing when an optic was bolted onto a rifle that came from the factory with irons. But when modern sporting rifles (or whatever silly name the AR15 is being force-rebranded as these days) irons became an deliberate option.  BUS or back up sights (whether iron… Read More

So I’d just like to come right out at the outset of this review and state that Talon Grips have probably provided the most satisfaction-per-dollar of any of the firearms modifications I’ve tried in recent memory. They are quite inexpensive, easy to install, non-permanent, and 100% effective at the specific improvement they offer. They’re just… Read More

The wizards at Magpul have done it again.  As if their game-changing polymer 30-round PMAG wasn’t enough, they upped the ante with a 60-round drum magazine. And sometimes the obvious benefits of something are not, well, obvious.  Such is the case with the Magpul D-60.  The D-60 drum mag was announced at the February 2015… Read More

Once Upon A Time….You know, I’ll be honest here.  If you have never used an armorer’s tool to work on an AR variant rifle, I almost hate to endorse the Magpul Armorer’s Wrench as your first tool because you will never know just how bad most other armorer’s tools really are.  You won’t know what… Read More

Outfitting the Ruger 10/22 Takedown for SHTF Duty: Since its introduction in March, 2012, the Ruger 10/22 Takedown has set the survival world on fire.  Finally, survivalists and outdoor enthusiasts had an esteemed rifle design of known reliability, quality, and accuracy that broke down easily – no tools required! – and stowed into an easily-managed… Read More

The cliché saying is “hiding in plain sight.”  Preppers need to be sensitive to being able to hide critical gear, supplies, and SHTF stuffs away from prying eyes, thieves, or anybody else that might be snooping around your house or storage areas.  This is why we advise keeping quiet and discreet about your prepping efforts… Read More

Being able to quickly bring a handgun to bear during a Bug Out situation can be essential.  In fact, it could be life saving.  This includes the utilization of a good holster for gun security and carry.  Many options are available, some better suited to a Bug Out than others.  Let’s take a look.  For… Read More

Gun enthusiasts love a good campfire argument over different firearms and cartridges.  Many, many preppers and survival planners are very much into the debate over this gun or that for this purpose or that and correspondingly the cartridges that go along with them.  Such debates can be instructional, knowledge worthy, and stimulating.  I have been… Read More

There are many .22 long rifles worthy of consideration as the Last Best Plinker. In most cases, three categories of .22 rifles emerge when tossing them into piles according to similarities; those of classic variety with actions of lever, bolt, and tube-feed semi-auto. And there are those of the modern design with composite stocks, detachable… Read More

In the big business of survival and firearms, our time is a great time. Product demand is up; political pressure and societal issues are making people more aware of their surroundings and possible predicaments.  Never before has the survival and firearms industries been so driven to meet increased demands and increased call for sturdy, no-nonsense… Read More

The  Gerber eFECT Military Maintenance Tool is a 6+ tool pocket machine designed to service the AR15/M16/M4 rifle. Unlike other multitools, the Gerber eFECT is missing the usual suspects of 1) knife blade, 2) pliers, 3) saw, 4) file…bottle opener, Phillips screwdriver, scissors, bit kit, pocket clip, wire cutter, etc.  In a nutshell, the Gerber… Read More

Our “9mm vs. 45” Survival debate was a popular one, so we’re going to take it one step further and go to the ultimate U.S. Military assault rifle comparison: the great .223 Remington, (NATO designation 5.56x45mm) vs. the stalwart .308 Winchester (NATO designation 7.62x51mm).  They are both battle proven platforms that have been in service… Read More

If you are like me and love the AR-15 platform, then you should consider reading the new book by Jeff Zimba called The Evolution of the Black Rifle: 20 Years of Upgrades and Accessories.  As you can infer from the title, the book was written with 20 years of experience by a person who knows… Read More

Not every firearm we review on Survival Cache is the ultimate survival gun.  Sometimes we see something and say “That is badass, I gotta get my hands on one of those.”  Which is the case with the T-Model Lever Action Shotgun.  Last year at Shot Show, we were bleeding out of our eyes from seeing… Read More

If you are a reader of Survival Cache or SHTFBlog then you have probably spent some time thinking about survival guns.  Like you, I have spent more time than I care to admit reading comments and forums with people arguing about the best firearms for survival or the best caliber for a pistol or rifle… Read More

The day after Independence Day in 1983, Tim Leatherman and his buddy Steve Berliner formally launched the Leatherman Tool Group Inc. and started selling its first product, the Leatherman PST or Pocket Survival Tool.  From that point on, Tim and Steve’s creation and its offspring can be found in almost every survival kit, bugout bag… Read More

Although American Sniper is not the typical book that we review on Survival Cache or SHTFBlog, we felt that this book was good enough to break the mold of our book reviews.  As far as redeeming survival lessons in American Sniper, there are quite a few that you can gain by reading this book.  Plus… Read More

There is a positive glut of aftermarket supplies for the AR-15/AR-10 platform.  I feel like perhaps there may even be too many, especially if you’re just getting introduced to the AR system. Uppers, lowers, rails, grips, lights, sights, flash suppressors, aftermarket triggers, stocks…it goes on and on.  While this situation is a positive boon for… Read More

Wow, what a fun rifle.  Although its design is strictly business, the Kel-Tec RFB is just plain cool.  Kel-Tec is a company that thinks outside the box and is not afraid to be different, which is evident from their KSG Shotgun design.  When you first put the Kel-Tec RFB up to your shoulder it just… Read More

I read a lot of articles about the best choice of firearms. They generally focus on the AR-15 and the AK47.  I believe the discussions generally miss the point by failing to ask the question of what are you trying to do with the weapon. For example, if your goal was to stop a vehicle… Read More

Iron sights have been with us ever since muskets were rifled.  Sharpshooters demanded more and thus began the revolution and evolution of iron sights.  Backup iron sights, on the other hand, grew from the need for redundancy as optics sprouted up on the barrels and rails of military and hunting rifles. by Doc Montana, a… Read More

If you grew up shooting rifles, then you might have an itch that a carbine just can’t scratch.  Like many, I have always been a fan of the M-14 rifle, also known as the M1A, but I am a little too young to appreciate its predecessor, the M1 Garand. By Mark P, a contributing author… Read More

The choice between an EOTech holographic weapons sight and an Aimpoint red dot sight is a win-win decision. Both sights offer amazing optical performance, near indestructibility, and a proven track record in battle. by Doc Montana, a contributing author of SurvivalCache.com EOTech VS Aimpoint The downside of both of these sights are that they are… Read More

The Ruger 10/22 is the Piper Cub of the .22 rifle world.  It is a standard of expectation and operation upon which all others, good or bad, are measured.  In a world filled with evolving products, the 10/22 is easily recognizable whether the gun is an infant, a teenager, or in its 50s. By Doc… Read More