While prepping for any impending urban or suburban disasters, selecting appropriate firearms can be quite essential. Drawing from expert insight, here are three recommended ones: access, effectiveness, and pragmatism.
The .357 revolver, no doubt, gets recommended as highly as it can get due to its simplicity and versatility. It will fire both .357 Magnum and .38 Special ammunition, providing a greater source of ammunition to choose from. The .38 Special is milder in recoil and therefore ideal for novices; the .357 Magnum carries a heavy stopping power. This revolver is easy to use, so any user will easily understand how to work it, and it holds six rounds, ample for self-defense. Moreover, it can be concealed, hence giving liberty in many other situations.
Only such a rifle—a semi-auto, chambered in 5.56 NATO in an AR-15, Mini-14, or SU-16—will do for those seeking both reliability and performance. Such rifles are very efficient, high in capacity, and easy to use. Since they have proven their efficiency in accuracy and handling, they are very handy in home defense. They will not be the choice for hunting medium to large game, but the use of them in an urban setting for self-defense is their main use, at which they do excel.
Another excellent choice would be any break-action 12-gauge shotgun, whether over/under or side by side. Truly simple and thus very reliable, it’s no doubt very effective at close range. Its mechanism is also simple to operate, even for the person who hasn’t been around firearms much. While its size prohibits it from being an ideal bug-out weapon, when it comes to home defense, nothing beats the stopping power.
Other honorable mentions would be any striker-fired 9mm pistol—it does strike a balance between ease of use and versatility—or the .22 semi-auto rifle, as it is the easiest to shoot accurately, and its ammunition is the cheapest and lightest. The pump-action 12-gauge shotgun is still largely chosen, mostly due to its greater capacity, but it requires just a little more familiarity to run effectively.
For the newbies, it’s best to advise a Ruger 10/22. One of the customers reported his experience choosing Ruger 10/22 Carbine #1103 because of its reliability and a huge number of aftermarket accessories combined with easy use, he said. He liked the birch wood stock, which was of the traditional sort, and said that the design of this rifle was easy and unobtrusive to look at. The Ruger 10/22 is still very popular despite the scare in ammunition and its price because it is just so reliable and easy to maintain.
Some like it—the Henry lever action .22—for its ability to digest all types of .22 ammunition out there and for its superior fit and finish. Some others are just fond of the Ruger 10/22 because semi-auto makes it more practical every day and a good deal cheaper. While Henry provides a unique shooting experience, generally speaking, it is outclassed by the Ruger 10/22 in terms of reliability and versatility.
The choice of proper firearms for urban prepping will come down to easy operation, versatility, and practicality. The most recommended are the .357 revolver, a semi-auto rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO, and the break-action 12-gauge shotgun. For those just getting started, a Ruger 10/22 always ends up in the mix.