shtf/hunting rifle, best on a $400 budget?

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I would also suggest a SKS or a Ruger American in 308 and 30-06. Stay with more common calibers if possible for availability and commonality with what will be around during a shtf scenario. I highly recommend the SKS because its a cheap accurate semiauto that still packs a punch, and holds 10+rounds.


I agree that $400 total does not leave much room for optics, if any.
I tried going to mosin route. $150 for the rifle, $100 for a good stock+a couple hours for proper fitting, add another $150 for a decent bent bolt and scope mount(STAY AWAY FROM ATI KITS) and you no longer have enough money for a decent scope. and that still doesn't leave any room for trigger upgrades, barrel cut+recrown and glass bedding, things that are necessary to offer good accuracy in a MN, which any survival rifle needs.
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I will also agree to disagree with this one. :p

A sporterized Mosin can cost less and can shoot close to a factory gun like a Ruger or Winchester--if setup and sighted in properly. you don't necessarily need need a bent bolt or spend $100 on the stock.

The ATI stock doesn't cost much, maybe $50 on Amazon. If you get a Mosin for $120, add a decent scope you will be under $300 easy. My sporterized Mosin 91/30 was $140 for the original rifle and I paid $20 for the ATI stock (a little while ago). A basic scope for $40 and i'm at $200 for a decent rifle that will serve hunting and shtf purposes if needed.

Your setup depends on you. Spend good money on glass and training/ammo and you'll be good to go. Nothing wrong with a project gun if you spend the time to make it accurate and useful. If you don't want to go the Mosin route, Ruger American for $350 is a good option and you have the choice of different calibers as well. But you will probably end up spending over $400 total because of the optic.
 
I'm gonna argue against this statement, a bone stock mosin nagant is more than suitable for pretty much anything other than +300 yard shots. I've rattled oil drums at 150-170meters with no problems,
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really? oil drums? at 150 meters? you are talking about 15 MOA at it's narrowest point are you seriously considering that as accurate? I've hit squirrels with a 22LR at that range.

I will also disagree with this one.

A sporterized Mosin can cost less and can shoot close to a factory gun like a Ruger or Winchester--if setup and sighted in properly.

The ATI stock doesn't cost much, maybe $50 on Amazon. If you get a Mosin for $120, add a decent scope you will be under $300 easy. My sporterized Mosin 91/30 was $140 and I paid $20 for the ATI stock (a little while ago). A scope for $40 and i'm actually at $200 for a decent rifle that will serve hunting and shtf purposes if needed.
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alright you can buy a $120 mosin if you find a good deal, add a cheapassed ATI stock, mount and bent bolt kit that irreversably modify and damage the strength of your action by drilling and tapping every major component for $75-100 and then that leaves you with about $150 for a scope which you can do pretty good with optics at that point but you still have a stiff, rattly, wobbly, action on a rifle that is still heavier than a modern rifle with less than average accuracy. as I said I went the mosin route and I tried all those cheap modifications and as I stated, there is no way in hell I would take it out over my rem 700, ruger M77 or heck, my bone stock Arisaka 44. they are all lighter, more accurate, smoother actions, more compact and did I mention more accurate?
 
Not arguing with you Tahuna, but of course we cannot expect that kind of accuracy from a very old Milsurp rifle compared to a Rem700 or even a Ruger American.

What I meant was you can still get decent accuracy out of a Mosin (maybe 3-4MOA) if that is all you need. I also did not buy/need a bent bolt; I'm still using the standard Mosin bolt and it runs just fine. The action on my 91/30 is also very smooth. I just have to take it out to a range 100yards or longer to see how much accuracy I can squeeze out of it.

Now if you had $700 or more to spend on a quality rifle, sure go for a Rem700 or something nicer. My roomate has one and it is a very nice and accurate rifle indeed. But if all the OP has is $400, my vote goes for the RA or SKS.
 
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You CAN'T go wrong with a good SKS ! A Chinese or NORINCO would be a good choice. I'm partial to the paratroopers, but the standard length barrel would be better for hunting. Fixed 10 round mag.,& the aftermarket 20 & 30's are easy to find. Tough as nails and easy to field strip. May have to look a little while for a $400 one these days though.
 
alright you can buy a $120 mosin if you find a good deal, add a cheapassed ATI stock, mount and bent bolt kit that irreversably modify and damage the strength of your action by drilling and tapping every major component for $75-100 and then that leaves you with about $150 for a scope which you can do pretty good with optics at that point but you still have a stiff, rattly, wobbly, action on a rifle that is still heavier than a modern rifle with less than average accuracy. as I said I went the mosin route and I tried all those cheap modifications and as I stated, there is no way in hell I would take it out over my rem 700, ruger M77 or heck, my bone stock Arisaka 44. they are all lighter, more accurate, smoother actions, more compact and did I mention more accurate?
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Agreed. A Mosin is a rifle you buy for one of 2 reasons: 1) for the hell of it cause they are cheap or 2) cause you don't have enough money for something better.

To be honest, finding a decent production bolt gun in the OP's budget is pretty dang easy and the list for those to avoid is much shorter and easier to discuss. Namely avoid the Remington 710s and 770s, Mossberg had issues with early APV's but MIGHT have the bugs worked out. I'm sure there are others but those models come to mind sitting here. Most of the other guns from the lowly Savage Axis on up are consistently accurate and have proven durable enough over recent years. As you move up in price tag comes along better fit and finish, better stocks, better triggers etc etc. So except for a few "must be avoided guns" the OP just needs to get his hands on a couple dozen different new and used guns and pick the one he likes and that fits him the best.

Buying bolt guns is not rocket science.

(edited to add) If quicker follow up shots might be called for look hard at the Remington 760 pump rifles. The ones I've seen will easily shoot 2 moa or under, they're durable, use detachable mags, they're handy and come in a variety of good cartridges. Priced pretty decent too on the used shelves.
 
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A used Remington model 760 or 7600 pump rifle would fit the bill. Available in many calibers. Good hunting rifle, and it has a detachable magazine. Rapid follow-up shots are easy with a pump. Affordable too.
 
As the OP said he preferred a Semi Auto, which brings back the best $400 rifle is the SKS, IMO
A ATI folding stock will also make it lighter & easy to transport.
 
A 12 gauge pump action shotgun of your choice with rifle sights, thats a true multi tool that serves more than just one role in a SHTF scenario.

You can breech doors and open locks with a well placed slug, hunt birds and other small game with small shot to keep you fed (in a SHTF scenario deer will be completely gone in a couple of months), its a great self defense weapon that is capable of fast follow up shots, accuracy with slugs is good up to about 75 yds and kills big game easily. Ammo is readily available.

Personally, with a budget of 400 I'd get a good Mosin Nagant m44 and a cheap 20'' single shot shotgun with sights and a couple of screw-in chokes.
 
Personally, with a budget of 400 I'd get a good Mosin Nagant m44 and a cheap 20'' single shot shotgun with sights and a couple of screw-in chokes.
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Does such a creature exist?
 
No, with chokes probably not, though a shortened single shot can be had for 120 bucks, installing rifle sights shouldn't put it past the 160-180 mark.
 
i already own a couple shotguns. its what i know. hopefully in shtf, i would have a small group of people, where we would have rifles and shotguns covered. can't completely prep for that, but that's ideal.

To start out, $400 and under, i feel like the sks is the way to go. i really like the idea of tooling on the mosin, but im inclined to believe what people are saying. an old milserp weapon just cant compete with modern firearms in terms of accuracy. i dont feel as bad about the sks, its a semi auto, and 7.62x39, makes ammo more plentiful. also, i feel that i could get accurate enough with a milserp weapon within 75-100 yards, and in shtf, im probably not going to shoot at anything past that. and within 75 yards, i'd much rather have a semi-auto for defensive purposes for shtf. i think sks wins over mosin nagant. i feel like the mosin nagant is probably just a budget level sharp shooter. not what im looking for exactly
 
Accuracy might not be THAT important in a SHTF scenario, all you need is practical accuracy. If accuracy is all you needed when some sort of cataclysm happened everyone would bring a single shot target rifle.

Pretty much all milsurps are more accurate than the shooter, I had a Mosin Nagant 91/30 that would shoot sub-moa with a 4x scope with S&B factory ammo, a friends 43' Mauser shoots MOA even with a burning hot barrel. Another buddy nails man-silhouettes at 600yds with his Enfield Mk4.

Most people complain about bad accuracy with milsurp rifles because they shoot total junk ammo through it and then compare the accuracy with target rifles shooting handloaded match-grade ammo.

With good modern ammo a milsurp rifle can be accurate enough for any situation you might encounter.
 
For the money you can't get a better semi-auto than the sks. If you stick to the standard standard10rd internal mag the sks's reliability is beyond reproach. As long as the firing pin is still floating it'll go bang.

A 30-30 lever gun is also a great choice as long a max range is not an issue.

Boomer
 
Here's a few if my sks's that were all under $400. First is my favorite paratrooper, second is a yugo sniper set up and third is a modified paratrooper.
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If I were a newb and preparing for S H-ing T F :confused: I believe a Ruger American in .308, .30-06, .270, or .243 would do the job very well. But by the time you buy one new and pay tax your knocking on the door of your $400 limit. But $400 isnt gonna buy you a great rifle/scope combo unless you look used. Even then, it will be a tough find.

My advice from that point on would be to save $150+tax and go buy a Burris Fullfield II or E1 3-9x40. By the time you buy that and a set of Weaver rings you will have about $550 invested and a rifle/scope combo that will shoot very well by most anyone's standards.

Then start saving a little each month and buy ammo as you can afford it. Because if S ever does HTF it won't matter that much what rifle you have, as long as you have plenty to feed it.

If your heart is set on a semi-auto, I second the sks suggestions.
 
I would go with a bolt action .22 and a nice scope. I just got a savage mk II and a mueller APV for about $350.

.22 can kill a lot of animals. People don't use it to hunt anything other than small game because ethical shots are difficult, but in a SHTF scenario where you are hunting for food to survive, who cares about ethical shots?

Here's why I think the .22 is the best:

1) Cheap. IF your budget is $400, you are going to have a hard time finding a decent centerfire rifle and scope.

2) light- the gun is light and the ammo is light. you can easily carry 500 rounds of .22. One person can probably carry about 10,000 rounds of .22 ammo, try carrying 10,000 rounds of centerfire!

3) lethality. A lot of people think the .22 is weak, but its NOT! What is lacks is stopping power, not lethality. Not many things can survive with a .22 caliber hole in their body. For deer, its fairly easy to score a headshot with a .22 you just don't hear about this because its illegal, but poachers use .22's all the time to kill big game because they are quiet. The recoil is also so light that most people could easily put 2-3 shots in a deer's kill zone with a semi auto .22.

4) cost- the gun an ammo are cheap. That means you can train a lot and stockpile a lot.

Another option, if you really want a powerful rifle, is a mosin-nagant. You can find a sniper model for $400 or less. The sniper models were the same as the other models, except more accurate. There was a lot of variability in these guns so they would have soldiers shoot the new one's and the most accurate one's were scoped and given to sharpshooters. The mosin-nagant has killed for decades, its a good gun. Get ammo for cheap in a sealed spam can online.
 
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