When you think of firearms for SHTF scenarios you want something that will be easy to maintain and ideally does not have many moving parts. Piggy back on that ammunition. If you take a step back to think things through, what ammunition is likely to be left after all the .308 and 5.56 have been exhausted. Probably .22LR and 12 gauge shotgun, especially in rural areas with a-lot of ranches and farms.
In my quest for simple firearms that take commonly available ammunition I’ve settled on two. The first was the H&R single shot 12 gauge that I have done a previous article on. The versatility of that gun is what sold me on the platform. With the addition of a sub-caliber insert I can also shoot .22LR. Why is that important?
For me that is important due to the sidearm that pairs with the shotgun. That sidearm is the Heritage Arms .22LR Revolver. I can now use my .22LR ammunition in both my long gun and revolver allowing me to carry more ammunition of the same type and caliber.
With the .22LR round I can dispatch wild game on the trap line and secure wild game while hunting and stalking. Hell if I had to I could drop a deer providing the type of ammunition I’m using and the placement of the shot. The primary .22LR ammunition that I’m use are the CCI Stingers followed by CCI Mini-Mags.
The Heritage Arms Revolver, again, is easy to maintain and use. The simple iron sights built into the frame are a no brainer to use.
On my personal gun a swapped out the stock grips for a more aggressive wood pattern grip to assist with my grip in austere conditions. Specifically I went with the Predator grips available from Heritage Arms.
The holster I use for the gun is an all leather Slim Jim style holster also available from Heritage Arms. It gives the gun an authentic western look. More importantly it fits snugly on your belt and has great retention on the gun itself.
A small leather loop at the top of the holster goes over the hammer to secure the gun in the holster during activity, whether that is riding a horse, a 4 wheeler, or just stalking around in the woods on a scout or hunt. Bottom line is the gun isn’t going anywhere with this holster.
I will be taking this gun to the range in the coming weeks and will report back on how the gun handles and what the accuracy is out of it using the CCI Stinger ammunition.
