Since the end of WWII we have lived in an era of prosperity and plenty, created by the strength of the American economy and protected by the projection of American power. Now, because our economy and our ability to project power are being willfully dismantled, the European Union is disintegrating, the Middle East is descending into chaos and war, and the era of American Prosperity is ending.

As the era ends, the U. S. Economy will collapse under the combined weight of unsustainable debt and unbearable government regulation, and life in America will become darker, leaner an meaner than it has ever been before. In the survival situation, which will exist in the tumultuous first years of the next era, you will need weapons for defending your family, home and supplies from marauders, and to hunt for fresh meat.

Your family's diet of canned, bottled and freeze dried long-term bulk foods will need to be augmented with fresh foods for nutrition and group morale.  There are both fiscal and physical limits to how much food you can buy and store.  Even if you had bought and stored enough to survive the first year, how will you get through the next and subsequent years? Obviously, the answer is to supplement and replace your food storage by planting a survival garden and hunting.

At first, game will be relatively easy to spot and the stopping power of your ammunition will be key to your success. As time passes and game becomes more difficult to find, you will increasingly rely on the skills you learned earlier and the long-range accuracy of your rifles.

After you have "dropped" a game animal, you may find yourself having to defend your prize against others who will attempt to take it from you. These will be hard times and desperate people will need to be shown that you are able and by your attitude willing, to protect that which is yours.  When such a confrontation occurs, it will most probably be at close range and being well-armed with substantial handguns carried openly, will demonstrate that you will not become victim to poachers.

The survival specific firearms listed here have been chosen for their crossover usefulness, low maintenance requirements and field effectiveness as well as commonality and availability of ammunition. Where different types of guns use common calibers of ammunition, we have grouped them together, along with accessories. Also, wherever possible we have listed Stainless Steel or manganese phosphate (Parkerized) finishes for low maintenance in the survival situation.