Sunday, July 10, 2016

Survival Strategy #15: The AR-15 for SHTF


Photo from UDMC Corporation


I. In a SHTF scenario, you need the right tools for the right job. In my family's moderately-sized collection of firearms, we only have weapons suited for short to medium range engagements. I have decided that we need a rifle that would be effective beyond 300 yards. Its time to save up for an AR-15.

I have been putting this off for years. Since my last post on this blog I had poured myself into competitive shooting and acquiring other survival essentials for my family. Before I get my first center-fire rifle, I wanted to make sure that we can live comfortably when the grid finally goes down. Hey, I gotta show Mrs. Zombie Hunter that I'm all about the skills and not just the "toys".

Im a pistolero but I'm kinda new to long range marksmanship. Sure we have two rimfire rifles, the Kel-Tec SU22 and a Marlin XT22. Both function flawlessly and have specific roles WTSHTF. I have tons of ammo for them and  hitting head-sized targets out to 100-150 yards with them is a cinch.


My wife and 8-year old daughter learned to shoot with these and we can take down thousands of Zeds from a safe distance quietly because they are suppressed.

Take a look at this photo on the right. This is a hundred yards and hitting head-sized targets wasn't so bad. We could easily land two-inch groups using both these rifles with a 1-4x on the Kel-Tec and a 4-16x on the Marlin.

However the .22lr can only do so much...

I hate to say it but we are at a huge disadvantage against HUMAN threats. Despite onerous Firearm Ownership Laws in my country, you can bet that there would be thousands of hostiles armed with the ubiquitous Elisco or Colt M16s over here when things go south.

And speaking of draconian firearm laws...

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Why so much fuss over a rifle? To my American readers, here's a few details on our laws that makes it difficult to just grab a few rifles off the shelf and call it a day.

II. Restrictive Firearm Ownership in the Philippines:

TLDR: Republic Act #10591
and its Implementing Rules & Regulations 

In my country, our laws assign you a higher bracket for each firearm you own:

Type 1 License allows a citizen to own and possess a maximum of 2 registered firearms.
Type 2 license – allows a citizen to own and possess a maximum of five (5) registered firearms

Type 3 license – allows a citizen to own and possess a maximum ten (10) registered firearms
Type 4 license – allows a citizen to own and possess a maximum of fifteen (15) registered firearms
Type 5 license – allows a citizen, who is certified gun collector, to own and possess more than fifteen (15) registered firearms.
                                                    Utter BS! Elitism!

Licensing fees range from $20 from Class 1 every two years to $320 for the Type 5 License, on top of other fees. Pretty dang hard for the regular Pedro and Juan to arm up. This really sucks! :-(

In America, you can basically own as much as you like. It is not the case over here. Count your blessings, fight for your rights!

Basically, the more you own, the more you pay for their registration every two years. So for Filipino gun owners on a smart budget like me, all purchases are deliberate. In my bracket of Type 3, I won't bump up my catergory needlessly.

III. So why an AR-15?

1. Parts and maintenance are readily available. Despite local terrorist groups using AKs, the NATO rifle is still the most popular long arm in the country.

2. I can use it for competitive shooting! We can train and become skilled with it. USPSA 3-Gun Nation events are actually running over here every month so there are many opportunities to become competent riflemen.

3. Ammunition is abundant thank goodness. I can get into reloading in the near future.

3. Its an ideal defense & survival weapon 'coz my wife and daughter can use it pretty well. They had more fun with the rifles compared to our pistols.

4. I need reach! My Shotgun, 5 pistols, air rifle, and two rimfire rifles won't cut it over 150 yards.

IV. What kind of AR-15?
  • A 16 inch stainless steel barrel with a full-length handguard
  • I'll put my Vortex Viper PST 1-4x on it plus back-up sights
  • It will be suppressed
  • Its a 3-gun rifle so it will be more expensive, but reliability & performance is what I'm after
  • I want NV capability but that is a wishlist item for now since importing them to the Philippines would be very difficult... but not impossible!
V. Where am I now? 


I got ammo! Nearly 3000 rounds at a great deal and they are now squirreled away at a secret but convenient location. I can build up to a minimum of 6000 to store away and use excess for training and competition.


I have also selected the company to build my rifle: United Defense Manufacturing Corporation (UDMC). Why them? They are a relatively new firearm manufacturer but their high-quality rifles were selected by a Southeast Asian country as their army's next-generation rifle.

They use premium parts and Bergara barrels. UDMC rifles have won international matches. And here's a huge plus: their factory located really near my home! I am in good hands. 

My original plan was a budget rifle like the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport for the fantastic price and reliability. Other choices were from Noveske and Colt. My dad has a few M16A1s from the Vietnam era and maybe a Colt M4 or two, but I did not want to subtract from his collection.

Later on I'll get another one for my wife and daughter. For now I want a premium-grade one that could stand the rigors of competition.

I'm pretty excited to finally visit their store and make the down payment hopefully in August. They said they can build it in less than two months including customization. Stay tuned for that!

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Its good to be blogging again. I've got new topics to cover as well as the survival gear I mentioned earlier.

Family life and my career in Risk Management has been all good in the past two years since my last blog entry. I hope all of you guys are doing well and have made more progress in survival preparation.

I was originally going to make just a small journal entry when I started this 3 hours ago, but hey. I love this. I can't do anything half-arsed. Photo on the right shows you how I feel right about now...



Stay vigilant!

2 comments:

  1. Guns and ammo are also much more expensive in the Philippines. ARs are 3 times the price. A $600 M&P 15 5.56mm costs P120,000 to P140,000 in the Philippines. That more than $2000. And, you can't purchase ammo freely.

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    Replies
    1. absolutely true. however there are times when you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm knee-deep into competitive shooting and the sport is quite a commitment so I know what you mean.

      I regularly compete and go on vacation in the US, about once a year for a couple weeks and enjoy my visits to Cabela's and Sportsman's Warehouse to get my fill of parts and accessories. Its too bad that this option is not quite available for our regular Pinoys who deserve a fighting chance. I'm not giving up on lobbying for more sensible or less draconian Philippine gun laws since my alter-ego is somewhat active in the community. I'm sure we can make a difference.

      thanks for stopping by sir!

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