Imagine the world is going nucking futs…
Our infrastructure has collapsed due to some cataclysmic event, like a cyber-attack on our power grid that throws us all back to the Dark Ages.
Law enforcement? Military protection? Forget it!
Gangs and looters will exploit the chaos to target you, your loved ones you’re protecting, and any gear and supplies you may have to offer (or steal) as grocery stores are emptied and it’s every family for themselves.
If you’ve really thought through how to survive during times “without rule of law” (WROL), then you most likely have a firearm like an AR-15 to defend yourself, your family, and your precious supplies.
But let me ask you – is it “collapse-ready”?
What if I told you there’s a feature on your AR-15 that you probably haven’t given much thought to, but…
This One (Controversial) AR-15 Feature Could Mean The Difference Between Life & Death In A Real Firefight…
But You’d Better Know When & How To Use It If It’s A Full-On “War Zone”!
If you do own an AR-15 for defense, your “selector switch” most likely have two modes to it: “Safe” and “Semi-Automatic”
But there are options…
In fact, in my 10 years in the U.S. Army, I’ve seen the evolution between different “select-fire” modes as the military experimented with how to best support a soldier’s ability to win on the battlefield.
These include:
- Semi-Automatic: One trigger pull, one shot. Simple as that.
- Burst: Three rounds, quick as a hiccup, and then you’re back to square one.
- Full Auto: The gun won’t stop till you do. Or your magazine runs out.
So, which one is the golden ticket?
Spoiler Alert: One size never “fits all” when it comes to bringing the heat.
The real magic is in knowing WHEN to use WHICH setting…
“Semi-Auto” Mode:
Your Practical “Grandmother” Of Select-Fire Who Knows Better Than You!
Like that big stack of grocery coupons your Mimi Num-Nums use to keep on the kitchen counter, “semi-automatic” will help you save big-time on precious ammo.
With no firearm or ammo stores available, you need to make every round count, right?
(Yes “aiming” matters, Warrior… and so does conserving ammo!)
With semi-auto selected, you’re not lighting up the Fourth of July; you’re taking precise shots.
This is perfect for when you need to pick off threats from a distance, especially if your target is more than 150 meters away.
It lacks the Hollywood glamor, but it’ll keep you alive and extend the life of your finite ammo pile.
“Burst” Mode:
That “Middle Child” No One Really Understands
Picture this:
You’re on foot, approaching your objective with your team spaced at 5-10 meter intervals, methodically covering each others’ movement as you take turns bounding closer and closer to your destination.
Suddenly you’re spotted and start coming under fire.
You’re not as close as you had planned on getting before you made contact, so you don’t want to go “full-auto” and start tossing your ammunition like confetti at a New Year’s Eve party.
This is where a short 3-round burst can offer a smidge of suppression fire to allow you or your teammates to get to a better position without blowing through your entire magazine.
It’s these types of active-offense maneuvers – ones where you have intel, and can somewhat control space and time – that the military switched from “automatic” to “3-round burst”.
The thought was that it would offer a compromise between semi-auto’s ammo conservation and full auto’s continuous rapid fire.
But let me make this very clear…
In the military, we often had team members with fully-automatic, belt-fed machine guns, strategically-placed to provide cover fire.
In other words, burst mode wasn’t necessarily needed and was a good example of “too much” for accurate shot-placement… and “not enough” for effective suppression.
In fact, in every team I ever led, trained with, and fought with – we almost never used burst mode.
Overall (in my humble experience), burst is unnecessary for civilians armed with an AR-15 loaded out for SHTF survival.
Which brings us to…
“Full Auto” Mode:
The Crazy Cousin Your Family Just Rolls It’s Eyes At!
I have to admit…
I used to sneer at “full-auto”… until I was neck-deep in urban warfare – and then… light bulb moment!
You’re the point man, walking into the unknown… and you stumble into a pre-planned enemy ambush as they rain down on your with a hail of bullets…
You turn a corner of a building and come face-to-face with an armed trespasser coming for your goods, as he raises his weapon…
You’re about to bust through a door to clear a room and have no idea what awaits you on the other side…
When you don’t have time to react – or you don’t even know where the enemy is or what they have in store for you, with bullets zipping past your ears – this is not the time for aiming and single shots.
Sometimes, the situation is so touchy – so chaotic – that your survival instincts will scream, “Unleash Holy hell!”
And that’s exactly what full-auto does.
In fact, in most situations in combat where time and distance were extremely short, this was the default select-fire position we’d have our rifles in.
- When taking fire and an attacker’s position is unclear, shooting full-auto can help pin down the general area you think it’s coming from, buying you time to spot the threat while keeping your head down or allowing team members to move to a more tactically advantageous position.
- In an ambush, going “full-auto” wins you some breathing space, throwing a kink in the enemy’s plan and providing some immediate suppressive fire to disrupt their aim.
- In close-quarters battle, where targets can appear with no warning at “bad breath” range, there won’t be time for precision shot-placement – so spraying your attacker with an explosive barrage of bullets may be the only thing that keeps you alive.
That’s why we had a saying, “When in doubt, empty the magazine!”
You may only get that one shot to save your life.
Do You REALLY Need The Option To Go “Guns-A-Blazin'”?!
It’s The “Pineapple Pizza” Of Your SHTF Firearms Arsenal – Not For Everyone… But SOOOOO Delicious For The Warriors Who “Get It”!
I totally get it that having the option of a fully-automatic select-fire rifle is a divisive and controversial topic.
But it has its place under the right conditions – especially in a SHTF scenario against the predatory looters and gangs that will put their crosshairs on you, your family, and your supplies.
Yeah, it can be pricey to upgrade your AR (or AK-47 if you have one) to become a fully-automatic “select-fire” weapon and for most people, requires a special government permission slip that will also put you on Big Brother’s radar…
… but being “prepared” is not a half-measure game!
Upgrading (legally) to full-auto prior to a collapse scenario is complex… but it is achievable.
You don’t need to be a gunsmith to transform your current AR or AK platform to a full-auto survival tool and there are plans available that can show you how to do it even if you’re like me and can’t even build a birdhouse with popsicle sticks.
Prefer to add home made devices to prepare for any invasion. Know-how and how to use are highly immportant. Knowledge of chemicals and what they will do can make the difference or at least a big difference in how everything plays out.
And remember, when all Hell breaks out, are you really going to worry about what is legal or not???
Jeff, Living a little dangerously, by giving out this info, to people who don’t really know how to handle “full auto”.. careful!!!
Well Henry, I do not know about you, but when I served in the Army back in the 80’s, my best friend was the M16 Semi and full Auto.
I was taught how and when to use full auto. I am sure there are many people on here, that do know how to handle full auto then not!
I trust Jeff, with any and all information/training!
Few have had the military experience we have and I see people in ranges with full auto weapons often and half their mag will end up in the ceiling or sky. Just my two cents on this.
My military was a little earlier, M-1 Garand, Grease Gun for full auto. or B A R.
Read my comment a little further up. Those take some studying.
I don’t exactly get people who always think or feel that only “some people” should have this or that. Anyone can be taught or learn. Many people if not most who enter the military or law enforcement have had no previous experience with firearms or self-defense or knew anything that they were taught to qualify for their job.
This was why the company that manufactured the Daisy air rifle created the “Quick Kill” shooting program which was also marketed as “Quick Skill” to the civilian market. Soldiers actually used the Red Ryder BB rifle to develop shooting skills and later they used paintguns (paintball guns, Markers).
So, if soldiers can earn with BB rifles and paintguns, then civilians can certainly learn with actual firearms. Why are there people who always think that civilians can’t do things when every professional, every soldier, every law enforcement agent comes from the civilian population?
Partisans and resistance fighters have existed ever since man started engaging in war. And if the SHTF I think all the egocentric behaviors will fly out the window and all that will matter is having useful gear and being as knowledgeable and skilled as anyone can be.
Why not just add a “bump stock”, was deemed legal by the Supreme Court a couple of yrs ago.. Still can get them….Semper Fi
all that is pretty simple. one small problem…possession of any part/s that are or can convert any semi, to full auto, is illegal. so the only way to legally do this is to obtain the parts and do the swap ‘after shtf’ when we won’t too much care about the unconstitutional laws they have put on the books.
For sure, the law is crystal clear on this and you absolutely should NOT create or own any conversion kit and stick it in a big red box labeled, “AR15 Conversion Kit”. 🙂 We are definitely talking “SHTF Mode”, which is the only time you would ever need it anyways (see article above… and damn, I wish I could engrave “SHTF Mode” on my receiver’s select fire area! hahahaha). Thanks for mentioning this Mike!
You can do the same thing by putting a rubber band around the magazine housing hooking the ends around the trigger.
Of course, then you have to push forward on the trigger until you want it to fire.(?)
Well Jeff, the gestapo has already shut your link off so we can’t access it. You are going to have to figure something else out to do an end run around them!!!
McAfee is just saying that it’s suspicious. You should be able to bypass that warning.