I've been thinking since the election that, although I'm optimistic about our 2A rights in the long run, and have no plans to give up my AR's, I still want to have one or two alternative long guns on the outside possibility that--due to bans, ammo, restricted mags, or whatever--AR's could become completely illegal, or hard to get, hard to fix or replace parts, or impossible to get ammo or mags for.

So, if you HAD to replace your AR's or get by without them for awhile, what would be some of the best alternate or backup long gun configurations to keep on hand?

Would any of the following configurations be useful? Other ideas?

* A lightweight bolt gun chambered in 5.56 if possible (not just .223), with a shorter barrel, and 1:9, 1:8, or 1:7 twist, so that you can use it to shoot ALL your stash of AR ammo. Detachable mag preferred. Downsides? Bolt action is slow. Light barrel heats up quickly. Cheap mag systems (example: Savage) aren't reliable. Hard to fire from awkward positions. Upsides? Lightweight, some affordable options out there (Tikka, Savage, Remington).

* Similarly, some kind of lightweight bolt gun in 7.62, shorter barreled. Detachable mag preferred. Similar pro/cons to the 5.56 bolt gun, except it's a larger caliber and penetration.

* A pump-action rifle, say a Remington 7600, chambered in .308 and using a detachable mag. Never tried one, but have heard these can be reliable and fast to shoot. And there are a few places that will customize them quite a bit.

* A lever action rifle in a common magnum pistol caliber (so that it's easy to get ammo, and so it can be shared with a pistol). Examples: .357, .44. Get one with a 9 or 10-shot tube, like a Marlin Cowboy or a Puma. Advantages are: higher cap than most bolt actions, faster than bolt actions, can be fired from awkward positions. Disadvantages are: pistol calibers are weaker, slow on the reloads, ammo is expensive to get the high-powered stuff.


Is the lever action probably the BEST of these backup options, given that it is probably fastest and you can get one that will hold 9 or 10 rounds?