Back to the topic. When do we need a long gun?? Do we need one if our vehicle broke down on a rural road and we’re trying to walk to help? Probably not, but are we comfortable leaving it in the vehicle? That also depends. It depends on if you have it in something like a Truck Safe, and what the overall situation is like. If we know it’s only about 10 miles back to somewhere we can get some help then it might be better to leave the rifle and haul ass to a known destination. It’s about probabilities and in this situation, stateside, it’s probably best to leave the long gun. Even with a longer distance (for you truly rural folks) I don't think it changes much.

If the exact same situation happened in Iraq or Afghanistan, you can bet the long gun is coming with. Talking to some coworkers last night we went over every situation we knew of where people had to un-ass a vehicle and most said that at the time they were worried about just getting out and grabbing ANYTHING was second on the priority list. Several made mention of grabbing their bags but burning everything else (including belt feds) in place. I’m not saying if any of these actions are right or wrong only that the situation dictates what we’re going to do.

Another situation might be some kind of natural disaster. For this situation let’s assume we’re ahead of the power curve and a disaster is pending, but hasn’t occurred yet. Some examples might be hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, etc. Often times the routes from a city to a more rural area become clogged. We might just need to make it from our home or business to another “better” location. In this situation we will probably encounter many more people, both good and bad.

Again, is the long gun necessary? Maybe not yet, but I probably wouldn’t want to leave all my guns to be burned in a fire. I’d like to think that even if I don’t need the rifle right now, it might be the only chance I have to keep possession of one.

The next logical “threat” would be the same situations above, but, for whatever reason, we’re in the thick of it or post disaster. Think hurricane Katrina or some of the looting I’ve seen in the Midwest post tornado. In this situation we can expect more social unrest, historically meaning people become more desperate and predatory. Do we need a long gun?? If I’m moving through an area full of people capable of horrible acts for their own self preservation I’m probably even more inclined to move as quickly as possible. I don’t think provoking any actions from people in this type of situation is advisable. What I mean by provoking is giving them any reason (in their eyes) to interact with you. Moving as quickly and quietly as possible seems to, again, be the best answer.

I’m going to stop there because any situations we come up with past this are probably not based on history and might seem a bit “far off” for some. I think the examples we’ve chosen are somewhat realistic and if we discuss these events we probably can get some decent ideas for “end of the world, social breakdown, zombies, et al."

So what are our choices?? Leave the long gun, hide the long gun, take the long gun but have it concealed, take the long gun and look like you’re ready for a fight? Anything else?