Kim’s preference for the AKM is mentioned and I find no reason to argue against his thinking. He also mentioned that he couldn’t imagine a scenario where he carried more than 2x 20 round magazines. [I’m not sure if he was counting the one in the gun or meant a loaded gun and 2x20r reloads.] This got me thinking about load outs. My civilian set up is as follows:
Pistol belt with 2x 30rd AR mags and 1x glock mag. Also a medical kit. This sits near my bed and the AR. While not exactly readily concealable (it has a Safariland holster for a Glock with a light on it) this set up is fairly low profile. Also it is light enough I could reasonably see myself wearing it for prolonged periods of time. I have a hard time seeing a situation where Ryan the boring civilian needs more than that. Still I do have a chest rig which has 4x AR mags, 1x Glock mag and some other stuff on it that could be added. More likely I could see using one or the other, not both, but the capability is there. If people want I can do photos and talk about these set ups down the road.
Anyway if we are being even semi realistic and looking at actual events that happen not some Red Dawn fantasy stuff I think 3 mags is going to be plenty. Honestly probably 2.5 more mags than I need but hey, things happen. For me 3 total mags is a balance between having enough ammo and avoiding unnecessary weight which I am very unlikely to need. In the very unlikely event I am legitimately going to need to carry more ammo than that I’ll likely see it coming and certainly have the 20 minutes to dig around in the basement, pull out a 7-8 mag chest rig from work and load mags for it. YMMV.
Also the comments section inevitably had someone say a rifle had no role in an SHTF situation because you would be shot or arrested for carrying it around. While not wrong this is a pretty narrow issue. Things would have to break pretty bad for folks to be walking around town with long guns all the time. If walking around is a concern I would have a plan to conceal my rifle. An SBR or AK with a folding stock in an el cheapo lawn chair bag strapped to a backpack is fairly discrete.
At the same time long guns, and I would submit (profile/ image aside) military pattern rifles are king here, can definitely have a role in some realistic situations. From Roof Koreans to the good ole You Loot We Shoot Boys a bunch of dudes watching their homes/ businesses with long guns definitely says “pick someone else” to bad guys.