After applying my stated criteria to all the fighting long guns prevalent in my area, it really comes down to the AR-15 or the AK-47. When you factor in the military long gun of choice, the AR-15 pulls way ahead (ammunition and spare parts).

I don’t think any realist can argue that the AR is superior when it comes to reliability, and durability compared to an AK. As a person that takes no joy in cleaning or maintaining firearms (it a chore that need to be done), the AK still tops the AR platform. Then I thought what good are those superiorities when you don’t have bullets available to shoot? And even an AK will break down sometime in the future, and where will I get parts then?

My concerns with the AR-15 and maintenance is that amount of moving parts and their sizes (where’s my ejector spring?) along with the trend of lighter and shorter barrels. I realize that you don’t need to do a complete tear down very often for a normal cleaning, but this is the Apocalypse firearm where talking about. Sooner or later it will happen. And shorter barrels are great for urban combat, but at the expense of decreased accuracy at longer ranges. How many of you see yourselves fighting close up in an urban environment after the Apocalypse? I can’t begin to express how much I HATE urban combat or combat in cities.

Another thing I’m wondering about, how many people are still proficient with iron sights? What happens when you bump/drop/bang that top of the line scope into uselessness or your batteries run out? Do you then learn how to shoot using iron sights? Do you expect your target to be at such great range that you’ll need scopes to engage? Or is it to supplement weak eye sight?

I would shy away from any accessories that where not mechanical (larger charging handle, free floating handguards, etc.) or anything that required batteries. I really do subscribe to the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) theory and try to keep points of failure to a minimum.