End of the world question

[RRocket]

I live in visual sight of not one, but TWO nuclear power plants. So I've always had a very well stocked "Go bag" just in case. I recall the mayhem and barbarism during natural disasters in the US. So my bag has shelter, emergency food, water purification, cooking,firestarter, etc etc

As pointed out, a firearm would likely be necessary. This one has always been a paradox of weight of ammo vs effectiveness. 10 boxes of 12g weighs over 25lbs for example.A .410 weighs half that. 5 00 pellets vs 8 in a 12g shell. Plus a .410 slug flies with the force of a 44 magnum. So it provides ample "oomph" for hunting or defense. You'd probably not find replacement ammo once your cache is depleted though.

A 10/22 is fantastic as Fob pointed out! Though I prefer the 22WMR. Almost no penalty in weight, but a massive upgrade in power. A pistol round (9mm) carbine or pistol round lever action rifle would also be very good. The ultimate one firearm solution would be rifle/shotgun combo. They come in 223/12g down to 22WMR/410 and they fold in half and fit in a backpack. I'd go with the smaller calibers due to weight and packability.

My preferred options would be different if I was staying put vs on the move. If you're in a remote area, stay put might be better. Otherwise, if you're near any sort of population you'd likely want to move....