In an effort to contribute, I'll offer this.
A SHTF rifle is a rifle that would presumably be used to fire at other people who also have rifles in a situation of societal collapse. And it will likely happen within 200 yards.
To accomplish that, the rifle, and you, need to have the following characteristics:
1--It's gotta be reliable. Not mostly reliable. Absolutely reliable, no matter what. Part of reliability is that it should be made of parts that won't break and are assembled in a way to eliminate the likelihood that it will fail.
2--You need to be able to see what you're shooting at. If you're going to encounter bad guys doing bad things, the likelihood of you encountering them in the dark is very, very high. A fighting rifle should have illumination. Preferably illumination with more throw than spill. I like mine as close to 12 o'clock as I can get it.
3--Once you can see it you need to be able to discriminate if you should shoot it or not. Societal collapse involves lots of good guys and bad guys all mixed in together, or folks that move freely between those two and look like each other. Or folks that are partially obscured behind cover or concealment. Magnified optics are great for that. Good optics are very reliable and work even without batteries. 4x on the top end would be good, 6x or 8x would be better. The low end being very low is more important than having 6x or 8x. A generous field of view and very generous eye box are more important than high end magnification. Set it up to work from 25-100 all the time from any position, and build up from there.
4--You need to be able to retain it. That nonsense in Kenosha brings that out. A sling isn't optional. I prefer an adjustable two point sling. I like the Magpul.
5--It needs to be "accurate". This is the bottom of the list. SHTF scenarios would theoretically be mostly defensive in nature. As such, a shot anywhere on a person, or likely even real close to a person, would be enough to stop them. As much as we don't want to admit it, a 3MOA rifle would be more than accurate enough for defensive purposes. By that, I mean 3MOA on demand from field positions. Accuracy is a function of the rifle and shooter. This is the thing we obsess over the most, which is probably the least important. We should probably obsess more on our field shooting than our rifle's accuracy potential.
6--It should be reasonably portable. 16" guns can work. Shorter is more better.
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Everything else, IMO, is lagniappe. I want a reliable rifle, with a sight and light that lets me see what I'm shooting at, that I can keep with me, that I can use to hit a 6" target at 200 yards.
Good post. Not sure why the OP is harping on group size.lol
