Armed to the Teeth

[CAnnoneer]

Another thread got me thinking what each of us defines as "armed to the teeth". I'd feel armed to the teeth when I simultaneously satisfy all the conditions below:

1) carry three handguns in separate holsters (two full size and one smallie)
2) carry one submachine gun
3) have two rifles (one assault, one sniper)
4) carry a machete, a ka-bar, and a boui
5) carry 5 frag grenades, 2 flash, and 2 incendiary
6) have 10 pounds of C4 plus detonators
7) have a nickel-plated toothpick to be used as a stabbing weapon
8) have a PAW/RPG
9) protrude my head only above teeth level from the hatch of an M1A1 Abrams I am riding.

Then I can safely consider myself "armed to the teeth". I wonder what the antis would call me. "Freak" perhaps?

 

[Preacherman]

I simply take out my dentures and place them in my range bag or my rifle case - then I'm literally "armed to the teeth".

 

[beerslurpy]

I dont think the guy from Doom had that many weapons at once. He was probably carrying more ammo, but I think you could probably lose a few pistols and most of the long guns.

 

[Mulliga]

Hmm. You should have as many guns and stuff as possible, but not to the point where it slows you down.

"Armed to the teeth" to me means:
Carbine (AK or AR) with plenty of spare mags
Full-size pistol (Gov't 1911 or Wondernine)
BUG (probably a small revolver)
.22 autoloader pistol (for small game and emergency defense when out of centerfire ammo)
Full-size fixed blade
Folder

and a backpack to hold miscellaneous stuff in.

 

[Werewolf]

Armed to the teeth means - to me at least - being armed with what one can reasonably carry and still function at a physical level such that one can respond with a minimally reduced amount of speed and strength.

Much of what I'd carry to be considered armed to the teeth is illegal but here's the list anyway.

For just general walk around in a non-TEOTWAWKI situation:

Sig P220
Bowie Knife
S&W 638 BUG

TEOTWAWKI (Think the PC game Fallout)

.45 ACP Semi-auto pistol (Sig or 1911) in a tanker style shoulder rig
A .308 battle rifle (FAL or M1A - modified to be switch selected full auto or semi-auto)
>40 caliber Derringer in a rapid deploy wrist mount
.38/.357 snubbie BUG (pocket or ankle carry)
Bowie knife
Katana or Bastard Blade
2 or 3 anti-personnel grenades
1 to 3 smoke grenades
1 flashbang
Night Vision Goggles
Suitable carry gear for the above

I'd really like to fit a shotgun in there but the above is probably more than a man can carry and fight with anyway so I chose rifle over shotgun as it has more utility.

Grenades are heavy - might have to adjust quantities
Need at least 3 mags of ammo for each of the firearms.

That's a traveling set of weapons. For community walk about in a TEOTWAWKI situation a shotgun, pistol and sword should cover any forseeable requirement.

 

[Biker]

Generally speaking, when I carry my Taurus 450 on my left ankle, my G23 in a Sparks Summer Special, my AMT 380 Backup in my left hip pocket and my Gerber Mark 2 on my right hip, I'm armed to my bottom molars. If I wanna go higher, I gotta throw in my 870 slug-gun or my Bushmaster.
I feel pretty comfortable at the bottom molar level.....
Biker

 

[Janitor]

All I want to know is ...

...

1) carry three handguns in separate holsters (two full size and one smallie)

Why is the third handgun a "smallie"?

 

[Lobotomy Boy]

Why would you want so many handguns? In a SHTF situation a handgun would be a defense weapon of last resort. I'd want:

1. Pistol-grip .12-ga shotgun home defense gun with either no buttstock or a collapsible buttstock.

2. Carbine of some sort, the lighter, the better. AK, AR, Marlin .30-30, or some such.

3. Back-up handgun. I'd use my Glock 26, but would prefer a 30.

4. Portable fishing rod and small tacklbox.

You might think you'd be living in some sort of video-game landscape where you're constantly kicking down doors and blowing away roomsfull of people, but the reality is that you'd do your best to avoid those people and would spend most of your time foraging for potable water and food. That would make a mighty boring video game, but it is a more likely scenario.

 

[Control Group]

Interesting. It's probably futile to try and provide a strict definition for such an idiomatic phrase, but here goes. I'd say there are 4 criteria you have to meet to qualify as being "armed to the teeth." In no particular order:

1) You must be able to project force offensively, not just defensively. This means decent stand-off capability, so at least one long gun is pretty much required.
2) You must be better armed than and reliably able to deal with any threat which the environment may reasonably provide.
3) You must be able to reasonably arm another person out of what you're carrying without materially worsening your own combat effectiveness. This means two pistols is a must, since you have to have a pistol for yourself to meet #4:
4) You must be armed in depth. Carrying three rifles is carrying a lot of rifles, but it isn't armed to the teeth. If a situation presents itself such that the rifle is unsuitable (badly injured arm, for example), you're out of luck. At minimum, you need a rifle for distance, a pistol for close-in defense, and a good knife for desperate measures.

So "armed to the teeth" will depend somewhat on your situation. For walking down the street of an afternoon in Normal City, USA, if you were carrying an EBR, two pistols, and two quality combat knives, you'd qualify as "armed to the teeth" (albeit minimally).

 

[CAnnoneer]

Why is the third handgun a "smallie"?

Heh. Because you always have to have a surprise factor as needed. Think a holdout on a forearm rail, Alien Resurrection style. Just when the scumbags think you are out of ammo with everything...

And yes, mobility is an important practical consideration but was not part of the original setup question. If I have to be mobile, I'll probably never feel "armed to the teeth".

 

[mbs357]

7) have a nickel-plated toothpick to be used as a stabbing weapon

I'd buy one of those.

 

[thorn726]

what about electronics?

I simply take out my dentures and place them in my range bag or my rifle case - then I'm literally "armed to the teeth".

hahahahahahahaha

i have to say the 3rd gun seems like extra weight- i mena if you got a rifle as primary, a back up pistol in belt, a small ankle pistol should do it, no?

i want NIGHT VISION to be fully armed.
also a radio scanner, possibly something that detects electronic activity,
some tiny wireless cameras , and a laptop.

 

[Tokugawa]

What's with this sword business? The guys I have known who went up against sword wielding Japanese found M-1's and Browning MG's made the swords irrelevant very quickly. Actually, this was known to the Japanese in the late 1500's. If memory serves, Oda Nobunaga trashed the much vaunted force of Takeda Shingin at the battle of Nagashino using the unheard of tactic of employing a force of 3000 men armed with matchlocks.(with traditionally armed supporting troops.)

Armed to the teeth? How about a radio, target designater and a flight of F15's.

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but when I go hunting, most people would think the truck and trailer are armed to the teeth.

There's a P85 in the drivers door of the truck.
Quite often, there's my Officer's ACP in my horizontal shoulder rig while we're on the road. If we've turned off pavement, the first trip back to the trailer for a beer the the ACP get's traded for one of my Ruger 44 mags.

My partner caries a Smith59 or his Ruger Bisley 44mag.

Somewhere in the truck is each of our hunting rifles. Mine a Ruger 77 in 30-338, and his a stainless Ruger 30-06.

There might also be a Ruger MkII and a Browning Buckmark. (Our Bullseye pistols) for a Rabbit or Grouse at the side of the road.

In the trailer I've always got a backup scoped 30-06. And my brush gun, a Marlin 30-30 dubly named "Mr. Lucky". And there's still a Ruger 10-22 or two.

Oh, and I usually take my Remington Wingmaster 12ga.

Quite possibly 1500rnds of ammunition between us of various calibre.

And that's if we're just goin squirl huntin!

This year my eldest son will come with us for his first deer trip. There'll be a single shot .243 too.


As for armed to the teeth?

Isn't there an AR with 12ga/grenade launcher under? I'd want one of them.

A vest that holds several full/taped together/flip mags for the AR. Amunition for the underside of what's included on the AR. It all needs to be armor pearcing though. Maybe even some tracers.

If in foreign land, I'd switch the AR for an AK/Mac with similar features.

If playing at a distance. I'll prefer something scoped in .30 cal that's capable of accuracy at 1000yd distances, (even if I'm not).

A blade for the AR. A blade on my hip. Heavy Tanto or Straight Bowie. A pocket knife/tool.

A tacticle 1911 of .45 or 9mm on my thigh.

An Alaskan Malamute with proper training. (Heck, I'm a little guy, I need a friend to carry all this crap!)

Night vision! And X-ray eyes.

Food/water and clothing for the environment.

Liquer, to keep one's mind clear. A clear mind is the greatest tool against an adversary.

That ought to do it.

-Steve

 

[mfree]

Hrmm, to arm myself to the teeth....

1. SKS-M with quad-mag pouch, all fully loaded (makes for a total of 150 rounds on person), maybe a box or 3 for another 60

2. CZ-75 Compact with another 4 magazines (10+1 plus 4x14 = 67 rounds)

3. Some smallish .22 I don't have yet and a brick (small game hunting and general use)... possibly my P22 for size/weight

4. old faithful in my pocket (S&W 432 with 2 speedloaders full, 18rds)

Along with a small leatherman, my usual 3" folder, and a rather nice filet knife. I have a "thinline" machete but it's not handy and brush isn't that thick here. If we're talking survival stuff then a reguler roll of monofilament and a little tin box (like altoids) with hooks/sinkers/floats.