Just a quick addition to the previous post, I have purchased gas masks and body armor and added them to my kit. The gas masks can be purhased through cheaperthandirt.com for about 10 bucks. I recommend the Finnish model as the filter is on the side so you can aim down your rifle sights. If you don't have a rifle, the cheaper one with the double filters works great. It also comes with a carrying bag which is pretty cool. As for the body armor, you're gonna need to check your local laws as to what you can buy, if at all. Most companies will not sell them to you unless you're military or law enforcement. Do not purchase a flack jacket! These are not body armor, they are strictly to minimize injuries from schrapnel.
I've decided to give guns their own separate post. Due to the fact that I could talk about them all day. My primary rifle is a Bushmaster M4, 16 inch barrel, New York legal version. Being a New Yorker I'm a bit more limited as to what I can own. This means that all my magazines are pre-ban (manufactured before the the 1994 federal assault weapons ban) otherwise I need to keep them under ten rounds. No collapsible stocks, no bayonet, and no grenade launchers. (Damn) The Bushmaster is basically a semi-auto version of the AR-15 that is used by the military. The only real difference on a civilian level between that and the M16 is barrel length. Many would argue that this rifle is unreliable, I disagree, at least it hasn't been since the late 60's. Many would also recommend the AK-47, due to the fact that it will fire no matter how dirty it is. This is a sound argument, but there is a reason the Ar-15 has a dust cover. With precision comes accuracy, but precision means very tight clearances. So if you cant keep your rifle clean, you cant trust an AR. I would say that if you want a budget assault rifle that will fire no matter what, go with the AK, but make sure you buy a quality version. This means a milled receiver, instead of stamped. Go with a Mac-90, Chinese manufacture, but if you have the cash, Russian is always best. I owned a Mac-90, it was fun to shoot but I could never get a grouping better than 2 feet at 100 yards. Also, with the bigger punch of the 762/39 round, you have to deal with the added weight of ammo. I will always prefer better accuracy, especially since as long as I take care of my rifle, it will always fire.
As for accessories, it is really to each his own, my gun is set up to run squarely within the 100 yard mark, as my eyesight doesn't allow for much else. For an apocalyptic scenario this will hopefully be enough. The main things you need first are an optic and backup iron sights. Most rifles come with iron sights right off the shelf. I use a solid sight in the front and a flip up in the rear. Got my flip up from midwest industries out of US Cavalry. My main optic is an Aimpoint Comp3 red dot. This is on par with military standards, the Comp4 is out, but it'll run you about 800 bucks. Many of the other things I use are really just a comfort thing, and are gonna take some trial and error.
