I've been looking around and I've begun to realize that 7.62x54R is not only significantly cheaper than .223, it's cheaper even than 7.62x39. Not too hard to get a PSL these days either. With ten round mags, significant felt recoil and a pretty decent amount of bulk, I wouldn't suggest it as a go-to gun right away, but I'm beginning to think it might be one of those things everyone should have "just in case." The way things are going right now, not everyone can afford to stock up on .223. 54R is downright cheap! (And it should be more than enough to satiate the people who whine about .22LR not having enough knock-down power!)

My go-to-gun is an AKS-74u Krinkov w/ a T-1.  Small rifle for CQ and it yields head shot potential out to 100 yards.  I payed 11 cents a round for Bulgy surplus 5.45x39, which has a soft steel core.  My stash is a bit low right now, but im still above 11k.  The rifles performs perfectly w/ a T-1 and fast shot placement is there.

1.The PSL is a very long rifle w/ a bit of wt to it.  
2.Its not as accurate as most other long rifle snipers.
3.10rd mags max
4.EXPENSIVE mags
5.Recoil manageable, but im not a small guy.
6.Corrosive ammo, just like my 5.45 surplus


Do i disagree w/ you??  Hell NO, I will own one eventually and stop using my friend's.  I love these rifles, but it wont be my go rifle

my thinking as well. I traded a DPMS M4 for one today at my local shop. I cant wait to get her home. 54r ammo is cheap, super cheap! I know the gun is long and a little heavy but just think of all the old timers that had to carry a garand. That was a heavy and long rifle with limited ammo cap. And it was and still is one hellva rifle. Trust me when the SHTF and you need knock down power and you need a good cheap stock pile of it the 7.62x54R is damn near unbeatable. I still have one M4 for mid range a pistol for short range and now the PSL for long range. with a few mods I think this very well could be a go to gun.

If you want to stockpile mountains of ammo, get something that can use 7.62 x 25...
That stuff is cheap right now.

If you ever need to shoot through stuff, it's a great round. I wish there were more options in terms of rifles.

This.  
Various Mosins, $$$$ lever action Winchester 1895 muskets, SVT40, PSL, $$$ Dragunov, $$$$$$ semi Dp-27 and  Maxim/PKM/SG43 belt feds.
The SVT & PSL being the best bet.  Mosins work but too low ammo supply & too slow, though a 91-30 with bayonet would at least make a damn good club/spear.  Pin the zed against the wall while you reload.....the M44 + bayonet being a bit too short to keep them out of reach.  The semi beltfeds would work just fine for static defense but the $$$$$ buy in cost defeats the advantage of cheap ammo.

As cheap as Moisin M44's are, buy two and get someone to reload for you!