What kind of SHTF are you talking about? Civil unrest it'll be three days before the tanks roll in here and soldiers start shooting people SHTF, or crap there was a biological terrorist attack on the highway corridor and food, etc. is going to be scarce for a while until they clean it up SHTF?
The S does HTF all the time in myriad different ways and a .22 rifle could indeed be the ideal tool, if the scenario in question is designed for it to be.
Every survival text I have ever read does suggest that a .22 rifle should be part of your arsenal, but it should stay back at camp and be used for opportunistic shots. I agree with this philosophy. I'd rather be setting traps, setting lines to catch fish, or looking for edible plants than burning energy trying to hunt down meat like a recreational hunter.
Even that is not a hard and fast rule however. Adapting to the situation may require any number of things. It's well and good to have a capable .22 rifle, but something with a little more zing to go with it makes a good situation even better.
Of course if you've a large local stray animal population, .22 rifle + one brick ammo = 550 Hot Pockets.
The S does HTF all the time in myriad different ways and a .22 rifle could indeed be the ideal tool, if the scenario in question is designed for it to be.
Every survival text I have ever read does suggest that a .22 rifle should be part of your arsenal, but it should stay back at camp and be used for opportunistic shots. I agree with this philosophy. I'd rather be setting traps, setting lines to catch fish, or looking for edible plants than burning energy trying to hunt down meat like a recreational hunter.
Even that is not a hard and fast rule however. Adapting to the situation may require any number of things. It's well and good to have a capable .22 rifle, but something with a little more zing to go with it makes a good situation even better.
Of course if you've a large local stray animal population, .22 rifle + one brick ammo = 550 Hot Pockets.