Ruger 10/22 SHTF rifle

[Euclidean]

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.

 

[Buzztail]

Oh, and not to pick on you, but 700rd of .22 doesn't begin to approach stockpile *grin*!

-MV

True, I'd feel nekkid with less than ten thousand rounds on hand. There may very well be 700 rounds loose in the floorboard of one of my trucks . I was at a friends house preparing for a small game hunt yesterday when he and his Father started wondering where THE box of 22 ammo was I slipped in and said, "I got you guys covered. I have a couple of bricks of Super-X in my Dodge, go grab some."

 

[powderbrass]

HEHEHEHE, SHTF threads are so funny sometimes

If and only if I had to use the old Stevens/Savage .22 rifle of mine I would, but the Mosin M44 or the Taurus 9mm are my other 2 options and definately would be utilized first. The .22 as an extreme last resort option. Its amazing what peoples SHTF interpertations are. In my mind, the SHTF when I have an uninvited guest in my place at 2am trying to steal the TV or something. You guys go off on nuclear winter wastelands full of zombies and rabid monkeys running amuck LMAO

FWIW, some form of a firearm, even a .22 of some flavor is better than nothing at all and if the need presented itself, I would not hesistate to throw as many .22's as needed someones way.

I would prefer it to be a slightly larger piece of lead though and perhaps a bit louder

Hopefully I can get that 12 guage mossberg shotty at the end of the week I have in layaway so I can have that too for just in case. That is definately a larger piece of lead with a slug in the pipe and would make a bit more noise I would think

Hehehe. That's funny. I agree, though. A .22 IS better than nothing at all. 10 rapid rounds of .22LR to the face or anywhere around the head/neck area will probably stop just about anyone, if needed. If the S did HTF, I wouldn't be afraid to use my .22, but I also have a Winchester 70 in 30-06 that might be called upon, as well, although I have about 1800 rounds of .22 compared to about 50 rounds of 30-06. Hmmm. I'd have to stay with the .22LR.

 

[420Stainless]

The only reason I would consider the 10/22 a reasonable choice for a defensive weapon would be that you could, and probably would need to, hit someone with 10 well placed shots in a couple seconds with it. I have one and love it, but it is not kept at the ready for defensive purposes, and would be left behind if I had to leave the house with a few weapons under hostile conditions.

It would be handy in wilderness survival situations or for sneak attacks in some SHTF scenarios though.

 

[jeremywills]

the only plus to the 10/22 is you could always buy up quite a few of the replacement/aftermarket mags, like the 25 rounders etc.... and have them always charged and at the ready. Strategically placed in several key places around your house and I can see the usefulness if you were to keep it around for a home invasion. Taking to the streets though against hordes of zombies? Doubtful

 

[Farnham]

First, Y'all are short on your zombie lore. According to my "sources," a .22 into the rotting and possibly already fractured skull of a shambling corpse will indeed make him DRT...or Dead-er Right There, anyway. Plus zombie engagement is nearly always within 25 yards, so you could put 10 rounds in his grape easy. Zombies are already mostly dead, it don't take much to push them over the rest of the way.

Second, I have no problem believing one could easily make a 10/22 a MOA rifle at 100 yards with all the bolt on, solder on, velcro on pieces and parts. Whether that little pill is carrying enough energy to do more than anger a non-zombie at that range is doubtful. Within 50 yards, I'd almost rather face some camo clad nimrod with an M44 than a girl with a tricked out, scoped, heavy barreled 10/22. He MIGHT get you, but she WILL, it's only a question of where and how many times.*

S/F

Farnham

*Granted, I'd probably have put 4 rounds of 7.62 NATO into either opponent from about 150 yards outside that range if they so much as looked at me through a scope. Use enough gun.

 

[kahr404life]

For 100 yards or less the 10/22 is not a bad choice for SHTF use. It has light weight, no recoil, very accurate, high cap mags, can store thousands of rounds in a small space. I would not want to get hit with with several .22Lr at any range . I have a 10/22 with scope and high cap mags. I can dump 30 rounds in 10-15 seconds in a very tight cluster. Would you want 30 .22Lr in your chest a 100 yards.

 

[powderbrass]

As I posted on another SHTF thread, it may be in the wee hours of the morning when I'm asleep when the S does HTF, so I along with the rifles in the above posted thread, Iwould keep a 12 Gauge for close quarters home invasion. Just a thought.

 

[Lindenberger]

SHTF IS NEAR

In my scenario, the S is shortly gonna HTF. If the Israelis are serious about the end of March being the point of no return for Iran's nuke program, it'll start flying then. Mid-east oil cut off. No trucks. China invades the Mid-east for oil, etc., etc., etc. All N.G., Reserve are called up. Cops are woefully overextended just keeping their own families fed and safe.

A 10/22 will kill you w/one well-placed shot. I've seen a .22 short go through two coats and a solar plexus to put a hole in a man's heart. He was so busy trying to catch his breath that he didn't notice he was dying, which took all of 3-4 minutes. And when the SHTF, there ain't gonna be 100-yard engagements unless you're shooting starving people pre-emptorily (which you may have to do). Most of this is gonna be 10-yard in-your-face stuff.

 

[KaceCoyote]

A .22 upper for an AR, or a .22 slide for your sidearm maybe. If I'm going to depend on 1 rifle to defend my life, its gonna be a .30 cal.

 

[gearbox]

I've never encountered a reliable 10/22. Mine's got an upgraded extractor, but it can't protect against inconsistent powder charges, chamber/bullet/case friction, wax buildup, mishappen bullets, or gummed magazines.
I wouldn't call anything reliable unless it can go over 500 rounds without a problem. Out of my 7 guns, only my SKS, GP100 and HK USP9C can lay claim to reliability.

 

[Davo]

Its sure not perfect...

But if nothing else is availible, use what youve got. I couldnt help but think as I plinked at a 500 yd target with my 10-22 that I certainly could make someone keep their heads down at that range. It would be better given to a young teen, or woman though. I do believe that a hit with one will have a negative effect on that persons morale, even if damage is minimal.
Just know its primary purpose is small game.

 

[ChairborneRanger]

A 10/22----any .22LR for that matter, is a fine small caliber firearm to keep around should you need it, however, I wouldn't necessarily consider that as my "only" SHTF firearm. If you could "only have one", I'd go with a 12 GA shotgun, then something in the AR family in .223/5.56----then, fill-in with "all around calibers" from there----9MM and/or .45 ACP &/or .357 Mag in handguns, 22LR rifle &/or revolver, something along the lines of .30-06 and/or .308 in a "larger" rifle, possibly 20 GA, etc.

 

[ChairborneRanger]

A 10/22----any .22LR for that matter, is a fine small caliber firearm to keep around should you need it, however, I wouldn't necessarily consider that as my "only" SHTF firearm. If you could "only have one", I'd go with a 12 GA shotgun, then something in the AR family in .223/5.56----then, fill-in with "all around calibers" from there----9MM and/or .45 ACP &/or .357 Mag in handguns, 22LR rifle &/or revolver, something along the lines of .30-06 and/or .308 in a "larger" rifle, possibly 20 GA, etc.

 

[ChairborneRanger]

A 10/22----any .22LR for that matter, is a fine small caliber firearm to keep around should you need it, however, I wouldn't necessarily consider that as my "only" SHTF firearm. If you could "only have one", I'd go with a 12 GA shotgun, then something in the AR family in .223/5.56----then, fill-in with "all around calibers" from there----9MM and/or .45 ACP &/or .357 Mag in handguns, 22LR rifle &/or revolver, something along the lines of .30-06 and/or .308 in a "larger" rifle, possibly 20 GA, etc.

 

[jeremywills]

What is interesting is i was at the gun show yesterday and there was a emt i got to talking to and he mentioned that single most common gunshot wound they have to respond to in his line of work is the .22, he said he has had more folks die from .22 in his experience than other any caliber. This was interesting to me, but he brought up a few good points. The .22 ammo is very cheap. The firearms themselves are very cheap for the most part and seem very plentiful and a lot of folks don't want alot of noise and recoil and all of that. It made sense actually. He said 10 or more .22's to the chest or the face is pretty nasty and he had seen that, remember this guy's line of work is showing up to people with medical emergencies and people being shot is just part of that gig. Of course this was his personal observations from his experience, others MMV depending on the situation etc...

 

[Ken824]

As my friend bridger tells me, .22 is only good for static posistions. I used to play tourny paintball and while bullets do shoot farther this is relevent. Sometimes regardless of your tactics (with your .22) You will be outgunned. What happens if someone suprises you and you get into a firefight behind cover, and you are forced to lay down suppressive fire to advance on him to get a better angle? What if somebody broke into your cabin or wherever you would be in a SHTF scenario? Regardless, I would rather an AR-15 or a shotgun rather than a .22 in that situation.

 

[Brian Williams]

Call me a Cowboy.

I really think that 10/22 is a good SHTF gun, a Cowboy combo works better for me. Give me a Marlin 1894C with either a S&W 13 or a Ruger OM Blackhawk all in 357. While I would not have 1000s of rounds available I could pack 1000s of primers in a much smaller area, lead can be found all over and can be melted over just a camp fire and a Lee loader is also fairly small.

 

[Mannlicher]

50 Cal, you can customize that lil Ruger till the cows come home, and in the end, you have a semi auto .22, nothing more.
Delusions are rampant on gunboards. Thinking that a .22 would surfice in 'hard times' is one of them.

 

[Lindenberger]

.22

50 Cal, you can customize that lil Ruger till the cows come home, and in the end, you have a semi auto .22, nothing more.
Delusions are rampant on gunboards. Thinking that a .22 would surfice in 'hard times' is one of them.

True--it's not a .30-06--but if it's all-you-got--it beats a knife; throwing rocks; three pit-bulls; your own personal aggressiveness coupled w/that intro. tae-kwan-do course of 15 years ago; or a cartridge in a pear tree.