22 Magnum as a survival rifle?

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Not a bad choice at all. .22 lr is great, .22 WMR is fantastic as a survival round. Gives 50 more yards range, and hits harder.
My friend's Grandfather used a .22 lr bolt action and 2 handfuls of shells to feed his family poaching does in the 1930's in northeastern Wisconsin. He was a woodsman, shots under 50 yards. The extra 50 yards gives you a chance.
 
Well, the vagueness is intentional. In a survival situation, you don't necessarily know the circumstances or for how long, right?
That's why the question needs further clarification. It's like asking "what's the best vehicle?", and then leaving it at that without further clarification. Best for what? Are we "surviving" in the Amazon swamps because we got lost? Are we surviving in the Arctic because our bush plane crashed? Are we surviving an invasion by the Australians? Surviving the Yellowstone super volcano? There's no one size fits all.
 
That's why the question needs further clarification. It's like asking "what's the best vehicle?", and then leaving it at that without further clarification. Best for what? Are we "surviving" in the Amazon swamps because we got lost? Are we surviving in the Arctic because our bush plane crashed? Are we surviving an invasion by the Australians? Surviving the Yellowstone super volcano? There's no one size fits all.

OK, so to be more specific, lets say you were fleeing your igloo because the Arctic Circle has been invaded by the Australians. Somewhere between the North Pole your bug out camp deep in the Amazon, your plane was hit with falling debris from the actively erupting Yellowstone Super Volcano, and you must make the rest of the trip on foot.
 
If we’re truly talking survival where supplies are consumables, I think you’d serve to benefit from bow hunting.

And don’t laugh, blow guns as well are very effective on small game. I bought one to mess around. It turned out to be a seriously formidable small game weapon. I can hit quarter size targets reliably within stalking distance of a squirrel.

Beyond that, I’d like a big game/defense rifle like a 30-06.

There’s a reason these primitive hunting methods were used even after industrialization
 
The old Marlin Midget Magnum bolt action 22 WMR, would be a fine choice of a get home rifle. 5 shot magazine and a simple take down design. I would love for one of the manufactures come out with a new version, with a few improvements. Stainless steel construction, rear peep sight, polymer stock with hollow cavity, threaded barrel, sling swivels, and possibly several 10 shot magazines.
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Dang... I really LIKE that gun! :):cool:

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I have a lot of respect for the old .22 magnum, especially from a rifle. Ammo is a little expensive, but with good shot placement it would be easy to bring down a deer or a human if need be. We tested a lot of loads in ballistic gel about 7 years ago & the best all around load was the tried and proven Winchester 40 gr. jsp. It's too bad that they all decided to download it from it's original 2,000 fps to 1875 fps or so.
 
If it comes to that, and if I choose something other than a takedown 22LR (either Browning or Ruger), then I won't be choosing a 22Mag, primarily because of long term ammo availability. I'd choose my 7.5" pistol 223 AR. Compact, a little over 5#, and in that case, ain't likely to be someone around to care if I "shoulder" the brace for better aim. And next to 22LR, no ammo will be easier to replenish in the US than 223/556.
 
I always thought the Circuit Judge would make a nice general purpose or survival firearm. Between bird shot, buck shot and 45 Colt you can handle most hunting and SD situations up to 100 - 150 yards away.

Once my budget allows I should get one
 
For TEOTWAWKI 22 mag wouldn't be my choice, that hands down is gonna be 5.56, 9mm and 22LR territory. But for lost in the woods 22 mag would be good in fact make it the top barrel of a Savage 24 the other being 20g and IMHO you have the near perfect survive the woods gun.

I'm not gonna disagree with you on any of your points.

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Only thing i do not like about the 22 mag as a survival rifle is the rimfire part. Not as reliable as centerfire. Too many times i had rimfires in a back pack and the rounds would not go of from duds from primer not igniting.

And i have found old ammo that has been 10-15 years old and they worked fine.

i have a box of 22lr ammo that has been in my truck for over a year. I can bet money on some will not ignite. I can do the same with centerfire cartridges and they would ignite.
 
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If we’re truly talking survival where supplies are consumables, I think you’d serve to benefit from bow hunting.

And don’t laugh, blow guns as well are very effective on small game.

I’m thinking a fishing pole would be somewhat beneficial. Give you something to do while your sticking around a watering hole waiting for something to shoot.

I’m with the Savage 24 guys on this one. A bit heavier and longer than some of the other choices but does give you a rimfire and a shotgun that works much better on flying animals with shot and larger game with slugs of buckshot.

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I've always thought a .22 mag is darned near the perfect woods survival gun, and could certainly serve as a SHTF gun too. I think I'd rather take my chances carrying 1000 rounds of .22 mag with me than the same weight of 5.56 and hoping I'd be lucky enough to scrounge up more. Because just about everybody else is also going to be trying to scrounge more .223/5.56 I think a less common round has it's advantages as long as you start out with a good supply.
 
I really like the .22 WMR. I had a Savage 24 in .22 WMR over a 20 gauge for a lot of years and it took a fair number of squirrels. And it was a great companion rifle to a Single Six with a .22 WMR cylinder. I don't still have the Savage, but I do still have the Single Six, and a 77/22 in .22 WMR.

But how about the .357 mag as an alternative? A 77/357 is a handy bolt action if the action is critical, but the cartridge is also available in lever actions and single shots. The cartridge can be paired easily with a good revolver, can be reloaded, and that across a wide spectrum of power factor.

No question in my mind that for a wilderness-type survival situation, I'd prefer a cartridge that can be fired in a handgun as well as a long gun. Just not sure which one I'd opt for.
 
I really like the .22 WMR. I had a Savage 24 in .22 WMR over a 20 gauge for a lot of years and it took a fair number of squirrels. And it was a great companion rifle to a Single Six with a .22 WMR cylinder. I don't still have the Savage, but I do still have the Single Six, and a 77/22 in .22 WMR.

But how about the .357 mag as an alternative? A 77/357 is a handy bolt action if the action is critical, but the cartridge is also available in lever actions and single shots. The cartridge can be paired easily with a good revolver, can be reloaded, and that across a wide spectrum of power factor.

No question in my mind that for a wilderness-type survival situation, I'd prefer a cartridge that can be fired in a handgun as well as a long gun. Just not sure which one I'd opt for.


I hadn't thought much about the 357 as an option, but it certainly would be. A Ruger 77/357 with a low powered scope paired with a revolver in 357 would certainly handle most situations well and one round that works in both guns solves the logistical issue of having to carry to different types of ammo if you want a long gun and a hand gun.
 
To my mind there are a couple of considerations about these types of "survival rifles" I would take into account before deciding.

Is the ammo packed with the rifle all I'm going to get or need? If so, then I'd go with the 22wmr. Plenty of velocity, decent bullet selection, and while it wouldn't be my first choice for such hunting I've seen plenty of hogs, deer, and turkey taken with them. Use a good solid and you can take anything down to squirrel size without blowing it to bits.

But, if ammo resupply is going to be a consideration then a 22lr would be my choice. Twenty two mag ammo is not readily available compared to twenty two long rifle, which is pretty much ubiquitous (for now, anyway). Plus, the difference in price is a no-brainer.

All of this said however, if I had to choose a "survival rifle" my first question would be "is there a significant chance I might have to defend myself with it?"

If not, then I'd consider one of the Savage combination over and unders. Twenty two long rifel or magnum over a 20 gauge tube, or even one of the rifle calibers over a 12 gauge if weight wasn't a major issue. You can pretty much adequately hunt anything from squirrels to deer with one of those.

If defense is a consideration then I'd look at an AR carbine in 5.56. A carbine, not a pistol, to get a decent buttstock that is for-sure legal and not subject to some bureaucrat's whim. A five or ten round mag of soft points will serve for hunting, then however many mags of ball as one wants to consider. Add into this one of the 22 rimfire converters and two boxes of 40gr standard velocity plated or unplated and you now have small game hunting covered while still being able to take up to deer sized game. Key there is to make sure the converter has been tested in that particular carbine and to have some idea of what its point of impact is with the sights zeroed for 5.56. It wouldn't take much to fabricate a durable tube or box to carry the converter in, or to store the 5.56 bolt in if the rimfire bolt is in the gun. They can be swapped out in less than a minute.

Every gun choice is predicated on suppositions that should be taken out and examined carefully.
 
A very practical survival combination would be the .22 Mag in a rifle like the Armalite AR-7 Explorer. If available I would buy a few as gifts for my pals who have everything.
 
The only issue I would have with 22 mag is noise. There are options to quiet down 22 LR with ammo choice or a suppressor. With 22 mag, is the extra range and power enough to justify the inability to go quiet? For either, it would be easy to store a single firearm and a pile of ammo in a compact package. If you expect the potential for dangerous animals or people, making less noise may be very important.
 
22 mag survival rifle? Not in my book! Guess though it depends on how u define survival. Survival in terms of getting food to eat, or survival as self defense, or both.

Absolutely if your just using it to hunt for food.

Absolutely not for self defense. I don’t think it would do any damage to a bear, or even some other dangerous creatures.
As far as humans go, I have seen many of people take as many as 10 rounds of 22 mag and as many as 25 rounds of 22lr before it finally dropped them to the ground, so no. Would not make a good self defense survival weapon.

For me in a SHTF survival mode, I want a good big bore rifle, my Rossi M92 454 or 45-70 works along with my 12 gauge and my Super Redhawk and adapters for my 12 gauge and Super redhawk would give me everything I need for true SHTF survival. And someday if I can ever get me A Tommy Gun machinegun, then I would be all set! Lol
 
22 mag survival rifle? Not in my book! Guess though it depends on how u define survival. Survival in terms of getting food to eat, or survival as self defense, or both.

Absolutely if your just using it to hunt for food.

Absolutely not for self defense. I don’t think it would do any damage to a bear, or even some other dangerous creatures.
As far as humans go, I have seen many of people take as many as 10 rounds of 22 mag and as many as 25 rounds of 22lr before it finally dropped them to the ground, so no. Would not make a good self defense survival weapon.

For me in a SHTF survival mode, I want a good big bore rifle, my Rossi M92 454 or 45-70 works along with my 12 gauge and my Super Redhawk and adapters for my 12 gauge and Super redhawk would give me everything I need for true SHTF survival. And someday if I can ever get me A Tommy Gun machinegun, then I would be all set! Lol


Wow, what line of work are you in that you have seen many people take as many as 10 rounds of 22 mag and 25 rounds of 22LR before they finally went down?

I have been a trauma surgeon for over 20 years. Its not uncommon to see someone shot more than once, but not 10 to 25 times. I have not once seen someone shot with a 22 Magnum.
 
The only issue I would have with 22 mag is noise. There are options to quiet down 22 LR with ammo choice or a suppressor. With 22 mag, is the extra range and power enough to justify the inability to go quiet? For either, it would be easy to store a single firearm and a pile of ammo in a compact package. If you expect the potential for dangerous animals or people, making less noise may be very important.

There are some .22 magnum subsonic rounds available on the market. I've never bought any because it seems silly when I have .22lr available, but I guess you could stock up on them if you planned on using your .22mag in a SHTF situation. And there's no reason you couldn't add a suppressor to any .22 magnum either.
 
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