The Ideal Combo Rifle

Well, a lot would depend on where you are "surviving".

For instance a .22 RF might be ideal in the Arizona desert for plinking small game, snakes, & lizards to eat.

Not so much when an Alaskan Brown bear is about to eat you for a mid-day snack.

Assuming you are going to be surviving on foot?
I would pick something that would allow me to carry enough ammo to gather food for the expected time frame.
That would rule out a case of 12 ga shotgun ammo, or 250 rounds of 45-70.

Actually, a Savage 24C .22RF/20 ga over & under they used to make would be a pretty good choice. Much better then an M6 Springfield!

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=9872366

For most typical locations where I could become lost?
I'd pack a handful of rifled slugs for big predator defense, another box of #6 shot shells for bird harvesting, and half a brick of .22 RF Hi-Speed.

Total load would be less then 10 pounds, and you should be able to live off the land for a couple of months or more if you have safe water & shelter.

rc

I second the .22LR over 20-gauge. Very versatile: .22 gives you small land animals, 20-gauge gives you birds and self-defense. In an encounter with a brown bear, a 20-gauge slug would at least give you a fighting chance.

EDIT TO ADD: Just looked that auction. Yikes! They have got be kidding on that price. No, no, no, and no. Yeah, they don't make them anymore, but we're talking about a utility gun, not a fine collectible.

.22 Mag. After that, things fall apart.

However, I suppose a .20 ga. that takes 3" Mag is also a consideration -- but it requires at least three different, very big and heavy low-powered-compared-to-centerfire-rifle shells (such as #5 shot, #3 buckshot, slugs).

Crossfire MK1, .223/12ga pump.

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.22 hornet over .410 in stainless



There are others like it, but this one is mine...

I've had a lot of these over the years From the Teninte stocked Stevens 22lr / .410 , then .30-.30/20 , ,357 Max /.20 , and .223/12 ga. . Then their was the weird Bronco .22mag/.410 I had for 5 years or better. Then the 9.3/16ga Drilling, and .308/12ga Valmet. Well the last were the 2 Springfield M-6 Scouts , one parked one Stainless both in .22 Hornet/,410.
Tell you what in SHTF the .22hornet/.410 is hard to beat doing the survival job it was designed for ! I've used it to slaughter deer sized sheep and goats to 30 yards or so and my son used it on pigs in Hi with success.
The other Savages are gone from me but most still in the family. They are good guns for non gun enthusiast folk IMHO.
The Drilling and Valmet O/U combo are still in my safe, very kewl and hold their value, but I use more specialized tools on hunts ect.
.22 Hornet 45 grain Winchester ammo and some 3" Brenneke slugs and #6 3" .410s are in their stocks, and we use them!

The best combo gun I would take is a Drilling chambered in 12 gauge in the shotgun
barrels and 30-06 in the rifle barrel. Granted, I wouldn't be hiking hundreds of miles with it, but, for survival, as either living some place that is desirable, or getting TO there and living there, the two 12s and the 06 are the best for American game, anything from dove/squirrel to turkey to deer/pig, and even an elk. I think it'd do a bear too.

Screw the combo idea, everyone seems to think you have to shoot birds on the wing, why? O, it is sporting I guess. Well with a good accurate rifle I would shoot any birds on the roost. Give me a good 357 mag lever gun, like my 1894 Marlin.

.22 Hornet or .223 over 12 gauge. It'd be a tough call on the rifle part, as both have their strong suits and weak points in this application. The Hornet is quieter, and the lighter cartridges allow more ammo to be carried, but it does not do well with bullets over 50 grains. .223, on the other hand, offers twice the power and handles heavier bullets easily, but at the cost of noise and reduced round count in your pack.

.22 rimfire and 20 ga would be my ideal. With the .22 you could carry a lot of ammo for small game, and the 20 ga with proper loads could do fairly well for bear protecton, although not ideal. The 20 ga with slugs could take large game such a moose or elk if they were available.

There has to be a balance between weight, ammo to be carried, and effectiveness considering the wildlife.

Regards,
Jerry

My custom Savage 24 is .223 Rem over 20ga. I have a 22 LR adaptorcartridge in storage space in the forearm. I have some 22 shorts in the butt stock storage, and I have a nylon butt cuff with a few rounds of 20ga.

I bought this particular gun with messed up barrels so custom built them to 19" overall. The 20ga is set up for screw in chokes, and besides the Improved Cylinder choke in the gun, I have a rifled choke tube to shoot sabot slugs.

I am very happy with this set up.

Screw the combo idea, everyone seems to think you have to shoot birds on the wing, why?

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If you have the right gun, you can shoot them on the wing or on the ground, wherever they happen to be.

I have long thought that the perfect survival rifle would be a drilling with two barrels chambered for .410Scattergun/.460S&W/.454Casull/.45LC (< yep, all of that), with a straight-rifled external choke (to "straighten out" shot exiting the rifled barrels) and a .22LR bottom bbl.

The only firearm produced (that isn't a complete custom at great expense) that gets close is something like a 16Ga./16Ga./9.3x74R drilling with a .22LR insert in one of the scattergun barrels. This is the combo-gun that I will likely end up with "one of these days".

I personally dont consider a scattergun a necessity. Most of the birds i shot to eat were killed on the ground with a .22. Id go with a .22 pistol with a suppressor, and a 338 federal. Not that its an issue here in hawaii LOL

I don't get the big combo gun craze. If I have enough time to grab supplies for two different chamberings, I've got enough time to grab two rifles. If I can't do that, I'd take a 12 gauge with a smooth bore. You may not reach out as far as with a rifled barrel accurately, but a 1oz lead slug will still drop them dead at 50 yards, and if I'm in survival mode, I'll have enough time to wait for a good shot.

If it isn't for survival, well then, I can grab whatever firearm is fitting for the day's use and a combo isn't an advantage.

If it's just to have something fun and cool, well, there's no arguing against that and I'd go with a drilling in preferably .30-06, 20gauge, and .22lr. That would be my ideal combo, but just for something fun/collectible/unique, not to survive.

IMO when it comes down to it, your default "survival gun" is most likely going to be whatever you happen to have ready and close at-hand when things go awry. Most times, there ain't gonna be much (if any) "heads-up" before one finds oneself in a real emergency situation. As they taught us in the Scouts "Be prepared".

I keep "survival" bags of emergency supplies in my truck and in our storm shelter. My truck bag includes an M6 in .22 RF/.410, mostly because it's very compact, simple and rugged and stows at least some ammo on-board. Also because I haven't run across a suitable Savage 24 in nice condition at a reasonable price for a long while.

In addition to the four buckshot loads and fifteen .22 LRs in the stock's compartment, there's also a box of Federal 3" #5 shotshells and two 100 rd. boxes of Mini Mag HP's in the bag. There're quite a few other items in there selected in hopes of getting me through the most common sorts of Really Bad Day scenarios/situations, but trying to stay on-point re: firearms here. The whole shebang weighs less than 15# and is always there.

Obviously, what I've chosen to include there can't possibly cover every conceivable base but IMHO that M6 certainly should do at least well enough (in broadest terms) to give me a reasonably good chance of getting through the bulk of them. And of being there if/when I need it.

I even looked at a Savage 24 in .22 Mag and 20 ga. With a 24" barrel, it is not worth much. Bring it back as a fast take-down model with 18-1/2" barrels in matte stainless steel with gray synthetic stocks that store at least nine up-to 3" hulls and dozens of .22 Mags and I'd probably buy one and even consider using it. A little.

I even looked at a Savage 24. With a 24" barrel, it is not worth much. Bring it back as a fast take-down model with 18-1/2" barrels in matte stainless steel with gray synthetic stocks that store at least nine up-to 3" hulls and dozens of .22 Mags and I'd probably buy one and even consider using it. A little.

From some of the answers here, it's plain to see most of you have never been there and done that. After living in Alaska for 25 years, i lived out in the bush eating what i found and shot for weeks at a time, and i never found anything that worked better for that job than my drilling.

I moved up to the drilling from a Valmet 412, before that it was a Savage 2400, and before that a numerous Savage 24's. It's a HUGE step UP from the 24's to the 2400 and another step up to the 412's...

Too bad Savage didn't put a bit more time into the 24's to make them WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN!

DM

i lived out in the bush eating what i found and shot for weeks at a time

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I have as well, although in a different climate, and I know that a $2000 rifle isn't needed. My $125 Rossi worked fine.

While it was not small, I had a Savage 24 in .22LR and 12 gauge, in the early to mid 1980s. it was capable of taking all the game allowable in Indiana at the time, from birds (shot) to slugs for deer, and .22 LR for "squirrels and sich."

it was just a nice all-around gun to have. Break open design, fairly easy to work on. It is a shame that it really did get lost in the Wabash River in a canoe accident...

Right next to my buddy's brother's antique Bowie knife, only that was on the Deleware. Who puts a knife on the top of the bow of canoe in fast water anyway, or even anything IN it that they might mind losing?

clone said:

I have as well, although in a different climate, and I know that a $2000 rifle isn't needed. My $125 Rossi worked fine.

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I agree that you don't need a $2000, and that's why i didn't spend 2K to get a drilling.

Of course, it's also been done with a speer, and a slingshot, and i didn't do that either. lol

DM

combo rifle

I would like a 22 mag over 20, with a .410 tube insert. I have two of the old Savage four-tenner tubes. Use one in my 20 SXS. Some places that require shotguns for squirrel hunting, I use a 20 in one barrel and .410 in the other and distance dictates the barrel selected. Works well, but always prefer a rifle shot on one.