Best SURVIVAL rifle

savage m24
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?283317-Thoughts-on-Savage-24-V-223-20-gauge-combo

223/20ga
what is not to love

I like my CZ-452 for that role. It is about as solid and reliable as you could want in a .22 bolt gun, it has great iron sights, and subsonics are extremely quiet out of the 25" barrel for discrete game-gettin'.

Savage has the M42 out now, which is sort of an updated M24, using a synthetic stock. .22 LR or .22 WMR over .410 so far.

Might be interesting if they start making it in other combinations, though the .22 WMR / .410 combo wouldn't be bad most places. If we're talking wilderness survival, you'll likely have more small game opportunities than large game.

10/22 Take Down.

Arsenal SGL-21

In my opinion, rimfires dominate the realm of survival rifles. I think for a survival rifle you are primarily looking at a rifle for small game/sustenance hunting. While a survival rifle may be called upon for defense or larger game, neither of those are really the main use, and a rimfire could still be used for those purposes on an emergency basis.

I would personally opt for an iron sighted 22 lr or 22 mag such as a 10/22 or Marlin 925. Ammo for either of these would be cheap to stockpile, and easy to carry in quantity.

Ruger 10/22...of course, my old Savage 30-30 would also fit the bill.

I think more people than not will vote for the 10/22 in one form or another (and with good reason).

"The Best" of anything is always going to be second quested to death. So, it's my turn.
Me, just me, stuck in the wilds of (insert location)....
Me and my 4 grand daughters holding out against a criminal insurrection...

Too many options and variables.

I would have to fall back on my favored weapons. .45ACP (1911A1 type), AR180 and Ruger Standard Auto. Yes, I have newer/neater/more accurate, but I have carried the first 2 many thousands of miles for the sole function of saving my skin. And a little .22 will feed me. I have never favored a shotgun and haven't carried a revolver as a primary weapon (by choice) for over 30 years.

Too many options.....

Remington 597 ...Russ

12 guage single shot and a rifled 6" 22lr sub caliber insert

22lr for the small food getting stuff. 12g can handle the rest.

tacxted said:

12 guage single shot and a rifled 6" 22lr sub caliber insert

22lr for the small food getting stuff. 12g can handle the rest.

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You could just use #6, 7 or 8 shot for the small game.


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I have a bunch of them, I grab one of the savage 24's most often as they are more versatile that the others.

10/22 Take Down.

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Another vote for the 10-22. The Take Down version would offer some advantages, but even a standard model would be at the head of my list.

"survival" depends a lot more on being armed in the first place than it does on specific hardware

Buy what you will enjoy shooting, OP ... everything else is secondary and chasing "perfect equipment" is a waste of time.

A drilling in 12 X 12 X 7X57 Mauser - handle anything from small to big game to birds

I've already been through all those cheapo combo guns that look good on paper, but you always end up having to "aim over there, to hit over here", because of such poor regulation! So, i found something that REALLY WORKS, and doesn't weigh a ton to carry day after day...



I bought it used for a good price, and it's been the best money i've spent over the 25 + years i've been hunting with it, putting big and small game in my freezer!

DM

Likely one of these or similar. Assuming I felt the need for a simple little compact survival rifle.

Ron

Another vote for the classic 10/22. A good used one and several bricks of ammo won't set you back a ton.

DM~ said:

I've already been through all those cheapo combo guns that look good on paper, but you always end up having to "aim over there, to hit over here", because of such poor regulation! So, i found something that REALLY WORKS, and doesn't weigh a ton to carry day after day...



I bought it used for a good price, and it's been the best money i've spent over the 25 + years i've been hunting with it, putting big and small game in my freezer!

DM

Click to expand...

I'm playing a game in my head that goes something like this: Is that combo gun valued higher or lower than my car? Intriguing. What is it? Thanks for posting your photo.

To the OP, I don't think there is any one "right" answer for everyone, but you'd be hard pressed to beat a pump action shotgun.

Depends on what you mean by survival......

If you mean "my plane went down on earth.....someplace.....and I need mainly to feed myself adn have some hope of scaring off scarry things" then a .22 makes a lot of sense.

If you happen to be a very good pistol shot I suppose a pistol would do.....but a rifle would be better. A .22 magnum is more powerful than your garden variety .22LR......but if you want to be able to use this gun to survive you need to be able to hit with it. You are more likely to purchase and practice with cheaper and more readily available .22LR than .22 Magnum.

A .22 bolt action might be more rugged and maybe (not necessarily) more accurate.... but if you do need to use it for defense second shots are slow. I might be happy with a chipmunk and a box of ammo and a pocket knife and someone else may want a plastic folding stocked semi auto with a 25 round magazine. I have at various times had "for survival" of this type , a Nylon 66, an AR7, or a 10-22. I have not yet used a 10-22 takedown but like the idea. Reminds me of the old Marlin Pappous. 10-22s can be accurate and can let you deliver 4 or 5 shots in one second up close at a larger target that might be a threat.

Why do I suggest a .22? The return for the weight and bulk of the system. If I actually tote a shotgun with the idea of gathering small game for food, how does the amount of food value compare to the weight and bulk of the original cartridge? Might I be better off with a bag of beef jerky than a pair of 12 gauge #6 bird shot for the same weight penalty? How many rounds of even 20 gauge can you carry for the same weight and bulk as 50 rounds of .22LR?

SUre even a .410 slug might be better to run off a grizzly bear than a .22, but are you more likely to be attacked by a griz or starve or die of exposure agrivated by lack of food?

If by Survive you mean, stay alive in an active combat zone.....maybe a .22 LR ain't gonna cut it. Might want to look at what other folks are carrying

If you mean survive being in "the city" (where is the City of The?) long enough to get out? What CAN you have with you? There room in your cubical for an AK type or a 'Fighting" 12 gauge? I favor a hand gun for this scenerio on the person, where legal and if you came to town in a car a long gun there.

If by survival you mean pulling a Jerimah Johnston and living in the wilderness for 363 days a year you might consider one of these folks suggestions for a combination gun that can protet you from that bear and provide a "cheap" (weight and bulk wise) means of gathering small game......and a duty sized and caliber handgun just in case.

If by survival you mean the zombie/ alien/ TEOTWAWKI......it depends on the prop folks of whatever movie you are in.

Whatever you choose it is important that you train with it( not just on a range but actually hunt and harvest that small game with it, prepare and eat the game to know you actually can), maintain it, and have it when and where you need it.

-kBob

10/22 with a good folding stock and a low power scope is hard to beat. If things got real horrible and laws didn't matter I would throw one of those short barreled pistol models into a folding stock. Stainless would be a plus as well.

Savage Model 24 Camper (.22LR over 20ga):



No this isn't mine. Wish it was!

Define survival though. Are we talking lost in the woods or other more human influenced survival situations?

Another vote for the 10/22 takedown. I'd have had a different answer a year ago, but the 10/22TD has my vote these days.


At the same time, I might think about the lessons of our forefathers....those people, who really were in the business of survival, often had a shotgun as their single weapon for putting food on the table and for self-defense.