A very speculative scenario:

[woof]

Let's say you had to spend a year alone out in the woods. Let's say it is southern Appalachia like NC/TN so no extreme cold. And let's also say you'll be provided with some basic gear like a tent, knives, a few cookware pieces, matches, clothes for all seasons etc. Assume there is plenty of water nearby. Let's also assume you are going in in April and you will have seeds to grow some food.

The interesting part: let's say you are being inserted with all your gear and you can take as many firearms as you want. BUT, you can only take 365 rounds of ammo total for all of them. One per day. What would you take and how many rounds of ammo would you devote to each?

 

[exflatlander]

Ok, I'll play

How about:

A 4"-6" .357 revolver with 75 rounds of heavy magnums and 75 rounds of38s for small game.

A rifle-sighted, smooth-bore 12 gauge. (If I can have a second barrel I'll take a 28" vent rib too).

35 slugs

40 heavy loads for turkey/duck/geese loads

140 #6/7 1/2 bird shot

 

[gvnwst]

One TC encore in 6.5x47 lapua, scoped, with NV, and one S&W 22A, only thirty rounds of .22, the rest in 6.5. The single shot will force me not to try another follow up shot and possible waste ammo, and the pistol would be for finishing off any hurt animals. 28" tube on the encore. Handloads topped with some hornady bullet, probably a 140gr SST. That should do it for me.

ETA: A 12ga barrel for the encore, and 50rd of ammo for that, #6 shot. Or a NEF single shot, either with a 20" barrel.

 

[H2O MAN]

Let's say it is southern Appalachia like NC/TN so no extreme cold.

I would not bet my life on that!

 

[Shawnee]

20ga. shotgun with 250 shells

Ruger SBH 44 with 115 cartridges

 

[John828]

Sounds like a dream vacation package.

For simplicity and practicality, I'd take my Ruger MKIII and CZ 452 with iron sights with 300 subsonic match rounds.

And maybe a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington or a Marlin 444 or the 1895 in .45-70 with the remaining 65 rounds.

Nothing fancy, but it would definitely take care of my needs.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

M777 155mm howitzer with 365 rounds.

 

[22lr]

.410 single shot shotgun.
Give me an assortment of ammo but #4 and slugs mostly, a few #6 or #7.

 

[nitetrane98]

Presumably the object of the game is to not starve to death. In that case you'd best spend most of your time in that garden. "If you build it, they will come." 100 rds of 10mm auto. 100 rds of a variety of 12 ga and 165 rds of 22 Long rifle.
Does anyone realistically ever think these scenarios out?

 

[Shooter88]

One firearm: Mossberg 590A1.

300rds assorted #4 -#8 shot for small-game sustenance hunting
65rds rifled slugs in case I spot a deer or a bear happens to find me.

 

[woof]

Without writing paragraphs I was trying to say the other issues are not a huge issue. Cold is no issue and neither is water and there is some other food to be had.

I actually have thought about it a lot, just for fun. I think I would take an assortment of .22 rifles, the most accurate and all with scope and iron sights. Remember if you take one of a type there is no repair and no parts. And I'd take one centerfire rifle with only 20 rounds for an emergency, the rest in .22s. If I had a year with nothing else to do I figure I could walk right up to deer and take them with one shot from a .22. I doubt I would have to defend myself from anything in those woods but that's what the other rifle would be for.

 

[Prepster]

I'd take a Ruger Single Six in a longer barreled variant with 300 rounds of .22lr, and a lever action in the "woods" caliber of your choice with 65 rounds of good quality hardcast ammo. Since everything else is already taken care of, that should solve any problems that might arise.

 

[bonedust]

ill take 65 rounds of 45/70 and 300 arrows with broadheads

 

[ken22250]

i would take a .30-06 with 100 rounds, a .22lr with 100 rounds, and a 12ga shotgun with a 28" vent-rib barrel with 165 shot shells loaded with #5 shot and a modified choke.
and, i agree, that does sound like a dream vacation.
ken

 

[Big Bill]

I'd do exactly what Ken is doing.

 

[Brian41]

given the scenario, i'm going to pick 1 spot to live the entire time as a base camp (already know the spot actually, but i'm not telling), figure with the dense woods in that TN/NC local, i'm not going to be taking any shots over 75 yards, but would want to be prepared for the occasional reach out and touch something at 100ish yds.

SO, i'm going to need to be able to take down a deer, various small game, and deter pests (perhaps black bear, mt lions, but more likely small pests raccoon, opossom, etc).

I'm going with a 6 inch .357 revolver, some sturdy high-sights model, dont' really care.

and a scoped .357 lever action rifle.

could take a deer or smaller game with either, as well as deter those pests. Give me 175 rnds of lead round nose, 75 of JHP, 65 Snake shot, and 50 FMJ

 

[HOLY DIVER]

1 ruger superblackhawk 44mag
1 ruger 44mag carbine
365 rds of 44mag 300grain softpoints

 

[woof]

Facinating diversity of opinion. I keep thinking what if I was really hungry and the place was crawling with rabbits but it is so dense the shots would be at about 25 feet and all I have is 30.06 and 12 ga shot shells. I'd be trying to conserve meat.

I'm also surprised that being able to take as many firearms as you want, more aren't taking back-ups in the same round.

 

[Horsemany]

Ruger 77 in 270 with 365 rounds. I have a lot of guns that are smoother, prettier, more accurate etc., but those Rugers are built like effin tanks. That's the rifle in my cabinet I would want to survive with above all others.

 

[J.R.W.]

I'd probably take mu Ruger PC40 and Sig P229 with 360 rounds of some decent 180gr HP's. Oh, and I'd also have to take a shoulder fired missile with 5 reloads.

 

[Art Eatman]

Snares will take care of small-game catching. For a rifle, I'd figure some sort of .22 rimfire. That's plenty good for ambushing a deer with a hit between the eyes. You can get several days' meat from a deer, even in summer. (BTDT, 60 years ago last summer, but with a bow, not a rifle.)

Maybe a shotgun for "miscellaneous", albeit without a lot of ammo.

When you're not working in the garden, out gathering greenies or just hanging out sleeping you can work on making a bow and some arrows and even a spear if you're ambitious.

Helps to know about edible growies, of course. Even more help, I guess, to know which ones to avoid.

 

[Shawnee]

Small game is just that - one shot-one meal. Only 365 meals in a year may not even be survivable.

Deer can be more than one meal per shot, but how many more? How long will you keep the meat from each deer edible?

And an all meat diet gets old fast, and can bring on digestive problems that are way serious.

All told - two shotguns with a mix of birdshot (#5 and #7.5), and slugs are a pretty good bet.

But I would trade a handful of shells for some gardening aids.

 

[Art Eatman]

Shawnee, y'ain't thinking like a hunter-gatherer. There're tons of green growies out there. The deal is knowing which is what.

A bow-hunting buddy of mine is "into" knowing about living off the land. Walking across country with him is a real trip. He's always nibbling on something he's plucked. Really, he never quits eating. He's done leisurely canoe trips down the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande in August, taking nothing but his bow, a knife, and salt on a ten-day to two-week run. He spent one winter in the Rockies, again with bow, knife, salt and permits for deer and elk.

"Your best weapon is your brain."

 

[dispatch55126]

Looking at what I have in my safe, I'd say 320 rounds of 22lr and 45 rounds of 9mm. While true that a rabbit is only one meal, the liver and heart and full of minerals and other good stuff. Besides, there are plenty of plants and fish as well.

The 45 rounds of 9mm is 3 mags which is plenty for self-defense.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Not just green growies either. Roots and nuts and fruits too. Anyone serious about such things needs a good basic education in foraging. I like http://www.paladin-press.com/product/256/82 , an old friend and now retired Special Forces survival instructor wrote it. I've been out in the woods with his classes and like Art said above- everyone is walking along grazing on stuff as they go. And no- he isn't kidding about the road kill either.

Active hunting for large or small game for food in a survival situation as a single purpose activity is a poor use of time. Traps, snares, trotlines or set hooks for fishing, etc. allow you to maximize your productivity- and you can hunt while you run your snare and trap lines every day. That way instead of just one opportunity at the time to gather protein, you can have several working for you all the time. And you can gather other food (plant based) and fuel while you are working your lines as well.

Guns are only a small part of the solution to most problems. IMHO there's a lot more room to argue 'which knives' for this situation than 'which guns.' For that matter more time might be more productively spent on 'which boots.' 8^)

But in keeping with the play of the problem, I'd settle for a Stevens Model 24 in .22LR over 20 gauge. I have a couple of them already, one regular Model 24 and one 24C, the "Camper" model that comes with shorter barrels in a packable soft case- see http://www.gunsamerica.com/96794904...ns/Savage_M_24_ser_S_22lr_20ga_O_U_walnut.htm for pictures of the regular 24C. And I'd like to have one of my Beretta 70 series .22 pistols (Jaguar or 70S) too. With a box of birdshot (25 rounds), 25 rounds of 20 gauge Brenneke slugs, 15 rounds of 20 gauge Federal Premium buckshot, and 300 rounds of CCI 40 grain SGB ( http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=73998 ), all should go reasonably well.

Depending on where you go in the region there may be a goodly number of black bears and the occasional mountain lion as well. More dangerous are likely to be feral humans, which is the case most anywhere. But there are trout in the streams, small game and plenty of plant food in the woods, and lots to keep one gainfully employed in staying alive and well- and well fed.

lpl (whose in-laws live in the area)