Anybody ever read Robert Heinlein's book, "Tunnel in the Sky?" In it, the main character is going off on a survival exercise, and seeks advice from his sister, an officer in the imperial space rangers or some such organization about which gun to take. She tells him to forget the gun, and carry a good knife.
Her reasoning is that his job is to survive. Not to get into gun fights. Having an adequate weapon to really defend oneself with, in her view, tends to make one careless. Being basically unarmed tends to make that same person feel very small and vunerable. They seek to stay out of sight, move carefully, and avoid conflict.
That made sense to me back many years ago, when I first read the book, and still does to this day. I don't think I'd want to rely on just a knife, but a 22 is about one step above a knife. It's not made for battle, but in a REAL pinch will fill in.
I'm an old man now, with a handicapped wife. I ain't bugging out nowhere. But if I was a young man, I think a 10/22 and maybe a Ruger standard with a 4" barrel and fixed sights would do me just fine. I'd just try to make myself very small and inconspicious.
(To tell the truth, one or the other, rifle or pistol, would probably get ditched pretty quickly once I started to lug the weight around.)
