favorite survival gun

[Navy joe]

Two I don't own but have access to. First is a Tikka in 12ga w/.222 underneath. Chamber reamer on hand becomes .223 when the .222 runs out.

Second is a drilling in 12ga x 12ga x .30-06. Either one coupled with a .22 pistol and maybe a chamber insert to shoot .22 in the 12 ga barrels allow you to do all that needs to be done with a firearm.

 

[clone]

i like to think i have a well rounded collection of the most common rounds, that could be found anywhere.

Marlin 60 22lr
Mossberg 500 8rd 12ga
Yugo SKS 7.62x39
Keltec P11 9mm

just one?

for "Survival" i think id choose the Marlin 60. for most anything else the SKS would probly be my pick.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Deep Thought

It's interesting to participate in these threads . . . and watch my answers change.

Survival. There's an ambiguous term.

Let's get lost in the woods.

I want something light. Something for which I can carry a lot of ammo. Something with adequate punch for medium game and occasional brigands. When you're lost in the woods, you won't be shopping for ammo, you'll be packing whatever you have.

Well, I have a couple of .22 LR rifles and a couple of Ruger Mk II pistols. Attractive, and if that's all I could take, I guess I could figure that out. Not optimum, though. Need more punch.

I have a Marlin 1894C (in .357 or .38 special) that would certainly address a wider range of uses. It's pretty light and, within 100 yards, good to go for most things. Ammo weighs a lot more than .22 LR, but not too bad.

I have a Kel-tec folding rifle in 5.56 NATO. Weighs very little. Shoots well. Spans the whole range of game up to deer (careful with smaller game -- gotta leave some to eat). Trouble is, I can't carry a whole lot of ammo for it.

And then I have a little M1 Carbine. Lighter than just about all my other rifles. Ammo lighter than everything I have in centerfire except 9mm. Good punch inside of 150 yards. Good for small game. It will take a deer. Good rate of fire in defensive postures, even though that's not expected.

The M1 Carbine would be my "lost in woods, carry all my ammo" gun.​

What about a disaster?

While hunting may be one aspect of the aftermath, disaster scenarios tend to involve more people, so the gun in question will have to have adequate people punch. Very unlikely that I will have ammo shopping as an option.

So. What do we need? People punch. A bit of range. Good rate of fire. Light. Easily carried ammo. Reliable. Hmmm.

I could go with the Kel-tec, but either I won't go far (ammo weighs more), or I'm in a siege position and need range/firepower/punch more than portability. The rifle itself carries well, but the ammo weight is a concern.

I think I'm back to the M1 Carbine. It doesn't have the range of the .223/5.56, but I don't think that, after a disaster, that's going to be my biggest problem.​

And what it there's a general breakdown?

Oh, you mean like no more supply lines? Have to get by on what can be scavenged and/or reloaded?

While the M1 Carbine is tempting for this, I'm gonna lean toward a more available calibre. I have a rifle in .223/5.56, but so does everyone else. So maybe I have to think outside the box. Ammo will become more scarce, especially in the popular rifle calibres.

I have rifles and pistols in both 9mm Luger and .357 magnum. It's tempting to go with the 9mm rifle/pistol combo, because that ammo is likely to be just about everywhere. The .357 & .38 combo is tempting for the same reason, but with one more aspect: the .357 is a respectable rifle cartridge, and adds decent hunting possibilities in addition to defense. It's not as light as 9mm, and that kind of sucks, but I think that it's probably going to be as available as 9mm -- maybe more so, given that the demand won't be as high.

So, here's the thing. If the breakdown is expected to be short-lived, and there's a light at the end of the tunnel, then I go with the Marlin Camp 9 and the 9mm autopistol. I'm mostly gonna have to worry about people, and less about long-term survival. If it looks like civilization is out to lunch, and I can't just hunker down, then I go with the .357 rifle/pistol combo (Marlin 1894C and S&W 586-7), stay in the shadows, avoid firefights (which, by the way, applies regardless of calibre), move away from disorder.​

Now, it occurs to me, if I were going to head for the hills, pack essentials on my back, and hoof it for an indefinite period, camping, living off the land, completely self-sufficient, then my approach changes, and I go to something in .22 LR in a rifle/pistol pair. I don't own a Marlin Papoose. If I did, that would be a good pack gun. I have a 10/22 carbine, which is light enough, but reliability is about 98% and I'd sure like better. I have a Savage Mk II bolt gun, mag fed, that has a 100% record, and it's real light. At this point every stinking ounce is a penalty. I'm torn. Take the M1 Carbine, and put up with having to carry two calibres? Nah. Take the Savage? Probably.

I guess I'd better pick up a Papoose.

There are too many possible scenarios for real analysis.

In the most general case, I'd be inclined to grab the M1 Carbine and go.

There are other factors like, if I got to have a car while I'm doing all this, I'd definitely improve my selection. All my projections so far have assumed I'm on foot.

I should practice more with that Carbine.

 

[ThomasT]

Thanks to everyone who has posted here. I said it before, i love SG threads. It seems like most people have pretty much the same ideas about survival guns.

For the posters who have said that the 10/22 is unreliable you might try this. Remove the barrel and get the chamber area wet with solvent. Use a tight brush and scrub well to break the surface of any fouling. Next put a wet patch in the chamber for a few minutes. Hoppe's is fine.

I have a rod that has a slit in the end. Put a wad of 4 or 3 ought steel wool in the slot and put it in a hand drill. Run this in the chamber for a little bit. Steel wool won't hurt the metal but it will remove deposits that you don't see and will polish the chamber.

Also make sure the extractor hook is sharp so that it will dig into the rim when the bolt moves from firing. Also make sure there is no fouling between the extractor and the breech block keeping the extrator from fully seating.

This has cured most of my rimfire feeding problems. This works for all guns, the hard part on other semi autos is finding a way to polish the chamber. A metal slotted tip in a rod slid down the barrel and then pulled into the chamber works.

Some people have mentioned Mel Tappen. I have an 1980 Guns & Ammo Annual with an article by Mel. His idea for survival whether the world went crazy or just seperating from everyone and being self sufficent was to buy a 70 acre farm in California with a pond and farm animals.

His list of needed guns was long. He also had bows, blow guns and sling shots. He also kept several air rifles around. I comepletly agree with him on that one. i have two Benjemin .22 rifles and a Benjemin pump pistol in .22 caliber. You can carry a lot of pellets in a small space. If you have room an air rifle makes a lot of sense.