Hypothetical (inspired by "Survivorman"): Which gun would you choose?

[guy sajer]

I look at it mainly as a food getter . Monkey , birds , snakes , etc . As he quickly found out , lack of food was a major issue (and of course , safe drinking water ... gun won't help there ) .

From the list , I'd choose the 3" stainless Taurus 4410 . 45 Colt , 410 slug , 410 shot . The shot shell would put meat on the table .

As mentioned , a 4" stainless 357 would be a good choice too . 357 load , 38 spl or 38 shot for small game .

 

[FLORIDA KEVIN]

I picked the ruger in 9 mm first , because I don't think jaguar is that hard to kill and the 9 mm has decent capacity . my second choice would be the .22 only because it would take a head shot to immediatly stop a jaguar ! as was allready mentioned if you were Hunitng the Jag you would tree it with dogs and put a .22 in the lungs !

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Vern - you're thinkin' like a guy who's actually been outdoors and carried his life around with him on his back and in his hands. Most folks haven't had the luxury of that experience.

Experience, they say, comes from making mistakes. Nobody has more experience than I do.

 

[FLORIDA KEVIN]

lol Vern !!Experience, they say, comes from making mistakes. Nobody has more experience than I do.

if thats true i am well on my way to expert !!

 

[molonlabetn]

Serbu Shorty 12ga.

 

[vynx]

I think anything but the .22 would be ok.

I chose the Glock 29 but thats for the weight more than anything.

You may not need it but I know I'd sleep better with a larger round if there was Jaguar around - they are not a North American Cougar they are much tougher from what I have read & seen.

 

[telomerase]

IIRC jaguars kill fewer people than deer do (in fact, I think jaguars don't even kill one person per year)... animals that first met people WITH SPEARS quickly became afraid of us. (African animals knew us before we made it big... they don't respect us at all except as appetizers).

If you fire a .44 your ears will ring for the next seven days... not good for survival. I'd go with the .22 (although if I had a choice I'd pick a lighter model); you might actually hit some game with it.

 

[skeeter1]

S&W Model 29. If it's good enough for Dirty Harry, its good enough for me.

 

[Regolith]

The biggest problem with choosing just one gun is very few cartridges work well on the range of creatures you may be shooting.

Personally, if weight/storage was an issue, and I needed to choose a gun to do everything, I'd choose two (2) revolvers: one in either .44 Mag or .357 mag, and one in .22LR. This would allow you to take anything from squirrel and rabbit up to deer.

If strorage and weight weren't so much of an issue, I'd take a .22LR revolver (for smaller game) and a 12 gauge shotgun with an assortment of birdshot, buckshot, and slugs.

 

[MCgunner]

In a survival situation, with a good, accurate .22, I can kill a deer no problem. .22s, no doubt, have killed many times more deer than has a .44 magnum and .357 magnum put together. Of course, most of 'em were shot with rifles. I could still take one inside 50 yards with my .22 Contender and inside 25 wouldn't be a problem with my little .22 kit gun. In a survival situation, game laws are made to be broken.

 

[kid_couteau]

Hi All

From the list it would be a 44 mag revolver

I could use shot loads for small game

But my choice would be a Remington 870 in 20 gauge or Mossberg 500 in 20 gauge

Slugs should stop a jaguar

Shot for food

Marine coat finish

Kid

 

[jcord]

Having spent time in a triple canopy jungle, I would choose an M6 scout.

A 410 would handle the cat and would also help in gathering food. Most of the game will be in the trees. The foilage is so thick that spotting somthing, then hitting it with a hand gun will be extremely difficult. Anything that fires shot increases your chances of eating. Being eaten by a Jaguar is not much of a danger and was played up in the show to make a better show.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

IIRC jaguars kill fewer people than deer do (in fact, I think jaguars don't even kill one person per year)... animals that first met people WITH SPEARS quickly became afraid of us. (African animals knew us before we made it big... they don't respect us at all except as appetizers).

I happen to know a gentleman (He's the current Attorney General of the State of Arkansas) who refused an invitation to go turkey hunting on my place because he's afraid of snakes.

If you take counsel of your fears, you miss out on a lot of good things in life. So I'd carry my Colt Woodsman, and if a Jaguar did come around, a long, sharp stick would protect me adequately.

 

[FerFAL]

Amazon? A good 4 inch 357 magnum/38 Special. 44 mangum is a bit too much for what you may face there in terms of animals, besides 44 mangum is much harder to find. I'd worry more about the 2 legged varmint, drug dealers, "mules", aggresive native folk, so a nice 9mm or 45 ACP would be better.

FerFAL

 

[Hauptmann]

Not sure about Jaguars, but I have lived and worked in grizzly country for years and I'd say a grizz represents a higher level of threat than a loner big cat based on bear reports. Humans are so rarely attacked by wild animals that if you know your enviroment and how to discourage predators you'll be just fine. A human is the greatest threat that you will ever face in the great outdoors.

That being said, I'll take my Ruger MKIII Hunter .22lr for the utility needs of survival. It can also very nicely discourage hostile humans.

 

[telomerase]

I happen to know a gentleman (He's the current Attorney General of the State of Arkansas) who refused an invitation to go turkey hunting on my place because he's afraid of snakes.

Jaguars may not bite many people per year... but what are the stats on those Ozark rattlesnakes ?

There's lots of Bushmasters in the Amazon, too... but it doesn't matter what kind of pistol you're wearing when they bite you.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Jaguars may not bite many people per year... but what are the stats on those Ozark rattlesnakes

I don't know, but if he sits down on one, he'll need a better friend than me to suck out the poison.

Off the record -- my farrier was bitten by a copperhead in his barn. About six months earlier, his wife was bitten by a copperhead in the same barn.

 

[critrxdoc]

Since there is no need to conceal, the G-20 should be fine. I would want all the power I could carry with multiple rounds at disposal. That makes the 10mm the front runner for me.

 

[countryrebel]

I choose the Glock 20 because thats what I carry when I am hiking,next in line would be the 44mag,placed it second only because it is heavy.

 

[gipperdog]

I'd use the 10mm with my handloads. I'd use 180 gr Speer Gold Dots pushed pretty hard. That with at least two extra mags, I'd feel safer.

 

[M92FS]

I chosen Ruger KP95 9mm. I don't have very strong arms, so I will stick with the 9mm.

I think the 10mm selections will be very popular compare with S&W .500.

but if I got a choice, I will take a 12 gauge pump or AR-15 instead of the 9mm.

 

[rcmodel]

None of my choices are on the poll.
A home-grown copy of the Winchester 92 44-40 carbine, or a single-shot 12 ga. has been the two favorite all-round guns of the locals there for many many moons.

You'd think they know what works best by now.
(But they live there and don't have to carry all their ammo on them.)

Myself, I'd probably take a stainless Mini-14, or better yet, a 62A Winchester, or a stainless 10/22 Ruger. (high mounted sights on an AR makes hitting close-range snakes fast problematic!)

Handgun?
Probably a pre-war Colt Woodsman, or a stainless MKIII Ruger.
(You can only carry so much ammo on foot, so the .223 / .22LR makes sense.)

I don't think Jaguar attacks are much of an issue!
Poisonous Snakes, now that's another story!


rcmodel

 

[cpttango30]

I want something simple easy to take care of doesn't rust. So I would go with the smith 44mag or the newer smith 500 with a 4" barrel. I don't care about having 5, 6 or 30 rounds. If you are fighting something that you needed to fend off like a jag I want something that is going to put it down quich fast and in a hurry. If something is trying to eat you you better kill it first and fast. Plus Like a friend always says you can't kill somthing too much.

 

[rcmodel]

No, but you could shoot it 8 times with a .45 ACP while you are recovering from the recoil of one round of .500 S&W.

And at night in the jungle, you won't be seeing or hearing any Jaguars for quite some time after the .500 S&W muzzle blast makes you deaf and wipes out your night vision with the first shot.

There is a lot more to killing something that attacks you then pure Unmitigated, Unmanageable, Power.


rcmodel

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Handgun?
Probably a pre-war Colt Woodsman, or a stainless MKIII Ruger.

My choice exactly.

I wonder if those who suggest things like shotguns, .45 Colt/.410 shotgun combinations have ever humped those things through 95-degree heat and 95% humidity, day after day?