I have the Rossi big loop .38/.357 rifle with a 16" barrel. I love it. It's accurate, fun to shoot, and completely reliable with .38s. I did have a couple missfeeds with .357s though.
That being said, I would never include it in a BOB. For that role I have other, longer ranged guns. For my son I gave him a Marlin camp 9 with upgraded wolf recoil spring and buffer, a red dot scope and folding stock.
It compliments the S&W 915 pistol since they use the same mags and ammo. It allows a much higher rate of fire, and ammo is cheaper and lighter.
It also means that resupply is easier. The military and police both use 9mm but only civilians us .38, and not that many of them compared to 9mm.
I think being prepared to evacuate from a civil disturbance (riots), natural disaster (huricane/earthquake), or man made disaster (fire/nuclear war/nuclear accident/terrorist activity) is just good sense. all of those things have occurred fairly recently and are not just possible, but likely to occur again. Being ready to leave the city and get to your dad's place in the country or hunt camp is a good idea, and getting there without getting robbed or showing up empty handed is an important bit of security for me.
It is a much smaller package and will actually fit in a rucksack.
My other son will get my keltec sub2000 9mm and S&W 5906 for the same reasons when he is old enough.
I've loaned the rossi and my Ruger security six to my dad indefinately and he swears they are the best guns he's ever owned. they are a good combination and there's nothing wrong with it, but it's not my top choice.
They do have the advantage of being capable of taking down a deer more reliably than a 9mm, so they have that going for them if it ever comes to that, but I realize that if there were ever a breakdown in society where subsistance hunting became neccesary, so many people would be doing it that there won't be any game anywhere.
