Requirements Set For Ultimate Survival Rifle

[Freelance Tax Collector]

It has to be logistically ubiquitous, so therefor it has to be really popular/in wide use. The market has to be awash with spare parts. It must be able to be disassembled and adjusted with no more than a live round. It kinda comes down to a

Good
Fast <-- pick 2 only.
Cheap

type of deal.

 

[MountainWalk]

A bolt action Enfield or Mauser would work for me. You can take a bolt apart in the dark and wash it with water if you lacked solvent and it would still work. You could pirate off parts of a ton of sporting rifles. The sights are adeqaute. Of reasonable weight. Adequate firepower.

 

[rem2429]

My vote would go to a lever gun in .357 mag, .44 mag, or 30-30. 16-18 inch barrel
synthetic stock
manganese phosphatized steel
scout scope mount
back up irons

Second choice would be a .308 scout rifle
Easy conversion would be a .308 israeli mauser
gun could still take stripper clips
install new stock and sights
All weather coating of your favorite variety

 

[Deer Hunter]

Mosin Nagant bolt-style with a peep sight in .22 LR.

 

[woodybrighton]

jungle carbine No5 job done

 

[deercop]

.223/5.56mm with a .22LR conversion kit.

5.56mm is sufficient for anti-personnel use, as well as up to medium size game animals. In a pinch, with the right ammo and the right operator, possibly even large game animals. .22LR is ideal for small game, and you can carry a LOT of .22LR ammo in a small space.

My recommendation in existing models would be a older AR15 w/ 1/12" twist, along with a Ciener conversion kit and Black Dog mags.

For designing a new weapon, I would go with a manually operated (bolt probably) repeater, detachable magazine, lightweight design, backup iron sights in addition to a telescopic base, short to mid length lightweight barrel (18" or so), and a flash suppressor. Of course that would require a new bolt assembly for use with .22LR.

I would also give strong consideration to the ability to attach a sound suppressor, aka silencer. No need to let everyone and everything around you know exactly where you are, that you're armed, and that you're using it. Keeps from startling other game, as well as adversaries.

 

[H2O MAN]

The AR-15 has got you covered... just kidding



Have you been able to narrow your choices down to a top 3 list yet?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Good
Fast <-- pick 2 only.
Cheap

A young lady said that to me once, and I said, "Honey, I'll go with good and cheap, and you take as long as you like."

 

[ctdonath]

Here's another suggestion to seriously look at the Scout Rifle concept - to the point of "why not a Scout Rifle?". Relatively light, reliable, major popular caliber, handy. Only thing it may lack is a folding-stock version.

That option aside, consider the (well-made versions only, of course) AR-7 type .22LR - light, compact/breakdown, effective. Add a suitable suppressor. Survival is about making do with less, and this is pretty darned good less to make do with.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Survival is about making do with less

Actually, survival is about surviving. I choose survival gear based on how well it matches the need when the chips are down.

 

[W.E.G.]

10/22 and a wheelbarrow.

 

[chad1043]

My advice would be 30-30. Can find it anywhere. Easy to reload. Can kill mostly anything. A lever action is easy to clean. I'm biased though.

I haven't seen any requirments yet, so I will stick with my ole trusty Lever action.

Chad

 

[35 Whelen]

Art asks the $64,000 question: Survive how? You gonna stay in town where survival may mainly mean defending yourself, or you heading for the boonies? Two totally different scenarios requiring two totally different types of equipment.
I personally would head for the boonies since a) I know how to survive there and b) I already live at the edge of the boonies. As such, a semi-auto with a pistol grip and an obstrusive banana clip hanging from the receiver would be my very last choice.
In the boonies, or at least my boonies, I'd not expect to see much human activity since mesquites, cactus, and rattlesnakes don't appeal to the general public. So, this eliminates my need for a true fighting rifle. So, +1 for the Scout Rifle. This is my first and second choices:

Chambered in 308 either of these rifles (the top one, by the way, is mine) would be easy to feed, handle large game and if needed would be OK for defense at longer ranges.
Now, if you're a handloader, you can carry your full power hunting/defense loads and regulate your scope for them. Then you'd also carry light cast bullet loads for small game which would be regulated to shot with the open sights. (The scope, with the proper mount can be removed and re-mounted with a coin)

If you're not a handloader and depend on factory ammo, then with the rifle I'd want one of these:


32 ACP, OR 30 Carbine, OR 32 Short Colt, 32 Long or 32 H&R in: 308 Winchester
A couple hundred rounds of 32 ACP doesn't weigh much and would be OK for small game. Again, regulate the open sights for the handgun round and you're set.

I have one of the old Savage 24's in 22LR/.410 and it's as handy of a small game hunting firearm as I've ever owned, but I think it'd be impractical for use in situations where an adversary might weigh more than me.

Also, I might also carry a good quality semi-auto in 22LR for small game.
35W

 

[NCsmitty]

My thoughts, as some others, said a combo rifle/shotgun. The Remington (Baikal) combos are available in 223/12ga. Too bad the old Savage 24's aren't still being made. 35 Whelen adapter idea is good too. I have 12ga to 357 mag and 12ga to 44 mag adapters that work surprisingly well in my rifle sighted single barrel 12ga.

NCsmitty

 

[Vern Humphrey]

As I recall, when the Nazi air force needed survival weapons, Herman Goering (who was a bit of a hunter himself) rounded up all the drillings he could find, and each German pilot carried one in the cockpit.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

It depends TREMENDOUSLY upon what TYPE of "survival" scenario you are talking about. Survival under what conditions? Subsistence survival, say in the wilderness? Urban survival during a SHTF scenario. Home-based or not? What?

But I kinda like my subsistence/wilderness survival longguns:
-Baikal/Spartan SPR 94 with a .223 Rem on bottom, and 12 ga on top
-NEF Survivor, .45 colt & .410 shotshell (Backpack survival rifle)

35Whelen, what kind of rifle is your scout rifle there on top?

 

[batmann]

Put me in the lever action group. Hard to beat a .30-30 for all around use.
No, it's not a 'combat' rifle, no it's not the most powerful caliber,and yes, you do have to work the lever after every shot. But, put everything together, and it is a good combo to have.

 

[woof]

If I could only take one gun it would be my single six with about 10k rds of .22 and another k of .22 mag. All would fit in one small duffle bag.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I had a long discussion on this subject with Ed Harris (C.E. Harris, who often writes for The American Rifleman.)

Our conclusion was a Ruger .22 automatic with a brick and a can.

 

[Sir Aardvark]

The "Ultimate Survival Rifle" is a shotgun.

A rifle can do what a rifle can do, but cannot do what a shotgun can do.
A shotgun can do what a shotgun can do, and can also do what a rifle can do.


Yeah, yeah, yeah... there are of course a couple of caveats with the above statements, but for going "minimalist", it's hard to beat a shotgun as an all-around, do-everything firearm.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

A drilling or over and under rifle-shotgun would be ideal. For one thing, rifle ammo is generally lighter than shotgun shells, so you can carry more.

 

[Caimlas]

If it were possible, an M1 Carbine in either 7.62x39 or 6.5 Grendel or the like - though I'd tend towards 7.62x39 due to availability.

Why not the M1A or a mini-14? They're too big and too heavy. A "go anywhere, do anything" rifle needs to not only be versatile in the cartridge, but convenient enough that a person would care to "go anywhere, do anything" with it. I don't know if you could keep the weight down and have similar balance while going to either of those cartridges, but I'd love to see someone try it.

The M1 Carbine is also very ergonomic, making it an easy gun to handle.

 

[Chuck Spears]

A bolt action Enfield or Mauser would work for me. You can take a bolt apart in the dark and wash it with water if you lacked solvent and it would still work. You could pirate off parts of a ton of sporting rifles. The sights are adeqaute. Of reasonable weight. Adequate firepower.

I'd stay away from them just bc of the ammunition they take. If I had to build a survival rifle then it would be in .30-06 since you can find those cartridges anywhere. It works on humans and it works on food animals.

 

[35 Whelen]

The "Ultimate Survival Rifle" is a shotgun.

A rifle can do what a rifle can do, but cannot do what a shotgun can do.
A shotgun can do what a shotgun can do, and can also do what a rifle can do.

I'd have to respectfully disagree with that statement. Shotguns are great for wing shooting, but who's going to be shooting at flying birds in a survival situation? In fact, it seems to me that anything that can be taken with birdshot, (i.e.- upland game on the ground, squirrels, rabbits, turkey, sitting ducks and geese) can just as easily be taken with a 22LR. And 10-15 22LR shells take up no more room than a single shotshell.

35W

 

[ndh87]

How about a Saiga 308?

I'd like to see a Saiga in 45-70

I think a 30-30 lever action would probably work well for any realistic survival scenario.