The best survival rifle Cartridge

[Remo223]

I want two guns, period. I'll take something short and handy in any centerfire caliber for big game and thugs, and a Browning Buckmark for small game.

The problem with thinking you're going to live on deer and elk is that after a couple of days you won't be able to eat that deer or elk, because it's spoiled. The reality is that it's pretty easy to pot rabbits and squirrels or shoot ducks on the water with a .22 on a day to day basis. It's also pretty easy to forage for food - river clams, cattail roots, berries, mushrooms, pine nuts, acorns (have to be cooked to be edible), fish, frogs, song birds - the reality is that there is food all around you and you don't need a heavy rifle for food.
You'd really only need the centerfire rifle for defense. You can shoot a deer if you want, but you're only going to eat about ten pounds before it spoils on you. It might make more sense in the winter when you can preserve the meat, but even then it would be easier to take small game than big game.

They ate big game in the old days. The trick was to smoke the meat quickly. heck, eskimos hunted whales and didn't let anything spoil or go to waste.

 

[Remo223]

If you're talking SURVIVAL as in my plane went down; was camping and got stranded; got lost; etc... then it would be whatever you happen to be carrying with you. Maybe you bring a rifle with you went you go hiking. Most people don't.

If you're talking SURVIVAL as in "End of society as we know it"; "Red-Dawn" type of crap. Then the ONLY rifle i want with my is a 22LR. The LAST thing you want to happen in a breakdown of society type of survival situation is for ANYONE ELSE to hear you and know you're there. I don't want my .223, 308, 30-06, ak, or any other such rifle. Give me my Winchester 190 with a box of 500 ammo. "Preferably Sub-Sonic". Easy to carry. Enough ammo for more than a year. Will easily be found some place if you need more. And can kill any animal you NEED it to kill. You don't need to be shooting anything bigger than a normal size deer. You're not going to be able to carry any leftover meat with you. Shoot as you go and shoot what you can eat or carry.

As for defense; even bear; I have a pistol for that. But defense wasn't the question. But if a true survival environment happened because of society; there's no way in the world do I want anyone seeing or hearing me shoot animals. It might be their dog or an animal I'm after. For the urban dwellers, it could be a squirrel in you back yard, neighbor's dog, etc...For survival; the 22LR is the best and personally, the only choice.

In the scenario you describe, there won't be any game to hunt. Too many people in an area will deplete game too quickly. there will be people eating people.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Let's keep it civil, and out of fantasy land.

 

[clamman]

I might settle for my o/u 410-22 for all of my needs, but one gun is not enough. 22 something for food, and the 1911 to protect my family.

 

[Brian Williams]

a whiny perspective take it easy debate is good, state your idea without bashing someone else

Yes, debate is good, are you going to join the discussion or are you going to just point at your blog?
If you are looking at a lost in the woods situation, it would take about three days at the most to walk out anywhere around Pennsylvania, So I would take a nice accurate 22lr and make some soup or roasted squirrel. Any bird I run into is going to be shot on the ground so I do not need a shotgun for wingshooting. I also will not be shooting anything large because I do not nor will have the ability to process that much meat just to get me out of the woods. My biggest problem would be good water.


If you are talking about Self defense, I will be close enough to home in that situation to use anything I have in my arsenal to assist.

If you want to start talking TEOTWAWKI, this thread is done.

 

[Maverick223]

The .22LR (better for most locations) and shotgun (probably better for territory with large predators, like Brownies) are king for survival...both for the same reason, versatility. The .22LR can take just about any game animal in NA with proper application of excellent marksmanship (if you hunt to survive you will learn to pick your shots and shoot well). The shotgun can also take most anything with the proper load and requires lesser skill (but is a great deal larger and heavier).

I don't believe that the .223Rem., 7.62x39mm (it can be just as accurate as anything else), or .30-30WCF (don't underestimate a lever rifle) is a bad choice either, but large game cartridges (like '06, .308Win., .45-70Govt., et al) are a bad idea due to weight and size.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I happen to be a fan of the M1 Carbine. It delivers the sort of punch you would expect from a .357 magnum

I have shot men with both, and that's not my experience!

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Not?

I happen to be a fan of the M1 Carbine. It delivers the sort of punch you would expect from a .357 magnum

I have shot men with both, and that's not my experience!

Could you elaborate?

What round? What range?

If my existing information is flawed, I'd surely like to remedy that.

My data indicate that MV of the .30 Carbine is 1,970-1,990 fps on a 110 gr projectile for a ME of 975+ ft lbs, and .357 is about 1,500 fps on a 110 gr projectile (factory) for a ME of about 550 ft lbs (lower fps on heavier loads).

Something I missed?

 

[skwab]

A "survival" situation can take on many meanings. To some, weathering a job loss is a survival situation, to others it means the governments' chem trails leading to the zombification of the masses, and only those with the right combination of AR accessories are immune.

In my world, the best cartridge is .22 LR - small, lightweight, versatile, inexpensive, inconspicuous (to a degree), plentiful - it's hard to beat. But in reality, if we're talking a true survival situation where long term for whatever reason you are separated from society, you're going to have different priorities than a firearm.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Could you elaborate?

What round? What range?

If my existing information is flawed, I'd surely like to remedy that.

As an adviser in Viet Nam, my issue weapon was the M2 Carbine (identical to the M1, but with the full auto kit installed.)

I shot a man repeatedly with it, and he got away. I saw a man shot repeatedly with the carbine, and he was able to reach a fighting position and detonate a claymore.

These were military ball rounds, of course. I wrapped my carbine around a tree, claimed it was destroyed in action and borrowed an M1 rifle from the ARVN and carried that from then on.

I shot two men with my Colt M357, using my handloads with wadcutters -- both fell to a single shot.

 

[hso]

Pointing to a blog discussing ammunition for a SHTF scenario isn't a discussion and starting a thread about ammunition for rifles for a SHTF scenarios isn't a topic of discussion for THR.

The 7.62×39 commonly found in the AK-47 and Ruger Mini-30 could very well be the most popular cartridge in the world. The reliability of the AK-47 platform is world renowned and unquestionable. This cartridge however we will rule out as it does not fit our needs for hunting, yes it is capable of killing a deer or other large game however it has long been plagued with accuracy issues.

FAIL