The Ultimate Survival Gun

What's your choice for the Ultimate Survival Gun

  • Center Fire Rifle

    Votes: 124 30.8%

  • Rimfire Rifle

    Votes: 105 26.1%

  • Hand Gun/Pistol

    Votes: 25 6.2%

  • Shot Gun

    Votes: 145 36.1%

  • Pellet/BB Gun

    Votes: 3 0.7%
  • Total voters
    402
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mr. T

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Messages
621
Location
Midwest
I'm fairly certain this has probably been done before, but I'm looking for people's opinions on the ultimate survival gun; things that would have to put up with the most extreme harsh treatment the elements and nature could throw at it and have it still work; thing to consider most would be reliability and functionality or cross-functionality.

Imagine you've just been stranded in Alaska and you had a choice between the following weapons -- which one will it be?

A) Center Fire Rifle
B) Rimfire Rifle
C) Handgun
D) Shotgun
E) Pellet/BB Gun
 
No catagory, so I didn't vote.
The 12ga shotgun would have the greatest all-round usefulness, from birds & small game to eat, to keeping a bear from eating you.
But the ammo is heavy & bulky, and you simply can't carry a lot of it.

Probably a .22RF/20 ga O/U combo gun would be the best all around gun you could get, all things considered.

Especially if you considered walking a lot and eating to survive.

The ammo is compact & light enough to pack a lot of it.

rc
 
There are animals in Alaska that can stomp you into a greasy stain on the ground. When I lived there we carried a shotgun loaded with slugs.

However, I think a realistic plan for survival would include hunting small game, and I'd want some kind of .22 for that.

Parker
 
If I could only have one, I think i'd say shotgun for it's versatile ammo. Bird shot for birds, slugs for big game, and 00 for SD ;)

I agree rc model though. Lots of weight for not much ammo.
 
It looks like the shotguns are winning hands down right now. I like the thought of the combo 22LR or 22 Mag combined with a 20 or 12 guage. That's like the best of both worlds.
 
Single shot .22 rifle, that shoots shorts, long and long rifle.

Define "survival".

While I would prefer to see .22 rim-fire handgun, on the poll...

This "survival" might mean one is restricted by Tyranny and no handguns can be had by society.
Nor can they have firearms that "repeat" or "self contains ammunition in a magazine as part of the firearm, or separate magazine for weapon".
Tyranny may have imposed restrictions where society cannot have what the Police or Military use, so there goes the 12 ga, and many other platforms and calibers.

Bread-n-Butter...with one these I can get one of those....
 
survival gun

If you are talking pure survival - a man against the elements - I like the little AR7 (Originally an Armalite design, made by several makers inc, Henry).

It is compact and light. It floats. It's fairly accurate and very simple. Did I mention that it was designed specifically as a survival rifle? That and several thousand rounds of 22LR would keep a man in squirrel and rabbit for years.

Sure, it isn't "sexy" or powerful, but when your belly is truly empty - who cares?

PH
 
Definitely should have had an "other" option because the combo long gun is the answer.

My personal favorite is the Springfield M6 Scout.
M6%20Scout.jpg
 
You could make a case for something heavier in Alaska.
Click to expand...
Oh, I agree.

But the reason I said 22RF/20GA was because, if you are stranded, I assumed you have to try to walk out.

It will take more small game to live on then the number of bears you --- wait a minute! --- How many bears are you going to have to kill?

Ah! I thought so!

I'd say a few 20GA Brenneke slugs for bear protection, a couple three boxes of 20GA birdshot, and a brick of .22LR would be all I'd want to carry for days on end.

And near 600 rounds would feed me for a long long time.

rc
 
Define "survival".
Click to expand...

He did:

I'm looking for people's opinions on the ultimate survival gun; things that would have to put up with the most extreme harsh treatment the elements and nature could throw at it and have it still work; thing to consider most would be reliability and functionality or cross-functionality.

Imagine you've just been stranded in Alaska and you had a choice between the following weapons
Click to expand...

12ga pump
 
Cannot vote - poll is flawed/insufficient.

The Answer is a 20", 3-barrel drilling with:

1. 3" 12 gauge rifled barrel, with ability to take multiple screw-in choke tube extensions to unspin and choke shotshell shot, but also shoot saboted slugs without the choke tube extensions.
2. Rifled barrel in .223 remington, 1 in 9" twist, with chamber inserts for also shooting .22lr and either .22 magnum or .22 hornet in the rifled barrel, AND the ability to take a screw-in choke tube extension for shooting .22lr and .22mag shotshells, which will unspin and choke the shot, for shooting tweety birds for pot meat and other small game.
3. Full-powered rifle barrel in a caliber such as .270 win, .280 rem, .30-'06, .308, 7mm-08, .260 Rem, .338 Federal, or similar.

THAT's the ultimate survival gun, as far as surviving off the land goes. You could kill cape buff with hardcast brenneke slugs in the 12 ga in the morning, and then kill a nuthatch for an afternoon snack with the .22lr shotshell barrel, and everything in between, whether walking or flying.
 
shotgun combo of some type

The shotgun shell can be reloaded by hand with little additional effort, hell if you had to you could use pea grave as shot. Put that with a .22lr that has tons of ammo and you are set for the long haul, compare that with a .308 or something that you shoot and are done with, out of ammo = out of ammo.
 
.22 rifle... in a survival situation as has been posed.. the difference in ammunition quantity that one can carry is huge factor to consider. The primary source of food would be small game, medium game if the opportunity arises. Other guns would be more difficult to carry and the ammunition would be severely limited.
 
12 guage versatility? My sweet bippy, no.

22 rimfire for versatility.

Even when it comes to birds for pot meat, Iv taken more birds with my scoped .22lr than my 12, 20, and 410 bore shotguns combined.

My personal choice would be for a 22 magnum rifle. Like it or not, 22 magnum is availible everywhere that sells ammunition:

* 22 magnum is 1/2 the price and about 1/2 the weight of 223 (about $.16 each as oppsed to $.34 each)

* 22 magnum gives you much more wiggle room in survival situations where you may have to take shots normaly considered beyond the normal service of rimfire.

* 22 magnum is still quiet enough to go un noticed where a 223 or 12 guage (especcialy a slug) will not.

* Birds on the ground are often warry. They wont let you get within 100 yards. The .22 magnum gives you the extra umph to take pot meat out to twice the distance of a 22lr.

Even in this ammo shortage crisis, I can walk into any walmart, K-mart, or Meijer and buy .22 magnum. Why? Because nobody else wants this amazing cartridge. Even when the big box stores are sold out of such common calibers as 9mm, 22LR, and 12 guage, they still have 22 magnum and 25 acp. I will snatch up the 22 mag, and leave the 25 acp for the next guy. ;)

I recall a gentleman who built a custom 25acp rifle on a contender frame. I suspect he may have the last laugh when it comes to ammo avalibility. :D
 
survival

Grey,You're a Man after my own heart.I have two long guns in that fine cal,and two ammo cans of ammo for them. HP's , solids,soft points,22wrf,30-50 gr,can carry 250 rds in pocket if needed ,never had a mis fire.
I will also take the 25's
 
Baikal/
IZH made an over under shotgun/rifle combo in 12/.30-06. There are things known as adapters and subcaliber inserts for the shotgun AND the .30-06, to include .22 rimfires, additional centerfire inserts for the 12ga, and even a cartridge converter in .32ACP for the .30-06. I have the .32/.30-06 for my bolt rifle, and have used subcaliber inserts in various shotgun barrels to include pistol calibers and the .45-70. With adpaters and inserts, that one over/under gun could shoot .22 rimfires, .223, .45-70, .30-06, and all 12 ga ammunition. I like the .32acp in a silvertip loading for small game from the .30-06, or you could go .22LR in the 12ga. I can't see what you COULDN'T shoot with this set up. Fearing big game, a .30-06 and a 12ga slug would go pretty well, or a .45-70 (inside the 12ga barrel) and a .30-06 ready at the same time. The combo gun offers a lot of versatility. German aviators carried Drillings for that reason in WWII.
 
12 gauge because of the versatility.

The most efficient way to take small game is snares traps and deadfalls.

A .22cal would be good for deer (head shots) but not enough for personal protection
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
  • Locked
  • Poll
Whicn for a first gun? BB or rimfire?
2
Replies
28
Views
1K
TrapperReady
T
B
  • Locked
An overlooked survival tool
2 3 4
Replies
75
Views
7K
7X57chilmau
7
B
  • Locked
Gun Mag Ad Ultimate Prostitution
2 3 4
Replies
75
Views
5K
meef
M
D
  • Locked
Holiday dream toy? Modern-day BB gun is no such thing
Replies
8
Views
698
ElToro
E
W
  • Locked
AOL survival article +1 for AOL
Replies
24
Views
1K
lucky_fool
L
Back
Top