As someone else pointed out, there are lots of different kinds of survival scenario, but since the OP didn't specifically mention zombie hordes and SHTF, I'm going to assume that the scenario is something like being forced to survive in the wilderness, or surviving a comet impact or something like that. That being said, I'm a bolt guy. I love bolt rifles. But...
I think that you can make powerful and good arguments for any kind of platform in a lot of different calibers, and in a survival situation a lot is going to depend on what platform and caliber the particular individual is comfortable with and has a lot of experience using. Case in point: I just recently had an opportunity to fire an AR for the very first time. I really liked it, and my next firearm purchase will likely be some iteration of that platform. However, my total AR experience to this point consists of shooting two 5 shot groups at 100 yards in the underground rifle tube at the local Bass Pro shop with a friend's rifle. I would be a fool to base my very survival on that level of experience when I do have the experience of putting thousands of rounds downrange with bolt rifles. Maybe later, after I've actually purchased an AR and had the chance to put thousands of rounds down range with it, I would change my answer. And for a lot of people, what they own and are familiar with have a lot to do with why they were motivated to buy those particular weapons in the first place. There are members of this board who own nothing but Mosin Nagants. Well, and meaning no disrespect to that particular rifle, if that's all you got, then that's your favorite survival rifle.
A good friend of mine - may he rest in peace - once told me that the best survival combination was a big pistol for the up close and ugly stuff, and a single shot .22 LR rifle for putting meat on the table. Sounds perfectly rational to me. Others, even in this thread, have offered that a lever action carbine in some powerful pistol caliber is the ideal survival rifle. Sounds perfectly rational to me. Still others have argued that an AR or some similar platform in .223 is the best of both worlds. Sounds perfectly rational to me.
The point is, although it is well and good to be at least marginally prepared for survival, the fact is that most of us are never going to have to deal with it, and those that do, are prolly not going to have to deal with it for more than a few days. I think the better question is "Are you prepared for the possibility of survival (which is a much bigger question than just firearms), and do your preparations include a firearm with which you are familiar and shoot regularly?"
p) survival gun thread I have to ask...What is your definition of survival?
