Survival

[Timnorris]

Hii guys

I want to know your opinion about which weapon is best in a situation where you are lost in the woods and you need to hunt to procure food........................would it be a .22lr rimfire, shotgun, a centerfire rifle or a handgun..........

Timnorris

[fantumfan2003]

I think a map, compass and GPS would be more useful in getting out of such a situation than a weapon.

M.

[timmy]

I would vote for a variant of the original Air Force M6 Survival Gun:

http://thepackingrat.net/2008/04/17/spr ... -overview/

http://www.smallarmsreview.com/may.htm

I do feel that, while .22 LR might be the most common ammunition around, I don't necessarily see survival as scrounging and making do in a doomsday - post atomic bomb sort of world. Therefore, I'd prefer the original .22 Hornet rifle barrel.

For the shotgun barrel, I recognize that the Air Force wanted to save weight, but in competitive shooting, the .410 is an expert's gun, not the most efficient shotgun. I think a better choice for the lower barrel would be a 20 ga. -- a compromise between light weight and the firepower of a 12 ga.

I'd also like some sort of rugged aperture rear sight system.

If the gun has to encompass any and every possible survival situation -- meaning that it is the best compromise, this is what I'd choose.

[sudesh]

IN COMING YEARS THERE WOULD BE NO SUCH WOODS WHERE ANYBODY COULD GET LOST
START SAVING TREES.



SuDeSh

[Vikram]

IN COMING YEARS THERE WOULD BE NO SUCH WOODS WHERE ANYBODY COULD GET LOST
START SAVING TREES.



SuDeSh

You are a wiseman,Sudesh.

I would think a survival gun in .22lr is the best calibre.You can store a lot of ammo,hunt from rabbits to deer or boars (head shots only) etc and little noise.I may prefer an M6 style rifle without the .410 barrel.Saves weight and can carry more ammo.JMO.

Best-
Vikram

[Mark]

If I had to choose, I would pick a 22 magnum over a 22 LR. The cartridges are small enough you can still pack a quantity of them, but the magnum is so much more effective on animals over 15 kgs than the 22LR is, and quite noticeably at distances over 50 yards or so.

[Sakobav]

I would recommend a .22 rifle or .17 for the reasons stated by other members.

Here is one from Chuckhawk

http://www.chuckhawks.com/survival_rifles.htm
Survival guide

http://www.survival-gear-guide.com/Survival-Rifles.html

[Timnorris]

My personal preference is .22lr ......................... beacause one can carry a 1000 rds ammo in a small pouch..............less sound, good range...................in all the articles I have gone through in the net nobody has mentioned the use of Air Rifle as a survival weapon...........dont you think a Hight power air rifle or even a bb gun would make a good survival weapon for use on small game

Timnorris

[TwoRivers]

My personal preference is .22lr ......................... beacause one can carry a 1000 rds ammo in a small pouch..............less sound, good range...................in all the articles I have gone through in the net nobody has mentioned the use of Air Rifle as a survival weapon...........dont you think a Hight power air rifle or even a bb gun would make a good survival weapon for use on small game

Timnorris

Well, those 1,000 rounds would weigh roughly nine pounds (4 kilogram), and have a volume of about 110 cubic inches. Not so small, or light, a pouch. Unless you plan to live on sparrows and mice, a BB gun, or even a good air rifle, wouldn't be up to the task; and a more powerful air rifle, capable of reliably taking game up to rabbits and pigeon-sized birds, is really to heavy and bulky to consider as a survival arm. Cheers.

[TwoRivers]

A good topic for debate, and one that will elicit a number of varied answers. It will probably vary as how, and under what circumstances, you are "planning" to get lost; where on this earth, and during what season, and what kind of game you are most likely to encounter. Last, but not least, the type of firearm available to you that would best meet your requirements. Overall, it would be difficult to go wrong with a .22LR/.410 combination with a sturdy peep sight; though a .22 RF Magnum/.410 would be better. If I could get one in .22 Hornet/.28 gauge, I'd be really happy. The Hornet, though, is more of a choice for the reloader. On today's market it would difficult to beat the .22 RF Magnum/.410 made by Izhevsk for value.
Years ago a group of us used to gather at the shop of a gunsmith friend, and invariable the topic of the debate would turn to the survival/airplane/boat/snow-machine rifle. Personality also played a role, some opting for absolute simplicity, others for multi-purpose, for others the ability to have the weapon always on your body was most important. In those days state law required a survival weapon on board of private planes.
Keep in mind, that these guys were counting on an accident, airplane, boat, or snow machine failure to leave them stranded and possibly injured; not on a failure to have a compass or map, and that influenced their choices. They weren't guys out for an afternoon stroll in the woods. Here are some of the actual choices.

a. .22 RF Walther PPK: Always in one's pocket. (Airplane and boat.)

b. S&W .32 revolver: Always on belt. (Airplane and boat.)

c. Single-shot .22 RF: Little can go wrong.

d. Marlin M97 .22 RF: Take-down and large capacity tubular mag, always loaded, can't lose those rounds in an accident.

e. Remington M25 ,25-20: Enough power to finish a moose caught in a snare, take wolf and wolverine. (Trapper, airplane, boat, snow machine.)

f. Combination rifle/shotgun, varying from .22 RF/.410 to heavier calibers. (Airplane.) One of these fellows wanted to have his M24 Savage in.22/.410 rebored to a .45-70, but there isn't enough metal in the chamber where the shotgun barrel is inlet for the rifle barrel. Plus, I doubted that the action would be strong enough. But the .45 Colt works, and the .410 shotshell can still be used. So I had an older side-selector M24 rebored and rifled. It never has been called upon to serve its intended purpose, but it's a fun plinker and "walk-in-the-woods" gun.

h. Remington M722 in .222 Remington: Barrel shortened to 18" and slimmed, stock slimmed and re-profiled, chambered to .223. Rifle looked like the proto-type for the Remington Model 7, which came out a few years later. Turned out we had to clip the points of ball ammo to stabilize it in the 1-14 twist, an easy job with side-cutting pliers. (Snow-machine, trapping.)

i. Remington .221 Fireball pistol: Chosen in the mistaken belief this would be an all-rounder. Tears up small game, and blows up on big game. (Pilot.)

k. Finally we came up with the ".403 Thavage". That was the .303 Savage blown-out to a straight case to accept .41 Magnum bullets. A well neglected Marlin M336 Marauder in .30-30 was rebored and chambered for the new wildcat. Now we had a rifle that could fire the .403, which came pretty close to the .444 Marlin in performance; could fire .41 Magnum cartridges, and could handle .410 components for shotshells in its brass cases. .403 performance turned out better than expected, the pistol rounds would give about a 1 1/2" group at fifty yards with the peep sight, and the shot-shells could easily handle grouse at 25 yards. Alas, two years after its debut it got dropped into a lake. Three years after that my friend fatally crashed. End of the .403 Thavage story.
So, decide what you need, and take your pick. Cheers.

[nagarifle]

lost in the woods eh? let see, food for thought, why would i get lost in woods? if i have a map etc. but if i was lost in the woods, i would (locate or try to) a water source, no water no life. so water would get me other eatables near by.

as for which arms, there is only one choise ruger 10/20

eh what happens if your are lost in the woods with out arms?



ps if i knew that i was going to get lost, i would get a pizza delivery made that way i would save on ammo

[kanwar76]

Hmmm interesting topic..

I don't think one can get lost in INDIA.. People are everywhere you know

But my fire-arm of choice will be a 12G shotgun so that I can take whatever available on earth as well as / or skies

Just my take

-Inder

[Timnorris]

yes, I agree there is no place in India where one can get lost in the jungle ..................but what if tomorrow the food supply shuts (McDonalds shuts down).........................during the great depression in the US many communities relied on natural resources for food. hunting and fishing

[timmy]

That's the rub -- where the "survival" situation is located.

If one is in an arid situation, conditions would be much different than in a forest, or a rain forest. In some situations, there might be plentiful or scarce game, or there may be dangerous animals to contend with. Also, as mentioned, in an "urban meltdown" one might encounter dacoits or politically motivated bad actors.

My own assumption was that, because no scenario was specified, the one choice allowed would have to address any and all situations. It is interesting to note just which compromises are often made (single shot) and others, which are perhaps more attributable to personal preference.

In any event, I expect that background knowledge and the ability to improvise solutions would be more important that optimizing a survival weapons choice. Still, the question provides the basis for much discussion.

[Timnorris]

I think a survival weapon should be a general weapon which fits into any situation be it snow, desert, swamp etc............thats why we call it a survival weapon.........................we cannot carry a battery of weapons in our car or aircraft and choose our weapon according to where our aircraft crash lands or wheather we land in a desert or mountain.............................I may sound rude but I aint

Timnorris