Holy thread resurrection!

no kiddin' Bingley. Hahahaha!

you know, the original poster had it pretty right. that gun with a 22LR barrel and a 20-gage shotgun barrel is a pretty nice choice for outdoors survival. we're just talking putting food on the table here, although the 20-gage is fine as a defensive tool.

just as simple is a 357 revolver. you can fire 38-cal bullets for small game like rabbits. and the 357 rounds will be fine for small deer, or other small-medium game animals. likewise, a lever-action carbine in 38/357 does very well for those purposes. people who do not like much recoil can fire the 38's thru the gun and there is almost no recoil at all.

otherwise ... the sky's the limit of possible choices of guns. for strictly survival hunting I think the 22mag and the 22Hornet cartridges have a lot going for them. there is a reason why aircrews used to be issued fold-up survival rifles in 22Hornet. I think Henry still makes rifles like that, if I'm not mistaken.

Here is the Henry AR-7 survival rifle in 22LR.

http://www.henryrepeating.com/rifle-survival-ar7.cfm

really a very nice piece of work. only 3.5 pounds and the whole thing folds up. it's hard to argue against always having one of these babies with you. this is as simple as it gets ... and nothing beats simple !!

Pete2

Interesting thread, good topic. Survival guns...a complicated issue in a way. If I am in a survival situation my "survival gun" will simply be whatever one I have on me. Generally that's an HK USPf9 or an HK P30S. Sometimes I'm carrying both of them (one on my hip and the other in Hill People Gear Kit Bag). If I'm hunting get lost then I'll be carrying a hunting gun, whatever that is. That last one is theoretical though since I haven't hunted in many years.

Many folks live in places where every firearm I own would be prohibited. In stock form only my .22 pistol would pass muster in CA, and it would be illegal in NY.

The new-ish Ruger 10/22 Takedown model would be a pretty good survival gun. Not ideal for larger game but it would work.

The almost 6 year old thread resurrection is the probable result of a spammer ...don't feed them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy3BsgjqiQg

This is even without the more efficient and accurate MK8 boat tail ammunition..

Point of order, your honor - the AR-7 does not fold up. The barrel and receiver unscrew from the stock and disappear inside. It thus presents a very innocuous appearance and is very lightweight. I have one of the vintage Armalites and it will float when properly encased. It is definitely a nice gadget.

Why not resurrect this thread? It is about guns, after all...Not as critical to most survival situations as some would have you believe, but still fun to discuss.

The Springfield 1873 rifle came with iron sights calibrated for 1100 yards - that's roughly a kilometer. Of course, the trajectory of the 45-70 round at that range resembled that of a mortar, but our great grandfathers could not call in air strikes. I believe troops on the range regularly shot out to 600 yards.

It´s a strange coincident that you mention this figure. At the start of WW II the performance requirements for infantry rifles included incapacitating a cavalry horse at 600 m with one hit. The rifles had the accuracy to actually hit at this distance. I own a Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55. It still outperforms some modern scoped hunting rifles. Groups below 1 MOA are achievable with iron sights and the price for the ammo allows enough practice for good shooting.

hikermor - point well taken your honor.
it would be interesting to know what kind of accuracy the AR-7 gets.
incidentally, just for historical purposes, could anybody back in 1873 actually see anything clearly at 600 yards. HAHAHA!!!

"6.5x55"
outstanding caliber. hang on to that rifle. that Mauser is a real keeper!!!

Pete2

Since the barrel screws onto the receiver, it is not a tack driver, but you can hit small animals at modest ranges. The trigger pull is rather rough, as well.

But the darn thing works. When I was introducing my sons to firearms, I used it as a single shot, rather than loading up the clips. In a survival situation, I would do the same, primarily to save on ammunition.

It is a rather specialized addition to the gun rack, but I find it quite useful. Mine is now officially an antique - I bought it in 1963.