For those of you at least open-minded enough to appreciate the (several) advantages of the ubiquitous 22lr...

I'd encourage you to take a look at modern air guns. While none but the most exotic will do for even deer, well... if it comes down to meat for the pot there are a LOT more squirrels and bunnies out there than deer, and a lot less hunters aiming (more or less) in their direction.

Airgus are relatively silent (which could become important), the ammunition weighs MUCH less, and is much less bulky than even .22lr (think 250 rounds in an Altoids tin), they can be amazingly accurate (up to Olympic level), and production air guns are easily available up to .25 caliber (yes, there are production 9mm and even .50 caliber air rifles, but they have other disadvantages).

More importantly, having one can make HUGE differences in the amount of target practice that you can get in. They don't require frequent cleaning or maintenance, and the lack of noise means that an improvised range can be set up in a typical basement... meaning that if you get bored watching Gilligan's Island re-runs (despite their obvious survival relevance), you can be shooting instead in a couple of minutes, and quit just as easily... which means you can shoot every day if you like- no packing, unpacking, forgotten ammo, clips, hearing protection, no cleaning, no round-trip driving to the range. That can easily amount to SEVERAL times as much practice as even the devoted shooter can get at a range- and the skills gained are largely transferable to firearms.

I won't go into detail here- there's a great deal to know about modern air guns, and a great many are NOT directly applicable (IMHO) to survival situations, but many are. I would not suggest trying to replace powder burners with air guns by any means, but they are an excellent supplement, and the better ones can do amazing things for your marksmanship skills, as well as possibly enhancing your ability to quietly put meat on the table if need be.