My point was, they are in the same power class as an air rifle. For the small stuff you could hunt with an air rifle, these would be just as good as the air rifle.

But as I said earlier, I don't like air rifles for hunting. And I wouldn't like these rounds for hunting either. I was just pointing out the equivalency.

What about setting a series of traps as an alternative to shooting game? I have practically no experience in trapping, but it might be well more productive in terms of time/effort/calories expended in a survival situation.... Comments, anyone??

I would definitely go for trapping. Although I've never trapped anything in my life, I think I could do it. I have enough survival books that I could probably pick it up pretty fast. I'm thinking some snares along a tree branch in my back yard, peanut butter as bait, and then just wait for the stupid squirrels to show up. Maybe it's harder than I think. But if I have to fall back to slingshots, air rifles and firearms, I'm all set for that too. It might not hurt to get some of those big rat traps - not the little mouse traps, but their bigger brother. That might work better for squirrels than snares. You could nail those up on tree branches pretty easily.

We have a ton of rabbits in our yard. They're quite stupid. They freeze in place when they see you. You can walk right up to them and it's like their little feet are glued to the ground. Just walk up within 3 feet (very easy to do) and throw a bath towel over them. Captured!

Our neighbors are very inconsiderate morons and their back yard is filled with a herd of yapping Chihuahuas. Their incessant barking ruins the whole neighborhood. In a survival situation, I'm thinking two birds with one stone here. Probably easier than squirrels.

I live on the Gulf of Mexico, and there is a lot of protein out there... I'm thinking cast net and snatch hook for schooled mullet....baited trot line with entrals... a 100 pack of 2/0 hooks might be more valuable than your Krugerrand...

the combo of hunting and trapping would probably be the best option. and that is exactly what woodsmen did in the early days of America.

some critters are dumb, but others are amazingly crafty. its not always as easy to catch them as you might think.

They can't be as bad as Pomeranians, cute balls of fur who do not know how to shut up.

Jeanette Isabelle

Actually, I love dogs. I am annoyed by the ones that won't shut up though. But really, that is because of their inconsiderate self-absorbed owners not training them or controlling them. I am surprised that the many foxes and coyotes in our neighborhood haven't eaten those little Chihuahua's. These predators are right there at our back fence. The foxes, even in our back yard. We once watched a coyote and fox in a standoff about ten feet away. We were standing on our fence rail watching them - they were oblivious to us. You should have heard the noises they were making while they faced off. The coyote was obviously a juvenile that didn't know what to make of the fox. For the life of me, with those Chihuahua's constantly ringing the dinner bell for the wildlife in the area, I don't know why we still have this Chihuahua infestation. A six foot wooden fence is no challenge for a fox, I don't know about a coyote. And the Chihuahua's are protected in their yard by only a 3 foot chain link fence that the predators can see right through.

Things can get complicated where gun laws are concerned but in general terms it's legal to suppress an airgun. It can get more complicated in some areas but in the US (and again in general terms) if the suppressor is permanently affixed to the barrel then Federal law permits it. The usual caveat is to check your local laws no matter what we're discussing.

Air guns can be excellent tools, and some do indeed have enough power to harvest large game. It's hard to say which would be a better 'survival' tool since that depends on a lot of things. An air rifle doesn't need ammunition in the way that a firearm does but they do require pellets, you can't use a rock or something. So you still need to stock ammo of a sort. In general terms a firearm doesn't require much in the way maintenance beyond routine cleaning and occasional replacement of some of the springs [usually over a period of years].

Probably long terms survival will require hunting to be supplemented with trapping and/or fishing. Again, it really depends on the situation. Most experts hold that food is a pretty low priority in the most common situations. Of course we have read about some of the "Black Swan" situations where folks have survived two months before being rescued. The environment where you will be operating will dictate what you should have with you.

To be clear I'm not discussing an EOTWAWKI situation. It's hard to imagine how one could adequately prepare for the total collapse of human civilization, and I'm not sure I would care to survive it to begin with. In any event it's beyond the normal scope of ETS I suppose.

Pete, I hear you. In a survival situation, the seacoast is the place to be. I was just out to Santa Barbara Island yesterday, reminded again that at low tide, twice a day, the table is set. Just pick and cook....

Yep, there's a reason that so many ancient peoples lived in coastal areas.