Good points, all <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

Troy

Use what gives you options. Carry a repeater. You have multiple shots if the situation calls for it. If you want 1 shot, drop the magazine & load 1 round manually. I would hate to try to reload a single shot rifle after killing 1 dog of the feral pack while the rest are trying to kill me.

Thats where practice comes in. I have seen a police officer load and shoot
a single shot shotgun as fast as his colleagues with a pump.

The feral dogs are a particular problem. In many respects they are like an enraged mob. If you cannot be elsewhere fast, you have to overwelm them with weight of fire. There is a rule in small unit actions - which is what you are effectively dealing with here - that goes: He who gets there first, with the most, wins. That's one of the few situations in which I would prefer a semi-automatic rifle. For anything else the Rossi is just fine.

Personally, If I was buying a .22 rifle for outdoor use I would pick up a Ruger 10/22. The reason being, parts are everywhere and a large amount of people know how to work on them and use them. It's like the Chevy 350 of the rimfire world. They arn't that expensive either, you can buy one with a synthetic stock for less than $300 brand new.

For ferals, I want something nice and potent. Like a flamethrower.

personally, I'd learn to find edible plants etc...learn to hunt, then in your pack you can carry a real gun, plenty of ammo, water purifiers, etc. instead of food. Things you can't really replace in the wild anymore.
don't forget to pack seeds, you never know, you might be missing for a while.
I'll be taking an AR, with AP rounds, I can easily take down elk and grizzly

Or maybe an M-60???

Troy

OUTside thirty yards, you'll take down a grizzly with an AR... inside thirty yards, you'll still feel teeth & claws... good luck with that <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.
Make mine a 12 ga. pump, no sport plug, alternating buck & slugs for ol' Griz.

Troy

Maybe if that AR is 308. Here is an interesting article on the 22 caliber
centerfires for deer hunting.

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ammunition/centerfire_22_biggame/