I'm doing some research on Survival Combo firearms and have a few questions.

I just wondered how many owned one of the Springfield/CZ M6 combo 'survival" firearms and use them as a BOB or Camp firearm?
These were made in .22lr/.410; .22 Hornet/.410, which is yours? What ammo load do you have for yours?


Back when the original M 6's were used as survival firearms for pilots, does anyone know what the ammo load was? How many .22 Hornet and .410 rounds were provided? I understand the .410 shells were alum. cased and had #6 shot in them, while the .22 Hornet rounds were soft point.

I don't have a M6 but I have a savage .22lr over .410 I keep it in my truck with 50 rnd's of .22, 10 no.4 buckshot, 10 00 buckshot , and 5 slugs all in a plastic box. I use the .22 for small game and the .410 for larger animals.

i do own a cz m-6 survival rifle in the issued caliber of .22 hornet and .410 gauge..i use it every once and again when i go camping with people that do'nt know me very well..it's one of the less threating weapons that i own...pictures and info of the weapon and ammo can be found in the book (U.S. COMBAT AIRCREW SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT) WW2 TO PRESENT A REFERENCE GUIDE FOR COLLECTORS..BY Michael Breuninger.......a great book for any question on U.S. survival kit...vince g. 11b inf..

TY, Barnes and Noble just ordered the book for me. I've searched for info on the M 6 as used by the AF, but found little.

Mine is 22LR/410


It shoot Federal 22 ok and some Winchester #6 (Wally World)

I wanted to squirrel hunt with it this year, but time got away.

It is fun.

The whole Springfield M6 product line has been discontinued. That includes the combinations of blue or stainless, 22/410 or 22Hor/410, longgun or handgun. They have quickly jumped into the collector class. Many are selling for over $500. If Springfield does not return to production, they may reach $1000.

They were a great product but had some chamber problems. Chamber bulges along with extraction of fired rounds caused many warranty returns. When in production, they sold well at $250.

The .410 barrel would take 3" magnum - 000 buck, slugs or any of the factory shot shells. The 22 or 22H barrel took any production amunition. Extraction was the only issue.

Springfield had a scope rail, a soft short case, a soft long case and a short plastic floating case.

I almost bought one in 2003. I even went through the "process" to buy it here in California but decided to use the deposit to buy a Glock 17. I forfeited about $50 in restock / re-register fees.
I am glad I got the G17 but I have ALWAYS regretted not getting the M-6. I had it for $239....
It would have been a .22lr/.410 because of the price, value and surplus of .22lr.

The service issue version was made by Ithaca and differed only in a shorter barrel length. Somewhere online is a complete military user's manual. It was designed for the USAF primarily for arctic flights vs the USSR. For this the light wieght and caliber sufficient for rabbits,ptarmigan and other small game encountered north was perfect. It was this military experience with the .22 Hornet that gave more impetus to 5.56 development. Survival school in Alaska actually had a trap shooting session with the little rifle. The .22Hornet in any commercial load is at best average in accuracy in this rifle. The primary problem lies in using small rifle primers which are far to violent to initiate a good burn rate. Handloading with pistol primers dramatically increases accuracy. There is a wildcat called the 'K Hornet' with the tapered case straightened out. You can gain some velocity, but better yet simply maintain or even slightly reduce loads for lower chamber pressures. Standard loads can still be used and the cases fireformed.

I don't have an M6 but I have seen a few around. My preference is the Savage Model 24C and is a .22LR over 20 gauge. I hunted alot as a teenager with a double barrel .410 and learned its limitations well. That is why I chose to go with a 20 gauge. I have a sling on it that holds 9 shotgun shells and a 5 shot shell holder on the stock. The stock holds 2 shotgun shells and 10 .22LR internally. Also around the fore stock I have a Sidekick pouch with about 100 rounds of .22 ammo. The shotgun ammo is a combination of Slugs, 4 Buck, 2 shot, 4 shot and 7 1/2 shot. I take this with me when ever I head to the hills, which is frequently. I have a second bag of ammo if I choose to carry it with about 400 rounds of .22 and 50 assorted rounds of 20 gauge.

"...Somewhere online is a complete military user's manual..."

This might be it. For some reason my computer won't let me see the photos, but it sounds like it might be close...

M6 ammo;
As far as I am aware (all that I have seen), ammo provided (issued)for the M6 = Alum. cased .410, #6 shot, Brass cased .22 Hornet 45 grn? round nose fmj., with std. military head stamps.
Depending, on the kit, could have been deployed with or without "extra ammo". (Have seen "brown box" .22H., but never less than comm. equiv. 50 rnd. box, .410 that I've seen has all been single rnds.)

The USAF was at least somewhat impressed with the .22H, as they also issued a colapsable stocked bolt action (the model# escapes me ?) But haven't issued (to my knoledge, which ma be stale) .22lr, or .22mag, the later has similar balistics to the hornet+ cheaper, lighter ??????

.22Hornet has some problems, as others have mentioned, and I agree with Chris about the K Hornet (Kilbourne,wildcat chamber),but while superior in all respects, does require handloading, and as he mentioned, do use a small pistol primer.

As to combo guns in general- hey great idea, but in practice not all that great... To each his own.

I've been looking for a stainless Springfield Armory M6-Scout chambered in .22 Hornet/410 for serveral years now with no success, and I would gladly pay $500. I like the .22 Hornet because it has almost twice the velocity and 3 times the energy of a .22 LR, making it useful for procurring emergency game larger than squirrel & rabbit. I understand what others say about the accuracy of the .22 Hornet in general, but I have had the opportunity to range test a M6 and got reasonably tight groups at 50 yards which is the maximum range it is designed for anyway. The .410 combo makes it very versitile, it is rugged, light, and can be folded into a small package for throwing in a canoe, pack, etc. Sure there are better rifles and better shotguns, but the compactness, versatility, and toughness made it ideal for my purposes and I can find no suitable substitute. I have an AR-17 in .22 LR and a .410 guage "snake charmer" that I alternate packing in my canoe, but I don't really like either. I would welcome any thoughts on other packable rifles, shotguns, or combos.

I have Savage 24's in .22lr/20ga and .22mag/20ga and the light weight 24 C model in the same cals. There are great firearms, but for what I wanted to use the M 6 for, they were not as suitable as the M 6.

I have a parkerized M 6 in .22lr, and was looking for a stainless version when I was referred to this one from a friend. It was hiding on Glock Talk.

Good luck on finding one, if I hear of another, I'll PM you.
Best Wishes
Stu

I have a friend who had the M6 22H/410 he sold it at the Va Gun Collectors Assoc , Gun Show this past weekend at the Prince William Fairgrounds for $225.00 LNIB, so they are around and can be found quite reasonable.

Ouch, that hurt! I've seen them up past $600.

I dunno, my M6 has been a primary hunting gun for a few seasons now. Yes, you can take a deer with a .410 slug. It's all about shot placement. At 35 yards, I can reliably get a head shot with the .410, and the .22 part is pretty accurate too - it's no tack driver, but I've gotten a few rabbits with one shot.

Izzy, the M6 Scout is not very accurate beyond 40 yards, but it was never meant to be. It is a packable survival gun (the best design to date in my opinion) and not intended to be a sporting firearm. However, there are over/under combo guns that are very accurate. For many years, Savage has made several models of rifle/shotgun combinations that are quite accurate at very reasonable prices.

I have the Parkerized version of the .22 Hornet/.410

A stainless model is what I've hoped for, but I would still be interested in any M-6 Scout. I sent you a private message that should appear under "My Stuff" when you log in.

I use a CZ M6 Scout in 22lr/410 as my primary bob firearm. I've got a copy of the military manual in PDF if you like. I posted it a year or so back on the Knifeforums.

Steve

Can you email me the file via my profile?
TIA
Stu