*Survival Rifles* Got One? What's yours?

Another vote for the Ruger 10/22

I have options but my scrounge for game bag has a 550 rd and a 333 rd boxes of 22lr, 75 20 gauge #6 shot, 15 rifled slugs and 15 #3 buckshot rounds. To accompany them is a Savage 24 22lr over 20 and a Ruger Mark II or a High Standard 5" Sentinel.

Some thoughts on the Take-down Ruger 10-22.....after watching too many episodes of "The Walking Dead"..............

First the take down appeals to me for storage and transport.....

If it ever came to a "survival" situation I see myself putting the two halves together using 3-5 rds to check zero.... and using as is...... not taking it apart and putting it back together everyday. Maybe only taking it apart if I need to hide the fact I have it........

That said mine is actually equipped with a "AGP Arms" folding stock (24" w/ stock folded)...... for the best of all worlds and a Bushnell TRS 25 red dot sight (4 extra batteries in the case) and a quick detach single point sling..... I can wear it under my arm under a coat..........in an urban setting. While IIRC there are 2 25rd mags in the Ruger case (I blacked out the Ruger "Red Bird" on the bag) I put 2 10 rd mags butt butt giving me a more compact package but still have 20 rounds in/on the gun. So the case has 1 10rd , 2 20rd clips and 2 25rd ruger mags.


So once the vaccine turns you all into Zombies..... I'm good to go!!!!

The Boys love this 10-22 at the range almost as much as our S&W 15-22!!!!!

I always wanted a 22 Hornet survival rifle (one of the early ones). Currently have an M-1 clone 10-22 and wife has a scoped 10-22 International. What caliber has killed more deer than any other? Twenty-two long rifle=the poachers favorite! A couple of 22 LRs will ruin anyone's day! Under survival situations, hunting laws be d-----d!

I would say only a shotgun (20, 16, or 12) would be more versatile!

I've thought about buying one of those kits for my ar where you can take it down into two pieces. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

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I would imagine if SHTF did come to pass, .gov troops would be everywhere. Re supply of 5.56 would be through "barter/ pilferage/ picking up leftovers" so I'd have this with me. Joe

tnmandpshooter said:

I've thought about buying one of those kits for my ar where you can take it down into two pieces. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

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I'd imagine if'n you push out both pins your rifle would be in 2 handy size parts. Joe

I had a Henry survival rifle, semi-auto. Neat package, stores in the stock and it floats. However, the accuracy was way off for a .22. The idea is good if they could just make one that was reasonably accurate. I got rid of it, thankfully right after the National Rifleman did an article on them. Thanks, NR.

I got if for a truck gun, no plans for a "survival" rifle. I can't imagine surviving with only a .22 rifle.

pharmer said:

I'd imagine if'n you push out both pins your rifle would be in 2 handy size parts. Joe

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I'll be doggone if he ain't right!

Oh snap forgot the one flattop AR I actually want, the new USAF survival rifle.

GAU-5A ACSW Clone Pistol | Midwest Industries, Inc.

A good 22 rifle is hard to beat for survival gun. Not the best for shoot outs but for gathering small game they shine. A notch up would be a 0/U with 410. As with the AR-7 a U/O is worthless unless accurate.

Drm50 said:

A good 22 rifle is hard to beat for survival gun. Not the best for shoot outs but for gathering small game they shine. A notch up would be a 0/U with 410. As with the AR-7 a U/O is worthless unless accurate.

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I'd opt for a .22mag over .22lr ...... my CZs will shoot under the crosshairs out to/past 100yds... the Ruger Am isn't quite as good..... but .22mag will take larger game at longer ranges......and has the same muzzle energy as a 9mm. Ammo is still light enough to carry 200-300rds

I'd view a "survival situation" as one where you are hoping to be found..... or..... working to avoid unwelcome human contact.

In the end fun to think about but....... in reality...... more like the daydreams of Walter Mitty

BAM-BAM said:

In the end fun to think about but....... in reality...... more like the daydreams of Walter Mitty

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LIKE,LIKE,LIKE!

I stand by that ..... but ..... but better to be prepared than caught unawares if the SHTF...................................or worse

mauser9 said:

Am going to include my newer Ruger American compact in 22 magnum with the shorter 18 inch barrel. Synthetic stock and gun is very light for carry and still packs a wallop up close for some varmints. Nice gun for the $280 I paid for it.

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Me too. 1" groups at 100 yards all day long with 40 gn solids.

BigBill said:

Survival to me means killing small game to eat?
A BB gun or pellet gun will do it very quietly not to attract people. The old single shot and pump 22’s using 22 shorts would work.

During the depression the my great uncle the story goes he would shoot small birds lined up on the peak, roof of the chicken coop. My great aunt would clean them and in tomato sauce they went. That’s survival at its finest.

Survival for self defense is another story. A 12 ga with “00” buck end of story.

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For “no messin’ around” small game gathering, the shotgun remains supreme.
Throw in social situations, my first choice might be something else.

pharmer said:

I would imagine if SHTF did come to pass, .gov troops would be everywhere. Re supply of 5.56 would be through "barter/ pilferage/ picking up leftovers" so I'd have this with me. Joe

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See, this is where things have gone off the rails.

The "survivalists" and preppers with their "SHTF" rifles have co-opted the term by association.

The discussion used to be based around a light, compact, easy to stow and carry rifle that could be used to help you survive in the wild by enabling you to hunt small and medium game while you either await rescue or walk out to civilization.

To a lesser extent it's also a means to defend yourself against wolves, etc, although that's about 95% hollywood BS. Unless you are in a really remote area and/or the wolves are really hungry, they are going to avoid people like the plague, since they associate humans and their smell with pack mates getting shot or trapped.

"Survival rifles" have traditionally been rifles like:

- the USAF issued bolt action telescoping wire buttstock Harrington Richards M4 .22 Hornet survival rifle that used to fit in the seat pan survival kit in an ejection seat;

- the slightly larger break open over and under M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon based on the same concept in combinations of .22 LR/.22 Hornet, ,22LR/.410, and .22LR/.45 Colt. This also includes the Springfield Armory and CZ civilian M6 Scout.

- the USAF issued bolt action Armalite AR-5/MA-1 .22 Hornet survival rifle where the components all fit in the buttstock.

- Military based civilian survival rifles like the the Armalite AR-7, subsequently made by both Charter Arms and Henry. It is a semi-auto version of the AR-5 where again the entire rifle fits in the stock, and will float in water in that configuration.

- Civilian back packing rifles like the Chiappa Little Badger or the Savage Model 42.

- And finally take down versions of a number of .22 LR and centerfire rifles - (10/22, Model 39, 9422, Model 92 and Model 94 WInchester take downs, Marlin Model 70, Browning SA22, Ruger PC carbine, etc, etc, etc.

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Then we start to have some "drift" away from what a survival rifle actually is.

The current Chiappa M6 X Barrel is a derivative of the M6 in the form of the their enlarged version of it using a 12 gauge barrel on top and a .22 LR barrel underneath. They also include their X-Caliber inserts for .380 auto, 9mm, .357 Magnum, .40 Smith & Wesson, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, 20-gauge shotgun and .410 caliber shot shells, and of course you can shoot .38 special in the .357 Mag, and .44 Special in the .44 Mag.

However, given that all those inserts weight 4.5 pounds all by themselves, it's really stepped over the line into post apocalyptic prepper territory. It's a shoot what you can scrounge approach, - except it ironically does not include inserts for the civilian/military .223/5.56 NATO, .308/7.62 NATO, 7.62x39, and 5.45x39 rounds that are likely to be most commonly found in any self respecting post apocalyptic science fiction fantasy.

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There is also the current USAF issue 5.56x45mm NATO GAU-5A, which is based on the AR-15/M4 series.

However it also deviates from the traditional definition of survival rifle. Then again the USAF is upfront about it as it is classed as an "aircrew self-defense weapon", not a "aircrew survival weapon".

It's basically an M4 carbine modified to a take down configuration with a folding pistol grip to make it small enough to fit in a seat pan sized survival kit. (You can get a civilian version of it from Midwest Industries that uses a Cry Havoc quick release barrel system.)

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Unfortunately, if you do an internet search for "survival rifle" the vast majority of hits and reviews will be for the "SHTF" flavor of mis named "survival rifle".

Marlin M-795 .22 and a stainless .357 revolver with some .38 ammo, too.

I understand that space and weight are important considerations on a plane, but IMHO something like the drillings issued to the Luftwaffe would be a better choice, 2 shotgun barrels and a rifle powerful enough to bring down big game-or two legged rats. Fired a buddy's AR-7 years ago, found it rather crude, the sights especially, the lack of a forearm made it hard to get a good grip on it. And I'd prefer a bolt action, easier to maintain and repair.

Ruger 10/22 take down. SS barrel. I finally bought one after trying to nickel and dime the pricing of them down to the lowest amount possible. Then I realized most guns I buy are 2x to 4x the cost of a 10/22. So just bought one at going rate. You get a lot of gun for the price point for sure.