[ke4sky]

Commentary on a .22 rifle as the "one gun" for farm, camp and utility use by the non-hobby shooter living in a rural area.

.22 Rifle for Country Living | ShilohTV

[ke4sky]

Quote:       Originally Posted by thrillbilly

...it would NOT be a handgun! It would be either a .22lr rifle or a 12G shotgun.

I could agree on the .22 rifle, but when SHTF how many 12-ga. rounds do you think you can carry and how long will they last?

A brick of .22s in the ruck doesn't cost or weigh much, or take up much space which gets in the way of other essentials. It would last a long time if carefully managed. But to carry around more than a hundred 12-ga. rounds you better have a vehicle or a pack horse.

[larmus]

actual no you dont need the vehicle nor the pack horse, just a big person wyo can carry alot... before i got my sks, my 12g was my primary weapon for Grab-and-go, i had an 8 shot buttstock side saddle, a 6 shot normal side saddle, a 24 round sling, 2-25rnd belts and then 24rnds in my tac-vest... so 112 rnds plus the 7 in tube and one in chamber for a total of 120rnds for easy axcess and then 2 - 25 rnd boxes in ruck so a total of 170rnds on person... it was not light but it was not an excessive amount to have when distributed through out my gear...

[ke4sky]

11 pounds of 12-gage ammo sure impacts how much weight in water and other survival gear you might prefer to carry instead of ammo, though....

[larmus]

yes and it is also determined by what your nessecity is... are you buging out permently or for a short time and planning to return to your gear, if its still there... are you going out on patrol, is it one day or three day... are you going into hostile territory looking for supplies or for just recon... or just hunting for the day away from base camp... all situations differ... so i understand what your saying...

what i discribed would be if i had to hump and run, not being able to get back to my main area of operation and had to go with as much ammo as possible... i can find food in route to a new destination and depending on where you live water could be just filtered and boiled from lakes and rivers if need be... i live in the dessert so i also would be taking a full camel back and two one quart canteens and minimal food cause i know what to look for in the way of food where i live... and circle k or the 7-11 dont work... LOL!!!

[thrillbilly]

I can carry enough 12G ammo for awhile...and since it's one of the most common weapons out there, I could resupply. I imagine every house in my county has 12G ammo in it...and every store including hardware, feed, and some gas stations, carries 12G. I don't believe in the one gun concept anyways...my Tactical I entered in the SGBP would be carried along with a .22 rifle in my pack, and my wife would be carrying a CF rifle for the longer engagements...as well as a .22 or a 9mm carbine.

[thrillbilly]

p.s. You got me curious...so I tried it out. I had 5 in the gun, 5 on the buttstock, 25 rd bandoleer, and a 100 rds in my backpack. It wasn't bad at all...I figure I could carry another 50rds at least with no problems, especially if I thought I would need them to save my a**! I would be using them and lightening my load as I go anyway.

[larmus]

thrillbilly thats what i figured anyway... you will be getting rid of them one way or another, either by hunting or defending... and like you said before the rounds are every where...

[pico]

I can't see a 22 LR being the go to gun in a survival situation. While the rounds wiegh next to nothing, they lack the capability of larger rounds. I would agree that a 12 guage would be much more useful. Perhaps what you should consider is a pellet gun in addition to your shotgun. A thousand pellets are not trouble at all, and the guns themselves can be found in lighter variants.

[Metronome]

I think it is more importantly where you are surviving that makes the call. In a populated urban area, a Handgun makes sense, in a rural area a 12 Ga. would be very useful, and if I was by myself in the woods, a .22 rifle would be near ideal.

[TACAV]

Here is a great combat shotgun setup

Original SOE Gear Shotgun MicroRig.

Its made by OSOE gear. Its a small company that makes great stuff. Double stitched and bomb proof. Originally made custom gear for the SEALs.

Uses two modified M16 Mag pouches to hold 24 extra rounds. When you get done feeding from the outside shells, pull it down and pull out the inner shell holder which sticks to the outside of the pocket. The large side pocket was designed to hold an IFAK (individual first aid kit) but it can hold 25 shells loose or whatever else you want to put in there.

6 in the gun, 6 in a side saddle, plus 24 more = 36 rounds in a lightweight grab and go situation.

Here is a demo of how you use it from a tactical shotgun course.

You Tube

You Tube

[G. Green]

I'm not usully a big fan of gizmos, but those are neat!

[sniper1958]

TACAV: Great post - Thanks! I'll still trust my abilities to my single-stack 1911 .45 ACP because a) I'm good with it; b) I've got two and a lot of ammo and c) I can't afford to buy a double-stack 1911 or any other pistol for that matter.

I don't subscribe to the "one gun" theory. I'd for sure have my 1911, plenty of mags and either my SKS or 12 gauge.

[BudW]

M14 scout

[Dragunov]

I can't subscribe to the one gun idea. I have a .380 that we're all good enough with to hit a small target at ten yds. one shot to the head at that distance, or emptying a mag in the thoracic cavity at that distance will certainly stop any aggressor, even with target loads. It is not a good hunting weapon. A .22 would have difficulty stopping a charging human if the shooter is stressed, but GREAT for small game.

If I had to pick just one weapon, it would have to be a .30 cal, semi auto rifle.... An SKS is ideal. It can be used at short range, medium range and it will supress enimies at long range. It will take small game if you get a head shot w/out destroying it. Medium game and humans at most practical ranges <300yds. Black bear at <100yds and a reasonable expectation of a hit on a human sized target at <450 yds. A 7.62 NATO would be better, but not if you include cost effectiveness in the calculation.

For $550, you can get an SKS, 100 stripper clips and 1260rnds of ammo in the PRK here.

With all things considered, ANY firearm is better than NO firearm regardless.

[thrillbilly]

Quote:       Originally Posted by TACAV

Here is a great combat shotgun setup Original SOE Gear Shotgun MicroRig. Its made by OSOE gear. Its a small company that makes great stuff. Double stitched and bomb proof. Originally made custom gear for the SEALs. Uses two modified M16 Mag pouches to hold 24 extra rounds. When you get done feeding from the outside shells, pull it down and pull out the inner shell holder which sticks to the outside of the pocket. The large side pocket was designed to hold an IFAK (individual first aid kit) but it can hold 25 shells loose or whatever else you want to put in there. 6 in the gun, 6 in a side saddle, plus 24 more = 36 rounds in a lightweight grab and go situation. Here is a demo of how you use it from a tactical shotgun course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxN_r-Lk_RU

I like that rig but not that much! 125$!
Original S.O.E. Gear

[larmus]

Tacav, that is an awesome little system to say the least... Thrillbilly is right though, it is pretty expensive at $125... i might have to make one for personal use... the mechanics are not that hard...

[Huey Rider]

i just bought a 25 rd. remington bandolier at Wally World for 7.95.not as fast on the reload but i can buy 15 of them(375 rds.) vs $125.

[bearcreek]

In my situation, if I could only have one gun, ( and I would never have only one voluntarily!), I would take my Remington 870. Preferably with both my slug and bird barrels.

[BarryHalls]

SHTF one gun

22" mossberg 500

completely reliable, kill anything.

If I can only have ONE GUN, it has to be able to do it all, hunt, defend, disable, breach, nothing does all of that like a shotgun.