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What's the Best Survival Weapon?
Field & Stream ^ | July 31, 2009 | Keith McCafferty

Posted on 08/07/2009 12:52:41 PM PDT by appleseed

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To: appleseed

The Henry rifle is a turd. Not just a little one, either. It’s a massive, gray, floating Charlie that will never go down the pipe, no maater how many times we flush.

Assembling it can destroy the receiver. So can firing it. Disassembling it won’t immediately destroy the receiver, just accelerate the process. Yes, a .22 rimfire rifle is an outstanding survival weapon, just not that one.

The author’s choice of game animals is also wrong. Unless you find a mother lode of the things, there is not enough meat on them to replace the energy you expend in hunting, prepping, and cooking them. This is not to disparage the .22. You can easily kill deer with it, if you know how. Bowhunters will laugh at this. They’ve waited for hours for the right buck to pass within range of their stands, then hoped the animal wouldn’t jump the string, and that the arrow hit enough vital organs to kill the deer and enable it to be tracked. Plenty of bow hunters will tell you that if they used a .22 instead of a bow, they would need another freezer.


81 posted on 08/07/2009 5:15:21 PM PDT by sig226 (Real power is not the ability to destroy an enemy. It is the willingness to do it.)
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To: appleseed
What's the Best Survival Weapon?

the best survival weapon I have is ME....and how I use my surroundings and adapt to any given situation

82 posted on 08/07/2009 5:53:36 PM PDT by Gone_Postal ("Men who say it cbump for laterannot be done, should not interupt those doing it.")
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To: Squantos

“You ever hunt em with spear or knife ?”

nope and I aint gonna. I’d love a 45-70 but all i have is a 30-06 and a 12ga


83 posted on 08/07/2009 6:39:50 PM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: sig226

“Unless you find a mother lode of the things, there is not enough meat on them to replace the energy you expend in hunting, prepping, and cooking them.”

While its true you can starve to death on just rabbit they make a great addition to the diet. Squirrels are about the same. If you’re expending that much energy hunting them then you are doing it wrong.


84 posted on 08/07/2009 6:44:30 PM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: appleseed
Car load of thugs pulls up and out jumps 4 headed for your front door.

My Marlin 1894 for this one.

85 posted on 08/07/2009 6:55:47 PM PDT by Stentor
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To: Shooter 2.5
Using flat nosed .22 LR rounds? You would have to search long and hard to find flat nosed bulleted cartridges.

CCI's Small Game Bullet (SGB) is designed that way, IIRC.

86 posted on 08/07/2009 7:43:05 PM PDT by Charles Martel ("Endeavor to persevere...")
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To: appleseed
A good article on the subject .

Chuck Hawks

87 posted on 08/07/2009 7:46:24 PM PDT by Pontiac (Your message here.)
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To: driftdiver

An 8 ounce squirrel is about 125 kcal of food. If you spent one hour getting to your spot and hunting, then another hour prepping and cooking the squirrels, 10 of them would result in a net gain of about 250 calories for your effort. That’s half of a light lunch.


88 posted on 08/08/2009 5:50:08 AM PDT by sig226 (Real power is not the ability to destroy an enemy. It is the willingness to do it.)
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To: Shooter 2.5

You’re right, I only pursue the weird stuff because I have the regular bases pretty well covered.

There’s stuff that’s even too weird for me... although I was once tempted by a NIB Gyrojet with ammo.


89 posted on 08/08/2009 6:01:27 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: sig226

mighty small squirrels where come from


90 posted on 08/08/2009 6:43:00 AM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Tijeras_Slim
"I’d still take a .38 Super over the .40 S&W and in the Corbon DPX loading it gives the .357 Sig a run for the money with a lot less recoil and noise."

Same here Slim. The .38 Super got a bad rap in the accuracy department early on. As a "semi-rimmed" case, the original weapons were designed to headspace on a very, very small portion of the rim that just barely exceeded the diameter of the case body, and the case mouths were crimped. Nowadays, most weapons designed for the cartridge headspace on uncrimped case mouths like most other autos, and accuracy is anything but a problem.

I've always kind of liked the "bastard" rounds, so it should be no big surprise that two of my favorite (and I would argue, most useful) rounds have been the .38 Super and the .41 Magnum for revolvers; however, I'll be the first person to admit that as "survival" weapons, the limited availability of both rounds would not make them my first picks.

91 posted on 08/08/2009 8:00:34 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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To: PugetSoundSoldier; Squantos

One thing about the .270, a good clean shot to the neck will break it. Don’t have to worry about looking for the deer.

I shot an Axis doe last year (ummm, ummm, good) and flipped her completely upside down while her head was still rightside up. Never knew wwhat hit her.

If necessary, I can shoot the letters off the paper target at 50 yards with my Savage .22. A young deer’s head would be easy pickins.


92 posted on 08/08/2009 8:24:18 AM PDT by wolfcreek (KMTEXASA!)
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To: appleseed

I have a S&W 915, a Mossberg 850, and a Marlin 336W for my survival weapons.


93 posted on 08/08/2009 11:17:06 AM PDT by RWB Patriot ("Need has never produced anything. It has only been an excuse to steal from those with ablity.")
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To: wolfcreek

Oh yeah. The 270 is my classic do it all caliber. Pre 64 .Mod 70 Winchester ......it doesn’t get any better.

Perfect choice IMO !


94 posted on 08/08/2009 12:33:08 PM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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