Ideal Survival Rifle

I think finding a like minded group is the best option.
Tougher I think than finding a compatible wife however.

 

Like minded = yes men.
Compatible wife? Just hope you can live up to the expectations of a wife that is worth riding the river with. JMHO.

Although, every rifle I've ever been issued carried a woman's name. Just what does this have to due with the "Idea Survival Rifle" ????????????

 

Companionship .

 

Apparently douche canoe has never seen this

 

Perhaps I was inspired by rifles that Rock & Roll:
Maybelline (wood stocked M14)

Cecilia (rodent rifle)

Susie Q (M25)

The "Ideal Survival Rifle" must fit the talents of the marksman that shall wield it. So perhaps everyone's "Ideal Survival Rifle" should be different?

 

or the variables in everyones A.O. Which is again why I have them all and do not count on just one.

 

The real question all survivalists should be asking is this, DO I HAVE what I need to survive as long as it may take for society to rebuild/reform? Long term survival in a post war torn, disease , drought, flood, invasion, emp, or a general breakdown of society? First of all none of us knows which it is going to be if at all. Far too much time is spent on these long arguments on which caliber, rifle type etc. etc. etc. The only thing that matters is what a man or woman can do and what they cant do. YOUR A.O. area of operations is what dictates what you need. If you surrounded by water ? better have a good boat. If surrounded by desert? better have a water source. What can you harvest? grow? raise? How are your eyes? your hearing? How far can you walk in an hour? a day? do you even know? Yesterday we planted Strawberries and tomatoes. Today 13 Geese are down there inspecting our work. One man in a kayak is fishing off our point. I have a rooster simmering in the crock pot for soup tonight. We froze 200 Bluegill fillets last month. I bought zero ammo since December. Planting heirloom seeds today , green beans, winter squash, Zuccini , cucumbers etc. I sold 20 young rabbits and bred my other three does to the bucks. we have over 100 eggs. in the frig. Every day is survival here. One eye on what we are doing and one eye on the world. Last night the cable box went out lights flickered. I didnt even get worried. I was ready to hook up the honda, start a wood fire and start canning the freezer but the power came back on . Today its quiet. Once again to the breach. one eye on the world and one eye on what I have to do every day to stay prepared. M118lr , you say the rifle must fit the talents of the shooter. I say a good , talented shooter can use any rifle and a smart one uses the right tool for the job. so I agree that the rifles are or can be different for every situation and chances are every person reading this has a different situation. Is there a best survival rifle? my answer is no. My answer is it depends on where you are at any given moment and nothing covers it all.

 

What I'm getting from this thread about an "ideal" survival rifle is...............There ain't one. Look at what you already have and get to intimately know it's good and bad points work with it. You know, like a woman..

 

I been saying that for over a decade. However there are a lot of nay sayers regarding the .22 rimfire. Big mistake. It is and always will be my number one go to rifle for getting food.

 

And Ill most likely get more food with my fishing pole than any firearm or bow. Ill certainly grow more and that brings it full circle. The only way forward is to use everything at your disposal. Do everything you can to ensure your loved ones are fed, watered and have a place to sleep. Its like the argument over 5.56 versus 7.62 by 39. It will go on and on and on and on reminding me of Bill Withers song aint no sunshine. I know I know I know over and over. And neither do it all. Neither do even half what you need to survive and yet both are called the best survival gun by many. Shotguns are heavy, ammo is heavy and bulky and yet many think they are the one. I put away enough .22 rimfire to last three lifetimes of getting food. I did that for less money than one AR-15 rifle cost me. This ensures my son and his kids have the means to harvest game. THAT is survival to me. Making sure when the lights go out I can still eat. If all I had was a 5.56 round left and fat squirrel in front me. I would have to try a head shot with a sub accurate ar-15 or destroy the entire animal. I guess I am among the minority who see the .22 as a rifle that I can NOT live with out. It is the most important rifle in my house. FOR FEEDING US.

 

Our perceptions of the uses for a "Survival Rifle" are probably what give us such differing points of view Kingfish. I don't contemplate a firearm for gathering small game that I can snare, trap, net, stick, or stone. I perceive the "Survival Rifle " as having only 2 uses. First is self defense against others using projectile weapons, and second as a gatherer of large game at safe distance so as to avoid endangering myself in close quarters. Therefore I consider the 7.62 x 51 mm/ .308 Win as a minimal cartridge for an Ideal Survival Rifle, while you are content with the 22LR. Just differing perspectives. PAKS.

 

Getting (shooting) food is one thing, finding and keeping it is another.
With volumes more folk getting guns , what isn't shot for food will be aimed at one another.
If while your in the wood hunting and some one has you pinned down with a 308 @ 500 yards, what is it your going to do with a .22 ?
Or some joker is in a housing area, and target's you in your home @ a thousand yards with a .50 cal, what are you going to do with a .22 ?
Being a sitting duck inside a home is bad enough, almost indefensible ,
They won't burn the house so long as they think there is something inside worth fighting for .but chances are your house is made of wood making you the bait in the trap. having significant defense will matter.
Raiders are not looking for another mouth to feed, and no negotiation with them is going to be honest, period.

 

Kingfish would seem to have a...plan that encompassed not needing to choose or have a lot of backup strategies. Don;t agree, but I can see the argument, and our situations are different. Me, I want more guns to try and find a perfect fit for mine. haha.

 

I do have a plan. its a great plan that involves over 30 people. A private lake with one way in. no one will ever see me at 100 yards much less 500 and a thousand?/ ha ha ha from a plane maybe. We have a .50 cal serbu and a 338 as well. 14 Ar-15 rifles and around 70 other guns including quaity 30-06 rifles and shotguns in the group. Three fire teams that will alternate patrolling. 7 ex military and an entire Michigan Militia unit that has trained together for 8 years. W e have a medical staff, communications thanks to BT POST. BUT MOST OF ALL WE ARE LIKE MINDED PEOPLE. No one will ever defend from our homes and no intruders will ever get within half a mile of our homes. NO ONE is going to sneak up on us, over power us or run us out. The Price THEY WILL PAY trying would be more than anyone would be willing to pay. I spent years planning with several other guys. Force multipliers, hundreds of them will allow us to just watch them tear themselves apart trying to get out once they try and get in. We have a plan for every acre around us. It is a system like the Russians used during the German invasion of ww2. I wont say any more as no more is needed. W e have all talked this stuff over and over. I would be afraid to attack most of you here in your A.O. you should feel the same way. You all trained me.

All that said , my .22 is STILL my most valued rifle if the world goes to shit.

 

I would like to explain again how we use our firearms, maybe clear up a few misconceptions. .22 rifles and there are several besides mine are used for getting small game UP TO DEER . We will also start out using up arrows and crossbow bolts on local deer until those limited number of bolts and arrows, bows, cross bows and broad heads are used up. The .22 rifles will be used from the get go to take ducks, geese, squirrels and rabbits around the lake and surrounding areas. All the while men in groups are patrolling out even further with fire teams of 5 men armed with AR-15 rifles . We have one special team of long range shooters who are divided between the three or used as road watch. They have the 338 and the 50. We have good secure coms thanks to our very own here on the tree. W e can and have practiced deploying the entire group including women. Our numbers vary between 28 and 35 depending on who is here at any given time. Every family here has a garden and every family here fishes the lake except for one who hates fish. But in all our firearm use is bows, pellet guns and .22 rifles are for taking game. 5.56 carbines for patrolling and 30 cal and the 50 for road watch , sniping and vehicle stopping. Not to mention the road in will be blocked over a mile from our little group. This distance is to be maintained as to keep any of our homes from even being seen much less attacked. This is how everyone who is bugged in should plan. DO NOT USE your home as your fortress. Yes my house is made of wood and the last place I would want to be in a fire fight. The Idea that you can stand next to a window and shoot at the bad guys is a laughing matter. A .22 WILL GO THROUGH MOST WOOD WALLS with drywall inside. A 5.56 will go through block as will any 30 cal. Sand bags are the only real cover you can count on. Our fighting positions are not anywhere near our homes. This requires sentries and patrols to keep intruders back. Then you employ the Russian plan of fall back and suck them into killing fields and ambush after ambush using concealed positions and force multipliers. The Germans were cut off and defeated because they over extended their supply lines. Because they attacked a determined group defending their homes.

 

Not even a full Platoon,and yet you are resolute in your certainty that you can control a half mile (880 yards) and no one shall be able to drop a glass on you at a distance of 1000 yards. A sneak peek at 50 BMG or .338 Lap KIA's should expose you to the reality of the distance that folks can be reached out and touched. Hope you never really have to deal with a single TEAM + A MAN ABOVE. Hope Y'all are dug in tighter than ticks when outsiders start walking in the mortars..........

Like most the folks that went to war before and after me, Barring a catastrophe, I'm going to spend 24/7/365 with the one rifle that I came to the dance with. I've found that wheelbarrows full of specialized rifles and cartridges are of little use in the real world CHAOS of Mortal Combat. Train until you become "Combat Effective" with nothing more than one (primary rifle) "Battle Rifle", one secondary sidearm, and a tertiary blade. It may be just my experiences, but I've been a participant that returned "HOME" attempting to give you the benefit of those moments that I have spent in Mortal Conflict. I don't believe that it would be seen as anything but MOXIE if I gave you the NAVY version of "THE PLAN". How do I give a head shaking Imogene?

 

So what does the Navy do when they run out of ammo ?