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#4372755 - 08/04/17 03:44 PM You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose?  
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Just for fun.

What gun and ammo would you like to have to help you survive? State the location you would be surviving in and why you'd like to have that particular gun and ammo.


I think I would probably go with a 12gauge shotgun with a long barrel for survival anywhere on the planet a few reasons.

1) The barrel will not likely wear out in my lifetime
2) If the ammunition ever ran out, it could still be used to fire home-made black powder ammunition made from materials found in the wilderness or created with basic chemistry techniques possible even in the wild (Charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter from fermented urine, flint or some other simple primary explosive for a rudimentary primer)
3) Extreme versatility - lead slugs for stopping large game or dangerous animals, small pellets for hunting birds or small animals
4) Portability, can probably be broken into 2 pieces very easily so it would fit into or onto the side of a backpack without taking up too much space.

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#4372760 - 08/04/17 04:17 PM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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I would want it to be a BLR in .243. But since I can only have one it would have to be a shotgun, for birds and small game. Slugs for threats and big game. Gotta eat right?

So a nice Browning pump. 12 gauge I guess it has to be for stopping power. Although I don't know what I would have to stop? Charging grizzlies?

Make it 20 gauge then, so there's actually something left on the bones smile


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#4372762 - 08/04/17 04:21 PM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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Why a pump?

In my case I would probably use a breech loading shotgun. Double barrel all the better.

#4372763 - 08/04/17 04:25 PM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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Mag capacity in the event the sh!t hits the fan.


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#4372768 - 08/04/17 04:46 PM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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12 ga.
Good for anything from small game with shot to deer with slugs or buckshot. Short range, but with shot marksmanship is a little less important in case your freezing or shivering.
Packs a major punch so it stuns fish if you shoot the water to get food or bait. Any gun can do that, but a shottie covers more area. In a pinch you can blow out small tree trunks up close for help making a quick shelter or fire wood.

Of course, my uncle had an over,/under that had a shotgun on top and rifle on bottom. That might be nice.

Environment? Given a choice a tropical island with a lagoon, lots of food, fishing and resources..Mary Ann.... Gilligan style.


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#4372794 - 08/04/17 07:52 PM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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A 12 gauge is a good choice but I'd go with a rugged.308 or 7.62x39 semiauto of some kind.

It can handle just about any survival task well enough and the ammo will likely handle long term storage much better than shotshells would. Shotshells aren't particularly durable or climate resistant in my experience.

Another thing is that its difficult to find buckshot and slugs in quantity. Few people, or ammunition suppliers even, keep more than a couple of cases' worth on hand of other than birdshot. Another thing is that 12 gauge shotshells are heavy and bulky to carry and store.

Anyway, as for location I'd stick with B.C. its probably the easiest overall place in the world to be able to manage in without civilization.

#4372951 - 08/06/17 12:57 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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Plasma rifle in the 40watt range... along with an AMT Harballer with lazzzzer sighting!

Help you survive??

Help you survive WHAT?!?!?


I mean really, some survival scenarios the best gun would be an accurate .22 rimfire and a lifetime supply of little stubbies. For instance, food supplies get major disruptions, and now critters look awfully tasty.

In other survival scenarios, maybe you need a .50bmg HMG mounted on every vehicle. Like Route Irish, surviving the trip from the Green Zone to Saddam Intl airport.

Getting chased around LA all night long by some big dude wearing punk clothing, maybe you need the plasma rifle.


Sooooo... kinda depends on the scenario. Shotguns do have a fair bit of versatility, sure. But I guess my point is that the term 'survival' is rather large and open ended.


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#4372953 - 08/06/17 01:07 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: Rick.50cal]  
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Originally Posted by Rick.50cal
I mean really, some survival scenarios the best gun would be an accurate .22 rimfire and a lifetime supply of little stubbies.


Probably my pick.

But a fishing rod and tackle is also a tempting armament. However, since I'm lost without chance of rescue, that must mean I also have no chance of ever rediscovering civilization. So I'd have ample years to carve my own fishing rod and lures from wood.


WARNING: This post contains opinions produced in a facility which also occasionally processes fact products.
#4372958 - 08/06/17 01:53 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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yep, a takedown .22 semi auto that fits in a pack


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#4372959 - 08/06/17 01:55 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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#4372962 - 08/06/17 02:37 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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I'd hate to have to rely on a .22 as an only gun and caliber.

Of course if all the Alaskan and Siberian trapper documentaries I've watched are any indication, even those dirt poor guys own more than one gun.

#4372968 - 08/06/17 03:45 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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Crossbow and bolts. Why use something that says, "Hey, Dinner's here" to every predator and ugly things within 30 miles.

#4372980 - 08/06/17 08:23 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: DaBBQ]  
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Originally Posted by DaBBQ
Crossbow and bolts. Why use something that says, "Hey, Dinner's here" to every predator and ugly things within 30 miles.


+1

Well, in terms of crossbow and bolts. Gunfire isn't going to ATTRACT animals toward your position...

But actually (we're talking alone in the WILDERNESS here, right?) I think I'd go for a good slingshot with plenty of elastic. We're probably talking about surviving off of squirrels/other rodents, and birds (in terms of meat). Fish would be desirable if there's water but that's off topic. ROCKS can be ammo with a slingshot - I've never killed an animal that way, but I've sure killed a lot of bottles, cans, etc from 100+ feet...

I guess if it's major deer country maybe a "low" tension recurve bow and as many arrows as possible. No compound, keep the complexity down. Keep the "somewhat" possibility of using handmade "cord" open on the bow (even if it breaks every three shots)...

Doubt it'd down a deer in one shot, but if you can make it bleed......

#4372986 - 08/06/17 10:49 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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Federation Type-1 phaser, because you'd generally want to travel light, especially when hiking in the mountains. Figures that on the one hand, hard-core hikers saw off the stems of their toothbrushes and rip out already read pages from books to save weight, but then slug around a big-arse shotgun....and ammo!

"The type 1 has eight adjustable settings, ranging from stun to heat through disruption to disintegration". And fits neatly in your shirt pocket. Sounds about right to me.

smile


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#4373062 - 08/06/17 11:23 PM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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I'm surprised at the 22cal suggestions - it would be very useful for small game hunting, that's for sure, but the firing mechanisms are a lot less robust and prone to breakage. And if you've got a grizzly bear starting towards you I wouldn't want to be stuck with that..!

Bows and arrows are fantastic too but require a huge amount of skill to use. I bow hunt occasionally (Wild boar) but I don't think I would want to be stuck with it in a place like Alaska or the mountains of British Columbia. It certainly works but I'd still like to have something that can put down a bear.

I wonder what people's gun of choice was in 1800's Africa - they must have had to deal with this kind of situation a lot - far from any modern facilities, limited amount of ammo but endless supply of dangerous animals around them.

#4373069 - 08/07/17 12:52 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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A lot of prepper/survivor channels on You-tube seem to favor a single shot 20 gauge or .410 shotgun.

#4373075 - 08/07/17 01:16 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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Originally Posted by VF9_Longbow
I'm surprised at the 22cal suggestions - it would be very useful for small game hunting, that's for sure, but the firing mechanisms are a lot less robust and prone to breakage. And if you've got a grizzly bear starting towards you I wouldn't want to be stuck with that..!

Bows and arrows are fantastic too but require a huge amount of skill to use. I bow hunt occasionally (Wild boar) but I don't think I would want to be stuck with it in a place like Alaska or the mountains of British Columbia. It certainly works but I'd still like to have something that can put down a bear.

I wonder what people's gun of choice was in 1800's Africa - they must have had to deal with this kind of situation a lot - far from any modern facilities, limited amount of ammo but endless supply of dangerous animals around them.



A lever action .22 LR more than fits the bill. .22 ammo is light, plentiful, and up to the task at hand - surviving. Lever actions are famously robust in operation.

Now, then, I live in Alabama. There are a few black bears if one really, really wants to go looking for them, but really the largest animal outside of a deer is a boar. And no, I'm not going to hunt boar with a rifle. I'm going to hunt him with a trap.

In true survival, small game is King. Birds, rabbits, squirrels, coons, armadillos, dogs, cats, and yes, small deer are the real goals. And for a lot of them, firearms aren't needed. Hell, it's all about snares, fish traps, and weaving a basket to carry what one forages to keep a body alive.

If you want to know what they carried in Africa in the 1800's, the answer is that it was the same thing carried in Europe and the Americas. It's not like they invented rifles just for use there. So figure they had a lot of muzzle loaders in .50 caliber, bullet molds, and chunks of lead, along with barrels of gunpowder split down to paper loads, eventually giving way to breach loading cartridge rifles. We think of the diversity of firearms we enjoy today as a given, but that's a relatively new thing in the history of production rifles.


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#4373102 - 08/07/17 04:03 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: LB4LB]  
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Originally Posted by LB4LB
A lot of prepper/survivor channels on You-tube seem to favor a single shot 20 gauge or .410 shotgun.


Another good thing about those is that they're easy to clean, fewer moving parts.


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#4373105 - 08/07/17 04:19 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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What are the differences between those and a break barrel shotgun or break barrel double shotgun in 12gauge?

Dart, you're right about muzzle loaders in large calibers. I have been a big fan of those for a long time and I used to do my own lead ball and minnie ball casting and cartridges when I lived outside of Japan. I've still got several mandrel forged flintlocks and one matchlock in storage outside of Japan and I fire them once in a while. One of them was very cool - hand forged piece of flat iron into the barrel shape around a mandrel. It was hammered into an octagonal shape. It must have taken over a hundred hours to make that barrel by hand.

The big drawback with them, especially in a place like BC or Alaska is the moisture and rain that gets absolutely everywhere in the rainy seasons. In BC the rain lasts 6 months out of the year which makes matchlocks a real chore to use and causes occasional misfires on the flintlocks. I had a little cover made for one of my flintlocks so that rain wouldn't fall into the priming tray so easily but the moisture still makes them less reliable. Maybe I am weird but I actually like the weird delay between pulling the trigger and the gun firing on the old guns. They're great for game hunting but most of them are not rifled so the accuracy is quite bad when shooting a lead ball. One of them has rifling and is comparable to a modern rifle out to about 50-100 yards but after that, I wouldn't bet my life on it hitting what I aimed at.

But I think I would still prefer a 12 gauge shotgun and barrel because you could repurpose it to function almost in the same manner as a flintlock but without the inconveniences of needing loose black powder to prime the shot.

#4373108 - 08/07/17 05:36 AM Re: You're in the wilderness alone with no chance of rescue - what gun and ammunition would you choose? [Re: VF9_Longbow]  
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If you're still set on a shotgun, I'd suggest going with a pump or even a Benelli semi over a double barrel.

Not only is a repeater going to be better in most cases anyway, but a quality double that you could trust to hold up over the long term is bound to be pretty expensive.

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