Wilderness survival rifle thoughts?

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by me in upstate ny, not much that can't be done with a nice 12 gauge. That being said, I'd rather pack a handgun. just easier in my experience.

as the poster specified rifle though- I would look at the CZ bolt gun in 7.62x39. handy, accurate, and a solid medium power cartridge that is much lighter than an SKS or similar.
 
rifle in the wilderness..

For me:

---# 1 a stainless rifle.....
---A rifle with the fewest number of working parts.
---Synthetic stock
---open sights
---7600: 308 or 30-06
---77/22
---30-30
---357...77/357
---44..77/44
---308 Frontier 16" medium weight barrel
---M70 30-06, with, 22"
---M70 300WinMag, 22"
-----------------------------

Never an exotic caliber ie...absolutely NO SHort Mags, custom calibers.
 
I always liked the old savage 24 for a cabin gun I have a 22lr over 20 guage its quite a food getter and the 20 guage slug is ok for protection in a bind.You could also get a lot of other calibers 22mag,22hornet,222,223,30-30,and few in 357 over 20guage but 22lr was my choice, cheap and didnt take up to much space
 
by me in upstate ny, not much that can't be done with a nice 12 gauge. That being said, I'd rather pack a handgun. just easier in my experience.

as the poster specified rifle though- I would look at the CZ bolt gun in 7.62x39. handy, accurate, and a solid medium power cartridge that is much lighter than an SKS or similar.
 
Bolt action for simplicity and reliability. Stainless steel/synthetic for corrosion/weather resistance, lightweight, accurate, and in a very common civilian/military caliber that is easily capable of taking common game. So for me it would be a Tikka T3 Stainless, Savage 16, or a TC Icon Weathersheild in 308 win with a durable one piece Reaper mounts and a good shockproof scope. It does not get any better then that IMHO
 
I think it depends a lot on were you would be surviving. Say if I some how got lost out in the woods in illinois and some how I was out there for a long time, with only what I had, I would take a 22mag because in IL there really is no dangerous game. With proper shot placement and with in close range you could take at white tail but squirrels would be easier to get and you wouldn't blow them apart. Also you could carry tons of ammo over a shotgun(which is about the only reason I picked anything but a 12ga). Now if I was out west with bobcats and bears I would want at least a 243win but better yet a 308 with a variety of bullet weights and styles.
 
I think I would prefer a Marlin 336 in 30-30. I like iron sights but if you prefer some ghost rings or a long eye relief scout scope then check out XS Sights.

Considering that the 30-30 isn't much good past 125 yards or so (generally) a good 4x scout scope is plenty. The Marlin is a good compact rifle that allows quick follow up shots and they are hard to break. Total take down is not super easy in the field but they don't really need it. The caliber is plenty big for white tail and even black bear but not so big that shooting smaller game is a total waste.
 
As jim243 suggested, maybe the Keltec in .223. Very portable and light with some power.

For guys who like .308/Nato 7.62 but don't want to worry about damaging a scope, a Spanish FR8 carbine Mauser is handy and has three aperture sight settings. The offset front post can be rotated higher and adjusted laterally, loosened by a tiny screwdriver, rotated with a $10 sight tool.
The large-ring action makes it much stronger than the FR7's small-ring action.

After the panic bubble deflates, you might see some nice examples again for about $425 on GB etc, Gunboards, Surplusrifle...
 
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For a true survival rifle it would have to be a 22mag. It will take down small to deer sized game and you can carry 500 rounds or more in a bug out bag and survive for a long time. While not a wonderful self defense round it is a stay alive round.
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My thoughts exactly, in a survival situation, there is not much you couldn't kill around here with a 22 mag. Also, I don't know about yall, but I see/shoot a lot more squirrels than I do deer or hogs; If you're stuck in the woods (for whatever reason) and would like to eat, small game is difinitely your best bet. At the same time, ammo will be light and there are plenty of choices in light rifles for this caliber. I would want such a rifle to be stainless, bolt action and fitted with both Irons and a scope.
 
^^^ Yep, small game is everywhere, easier to kill and I would never want a magazine on a "survival gun".
 
I was thinking maybe a CZ 527 Carbine in 7.62X39 would make for a decent choice as a Wilderness survival rifle. It weighs under 6 pounds, is relatively compact with a 18.5" barrel, has a 5 round detachable box magazine, and is chambered in a good all-around use caliber.
 
I've been in REAL wilderness survival situations, out in the Alaskan bush... This has always worked perfectly for me,

standard.jpg

Light, handy and totally reliable! It kept me fed and safe, and i've put tons of meat in my freezer with it!

DM
 
Anyways whats your thoughts on a rifle for hiking, dog sledding, camping etc? sorry for the long post.
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Personally, I think the need for defence against large animals is very much overstated in a survival sitation (unless maybe you are in AK or northern Canada). Likewise, I don't see the need for large game hunting unless you are anticipating long term survival needs in the far wilderness.

I think for by far the greatest percentage of survival situations a .22 rimfire is the best choice. The new Ruger 10/22 Takedown is an obvious choice, as well as the Marlin Papoose, Henry AR-7 or any other take-down .22 rifle. The old Savage 24C .22/20ga take down combo gun would be another possibility, if you can find one at a reasonable price (I know Savage is making a similar Model 42, but its chambered in .410 instead of 20ga and its not a take down, two strikes against it IMO).
 
DM~ said:
I've been in REAL wilderness survival situations, out in the Alaskan bush... This has always worked perfectly for me,

standard.jpg

Light, handy and totally reliable! It kept me fed and safe, and i've put tons of meat in my freezer with it!

DM
Click to expand...
That is awesome! I'm curious, how is the point of impact with all three barrels vs. point of aim with the scope?

And... WHAT is it?! I want one
 
I'll take my CZ 452 Lux in .22 mag for that role.
More power than the .22lr and more range than pistol caliber carbines. Like the .22lr, you can carry lots of ammo without a lot of weight.
 
Do you really need a gun at all? Probably not. Trapping and fishing are a more efficient means of getting protein than guns. People survived on this planet for 10s of thousands of years before guns were invented.

Having said that I think a 22 lr rifle is just about ideal. It doesn't matter what kind.
 
Buck Kramer was the first poster to suggest the Ruger's tough and reliable model 77-357 bolt-action rifle and, the more I think about it, the more I tend to agree with him. The ammunition is fairly compact and the chambering is versatile (.38 Specials thru full-house .357 Magnum loads). This handy little bolt-action rifle comes with scope rings and open sights; is made from s/s and has a synthetic stock. Put a sling on it, load up a couple of extra magazines and you're good to go. The more I think about it...:uhoh:
 
mac66 said:
Do you really need a gun at all? Probably not. Trapping and fishing are a more efficient means of getting protein than guns. People survived on this planet for 10s of thousands of years before guns were invented.

Having said that I think a 22 lr rifle is just about ideal. It doesn't matter what kind.
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If you watch survivorman and other wilderness reality shows, trapping and fishing in a survival mode is quite often very unreliable especially with primitive equipment. Beside that, a fishing pole isn't much use in a self defense situation.

Once again, give me a shotgun whether 20 ga, 16 ga or 12 ga and you have a very potent hunting and woods defense tool. Couple that with a good hatchet and knife and you will be ahead of the power curve.
 
Eventually I will get around to picking up another single shot 12 or 20 gauge trimmed down to an 18" barrel, maybe even have it thread for chokes.

I figure a broken down single shot is light weight, doesn't take up a lot if space, is cheap to feed and would compliment my EDC. I keep an emergency 24 hour bag in my car, and a take down single shot would fit in there nicely along a couple boxes of assorted shells.

I figure it would be suitable for anything I'm likely to encounter in West Michigan, and then some.
 
My personal choice was and is a stainless T/C Contender Carbine with two twenty-one inch barrels (.22 LR and .30-30) and the synthetic stock and forend. Both barrels wear the T/C factory rear peep sight and the factory front blade with some green Testors paint. Fully assembled, the .22 rifle weighs about 5.5 pounds.

I would love to have a drilling like DM as it would be a better choice since it allows barrel selection on the fly.
 
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