self defense

My survival guns

Posted on by Caleb

I have been thinking about which two guns I would take with me if I ever had to “go into the woods”. For me, the choice is pretty clear: a .22 rifle and a .357 Magnum revolver with a four inch barrel.

Since I don’t have one yet, I can’t take an AR-7, but my Ruger 10/22 would work just fine.

For handguns, my 7 round Taurus Tracker would be my choice. The 357 round is powerful enough for most stuff, and if you have to scrounge for ammo, almost every gun shop, wal-mart, etc carries .38 or .357 rounds.

The .22 rifle is generally my choice for a bug out rifle – I’m a crack shot with it, ammo is light and plentiful. The Ruger itself is rugged, durable, and digests every .22LR round I can find.

That’s what I’d pack. www.saysuncle.com says he’d take a 9mm AR and his Glock, what would you take?

Caleb

10 Comments

  1. I’ve given this some thought in the past. And I’ve decided I’d take my Glock Model 23 (.40 S&W) and my Ruger Mini-14. I own an AR-15, but the Ruger is just such a damn rugged rifle, I don’t think I could go wrong with it.

    I have two extra barrels for my Glock, making it not only a .40, but also a .357 Sig and a 9mm. So it’s effectively 3 guns in one. All I have to do is swap out the bbl and -presto- new gun. Makes it easy to find ammo in 9mm mode.

    I know .223 is in short supply right now, but I have a boat-load of it ready to grab and go. And since in an emergency I wouldn’t be using my ammo for plinking but rather for survival, I bet I could make it last a looong time.

    If I had to bug out, I’m going to assume I get to take my wife and kids with me. In that case, I’m gonna fudge a bit and say I get two more choices for the wife to carry. In that case, I’d bring the rugged and reliable Ruger 10/22. It’s an easy weapon to learn on and it’s so easy to shoot, I bet my 4-year-old could master it in a couple of days. And then there’s ammo availability … even if it was possible for me to run out of the 22LR I have stashed, I bet it would be pretty easy to find more. And as for a handgun, I’d go with my S&W .357 with a 4″ bull bbl. My wife can handle it when there’s .38’s in the cylinder, and I could always pop magnums in it for serious duty.

    Anyway, those would be my picks. Thanks for the opportunity to post!

  2. Probably my 10-22 and my Redhawk 44 with a 5.5″ barrel. A gun that I would like to have is one that my uncle used to own; an over under with a 22 mag barrel and a 20gauge barrel. That would cover just about anything.

  3. I’d probably take the 1911A1since I don’t have a .357 and the old 1909 .45Colt is more of an heirloom and would be hard to repair if it broke. Wanting to travel light I might rifle-up with the old Model 90 in .22WRF since I have a case of ammo for it but I’d probabaly be out-voted by my wife since it’s her rifle. I’m not keen right now on the M1 carbine since I haven’t gotten it to run reliably, but if I could then it might do double duty since it’s a pistol round in a rifle body – just need a selection of softpoints for it.

  4. A hunting-capable air gun might be useful if there is a lack of powder and/or fixed ammo.

  5. The two I bring with me every time I venture a’swamp are GLOCK 23 or Ruger GP…depending upon the weather, and a 12 gauge that can be re-configured into many variants. Short barrel, folding stock, etc. Birdshot to Remington Buckhammers make it a versatile longarm.

  7. hmmm… for sure my marlin 39A…same reason as Ahab–plentiful ammo and crack shot. My second choice would be my 11-87…slugs,buckshot, and birdshot what more could you need?

  8. I like questions like this. I would take my SBR AR-15 and silenced ruger 10/22. Both are light and easy to carry. The AR is like a security blanket for me. Maybe not the best tool for this job…but it gives me warm fuzzies against 2 legged critters and I know the platform well. The 10/22 would be the main weapon for foraging. If I wanted to be practical i’d substitute a 4″ 686 for the AR.

  9. Hard Choices indeed.

    Kimber .45 on my hip; Benelli 12 Ga in my hands; the M1 Garand on a sling – that should get me through.

    “There ain’t many problems that a man can’t fix with 700 dollars and a thirty ought six.” – Jeff Cooper.

    Oh, the question was “Only two guns?”

    Then, I would have to bring a friend to make it two each. Kim’s choice on the the other gun.

  10. Tough choices here… I’m a little low on .357 ammo right now or my S&W686P would be on my hip. However… I’m flush with .45, so I’d grab either the SW1911 or the Para P12 – the SW is quicker to come back for a follow-up shot as it’s a full-size 1911, but the P12 gives my 12+1 of .45 ACP goodness.

    As for a rifle – guess it would depend on whether I thought I’d be hunting two legged or four legged game. For the former, the answer would be John Garand’s masterpiece, the M1. For the latter, my scope-sighted 10/22 Liberty Training Rifle. (details on the modifications are here: http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=32.0 ) – a 10/22 with a GI sling, a Weaver V7 scope, extended mag release, modified bolt release and the trigger has been worked on as well.

    But… being a fan of mouse guns, I’d probably have either my S&W 637 (.38+P) or my Beretta 21A .22LR in my pants pocket, too. Sorry if that’s cheating, but that’s what I carry.

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