With the "Only One" and "Emergency Supply" posts going around, I thought I would bring this subject up. What one gun would you not want to be caught without in an extended emergency situation and why? This could be either a lost in the woods or national emergency situation. Like the "Only One" posts, I would hate to be forced to choose one gun.

At first I leaned toward a 12 gauge shotgun, an AR-15 in .223 or a large bore handgun. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided that I would not want to be caught without my Ruger Single-Six in .22lr. I would lean more toward a rifle, but I'll go with my Single-Six since I don't own a rifle in this caliber.

On the plus side, a couple bricks of ammo take up little space and add little weight compared to higher power rounds. The Single-Six also takes up little space and adds little weight. IMO space and weight are both important considerations if you are stuck in the woods (or forced to head for the hills). Its a versatile round that can take big game at close range with the right bullet and still be perfect for small game. You can get .22lr ammo almost anywhere.

On the negative side, it is a low power round, limiting range, large game options on all but ideal shots and self defense capabilities.

Whats your choice?

i would agree with that 22 long rifle will take a deer if you
get a head shot. and it takes little room like you said.
larry

it would be a toss up between my 45 Vaquero and one of my 475's

I would say the trusty old .223 encore with the short barrel and foldable rifle buttstock. You can take large game, small game and defend yourself if needed with the .223. This is an interesting topic because most of us have considered these situations in the back of our minds.

Chris McCandless, the young man who the book Into The Wild was written about, even managed to take a moose with a rifle in .22lr. Its not the ideal round for large game, but under the right conditions, it can get the job done.

If you remember from the book he was very upset with himself about shooting the moose with the 22lr because of the long painstaking death of the moose.

I recently read the book and don't remember a mention of a painstaking death. He was very exicted at his success at first. Later he became upset because he lost the meat due to a lack of knowledge in both processing a large animal and meat preservation. He had a lot of guilt about killing the animal for nothing and stated then that shooting the moose was the biggest mistake he had made. Later he did try to take a caribou and a bear but thought he missed both animals. In a survival situation, I think self preservation will take priority over a fast, humane kill.

I agree about self preservation. I have not read the book in some time so you may be correct. I just remember that he was upset about the moose kill and I thought it was because he felt it to be inhumane. Great book I suggest anyone that has not read it, do so.

Another thing to consider is whether to use a scope or open sights. I would lean toward open sights on any gun used for a survival situation.

Guns that are capable of firing more than one round would also add to their versatility. The old Savage over-under shotgun with a rifle barrel combo would be a great choice. The Single-Six will also fire .22WMR by changing cylinders. Rugers convertible revolvers or a .460 S&W that can fire .454 Casull and .45 Colt could also be useful.

For an absolute survival gun I'd have to lean toward the 12 guage with a folding stock. Slugs for big critters and bird shot for smaller ones. If you had to be super compact I might consider my Bisley S-Six with the 22 Mag cylinder.

My security six in .357 mag. It will kill very efectivly out to 50 yards and isn't heavy at all. Now as far as we are all concerned , we've all thought about survival in the woods by ourselve's. Weather, lost,or goverments coliding. Either way, how much ammo to take, what about how big of a knife, and do you take the wife and kids or not? If I have a good pistol with me and a good skinning knife, it's not me looking to survive but rather the wildlife.

If you kill a deer in the winter and have no way to start a fire what do you do, eat it raw, wear the hide to keep warm and try to make a shelter. Who doesn't get excited about the proposition of being lost. Most people cringe at the idea of being alone in the woods with all the scary animals. Guy's like us get all wound up and would start packin. If you have any gun it's better than nothing. And at what point would you try to find your way out. Some of us might be having to much fun!!!

I would also bring my gun belt that holds 30 rounds and another 50 just to be safe. A good fire starter and some toilet paper.

Lars

12 ga

remington 870 12ga or ruger single six if i had to pick what i already have. if i had my choice of any thing 357

Uncle Sam feels that my M-4 is the perfect emergency weapon. I trust my life with it. That being said, I sure would hate not having my MKIII Hunter with me when I needed to put a squirrel in the pot. Easy to carry, accurate, and just plain fun.

For me the single gun would be a .44 Mag. in either a 4 3/4 or 6" gun and most likely a FA single action. But since I don't have one of those I guess it would be my 4 3/4 .454. It can handle most any dicey situation and loaded down, it would do fine on small game head shots.

Interesting question. Well from a purely survival stand point my MKII would be a good choice. I had strong thoughts for my 357 Max. It could be loaded with light bullets for small game and heavy for large game. If you look at it from a protection/survival stand point the Encore in 223. If we add rifles to this situation the AR in 223 would be trump.

Hamilton Bowens Paradox revolver would make the ultimate survival tool. I do not own one of these YET. The option to use shot shells and bullet ammo in any chamber in the cylinder and get great groups(patterns) with both. Ross Seyfried said in a article he wrote about it once. He said he could break clay pigeons thrown from a thrower at 20 yards and hit a 10" steal plate @100 yards with the same gun.

Toby

I struggle with this one a bit. I might lean to my 6" security six in .357 mag or my Glock 20 in 10mm due to the amazing versatility it has. If I went the rifle route it would be my Encore with my .223 and iron sights, for the reliability.

I only have two handguns, a Ruger SBH 4 5/8 in .44 mag for in the woods and a Kimber Custom Carry II for every-day carry. For this scenario though, the Kimber stays home and Ruger is the go-to gun. I'm confident that it could play any part needed from a handgun in a survival situation. However, if I owned a Bearcat, it would be a tougher call. Probably still go with the .44 though.

Ruger security six 357 mag

I would have to agree with you Gary. The 44 is extremely versatile. I have the SRH but would also like the SBH as it is much lighter and easier to carry.
Vin

Pure servivail, like a "Red Dawn" type, I would have to go with my .22 marlin bolt action with 3x9 scope. You can kill man or beast with it. It's quiter then center fires if I don't want to be located. They have some pretty speedy rounds out there that can reach out and kill at 100+ . Plus you can carry alot of .22 rounds in your pocket or backpack. But I would really like to have my .44mag along with me if at all possable.

That is one of the biggest benefits of the .22lr. One thousand rounds will take up a small amount of space and add little weight compared to most center-fire rounds.

That is exactly what I would take.

I would carry a 22mag pistol. a lot of power and ammo is not so heavy to carry.

Man, even after giving this some thought for a few days, I'm no closer to a pick. I guess a 10/22 carbine with a few extra 25 rounders would serve just fine. Dirt reliable and plentiful, lightweight ammo would probably get me through. Just not sure I could leave the 44 home if push came to shove.

A 10/22 would be a great choice.

Pab, I read an interesting article where a military survival groups new weapon of choice is "a heavy barreled, match grade,
.22 caliber pistol with barrel lengths of 5" to 10".They specify Ruger or Smith & Wesson semi-autos with Weaver bases topped with Aimpoint ,which is the only waterproof red dot, or a handgunscope
Training with the gun is key,as with any firearm used for survival.However, if I had the luxury of knowing I would be caught in a survival situation I would try to have my Savage 22lr
over 20ga along with with a revolver in any caliber from 357 on up.....

I did not know that about the military survival groups. Thats interesting. My open sighted 10" Contender was a close second choice, but the slower reloading time made me pick the Single-Six. I agree that the Savage over-under rifle/shotgun combos would be a great choice.

sounds like we need the air force survival rifle 22/410

Or AR-7 ;-)
http://msfirearms.com/wiki/firearms/rifles/Armalite/256.html

Henry Repeating Arms company makes an "improved" version of the AR-7. Neat little gun that breaks down and stores in the stock. Here is the link;

Henry Survival Rifle

That's the one I'm thinkin' of. Once upon a time I relly wanted one but that's a long time ago. I have seen some with aftermarket stocks that look pretty cool.

I guess it depends where you are trying to survive at.
If I was going to be in NW WY. Ideally, I would want a FA revolver in 44 mag, 45 LC or 454 Casull, with the later being my top choice because of the grizz's. It will also take down anything else, including wolves (plural). Iron sights would be my sighting system for this question.
With no wolves or grizz, then some of the others would be a top choice, likely the 22 LR.

how about a contender with 45/410 barrel? 45 for big stuff 410 for small

That's a very good point xp.
Vin