The "Perfect All Around" Survival Rifle

Since you asked for our opinion, I hope you won't take offense that I'll respectfully disagree with you completely. 🙂

Hunting:
Many of us are under the belief that in a SHTF situation, we will be basically taking an extended camping/hiking/hunting trip - shooting deer, cooking it over a fire, repeat. From my experience, having been air-dropped into Philippine jungle with a 50+ km radius before any signs of civilization and only armed with what most first-world soldiers would consider to be World War 2 equipment (boots, knife, M1 Garand, 16 rounds of ought-six, 2 pairs of extra socks, a steel canteen and a few other things)... there's very little "hunting" that you will do. The real 'meat-and-potatoes', pardon the pun, will be in foraging leafy greens and other edibles that weigh a fraction of our bodyweight and don't have antlers (i.e. frogs, birds, small mammals, roots, shoots, leaves, flowers, fruits). Hunting medium/big game for pleasure (with some granola bars, back-up food and snacks) is very different than hunting for if your life depended on it. It will be a very stressful and almost not worth the time/effort. The easier food, by comparison, will become very attractive as daily staples.

All-around long gun:
A 12 gauge shotgun is arguably more versatile as a weapon for self-defense, as well as for hunting small game. You can load anything in it, from little birdshot to buckshot and slugs. If there were civil wars or chaos here in Canada, a 12 gauge shotgun capable of shooting 2 3/4" and 3" shells can find ammunition anywhere. 000 buckshot in a 5-shot shotgun will empty the equivalent of 30 .223 rounds in under 5 seconds. Granted, the velocity will be different, but in a self-defense situation, the capacity to throw lead out is very highly valued. Nothing helps being backed into a corner like having a boatload of shot, regardless of size. Nothing says "Back off" better than the "ka-chlack" of a pump action shotgun.

And now I open up the floor for the rebuttal. 🙂

The only issue I have with all of your sound logic is the fact that I do not believe .223 ammo will be easy to scavenge for, at least not as easy as .22LR. As well the .223 is expense and will be at a premium whether or not you will be able to buy it or have to barter for it. Consider this: A Ruger SR-22 is a solid semi-auto tactical rifle and you can get 25round mags and even 50 round mags for. The .22LR is the most abundant ammo on the planet and with a high end .22LR semi auto you can put a few shots into your target game and take down whatever medium game you want. It is also easier to carry more ammo as well. Other than that the mini 14 is a sound logical choice and the bullet ballistics are a thing of beauty. You have one heck of an arsenal ... respect all the way buddy.

The 22 LR is a good fast cheap and abundant rifle cartridge. For hunting I have personally taken a white tail with a 70-80 yard headshot
Your rite though nothin says determination like the ka chunk of a twelve gauge pump. We never whent in the mountain grizzly country with out one

alright, my opinion. . . and it's free so take it as such.

i'm not a big gun guy, i don't know everything about everything, nor do i know a little about most. . but i LOVE RUGER! i own a P90, P345 and a P85, and a SR22, all fantastic firearms, so when i was looking for a .223 for the wife (she doesn't like the Cz858, yet loves a 12 G?!?!?!) i was thinking Colt AR, since i'm having trouble find them, i thought Ruger SR556, but you can't get them here, maybe a RRA .223 but that's coming from across the country 😛

so i can wait around for an $1100-2000 Colt, maybe go new bushmaster AR for $1500, or the RRA for a little less, or Mini 14. now some of my closest "gun" buddies, have stated time and again, mini 14's don't cut it for survival. they have many reasons, non of which i'm really aware because back then a mini 14 wasn't in my future. well, i love Ruger, and a very good friend believes that the mini 14 is worth his while. it's his main rifle. being an American he owns AK47's, he's used the M16, he's got the same Mini14 as pictured above but tripped out for defence. i'll be shooting it soon enough, then make my choice. i've shot a C7, i have nothing bad to say about them. . . (other then AR's are restricted) Mini 14's are Non Restricted. . . so another advantage. . .(less paper work/wait time etc.)

as for the question "if i only had one" if you only have one, it should be something able to provide protection, some food, and do two of the most import jobs of firearm does, it MUST goes bang when you pull the trigger EVERYTIME WITH OUT FAIL, and be on target.

so a mini 14 can get a deer, but not smaller game. smaller game can be trapped, snared, or caught in other ways. . . (frog tridents, rabbits should be bread IMO) but on the other hand a .22 needs more skills for a deer, but can take out small animals all day. . . . a shotgun has a variety of shot or slug to satisfy all tastes, but has a few limitations too.

in the end, if you can have only one. . . you need to prep you food pantry so hunting isn't a main use for you firearms. protecting the farm, keeping predators away from you livestock and daughters! in this case a mini 14 rifle fits the bill. . . maybe a little over kill on a raccoon in the corn but. . .

so as a firm believe in beans before bullets, have your food first,then be able to defend it, then get food gathering firearms.
but i don't hunt. . . this leads to if you need food, you need a garden, but that's another thread 😉

Since you asked for our opinion, I hope you won't take offense that I'll respectfully disagree with you completely. 🙂

Hunting:
Many of us are under the belief that in a SHTF situation, we will be basically taking an extended camping/hiking/hunting trip - shooting deer, cooking it over a fire, repeat. From my experience, having been air-dropped into Philippine jungle with a 50+ km radius before any signs of civilization and only armed with what most first-world soldiers would consider to be World War 2 equipment (boots, knife, M1 Garand, 16 rounds of ought-six, 2 pairs of extra socks, a steel canteen and a few other things)... there's very little "hunting" that you will do. The real 'meat-and-potatoes', pardon the pun, will be in foraging leafy greens and other edibles that weigh a fraction of our bodyweight and don't have antlers (i.e. frogs, birds, small mammals, roots, shoots, leaves, flowers, fruits). Hunting medium/big game for pleasure (with some granola bars, back-up food and snacks) is very different than hunting for if your life depended on it. It will be a very stressful and almost not worth the time/effort. The easier food, by comparison, will become very attractive as daily staples.

All-around long gun:
A 12 gauge shotgun is arguably more versatile as a weapon for self-defense, as well as for hunting small game. You can load anything in it, from little birdshot to buckshot and slugs. If there were civil wars or chaos here in Canada, a 12 gauge shotgun capable of shooting 2 3/4" and 3" shells can find ammunition anywhere. 000 buckshot in a 5-shot shotgun will empty the equivalent of 30 .223 rounds in under 5 seconds. Granted, the velocity will be different, but in a self-defense situation, the capacity to throw lead out is very highly valued. Nothing helps being backed into a corner like having a boatload of shot, regardless of size. Nothing says "Back off" better than the "ka-chlack" of a pump action shotgun.

And now I open up the floor for the rebuttal. 🙂

What the heck? They only gave you two clips for your garand? Did they not like you? LOL

I hear what you are saying - that being said I'm not planning to bug out to the forests of the Phillipines. My BOL location (should I be able to get there) is a low population density hunting cabin in the middle of a forest in a low density populated area north of here. If I can't shoot half a dozen deer over the winter, or a single moose, we might be SOL!

The only issue I have with all of your sound logic is the fact that I do not believe .223 ammo will be easy to scavenge for, at least not as easy as .22LR. As well the .223 is expense and will be at a premium whether or not you will be able to buy it or have to barter for it. Consider this: A Ruger SR-22 is a solid semi-auto tactical rifle and you can get 25round mags and even 50 round mags for. The .22LR is the most abundant ammo on the planet and with a high end .22LR semi auto you can put a few shots into your target game and take down whatever medium game you want. It is also easier to carry more ammo as well. Other than that the mini 14 is a sound logical choice and the bullet ballistics are a thing of beauty. You have one heck of an arsenal ... respect all the way buddy.

I would rather have the 10/22 than the SR 22. You can still get high capacity mags for the 10/22 but it's just as good, less expensive and those 10 round rotary mags are a thing of beauty.

shotgun with two barrels, one rifled and the other plain bore
with different types of ammo,

but as I have always said, there is no 1 gun,
I would have shotgun and a .22 lr

I've read many many recommendations for firearms that use the incredibly popular 5.56mm/.223, and with the argument that ammo should be plentiful and easier to get.

I can't help to wonder though - as it's a current military round - if something were to go terribly wrong, if the gov't or area controlling force that springs up wouldn't just go on a spree of confiscating every single round they could find. I've always wondered too how it is that that cartridge would be easy to get, given that resupply would either mean stealing or killing the forces that are using it, and how likely is that, or asking them for some...and how likely is that it's going to be given?

Could you walk up to a soldier on some exercise or guard duty at any given time and ask to barter some rounds for something?

I do wholeheartedly agree with .22 of all types (LR especially but SR too - I don't really use SR too much, but they work well for me for squirrel and rabbit when I'm shooting under 30 yards) and 12 gauge shotshells.

I would like to suggest that for Canadians, maybe the better cartridge for a long rifle is .303. Almost everybody I know has an old working .303 gun and keeps at least a box or two of cartridges for it. I've spoken with several older guys - including my grandfather when he was alive - that told me that they've taken up to moose size animals with it. My grandfather took one at just under 100 yrds with his SMLE and claimed it was really very good for a bush gun where one would likely find those animals.

I know, as a hunter, that I feel pretty confident that between my .22 and my shotgun, I'm well covered in putting meat on the table anywhere in Canada. Incidently I'd like to put in the recommendation for choice of shotgun for a Remington 870. I acquired one from someone that didn't want it anymore. It was beat, it was abused and with some care and clean up it worked amazingly. I've since sold that old gun and acquired a newer 870 (takes all three shell sizes), but I find myself always recommending one to others that ask. I like that gun over the Mossbergs and the single shot break open Cooey I once had too.

Runs With Scissors opinion. For what it's worth.

As an aside regarding shotgun loads I like the Hornady SST in 12 gauge in a rifled barrel. Good groups out to 150 - 200 yards and solid kill power. For short range try patterning shotshells using a rifled choke. It puts a slight spin on the wad and opens the shot pattern.

my thoughs not sure if there is anyone one gun that perfect.
my plains arent to bring just one but i have three gun that i have gone out of my way to make sure i have lot of ammo for incase something does ever happen.. 12ga shotgun with a adjustable chock and it also has a rifle slug barrel that covers a lot of game from small bird to bear, and i do have lots of shells as well as slug's.
i also have a 22lr good for small game and personal defence.
and i have a lever action 30/30 and i have alot of ammo for all and my plain arent to take just one but if it game right down to it and had no chose it would be a between my shot gun or my 30/30.
i dont trust my semi auto as much as i do my pump shot gun and my lever action i have yet to have either one of them jam on me where my semi auto have ! and i do have a few different type of guns and i trust them more.

Well where I live the .223 is too small to reliably put food on the table and protect us from predators, some of which are very large 4 footed types with teeth. I also do not want a semi-auto......... even the reliable mini 14.

My do-all would be three firearms, a 12 gauge 870 pump, a .30-06 bolt-action (mauser 98), and a bolt-action .22 LR. Both rifles would have iron sites and proven scopes. I have always found that people tend to shoot too much with the semi-autos............. they just can't help themselves. I believe firmly in one well place shot, not spray and pray. One attracts less attention with one well place shot.......... and it is much more difficult to pinpoint someones location when there is only one shot.

But that is just me............. won't be for everyone.

For a backpack , water proof, easy to hide and use.

I like the AR 7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-7

I would like to suggest that for Canadians, maybe the better cartridge for a long rifle is .303. Almost everybody I know has an old working .303 gun and keeps at least a box or two of cartridges for it. I've spoken with several older guys - including my grandfather when he was alive - that told me that they've taken up to moose size animals with it. My grandfather took one at just under 100 yrds with his SMLE and claimed it was really very good for a bush gun where one would likely find those animals.

I know, as a hunter, that I feel pretty confident that between my .22 and my shotgun, I'm well covered in putting meat on the table anywhere in Canada. Incidently I'd like to put in the recommendation for choice of shotgun for a Remington 870. I acquired one from someone that didn't want it anymore. It was beat, it was abused and with some care and clean up it worked amazingly. I've since sold that old gun and acquired a newer 870 (takes all three shell sizes), but I find myself always recommending one to others that ask. I like that gun over the Mossbergs and the single shot break open Cooey I once had too.

Runs With Scissors opinion. For what it's worth.

I have a .303 and love it. Also, this cartridge is used by our Northern Rangers so it should be able to be found somewhere. I also have an 870 in 3.5" and agree for your buck, it's the best and most reliable shotgun out there.

Luckily I shouldn't have to choose which of my guns to leave behind. If all works out I should be able to put a gun in the hands of one of a number of a group that will be with me when and if TSHTF....

Well where I live the .223 is too small to reliably put food on the table and protect us from predators, some of which are very large 4 footed types with teeth. I also do not want a semi-auto......... even the reliable mini 14.

My do-all would be three firearms, a 12 gauge 870 pump, a .30-06 bolt-action (mauser 98), and a bolt-action .22 LR. Both rifles would have iron sites and proven scopes. I have always found that people tend to shoot too much with the semi-autos............. they just can't help themselves. I believe firmly in one well place shot, not spray and pray. One attracts less attention with one well place shot.......... and it is much more difficult to pinpoint someones location when there is only one shot.

But that is just me............. won't be for everyone.

Going to have to disagree there. Anyone can be an idiot with any gun if they try. I subscribe to the well placed shot way of doing things myself, it's the only way to go as an ethical hunter and a survivalist who needs to preserve ammo. Further, if you have a semi auto it's much easier to keep those sights on target if you do need that second shot. Could mean the difference between eating and not eating.

The way I figure it too is that if a .223 is good enough for the military to kill humans with armour, a well placed shot will also take down game. Maybe even 2 or 3 well placed shots with your semi auto