'Survival' Rifle

Norinco copy of sa22. I got two. Pretty accurate. Very reliable and cheap. And takedown. I have both 22lr and 22mag little badgers too. Awesome guns, but the 22mag one cant hit a barn...makes me sad cause it woulda been great if it was as accurate as the 22lr one is.
 
I had a "survival" gun in my airplane.

I used to fly on business all over Northern Ontario and carried a fairly comprehensives survival kit in the plane. It was a 4 seater (Mooney) and I was alone, so had lots of capacity to carry whatever I wanted.

The gun was a single shot, break action Cooey 12 ga. It broke down into 3 pieces and was carried inside my rolled up sleeping bag. The barrel was cut off at 20"

I had a blaze orange hunting vest with ammo loops carrying bird shot, buck shot, a few slugs and some 12 ga flares.

Not a cute gun, but it would have worked.
 
I hit my head last year and purchased all the “go-to” survival rifles including:

Springfield M6 Scout .22/410
Henry AR7
Marlin Papoose
Savage 24C Campers Companion (.22/20 ga)
Browning Sa22

I’m a rookie shooter (I miss a lot) and I’ve used all of them at the range, and carried different ones at different times in the Bush hunting partridge. There’s an extensive write up on the forum with someone who field tested all these models, it’s an excellent read.

The M6 is the coolest of all of these and I find it reasonably accurate for my awful shooting abilities. The .410 is a good option and patterns well, but the short barrels make it LOUD. If I shot my limit of grouse in a day I’d be deaf.

For me, who doesn’t shoot often, the AR7 is the most accurate shooter. I guess it’s the peep sight or the orange bead, or the balance of whatever. It seems more likely to group well for me. The plastic buttstock isn’t great, but the whole setup is compact and it floats!

Honestly though, for survival, the Campers Companion in the .22/20 ga makes the most sense to me. The gun has some weight to it and a true forestock. The .22 is accurate for me with practice and the weight of the gun makes it quiet and comfortable to shoot. The 20ga is cylinder bore, and only a 20” barrel, so the pattern is, umm, wide, but the option to shoot a 20 ga slug in a survival situation is nice to have IMHO.

If I’m camping in the back country and worried about encountering an unwanted visitor, I take the 24C. If I’m out for a walk and might shoot a bird or a rabbit, I take the M6 and if I’m walking and thinking of plinking with friends or taking a surprise small critter I carry the AR7.

They’re all mission specific firearms to me. All good at what they say they can do.
 
Savage makes the model 64 take down im pretty sure, I have heard some good reviews on it. Might be worth a look.
 
For an actual "survival gun" I would pick something like the Stoeger Outback or other short barrelled O/U. Have a cylinder choke in one barrel for shooting flares and carry a few of those new TSS turkey loads, a few Hevi-Shot Dead Coyote, and a few Slugs in addition to a few flares. Those are pricey loads but they are not for every day use.
 
Hated the AR7, Papoose was great and loved the Browning sa22. If I was stuck in a survival situation, the sa22 and a short shotgun would make life better. Like always it depends on what threat is there. Ie: hunger and cold, bears, or people.
 
Model 42 takedown. Fits in the pack. Choice of 22LR or 410 including slugs, Defender, buckshot and shot. Will kill anything needing killing at survival ranges. I added peep sight and flashlight to mine.

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