Its not a "novel" idea at all. Its a real world practical idea. All my life i've canoed, camped, fished and wandered about the woods. And in those 24 short years, I have never once had an encounter with any animal that wanted to harm me. They're there, I know it cause i've seen the sign. Now that being said in the wilds of Ontario there are not a lot of animals out there to do you harm. Blackie attacks are rare (not to be said that their isn't a threat, just not threat number 1), same goes for wolves. In all that time, the vast majority of animals i've seen have been small game. A .22 is perfect. Also make no mistake that you can kill much bigger game than a rabbit with a .22 if need be (i.e survival). But the lightweight rifle and ammo combo is a big deal when your totally drained of energy and lacking calories.
Out west, sure, bears are more of a threat. But i've yet to hear all the horror stories from BC residents, albertans, yukoners, and NWTers of the roving bands of grizz lurking around every tree, brush or stream just waiting for an outdoorsman to happen by so they can maul them. Animal attacks happen, but they are rare. And when considering survival we must look at ALL aspects. Not just one very small percentage issue that could arise. Dying of exposure, or dehydration or injury are far more likely fates than getting killed by a bear/wolf/cougar.
However in a survival situation, a .22 is a valuable tool to have. To say its merely a novel concept is just being ignorant.
For me, this is very situationally dependant and I don't think there is one right gun. For short stints, couple days to a week, a shotgun with some variety. For a long term off grid scenario a .22 is what i'd bring.
