One rifle to survive......
- Thread starter crazy_davey
- Start date
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
David K said:
I gave up on the Cooey .22 years ago, too many ignition problems, and sooner or later you need a pocket knife for an extractor. If I was going to design a survival specific firearm I would probably look at the 10/22 as a chasis. I have some ideas about the 10/22 which might be a best of all worlds fix.
Along the lines that you descibe an enlarged trigger guard, synthetic stock, a set of guarded ghost ring and post sights, and a set of bomb proof swivels would be a good start.
The barrel would be replaced with a light contour stainless of similar length. A small flip down snow cover for the muzzle might be a nice touch.
The trigger would be tuned for reliability.
The factory trigger guard could be cut off, and the new stock could have a large trigger guard built in, long enough that with the mag release could be operated from inside the trigger guard.
There could be a recess in the underside of the stock which could house a couple of spare mags. There should be adjustability in the stock length because there is no way of knowing the stature of the shooter - it could be a young child, or a large adult.
The finish would be one of the new mil-spec types like Dura-Coat or Gun-Kote, probably in "day glo-orange", although this color might not be appropriate in all situations.
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I choose one of my Martini-Henry Cadets in .22LR. Never a failure to fire, positive extraction, simple almost indestructible sights. Having a rifle is an extra; it is just one of the tools required to survive in the bush. A good axe can be more important.
Might be interesting to start a related thread...Here goes!
Might be interesting to start a related thread...Here goes!
.... The "problem" as I see it, with both the semi-auto, and the Martini Action, is how well would they perform after being dropped in the snow at minus 20 C ? I had SMLEs fail to fire, as the lubricant had thickened to the point where there was not enough force to fire . Removed the lubricant and BANG ! ...... David K.
canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
single shot 12 gauge. very unlikely that it would fail and id be forced to conserve ammo
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
David K said:
Ever strip a Martini?
If not, and you ever do get the chance, take a look at the number of moving parts and the strength of the main spring.
Those things are strong, simple, very few moving par\ts and super reliable!
Cat
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
canadian hunter312 said:single shot 12 gauge. very unlikely that it would fail and id be forced to conserve ammo
I was packing a Winchester M-37 12 gauge. This was my backpacking gun at the time. It was cut to 20", had a swivel on a barrel band soldiered to the barrel, rifle sights from a M-700 Remington, and I worked the stock over with a dremel to give me a natural feeling grip at the pistol grip, and rounded off the forend from the factory beaver tail. This thing was a bear to shoot, but it carried easy at around 5 pounds. I had faced down several polar bears armed with it, and loaded with Winchester slugs it had proven reliable.
I went with a couple of friends in the capacity of a bear guard, to a camp just south of Cape Churchill so they could video caribou calving. It was spring time, and the little gun added some geese to our larder, shooting 3" BB's through that open choke barrel. The rest of the time it was loaded with Federal 3" 11/4 oz slugs. The caribou were thick, and had we been in need of meat it would of been easy shooting. We didn't so much as see a bear track, and the adventure ended without drama.
A few days after I returned home, I took the little gun out to the range. The ammo I had in the butt cuff was tarnished, and I wanted to bang it off, then replace it with fresh. I brought the gun up, aimed, squeezed the trigger, and then heard the loudest sound in the world - "CLICK!" I cocked it again, and again click. Bad primer I guess, so I eject it and put in the next round, and again the little gun went click instead of boom! WTF! Of the 5 rounds in the butt cuff - the rounds I had in the butt cuff out at the camp - only one fired, and that was on the second attempt. I loaded a fresh round out of the box, and again - "click".
At this point I looked at the firing pin strikes on the rounds that did not fire, and saw that they were hardly touched. The hammer spring was plenty strong, but then I realized what happened, Federal's primers were seated so deep the firing pin could not reach the primer. A check with a caliper confirmed this.
I felt sick, and I was never able to look at the little gun the same way again. I ordered a replacement firing pin from Gun Parts Corp., but when it came it measured the same length. The little gun sat around collecting dust in my gun room for several more years before I sold it to a guy who loved the look of it. I warned him not to use Federal ammo, I hope he remembers.
Over a number of years I had had several of these guns built, some in 12 gauge some in 20. Some with beads, some with rifle sights, most with plain barrels, one with a Poly Choke (that one looked cool) and one with choke tubes. I thought they were the greatest back packing/survival guns in the world. That one little incident changed that for me.
I have one of those guns left, and I suppose I'll keep it in case I need a gun to break down small to carry inside a pack some time.
This is what I keep with me for fly-in jobs in the arctic.
It holds 6 .375 H&H rounds in that cavernous, floorplate magazine. I can load 5 rounds into the magazine, push down on the follower and close the bolt on an empty chamber.
The B&L 3200 3x9 Elite is mounted in Warne Maxima rings and the BRNO 602 comes equipped with excellent quality express sights..
It's handy with the shortened barrel, has ballistics like a 30-06 for longer range shots, plenty of muzzle energy for close range situations, Mauser style action is CRF dependable and I can use factory ammo that is widely available. I make sure that the bolt and trigger are free of grease in cold weather.
If there are ptarmigan, I'll use my slingshot!
For sik-siks, in a survival situation, just take 3-4 treble hooks, tie them on 6" of fishing line to the end of a stick or pipe. Shove it down the sik-sik burrow, spin the pipe a couple of times and see if you can latch onto a little protein. This is for survival only.
It holds 6 .375 H&H rounds in that cavernous, floorplate magazine. I can load 5 rounds into the magazine, push down on the follower and close the bolt on an empty chamber.
The B&L 3200 3x9 Elite is mounted in Warne Maxima rings and the BRNO 602 comes equipped with excellent quality express sights..
It's handy with the shortened barrel, has ballistics like a 30-06 for longer range shots, plenty of muzzle energy for close range situations, Mauser style action is CRF dependable and I can use factory ammo that is widely available. I make sure that the bolt and trigger are free of grease in cold weather.
If there are ptarmigan, I'll use my slingshot!
For sik-siks, in a survival situation, just take 3-4 treble hooks, tie them on 6" of fishing line to the end of a stick or pipe. Shove it down the sik-sik burrow, spin the pipe a couple of times and see if you can latch onto a little protein. This is for survival only.
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canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
whats a sik sik?
One rifle in a survival situation ?
... I can see a heavy caliber for defense against Bears etc. But I still think for an actual survival situation, looking for more than a a couple of days stranded in the woods, a .22 would be a better choice. That being said, I know there's the AR7 and the current Henry version, but I doubt they'd really be accurate enough, and in really cold conditions, I have reservations about a .22 Semi-automatic functioning reliably. Thus one comes back to the bolt option (yes I have stripped a Martini down, both 310 Cadet and the Sportco.22.... wish I still had the Sportco !) I can tell you how well they function is sand/dust, but the feeding ramp strikes me as the vulnerable point. Drop it in snow at minus 20 and would it still fall to load, and then close ? Without a pin arrangement, they're pretty hard to strip down with ones bare hands if everything gets gummed up and frozen. Anyway, and interesting discussion, and I'll be keeping my eyes open for a cheap single shot .22 ! .... David K.
... I can see a heavy caliber for defense against Bears etc. But I still think for an actual survival situation, looking for more than a a couple of days stranded in the woods, a .22 would be a better choice. That being said, I know there's the AR7 and the current Henry version, but I doubt they'd really be accurate enough, and in really cold conditions, I have reservations about a .22 Semi-automatic functioning reliably. Thus one comes back to the bolt option (yes I have stripped a Martini down, both 310 Cadet and the Sportco.22.... wish I still had the Sportco !) I can tell you how well they function is sand/dust, but the feeding ramp strikes me as the vulnerable point. Drop it in snow at minus 20 and would it still fall to load, and then close ? Without a pin arrangement, they're pretty hard to strip down with ones bare hands if everything gets gummed up and frozen. Anyway, and interesting discussion, and I'll be keeping my eyes open for a cheap single shot .22 ! .... David K.
