Pistol for a survival kit...

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Bush pilot

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Hey all,

I am making up a survival kit to carry in the airplane with me and am weighing the options as to a small pistol to keep in the kit for squirrels or grouse. Is there a small pump or spring action .22 cal that is priced reasonably? I don't really want a CO2 as it is just one more thing to carry or go wrong. Also anyone have thoughts on carrying it in the pocket of a vest? It would be in a vacuume packed bag, perhaps a tight fitting box. I certainly don't want to get in trouble for carrying a concealed weapon....

Thanks,

Bush pilot
 
Brutus said:
Too long to be a handy pistol & a pretty awkward setup with the super short buttstock.

hhhmmmm
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Have you tried one in .22lr? The missing stock is not a problem because there is no recoil and you can still get a cheek weld on it.
 
Take a look at the Crosman 1322 air pistol. Or chop down a 2289 carbine and put a pistol grip on it. Essentially the same gun. Crosman built a lot of their models from their existing parts bins, so they have pretty close to the same parts over very long production runs.

If you dig around and can afford to wait until one comes up, look for one of the early models. More metal parts than plastic, in the older ones.

Benjamin (before they were bought out by Crosman) used to make a pretty decent multi-pump pneumatic pistol too. The Benji's are pretty solidly built, and they have always been a bit more money than the Crosmans. They are also less easy to modify, so less popular too. Benji's have the barrel soldered on, while the barrel can be changed on the Crosman.

Tune a Cr 1322 up to just under 500 fps, and you can reliably drop grouse and squirrels, if your shooting is up to it.

Presumably, this is in aid of avoiding "firearms" issues crossing borders? Otherwise, I'd be looking at one of the kids rifles like the Cricket or the Hotshot, I think. Not too hard to pare the stock on a Cricket down to almost nothing.

Cheers
Trev
 
If your not going across borders like someone else mentioned & I assume your flying remote locations & not just rural. Then at least get a .22 rim fire rifle. I'd go for a 30-30 myself, Remove the stock & store it in two pieces. Your survival box will probably be made out of aluminum & riveted shut, so oil the sh!t out out of it & leave a rag or two in there to cleaned it out if you ever need to use it. If your flying reasonably populated routes, I'd ditch the gun thing all together to save on both weight & space. Get good with a sling shot!!! The float planes I use to work on never carried a gun in the survival kit & we were fairly remote.
Remember the best survival kit usually carries high calorie, crap, tasting, non perishable food. Alpo comes to mind!!!

What is the dimensions & aprox. weight of your survival kit going to be? Will it be part of the aircraft equipment or considered baggage?
 
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I put together a similar kit (not for an airplane though) but ended up going with the Hot Shot from TC in 22LR. The rifle weighs in at 3 pounds and lashes perfectly to a backpack.
Regards
 
Henry ar-7 survival rifle . Whole thing packs into the buttstock (including loaded mags), is water proof, and floats. Lightweight, easy to assemble and shoot. Lots of debate on the best takedown, and while I'm not suggesting this one is best, it is certainly the most pack friendly.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I am mainly flying in remote areas so having .22 isn't a huge deal (I have a 45/70 for bears). But I am mainly looking for something that I can carry on me in my survival vest. Just incase the sh*t really hits the fan and all I can get out of the airplane with is what is on my back. That sort of rules out all firearms as they would be prohibited.

I have spent 3 nights in the bush with nothing but a few essentials and was ok. I hit a grouse with a stick and killed it, I just thought a small pellet pistol would be easier.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Bush pilot
 
Although I think it would be pretty useless in a survival situation; if you had to have one, I guess you could look at an antique handgun? Again, if you don't think your E.L.T. is going to get you found in a few days & walking out is not an option, I would not want to rely on any pistol if I had the option of a rifle in the first place... Hell the axe & knife you carry would be more critical.
 
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In a survival vest, I'd carry a Leatherman, a first aid kit, a couple of lighters, smokes, some of those instant coffee/ hot chocolate packages you find at hotels, beef jerky, a flashlight, some .20" lockwire & a portable SAT PHONE!
 
Bush pilot you bring another concern to the table: If your flying float planes another real possibility is going down in water. Whether it be hitting a dead head or simply flipping over in the water during high winds. Anything you carry will be an anchor while trying to scramble to the surface. I wouldn't want to be too weighed down with survival gear.
 
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TargetAcquired said:
Henry ar-7 survival rifle . Whole thing packs into the buttstock (including loaded mags), is water proof, and floats. Lightweight, easy to assemble and shoot. Lots of debate on the best takedown, and while I'm not suggesting this one is best, it is certainly the most pack friendly.
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I've got one in my earthquake kit. 2.5 lbs! Goes together in seconds. Perfect bunny wacker in a bad situation.
 
Webley Alecto (up to 3 pumps) or Weihrauch HW45 (single pump). Available in .22 and a good trigger. A bit pricey ($300 to $400 new).
If you're okay with .177, look at the Weihrauch HW40 for under $200, or the Chinese copy of that, the Beeman P17 for well under $100.
 
I have a Webley Alecto in 22cal($250 from Hero Army surplus in Ontario I think it was) and they are a great pistol. Had some issues out of the box as the seals were a bit dry but I sorted that out. Otherwise I'd say get a Savage Rascal 22lr(paid $180 for it locally). They weigh in at 2.5lbs and are quite compact and even with the short stock are easy to shoot. I have one as a backpacking gun that I put a stock extension on made out of aluminum tubing so the weight gain in negligable.
 
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