Hypothetical: Best firearms/etc. for N. America 15,000 years ago??

[Hatman1793]

The parameters specify you are alone & only have what you can carry.
Hunting a huge animal with a 45-70 or other heavy rifle with equally heavy ammo could be foolish, waste precious limited supply ammo, & draw attention to you.
Self-defence would be a priority against predatory animals & two legged gangs, survival would be #1.

My solution/suggestion would be a suppressed & scoped lever action, or bolt action rifle in 22 magnum. You could easily carry 1000 rounds of 22mag in a knapsack, Survival Lilly's AP01-S knife & be off to a good start. Being incognito helps & only use your rifle to harvest food locally & fire on two legged creatures from far away.

Shot placement is paramount, 22mag FMJ HP's will take most small to medium game, suppressed is even better so all manner of critters cannot spot your hidden location.

 

[308]

(1) Gen-3+ NV monocular
(2) Thermal Imaging monocular
(3) Scoped Semi-Auto .308
(4) Tons of Fed GM 168gr BTHP

 

[Mark W.]

15,000 years ago in North America

Black Powder can be made from found materials (granted not easy to find) If your not part of a tribe of people taking something the size of a Mastadon or Mammoth would be a stupid waste of effort. As even with drying the meat you could not carry enough to make it worth while. Bison would be a much better game animal. And a .50 cal muzzle loader will take one with little trouble. Lead if recovered can be reused. If your good you can most likely get 6 new balls out of 10 spent. SO that will help extend your ammo supply. You could also drop down to a .40 cal for a lighter load but then Buffalo would be a little more problematic. Deer and Elk would be very doable. And of course trapping uses no ammo.

 

[Greenbug]

Whatever the "Predator" is kitted out with.
The adaptive camo would be invaluable I would imagine.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

The OP has asked kind of a fun question about firearms. If I was transported back to the Pleistoscene for keeps I would take two .62 caliber flintlock smooth rifles, two additional locks and powder and ball/shot and flints. Even with my limited skills I should be able to knap enough chert and make enough serpentine keep the firearms fed and running for a long, long time. I suspect that other men would prove a greater danger than wild animals. I should think that human scent (stink?) would tend to keep the wildlife at bay.

If I was going back for a week or two a 35 Whelen would do nicely.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Actually even the Native Americans that were here just before the colonial settlers would drive the Buffalo into a kill box or off a steep cliff. It falls and becomes injured and then just go up and finish the job. I also know how to trap, set snares and other things. Then there's always punji sticks.

I saw an ancient reindeer trap that they'd lay in trails.. very deadly and efficient.

 

[Certaindeaf]

One thing to consider with tribes....is tribal mentality...

As in you are in the tribe or not...if not....you are fair game for anything to happen to you good or bad , depending on the circumstances at the time.
Andy

A good pneumatic repeater to impress the natives with!

 

[revjen45]

Seeds anyone? Not sure which ones without more research.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

A good pneumatic repeater to impress the natives with!

Maybe....sorta like M. Lewis and his air rifle...?

I wonder about that...From reading the journals...I know that Lewis was very impressed with his air rifle...but we only have his word that the tribes we also impressed with it.

High tech is good and neat...but if you don't have a frame of reference for it or understand it...it may just be that...neat but useless to you or others.
Andy

 

[The Heretic]

Seeds anyone? Not sure which ones without more research.

Corn, apples, potatoes, tomatoes?, beans...

 

[The Heretic]

Maybe....sorta like M. Lewis and his air rifle...?

I wonder about that...From reading the journals...I know that Lewis was very impressed with his air rifle...but we only have his word that the tribes we also impressed with it.

High tech is good and neat...but if you don't have a frame of reference for it or understand it...it may just be that...neat but useless to you or others.
Andy

Results are what impresses anybody - bringing home the game without having to get within archery or spear range, should impress someone who had never seen a firearm. Good hunters who bring home meat are valued.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Results are what impresses anybody - bringing home the game without having to get within archery or spear range, should impress someone who had never seen a firearm. Good hunters who bring home meat are valued.

Maybe...
But again , from my reading of history and understanding of tribal relations...
It don't matter , how good of anything that you are ....if you ain't of the same tribe...you are fair game.

And if you don't understand the workings of something....how can you be impressed...?

High tech items may be over rated and can be over valued for something like the OP.

Lets not overlook the fact that the folks that actually lived in the time period of the OP....
Survived daily with their "low tech" and "primitive" tools.

Edit to add :
All that said...
Flint and steel , aspirin , TP , Gore-Tex etc...would be nice to have along....
Andy

 

[Member 34319]

(1) Gen-3+ NV monocular
(2) Thermal Imaging monocular
(3) Scoped Semi-Auto .308
(4) Tons of Fed GM 168gr BTHP

The batteries in the electronics will only last so long. I like your thinking though. It would be a very good advantage.

 

[Nosferatu]

The 6.5 Pleistocene, duh!

 

[EHJ]

Well, if I'm gonna be popping into the past time traveling like a god, I'm pretty sure I'll be perceived that way by the locals.
So - I'll either be attacked immediately and need to defend myself - making some sort of statement right off the get go - or everyone's gonna drop to their knees and bow, expecting some sort of display of sorcery. I figure once I can impress them and achieve my position and status, they will supply my every need. Like a king.

A simple semi handgun should suffice. A dozen magazines maybe.

But I am bringing a boatload of calcium carbide. I assume there will be water.

 

[Nosferatu]

Without refrigeration, I'd be hunting small game. I'm thinking my Henry single shot 12ga and a 22 insert would be the most useful food getter.

For defense and pronghorn size game, a short barrel AR10 may be the ticket.

I'm not going to be shooting anything I can't cut up and transport quickly. Blood attracts the wrong kind of trouble.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I'd rather practice and learn the skills and tools of say : Ishi and "Otzi the Iceman"...
With this in mind...I'd try to adapt to my surroundings , as opposed to adapting the surroundings to me...or trying to overawe nature or other people.

My high tech modern items would be light weight cooking gear , flint and steel , my Gore-Tex Bivy Bag and poncho liners , decent first aid kit , etc...
Oh and lots of coffee.....
Andy

Edit to add...
I now have an urge to re-read Edgar Rice Burroughs and his "Caspak" trilogy as well as Heinlein' s Tunnel in the Sky....

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

I think a large caliber PCP with a hand pump could be effective in this scenario. It can be used as a muzzle loader with arrows, rocks, or other other hard objects once your lead supply is used up.

Mining lead or copper could keep you in business for a while, and you won't need to worry about making black powder or ignition sources.

 

[AK0perator47]

Kinda why I am taking bladed weapons; @Andy54Hawken , firearms are good to a point and even if you take 30,000 rounds of 22LR. Nature and moisture will somehow always win. Why I thought flintlock was a good idea I just don't have any. The premise of the tribal community and the fact that you're either in or out is true. My point is, curiosity of unknown has always intrigued mankind. Not too mention that I guarantee that they will see you first before you see them.

So, if you start setting up camp and hunt down a decent sized animal and start cooking it the intrigue will start because they are used to the way they do things.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Interaction with the locals would be "entertaining " to say the least....after all I don't speak "Caveman" for starters....
But you gotta sleep sometime...and someone else who can keep watch while you eat , bath , cook , gather plants / firewood etc....would be nice to have around.
Andy

Hmmm....My bladed items would be those below :