If you could only have one gun for survival what would it be, and why

[Jay Walk]

Bolt action with a firearm license if you live in Oregon.

 

[LDmax]

Bolt action with a firearm license if you live in Oregon.

?

 

[PaulF]

Bolt action with a firearm license if you live in Oregon.

The only time you are "required" to get a "license" for any gun in Oregon, is if you are conceal carrying, and tax stamps are required for NFA items.

We currently have no license to purchase or possess requirements.

And God willing it'll stay that way

 

[Mono1]

What about Bigfoot and a space alien

Well, .357 with 125 Gr Hollowpoints would most likely be your best bet for either Bigfoot or a space alien, although the Marshall and Sanow studies did not consider those encounters.

 

[TTSX]

.308 fueled by Hornady. "accurate" "deadly" " dependable"

"marketing"

 

[Mono1]

"marketing"

OK but, out of a SOCOM 16 ya gotta admit its gonna cause some damage, either up close or even a bit further out.

 

[Mono1]

Context is everything.

If I didn't have to worry about hostile humans, I would have a drilling with a .223 barrel, a .30-06 barrel, and a 12 ga. barrel - each 18" long (14-16" if I didn't have to worry about laws), and 1-6x EER pistol scope mounted forward. I would have a number of .22 rimfire (short/long/LR & WMR) adapters for the .223 barrel. It would be heavy with those three barrels, but it would be versatile. I would also have some 20 ga adapters.

Alternatively, I might want just a 12 ga/.30-06 O/U combo, and some rifled adapters for .223/.22 rimfire - but the total weight might be about the same? I don't have any experience with the rifled adapters to know if they would have a consistent POI, whereas a drilling would. A Valmet O/U combo can be had with swappable barrels.

I have a Savage 20 ga with a .223 barrel, and an M6 with .410/.22. The savage is close enough I suppose; with the right ammo it would be effective for game.

If I did have to worry about humans (or something as dangerous) then I would want something like a Tavor in 5.56x45. Ammo is lightweight but effective on most anything I would want to use it on, whether human or small to medium game.

The key is having a variety of ammo types; you can load 5.56x45 down to rimfire power levels and use any semi as a single shot. You can load ammo up to power levels where taking deer is not a problem. An AR with an extra upper or conversion for rimfire might be a consideration, but swapping uppers while game or threat holds still and lets you do the swap is unlikely.
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That said, these "if you can only have one gun" scenarios are not realistic; you can either have more than one gun or no guns at all in most realistic scenarios. Even if you could only have one due to laws - to start with - once in a survival situation what is going to prevent you from getting more when ROL is gone?

The realistic consideration is what guns (plural) would you choose to have on your person if you had to carry them on foot, without resupply?

This becomes a weight & bulk & convenience consideration at that point. For me (if I was in good health, which I am not) it would be a bullpup in 5.56x45 or 7.62x39 or 7.62x51, and a SIG 226 with 9mm & .40 & .22LR slide/barrel, and a very lightweight .22 rimfire rifle (as in less than 2 pounds - which is doable).

Since I am not in good health, the choice would be a P90/PS90, Five Seven, and a lightweight compact accurate .22 rimfire rifle.

Heretic, We All Love You Man, but That's Not ONE. Impart Your Wisdom!

 

[Old Dog]

t is the ultimate gun to survive, you can hunt everything from birds to deer with it. All you need is just have different ammo

Nope. 12 gauge shotgun? In a true SHTF situation, one probable requires something lighter, smaller, more concealable.

And what is a true survival scenario? Are you staying in one shelter/home/habitat? In one area? Or are you mobile, constantly traveling? And how far do you have to go?

The "one gun" option is a non-starter for me. In a true survival scenario, I want multiple guns. Ammo is going to be harder to find than guns, probably. So I'd not want to restrict myself to one platform and caliber. There'd be more chance of being able to use whatever ammo I could scrounge up. Remember, after the EMP, there won't be any ammo being produced....

However, in the unlikely event I was restricted to one firearm after the **** goes down -- I'm a realist: it's probably going to be whatever gun I have on my at the time on that day. Think about that, folks.

Probably gonna have to make do with a SIG P-228, 229 or 226 and the three mags I'd be carrying. Optimal for hunting? Nope, not at all.

In the unlikely event I had time to choose one of my personal guns, it might be something silly like my 10-22 take-down or a 6" barrel .357.

But we all need to be realistic. We are probably not gonna have time to choose from our personal armory immediately after the 10.0 quake, the grid going down after the big CME event or the strike by North Korea, or Iran, or whatever anarchy our area devolves into after trial verdicts unfavorable to whichever groups want to stir the pot most...

 

[partsed]

I'll take your bait. I'll see your Phased Plasma rifle and raise you a Zorg ZF-1 Pod Weapon System. But, assuming the apocalypse happens in this reality, I'll stick with my boring old CZ 22LR rifle.

View attachment 1073135

I'll take one of these….

 

[Member 3687]

+1, with a minor add. If it were possible I'd have a few uppers to switch between in various barrel lengths and calibers to customize the weapon to the mission at hand. The modularity of an AR is what makes it so useful. It would be a shame to not take advantage of the capability when we would need it most.

The OP says one gun and according to the ATF the serialized portion of the AR is the lower receiver so that makes it "The GUN" so adding uppers is ok with me as its just spare parts.

 

[The Heretic]

Heretic, We All Love You Man, but That's Not ONE. Impart Your Wisdom!

I already did; a drilling or an O/U combo shotgun/rifle

 

[orygun]

I already did; a drilling or an O/U combo shotgun/rifle

That's a very good thought. Something like a Savage 24 would be a good survival tool. Last one I saw wasn't a Savage, but it was a 308 over a 12 gauge.

 

[The Heretic]

That's a very good thought. Something like a Savage 24 would be a good survival tool. Last one I saw wasn't a Savage, but it was a 308 over a 12 gauge.

There were several .308/12ga combos. The most common in the USA is/was Valmet. Valmet made some for Savage (rebranded as Savage) but you could not swap barrels on them. I think Winchester had one too. Then of course there were other euro combos I believe, but on the expensive side.

 

[aflineman]

For me it would be one of my combos. Probably. 22 over 20ga. But maybe my 30-30 over 20ga. If only one barrel, it would probably be my 12 H&R.

 

[Jason999]

It depends on the situation

If I'm trying to survive in an urban situation, it will be my my browning hi power. A rifle or shotgun, or any long gun in a populated city, would just attract attention. You can conceal a pistol and blend in among a crowd.

If I'm in the woods, or a depopulated area, then I'll take my M1 carbine.

 

[OldBroad44]

What about Bigfoot and a space alien

In the annals of my family, no one has ever needed to defend themselves against against a Bigfoot or a space alien. However, my mother did have to defend herself and her children against a ghost.

It was in the wilds of Alaska immediately after WWII. My Air Force dad was stationed in Anchorage. There were still missions happening in Alaska or at least starting from there, and many men were not yet decommissioned. My mother, my then 9-year-old sister, 3-year-old me, and dad when he wasn't off on missions lived in a little log cabin in the wilds nearby with a separate raised cache behind it for storing game out of reach of bears. The cabin was on a road, but a long drive from Anchorage. The only and closest neighbor was an old woman who lived about two miles away. She told my mother that there had been a terrible murder in our cabin, and it was haunted. That is why it had been available.

We had just moved in. Dad was off on a mission that fall night Mother heard footsteps in the attic. She reached for her trusty Colt Woodsman .22 pistol and a flashlight and positioned herself at the base of the stairs leading to the attic, between the danger and her sleeping children. Most of the length of the stairs were in darkness, though about a third of the way down, a beam of moonlight from a small window fell across the stairs. The footsteps sounded strange, as if someone drunk or injured was bumbling around in the attic and moving or running into things in the dark.

Little by little the footsteps came toward the attic door. Then something pushed that door open and started coming down the dark upper part of the stairs toward the lit patch, then into the lit patch. And there was nothing there!

Mother turned on the flashlight and initially saw nothing. Then swept the flash around and saw...

A racoon. A very big racoon that had walked right under the moonbeam, and, was staring at Mother groggily. And sleepily.

It was instantly obvious to Mother what had happened. The racoon had started hibernating in the attic of the unoccupied cabin. Then we moved in and started using the wood stove. This raised the temperature of the attic and interfered with the coon's ability to hibernate.

Mother, being a courteous soul, politely turned the flashlight off and opened the front door to the cabin and stood aside. The racoon ambled out and off into the woods.

 

[The Heretic]

Racoons can make a racket inordinate to their size. A couple weeks ago I heard a racket on the deck outside my bedroom unlike I had heard before. I had just climbed into bed, so I got the Shockwave, turned on the light/laser, slipped on my slippers and went outside. Saw nothing, then saw about 100' away a large racoon slowly ambling away.

 

[OldBroad44]

Racoons can make a racket inordinate to their size. A couple weeks ago I heard a racket on the deck outside my bedroom unlike I had heard before. I had just climbed into bed, so I got the Shockwave, turned on the light/laser, slipped on my slippers and went outside. Saw nothing, then saw about 100' away a large racoon slowly ambling away.

I think animals also might be much noisier when their hibernation is disturbed and they come out and wander around a bit. Fully awake competent racoons can be very quiet. Even huge coons coming right up to my duck deck at night were totally silent. Fortunately the drakes make a distinctive croaking noise that is an alarm call, and I'd respond immediately accompanied by Buddy, my 686 snubby EDC. (Female ducks quack as alarm calls, but not with predators nearby. Male ducks croak as alarm calls. Its easy to tell where a quack is coming from but not a croak. Female ducks are also more vulnerable at night because they have a huge egg formed in their abdomen and receiving its layers of shell. That slows them down. First thing in the morning, right after they lay, they are much more agile.)

In the coastal mountains one is warned that the black bears may hibernate only fitfully, and may wake up and wander around sporadically. Apparently in many areas it isn't consistently cold enough for them to just go to sleep and stay asleep till spring. Probably depends a lot on whether they are down in the lowlands or a few thousand feet higher where there is snow cover all winter.

 

[Mono1]

In the coastal mountains one is warned that the black bears may hibernate only fitfully, and may wake up and wander around sporadically.

Kinda like me at night, tho' I'm in the Willamette Valley

 

[Soli]

Anything reliable w/ ammunition.

IIRC Selco carried around a .22LR during at least part of his SHTF experience.

Survival would be one of the times the distance between 0 and 1 is greater than the distance between 1 and 100.