You've got to bug out to an unknown BOL, and you can only...

[books]

So, let's say that for whatever reason, you've got to bug out RIGHT NOW to an unknown BOL for an unknown period of time.

Again, for whatever reason, you only have two options for firearms.

You can either take a nice .22LR semi-auto rifle with spare mags and an ammo can full of .22LR ammo (~8,000 rounds) or you can take a decent centerfire rifle with spare mags and an ammo can that only has ~800 rounds.

Which do you take with you - the .22LR with massive quantities of ammo, or the centerfire with more stopping power but significantly less ammo? Keep in mind you might need the rifle for protection and you might also need it to hunt for an undetermined amount of time.

[AKFTW]

Depends on the reason for the bug out- anything not Red Dawn/TEOTWAWKI related, I'd probably choose the .22 because it could be used for defense in a pinch, and i'd be able to hunt small game with it. But if it was an urban BOL, centerfire rifle all the way since I'm more likely to need to defend myself than I am to have good hunting opportunities.

[BullOnParade]

Depends on the reason for the bug out- anything not Red Dawn/TEOTWAWKI related, I'd probably choose the .22 because it could be used for defense in a pinch, and i'd be able to hunt small game with it. But if it was an urban BOL, centerfire rifle all the way since I'm more likely to need to defend myself than I am to have good hunting opportunities.

I dunno, if you're staying urban AND you need to supply your own food, you wont be able to shoot any food with the CF. Squirrel, pigeon, maybe the odd other critter, all .22 friendly. If you NEED to defend yourself, CF is the better option, if you need to FEED yourself, .22.

I vote, damn you and your rules, you're just like the society that's crumbling around me, I'm taking both, and half the ammo for each.

[brothaman]

psssh,... 800 rds is an ass lot of ammo. Hands down, the Center fire rifle. Even if you were out for a year, 800 rds would be enough. I'll take 223 or 243, if you please.

[HKTackDriver]

Would this be the "ONLY" gun ever? If so, then...

For portability and to be consistent with what I preach, the 22lr. I wouldn't be comfy shooting a bear, but I'd have no problem with trying for a deer head shot and have no problem with two footed predators. I'd also make sure I had a good speer for larger game as well. 8000 rounds lasts a long time. 800 - not so much.

Not to mention, the 22 is more than capable of defending yourself and obtaining someone else's centerfire.

[jamoni]

I think I could get plenty of small game by other methods. Rabbit sticks come to mind. (Yes, I've practiced it). So I'd go for the center fire, since I would rather improvise on food gathering than on defense.

[Whiskey]

Center fire. As its been said, 800 centerfire rifle rounds is quite close to a metric shit load. I can run snares all day long, and use the rifle for hunting big critters or defense.

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[williaty]

I think I could get plenty of small game by other methods. Rabbit sticks come to mind. (Yes, I've practiced it). So I'd go for the center fire, since I would rather improvise on food gathering than on defense.

Interestingly, I'm of exactly the opposite view.

The odds of my needing safe and reliable air in a disaster situation are huge.
The odds of my needing safe and reliable water in a disaster situation are huge.
The odds of my needing safe and reliable food in a disaster situation are huge.
The odds of my needing to defend myself or my family with a weapon in a disaster situation are merely moderate to large.

While I don't think that defense is something that can in any way be neglected, it certainly is not more important than being able to reliably obtain more food and water in a crisis. In fact, in the area I'm in, I would be willing to bet that my most common "defense" need in a disaster would be eliminating pets that had become feral and aggressive. To me, that makes the most needed firearm one that can drop coyotes, dogs, rabbits, squirrels, and Canada geese and be pressed into service as a deterrent against humans if it has to be than one that definitely is going to kill an invader dead on the first shot but vaporizes bunnies and has ammo I can't afford to stock in depth.

[Squeeky]

I think that either firearm would be fine if I were the only one doing the shooting... If my wife was along for the fun them I would have to think of the recoil of a .308 versus a .22(Idon't think she understands the concept of recoil management). But me I would rather use an M4 Benelli 12 GA. Slugs could replace the centerfire(within reason) and 00 buck for defence of small game.

Then again I do love my 10-22...

[MacAttack]

My Ar with its conversion kit to .22lr.

I can still carry 500 rounds of 5.56 in the ammo can along with 1000 rounds of .22lr and the kit. Plus I could probably stuff a couple full mags in their pouches. So there is another 100 rounds of cf.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

.308

There's plenty of other ways to get food.

[squinty]

Why do so many people assume that game will be a plentiful and reliable source of food in a disaster? It may, and it may not. The particular disaster/shtf situation might make hunting too dangerous an activity, game might be killed or driven away by whatever event, or the woods may be full of people who loaded up on ammunition but not food, hunting large and small game into scarcity.

Nothing wrong with being able to hunt small game as a survival option, but it's not necessarily a reliable one. At best, hunting or trapping should supplement your other preps. They shouldn't be primary survival strategies.

[williaty]

Why do so many people assume that game will be a plentiful and reliable source of food in a disaster? It may, and it may not. The particular disaster/shtf situation might make hunting too dangerous an activity, game might be killed or driven away by whatever event, or the woods may be full of people who loaded up on ammunition but not food, hunting large and small game into scarcity.

Nothing wrong with being able to hunt small game as a survival option, but it's not necessarily a reliable one. At best, hunting or trapping should supplement your other preps. They shouldn't be primary survival strategies.

The 1 mile surrounding my house sees 17,500 migratory Canada Geese every year according to ODNR. The coyote population is so out of control that they have culls. When the golf courses and the yuppies moved up here, the coyote population EXPLODED. Depending on time of year, it's actually pretty possible (and has occurred in the historical record) to drop one or the other while sitting inside the sunroom with the sliding door open to the yard.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

The biggest issue I se is the "unknown BOL" question. I just don't know enough abotu the event, the surrounding area, how far I'm going, how I'm getting there...

TL:DR there is no perfect/ideal rifle or caliber. There's a reason the risk assessment is key.

[Skull_Hide]

800 rounds for a Mosin, so then I can just stab my dinner and need not shoot it.

[squinty]

Why do so many people assume that game will be a plentiful and reliable source of food in a disaster? It may, and it may not. The particular disaster/shtf situation might make hunting too dangerous an activity, game might be killed or driven away by whatever event, or the woods may be full of people who loaded up on ammunition but not food, hunting large and small game into scarcity.

Nothing wrong with being able to hunt small game as a survival option, but it's not necessarily a reliable one. At best, hunting or trapping should supplement your other preps. They shouldn't be primary survival strategies.

The 1 mile surrounding my house sees 17,500 migratory Canada Geese every year according to ODNR. The coyote population is so out of control that they have culls. When the golf courses and the yuppies moved up here, the coyote population EXPLODED. Depending on time of year, it's actually pretty possible (and has occurred in the historical record) to drop one or the other while sitting inside the sunroom with the sliding door open to the yard.

I've had to shoot coyotes in my BY too. Down here, for a while, there was open season/no bag limit on 'yotes.
Your area has more plentiful game than mine - so the reliance on hunting is AO dependent. But it's also event dependent.

I know that even when I lived in a pretty rural area, I couldn't expect to feed myself for very long by hunting. So a hunting/survival rifle would only be a secondary or supplementary tool.

[CodyC]

I'd grab the big gun. Gives me guaranteed defense against virtually anything or anyone out to get me, and a higher possibility of a one-shot stop. Not to mention that 800 rounds is a TON of ammo.

My questions is exactly what caliber can this be in? An AR-15 is a hell of a difference from a Remington 700 in .300 Win Mag.

[Mr. E. Monkey]

The biggest issue I se is the "unknown BOL" question. I just don't know enough abotu the event, the surrounding area, how far I'm going, how I'm getting there...

TL:DR there is no perfect/ideal rifle or caliber. There's a reason the risk assessment is key.

Yeah. So I'm going to assume that food, water, first aid, all that's taken care of, and the only question is the rifle, so I'm going to choose a defensive rifle.

[rsblackbird]

If I need 800 rnds to defend myself, I'm in a world of hurt. I'll go with 400 rnds of center fire, 6' of blue wire and cake.

-R

[werepig]

I think I'd go for the CF round in a mid sized cal (.223, .243, 7.62x39 or .30-30) I can maybe trap some food or if need be try for head shots on small stuff, as well as being able to take bigger animals or people.
Also if my BOL is unknown I think the CF round would be a better bet as I may need better range than a .22 can give me.
If game is in short supply the Cf bullet IMO is better to defend what food I can get from others a a better distance than I could with a .22.
Lastly if there really is NO food to be had and I need to feed my family and myself, a bigger bullet is better at bringing down long pork

[squinty]

I think I'd go for the CF round in a mid sized cal (.223, .243, 7.62x39 or .30-30) I can maybe trap some food or if need be try for head shots on small stuff, as well as being able to take bigger animals or people.
Also if my BOL is unknown I think the CF round would be a better bet as I may need better range than a .22 can give me.
If game is in short supply the Cf bullet IMO is better to defend what food I can get from others a a better distance than I could with a .22.
Lastly if there really is NO food to be had and I need to feed my family and myself, a bigger bullet is better at bringing down long pork

Careful. Long pork tends to shoot back, and joking about murder and cannibalism might get you in dutch with the mods.

[ninja-elbow]

We got it, longpork joke. Just remember we don't like the whole murder thing on this forum, joke or not. Thanks man.