Which pistol for urban/wilderness survival kit?

[kosmicapple78]

These are certainly all hlepful suggestions. I know that there is no single pistol that can completely satisfy both roles in an urban and wilderness situation - Iwas thinking ofsomething that couldmake a good compromise.

Bascially, what I want to do is get something like a Pelican 1400 waterproof case (as thats a good size for portability) and pack that up with a selection of survival goodies. I was really trying to avoid the one pistol plus one rifle concept due to portability concerns.

What'sthe smallest caliber round that will take down (or scare off) a bear? A .22 rifle is great for smaller creatures, but why liveon squirrel when you can have venison? If i absolutely had to include a .22 rifle, I'd probably go with a Henry Survival rifle to conserve as much space as possible. What about going with a decently sized pistol with a .22 conversion slide and barrel?

[kosmicapple78]

I have been a practicing survivalist since the late 80's and i can tell you that there is no urban/ wilderness survival pistol, in an urban situation you will need to survive against other humans and lots of them , which means you will need a high cap 9 mm, such as a Glock 19 or 17, i also would recommend the Ruger P89.

In the wilderness you will need to survive against other humans, wild animals and to feed yourself, you will need more than one gun, you will need a .357,44mag or 45 colt for defense, then you will need a .22lr to feed yourself.
This just to begin, ideally you should have a rifle, preferebly a Ruger 10/22 or Marlin 60 or a nice Bolt .22.
keep it light and simple , no exotic calibers like .357 sig, .38 super or even .40. Carry what everybody and the police and military carry- 9mm, you will always get a reload, but ideally you should always stockpile ammo. you can get 9mm ammo anywhere you go in the world

Again with the rifles carry what everybody else carry, .22lr, .223/5.56, .308, 7.62x39 , 30-30, 30-06, no exotic rounds like 7mm-08, 6.8 spc, 5.7 fn, .204 ruger etc.


Mike

Very good answer - a lot of thought went into your response, but I'm trying to find one pistol that could possibly be a compromise of both wilderness and urban due to portability concerns. This is going to be an emergency kit which may have to take the place of my regular components (a variety of rifles and pistols) just in case I can't also take those with me.

If you had to constrain the size of your kit to the size of what airlines would allow as carryon luggage, then what would you throw in it?

[kosmicapple78]

urban/wilderness survival I'd go with a .357 6" barrel. You can hunt with it, you can scare a bear with it, you can reasonably carry it (I wouldn't conceal carry it, but you "could"), and you can shoot someone with it.

If you are talking survival, that's what I'd go with for a pistol or even single gun. After that a .22lr rifle for a pure survival gun. List grows from there along the lines that other people have said.

Good answer, a single pistol that can serve in both roles (wilderness and urban.) I only have one apprehension to it and it is that revovlers are slow to reload but other than that, we're going in the right direction here.

[LittleRedToyota]

What'sthe smallest caliber round that will take down (or scare off) a bear?

depends on the bear...and where you hit him. i would personally not want anything smaller than .357mag or 10mm if i were shooting a PA black bear with a handgun. bears would be way down on my list of worries even in a wilderness survival situation around here, though.

A .22 rifle is great for smaller creatures, but why liveon squirrel when you can have venison?

because there are a hell of a lot more squirrels (and rats, cats, groundhogs, dogs, etc.) than deer.

in a true SHTF/TEOTWAWKI scenario, PA forests would be devoid of big game in a matter of weeks. every hunter and his brother will have the plan of harvesting deer for food.

further, trapping, rather than hunting, will be the way to go for harvesting animals for food in a survival situation. a .22 is a good way to kill a trapped animal relatively quietly (so as not to attract other survivors who would kill you and take your catch).

as for the original question, if i could have only one gun in a survival situation, it would be a glock 17. but, i hope i get to have more than one...in which case i will take 2 glock 17s and one suppressed AR (unless i get to stay at home and then i want at least 2 ARs and a shotgun or two).

[kosmicapple78]

I guess I'd recommend having a long gun and a pistol in the same caliber. The possibilities are endless and limited by the cash in your bank account and how much weight you want to carry. How about a lever gun and a revolver in the same caliber (awesome reliability for both)? How about a Kel-Tec Sub2k and a Glock?--they use the same mags and shoot the same bullets. How about the new PMR-30 from Kel-Tec and a lever gun/ bolt gun in 22 mag?

Personally, I have a Sub2k in 40 and a Glock 23. Got a Lone Wolf conversion barrel to shoot 9mm out of the G23. The Sub2k easily folds up to fit in a backpack. You could also get some 31 round .40 mags to have some serious short range capability. The only problem is ammo availability in 40S&W if things go bad or I run out.

I may get flamed here, but I think in a emergency situation, the .40S&W *could* get me a small deer or hog or something similar. Not that I would hunt with it, obviously.

I love the idea of a sub2000 - but no one has them in stock. lol It folds small enough and it's light enough to fit in a Pelican case, it uses pistol rounds and magazines, and it is rifle-like for long range accuracy. I think it's also quick enough to deploy that it could take place of its pistol counterpart altogether.

[Stooperzero]

IMHO it's totally based on User Preference.




If it was me , I'd just take my 11" AR for "Routine Usage" and pop in the 22LR conversion for things like small game

[kosmicapple78]

depends on the bear...and where you hit him. i would personally not want anything smaller than .357mag or 10mm if i were shooting a PA black bear with a handgun. bears would be way down on my list of worries even in a wilderness survival situation around here, though.

I agree, bear attack is probably lesser of the priority in that situation.


because there are a hell of a lot more squirrels (and rats, cats, groundhogs, dogs, etc.) than deer.

in a true SHTF/TEOTWAWKI scenario, PA forests would be devoid of big game in a matter of weeks. every hunter and his brother will have the plan of harvesting deer for food.

A true SHTF scenario I don't think would extend past a matter of weeks. I don't think it would last more than a few days, actually.

further, trapping, rather than hunting, will be the way to go for harvesting animals for food in a survival situation. a .22 is a good way to kill a trapped animal relatively quietly (so as not to attract other survivors who would kill you and take your catch).

I could hit the animal in the head with a rock as it makes less noise and doesnt waste a .22 round.

as for the original question, if i could have only one gun in a survival situation, it would be a glock 17. but, i hope i get to have more than one...in which case i will take 2 glock 17s and one suppressed AR (unless i get to stay at home and then i want at least 2 ARs and a shotgun or two).

It's more like only one gun is going to fit in this Pelican case - so that's why it is going to be limited.

[ChamberedRound]

The answer to this question is like "What's better, 9mm or 45acp?", you'll get dozens of different answers and opinions. But, I'll throw my hat into the ring:

If I was only able to have ONE gun to defend myself and hunt with, from a stopping power perspective my 1st preference would be a revolver in .357 magnum. It's a great man-stopper, and is one of the smallest handgun rounds capable of effectively taking larger game like deer. My 2nd choice would be a 1911; the .45ACP isn't as effective at stopping deer, but will be OK for small game and be a good man-stopper. From a usability perspective, FOR ME it would be the 1911 1st and the revolver 2nd, as I'm a lefty and can't effectively reload a revolver.

But in the end I agree with earlier posters that there's no reason to limit yourself. Use the right tools for the right job; even in a doomsday scenario, there's room for more than one weapon.

[kosmicapple78]

IMHO it's totally based on User Preference.




If it was me , I'd just take my 11" AR for "Routine Usage" and pop in the 22LR conversion for things like small game

Yes, it kind of is all user preference, which is why I want to read everyon elses' preferences to shape my own. The 11" AR is another great idea...sadly I don't have one.

[kosmicapple78]

The answer to this question is like "What's better, 9mm or 45acp?", you'll get dozens of different answers and opinions. But, I'll throw my hat into the ring:

If I was only able to have ONE gun to defend myself and hunt with, my 1st preference would be a revolver in .357 magnum. It's a great man-stopper, and is one of the only handgun rounds capable of effectively taking larger game like deer. My 2nd choice would be a 1911; the .45ACP isn't as effective at stopping deer, but will be OK for small game and be a good man-stopper.

I'm glad you did throw your hat into the ring. The .357 does seem like it can make to compromise between both roles. Would the next closest be 10mm? Problem with 10mm is price and availibility.