what would be the best two guns to have with you in a survival situation

[smleno1mkIII]

one pistol and one long gun on a budget and in bear country.

[Christchild]

1 Centerfire Rifle and 1 Shotgun. You've got options to protect Yourself and can hunt anything, including squirrels, rabbits, birds, etc., if You've got the right Shotshell loads.

[smleno1mkIII]

but I said one long gun and a pistol

[Christchild]

Oh! Sorry... :rolleyes: Didn't read into it enough....

Hmmm... Glock 21 .45ACP..........My Browning A-Bolt .270 Winchester..... I'll just have to make HeadShots on smaller game..... :D

An since I already have my rifle, and still have access to my Glock, does that fit the "on a budget" bill, since I won't have to spend a dime?

[geologist]

SKS rifle and a Ruger .22 pistol with adjustable sights.

[Buzzcook]

A flare pistol and a shotgun/rifle combo such as the Savage 24P. .22 lr for food and a slug for Yogi.

You do realize that if you happen to get abandoned in bear country the odds are that you won't get to pick.

[smleno1mkIII]

I would have choose almost the same thing except in place of the sks a shotgun
a .22 pistol is a very good idea as you can carry bricks and bricks of ammo and perfict for little critters a shot gun gives you a huge advantage because of all the different kinds of ammo you can use bird shot for fowl and rabbits buck shot works great for deer and the like and should you stumble on a bear you got slugs

[Glenn Dee]

A .357 Revolver... and If I'm hunting It'll probably be my Rem. 600 in .308. I'f I'm lost hunting bear I'll probably have my S&W 29 .44mag, and my 660 in
.350 Rem Mag.

[Art Eatman]

Two options, in this hunting forum: You're hunting in either big-bear country or in little-bear country.

Big bear country, you have some sort of rifle that could deal with Mr. Brownie, I guess, as well as do in a moose or caribou. That's generally somewhere around a .300 WinMag or more. Handgun? You might want to think for survival that hares or ptarmigan or suchlike could be on the menu, so the usual .22 critter.

Little bear country? Whatever's suitable for the hunting you'd planned on. If Bambi, odds are that anything from a .30-30 on up would work just fine. Same as before for a handgun, although if you are concerned about a higher probability of Bad People, any self-defense handgun should do.

But if you're a really good hunter, odds are that you'll spot Bad Guys before they know you're around. The average Bad Guy is likely not a good hunter; the average hunter is likely not a Bad Guy. That's part of Condition Yellow--knowing your environment and what's in it and what you might do to deal with problems.

Note: A bunch of nonsense about survival in any SHTF deal means this thread won't survive.

[hogdogs]

If it were involuntary survival situation like lost in the woods, Whatever I have will have to get me through. If I had my druthers... I'd druther have a .22lr Ruger MK pistol and my .30-30. The reason is I can carry more ammo for the .30-30 than the shotgun.
Brent

[reloader28]

What do I carry in bear country? 44mag / 265gr FP and an unplugged 18 1/2" barreled 12 gauge with 00 buck and slugs. My brother carries a 45/70 guide gun and a 500 S/W. But in a survival situation I'll just take 30/06 and a 22 pistol. I dont normally carry a 22 pistol hunting but since we can plan this out, thats what I would choose because their accurate and light.

[Bigfatts]

Puma/Rossi 92 in .454 Casull paired with a Ruger Alaskan, same caliber. The Alaskan will shoot .45 Colt for 'small' game. I pick the 92 because it gives me 10 shots right there. If you're in a real survival situation that isn't planned out you aren't going to have gobs of ammo most likely. A couple speed loaders on the belt would give a total of 28 rounds that I could shoot in either weapon and take any game I came across, including Grizzly.

[jcjr3020]

Ruger .22 pistol and savage 110 .300winmag

[L_Killkenny]

In a survival situation you'd have little chance of needing a bear gun. Odd's just aren't very good you are gonna be eaten. People live in bear country all the time yet very few have needed to shoot a bear in defense. Could it happen? Heck yes. But you've got about 100 survival things to worry about before you get to bears. Give me a .22Mag rifle and I'd be happy. Light ammo yet more capabities and range than a .22LR. "If" I was gonna pack 2 it would be a big handgun starting in 4 for the second.

Now this is just survival. Wouldn't be my choice for a hunting trip.

LK

[riggins_83]

one pistol and one long gun on a budget and in bear country.

Ruger Redhawk 454 or 44 magnum and a Savage 116BGH in 30-06 or 7MM rem mag.

I lived in Minnesota for 17 years and only had one instance of nearly being attacked by a bear. If they have a tooth infection.. they may attack you for no reason.

[2damnold4this]

Ruger Blackhawk in .44 mag and CZ452 in .22lr.

[fyimo]

S&W Model 29 in 44 mag and a Sako 7mm Mag

[longranger]

My 1874 Shilo Sharps 45-70 and Colt SAA .45. I can scrounge lead and make my own black powder.I keep thousands of primers on hand always.Not going to do that with AK's, AR's, SKS and the like.:o

[Edward429451]

My 1895G and...and :D my Redhawk 44 I suppose. It was a hard chioce between that and my 454 which is single action and I have way more diversified ammo selection with the 44 and my bench. (Subject to change without notice!)

[Art Eatman]

Since this is a hunting forum, the presumption is that one was hunting when the need for survival arose. Any other scenario kills the thread.

[ZeroJunk]

Depends on how long you want to survive. Give me a good 22 and a couple of bricks of ammo and I could live for years.


Sorry Art, hadn't read your post. If you are lost hunting you are pretty well stuck with what you were hunting with.

[Ian0351]

I don't even go out walking in (small) Bear Country without my .357 loaded with FMJ... if I had the foresight to bring a long gun it would probably be my Mossberg 12 gauge in field configuration (28" vented barrel and IC choke) and a variety of shells from #8 to #00... no slugs unless I remembered to bring a cyl. bore choke!

[L_Killkenny]

You can shoot slugs all the way up thru full choke in most guns and modified in ALL guns. Many many deer are killed around here by guys using their bird shotguns and slugs.

LK

[Ian0351]

Really? I have always heard that rifled slugs are not safe to use with any restricted choke. This would certainly be good to know though, any input Brent?

[MTT TL]

I normally hunt medium to large game with my LR-308. If I had that I would not need another gun. I use 1100 12 GA, RWS 94 air rifle or 10/22 for rabbit/ small game hunting. The 12 GA is stand alone. With either of the others I would like to have a G22 backup for the bears.

[roklok]

I would choose a reliable autoloading .223 for the long gun and a .357 or .44 as a handgun. I have shot everything from ptarmigan and rabbits to caribou with the .223 with no problem. FMJ does not cause much destruction on the smaller stuff. I personally think the shotgun is an overrated choice for a survival situation. Not enough range, and the ammunition is too heavy and bulky to carry much of. In a survival situation, you can shoot ducks and geese in the water with .223 FMJ. I know a guy who has lived in bush Alaska for 25 years, living off the land. He grows his own veggies and kills his own meat. He lives 8 hours by boat from the nearest neighbor. He told me he always thought the 22 LR was the best survival gun, but he changed his mind when he got his AR-15. He carrys it with him everywhere and has killed all manner of game with it, small to large.

[Old Grump]

22 cal single action revolver with 4" barrel and target sights

!2 gauge pump with a 20" barrel and a fixed IM choke as versatile enough for shot or slugs.

Good for squirrel to Kodiak to 2 legged boogermen.

[Ian0351]

I answered my own question (pertaining to slugs and chokes) via the search function... and thanks L_Killkenny for pointing the truth out to me.
Back to the topic: I would feel fine with my Dan Wesson 14-2 and Mossberg 500 w/assortment of shells for anything I could encounter where I live and am pretty sure I could feed myself for a few days. I am more of a hiker than a hunter, but plan to rectify that soon!

[ssilicon]

The question was not complete. Survive WHAT exactly and for how long? If it is man vs. nature then geography makes a difference. If it is also potentially man against man, then that also can greatly change the requirements. For man against man, I would want the "longer reach", accuracy and ability to punch through some cover better than the enemy, so that I can kill him before he even has the ability to kill me.

[Tomas204]

Ok Ill keep my 460 and a .17 hmr

[Fat White Boy]

I started a similar thread a couple of years ago but my scenario was that if it was 1800 and you had to cross the continental U.S., which pistol and which long gun would you use. just like Biggfatts I would use the same caliber combo in your scenario as in mine- You only need to carry one size ammo...

Of course the .454 is hell on rabbits....

[smleno1mkIII]

what about a .22\12ga over and under and either a .480 or .454 super redhawk as backup for yogi ohh or a 460 yes a 460 shoots 3 differn't kinds of ammo hmm.

[RC1986]

an ak47 and a glock for me does it!

[smleno1mkIII]

I hope you brought lots of ammo cause youll need it should you run across yogi

[Big Bill]

Marlin 336C 30-30 and a Ruger .22 single six convertable.

[Art Eatman]

Thanks to those few who would have been hunting and ran into a survival situation. No thanks to those who were diddling around the SHTF garbage, which is not a topic for this forum--as I stated.