Bug-out bag gun

[simonrichter]

That's one cool (and quite versatile) survival kit, indeed!

Are these inserts real rifled barrels?

[lamarw]

Yes, they are rifled and are sold by Kennesaw Cannon Company. The official name for the insert barrels is "Sub-Caliber Device". Although, the .45 Colt bullet will at times keyhole at a distance beyond twenty yards. It makes a nasty looking hole in paper. I am not sure whether a .410 slug will do better or not.

There is also another company out there I understand who sells .38 sub-caliber devices. I don't recall if it was just .38 or .38 special.

The nice thing is you can buy the flare gun and all the inserts without using an FFL. It is only when you insert one of the sub-caliber devices into the flare gun barrel does it become a firearm.

The Polish Flare Gun itself is very heavy duty and rugged. It is all steel except for the plastic grips.

[Hal]

From my experience a CB cab from a 4 inch barrel made very little sound. From a 6 inch barrel it was virtually silent

Different brands of CB caps have different sound levels.

The CCI ones, in my experience, are the loudest.

You can hear them pretty well out of a 4" or 6".

[kraigwy]

I'm not bugging out, except every now and then, (or twice in the last twenty years) we had to evacuate do to forest fires, but I had my camper full of stuff, included ALL MY GUNS), and we lived at the fair grounds with other refugees.

Anyway, since I always carry a J frame (642) in my pocket, it would still be there if I bugged out.

Unless I'm hunting, in which case I have a rifle, when I'm fishing, riding my motorcycle, ATV, horse, or just running around, I still have my pocket revolver.

When carrying a big gun, you'll find it left with the pack or other camping gear while you're setting up doing camp chores. My revolver is in my pocket.

Even though I'm not hunting I may pick up a rabbit or something to supplement my camp food. A little 38 works quite well and I don't have to hunt it up when I spot a rabbit while doing camp chores.

The difference is hunting rabbits with a snub nose and full size pistol/revolver is PRACTICE.

[Garycw]

I have two bags. One is a back pack with lots of stuff, meds, tools etc & a S&W model 10 that is usually at home and a smaller get home sling bag that has less stuff, but is always with me. I don't have a gun in there because I Always have two with me. Usually a 45acp & a .380

[simonrichter]

I don't have a gun in there because I Always have two with me

lucky livin' in The States. Ain't gonna happen here, on the contrary, the EU is working on banning privately owned firearms as such over the long term... :/

[Garycw]

Originally Posted by simonrichter

lucky livin' in The States. Ain't gonna happen here, on the contrary, the EU is working on banning privately owned firearms as such over the long term... :/

I'd be ready to bug out of Austria. There's people here that would like to see that route taken also

[simonrichter]

I'd be ready to bug out of Austria. There's people here that would like to see that route taken also

while there are MORE rights than can be taken away in the US, the inclination seems to be the same all over the world. Most of the political elites, regardless of their color and ideology in particular, seem to drift away from the ideal of individual liberty as such. I still hope that it will be the strong activism of US people to save the day again, because the Europeans will just wait and see what the authorities rule...

Anyway, drifting away from the original issue - though the changes in society and the necessity to keep a BOB in ready are not that unrelated, after all...

[Garycw]

Living in certain areas would be foolish not to have a BOB. Living in or near a flood zone,areas prone to wildfires, mudslides & hurricanes. A gun or weapon should diffidently be part of that. One of the main things is think light you may end up walking a long distance.my smaller sling bag has a concealed holster built into it, that can be easily accessed from the outside. It's a Red Rock and could accommodate up to a 1911.
That would not be my choice of gun for the bag though. More like a Sig P938

[NWCP]

I would be inclined to take a Ruger Single Six in 22WMR if I were you. I don't no how available .22 magnum is in the land down under, but as a hunting pistol, or self defense weapon it would be a sight better than a .22LR. It's not all that big, is dependable and accurate.

[simonrichter]

I don't no how available .22 magnum is in the land down under

it IS available, yet I don't live in the land of Kangaroos, rather the one of Mozart and Wiener Schnitzel

[Jackrabbit Grips]

Definitely a rifle, even a .22. Far more utility, and you can get some really light ones as some have already pointed out.

[dayman]

Based on your constraints, I'd second a ruger mkIII or similar.

If the ply22 is your only option, it would definitely work, but it's designed primarily to be a defensive gun.
Something designed primarily to be a target gun might work better as an all around workhorse.
A Walther P22 or Ruger SR22 (or other combat pistol look alike) would realistically work just as well, but - given the political climate over there - might be slightly harder to explain than something that looks like a target pistol.

[simonrichter]

the benefit of a mouse gun-sized item would be the higher probability of actually not cancelling it from the items list in favor of additional water, food etc. ...

A Ruger .22 or thelike is surely more practical for offensive roles, yet it is much more cumbersome and adds to the weight...

[Cold Steel]

The .22lr is an excellent choice for a bugout bag, and the obvious choice is a Ruger Mark II or III auto. And I think .22s are highly underrated.

I know a guy who was working on his house when he felt what seemed to be a vicious wasp sting. By the time he reached the bottom of the ladder he passed out. Eventually he made it inside his house but said it was difficult to breathe. He called 911 and the next thing he remembers is waking up at the hospital. He'd been hit with a .22lr round fired by a couple of kids, and the doctors told him he'd come close to dying. Had he passed out again before making the call, they said he'd likely not made it.

The amazing thing about this incident is the distance the bullet had traveled. The kids had fired the round from a handgun in a secluded spot a mile away!

Twenty-two ammo is easy to transport, and out of a Ruger auto can pump out ten rounds in just a few seconds. I've asked a number of law enforcement people about which handgun they'd choose if they could have just one for private use and home defense. I've been surprised by how many have picked the Ruger .22lr, and without any hesitation. Mouse guns can be effective in some cases, but fouling can rapidly diminish reliability. And many of the newer Rugers have polymer parts. I also understand that the .22/.45 models aren't quite as reliable as the standard version, but this is just something I've heard. Don't know it for a fact.

If I could pick another small gun, the Ruger SB-101 .357 would be it. The .357 is an awesome gun (and I don't use that term lightly at all). It takes .38 ammo, which would be the likeliest caliber you'd stumble across if you had to keep moving. And if people knew you had a .22lr pistol with you, there are some who might try to relieve you of it. Having a small hand cannon tucked out of the way could be handy.

An EMP event is more likely than most people have any idea of, and if the power grid went down, firearms are going to be well worth having. The Ruger 10/22 rifle (break apart) comes with a handy carrying case, and I've tucked a small Spyderco Endura (black) inside mine as an added precaution.

Here's to hoping we never have to face such things, or our children, but in the event that it does, it'll pay to be prepared.

[DA/SA Fan]

I think a higher capacity 22 rifle would be much more useful. Leave some food out of the backpack and shoot some squirrels. A Ruger 10/22 could be used for an excellent self defense weapon and survival hunting. Would something like this work in your situation(country)?

http://www.hightowerarmory.com/

[gyvel]

Given your location and Herr Putin's actions as of late, you might want to consider something that chambers a Russian round as a "bug out" gun.

[Cold Steel]

Originally Posted by simonrichter

A handgun would definitely be a nice addition to the survival pack and a good reassurance should push come to shove.

As true as this is, the more prepared you are, the more of a target you'll become. In other words, if you have something worth having, others will be motivated to relieve you of it.

I have a friend who has tried to protect his car from an electromagnetic pulse. As wonderful as it would be to have a car after such an event, having it is one thing and keeping it is quite another. Even if you could protect your car from the rifraft in such an event, could you keep it from being confiscated for emergency services? And if you have a bugout bag, and someone else thinks you have something useful, it's going to take some planning to keep them from ending up with it. If they have a bigger gun, or if they're just faster at producing it, you can lose everything in just a few moments; and the worst thing about it is that those who would relieve you of your carefully prepared supplies might be otherwise good guys. Like the neighbor up the street.

So getting back to firearms, getting the right ones (plural) is only half the battle. Just a gun like a Glock could create all sorts of problems. Unholstered, the gun is like a ticking time bomb. If you have to take the time to cock it, it can cause problems and if it's all ready to go, it's very easy to accidentally discharge. So it has to be holstered wherever you keep it.

I've always liked the Beretta 9mm pistol (probably because I wanted one so much when there weren't many other hi-capacity pistols available). I finally settled on the stainless steel Taurus 92 because it's beautiful, it has a rail, was more attractively priced and, finally, it has a cock-and-lock safety, which I think is superior to Beretta's safety. For a bugout bag, it would be a top contender.

But a gun isn't much good if you don't have ammo for it, and have you ever wondered what the situation is going to be if there's ever a societal breakdown? There's going to be a lot of people who have a handgun and the first box of ammo they bought with it. Can you imagine a guy with the beautiful S&W Model 13 his dad gave him, still in it's blue box and with a nearly full box of ammo his dad had purchased with the pistol? My dad was like that. He'd go out and run a few rounds through it, clean it and put it in his drawer. So with ammo a consideration, my first choice for a bugout bag gun would be a Ruger Mark II 22/45 auto with a small bull barrel and lots of magazines. Then for good measure, I'd get another one and put it in my wife's bugout bag. A good .22lr Beretta mouse gun or two also would be good choices as backups. When I first shot my little Beretta, it jammed every now and again. I didn't trust it. But then someone told me to only buy CCI standard .22lr or the Yellow Jackets. So I did, and I suddenly went to 100 percent reliability.

So that's my take. BTW, what kind of knives do you plan putting with your pistols?

[Unlicensed Dremel]

You don't bug out - if there's a calamity, you get home and protect your home where your food, water, supplies, and family are. IMO. But for a "Get Home" bag, probably Tanfoglio Witness 10mm 6" Hunter, or CZ 85 9x19.

[HungryHunter]

I would vote for the full size .22. Ruger Mk III or a Browning buckmark, or the Kel Tec as suggested. It sounds like you could see this pistol serving a defensive role. I know there's guys out there way more proficient with a mouse gun than I am with a full size, but in my case if push came to shove I'd have rather carried the weight and been more aptly armed.

If it was really my life on the line I'd look into( I think it was Brotherbadger that said it) an attachable rifle scabbard. At my relatively low skill level a rifle greatly trumps a pistol. Anyway I did quite a bit of carrying both a rifle and a rucksack in the mountains, and though the weight did always suck ,if you only had to use it once and it made the difference that saved your life it would be well worth it.