Survival Gun: Mosin vs Anything Else (You Name It!)

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

The thread about the Mosin-Nagant as a survival rifle got a lot of responses, very varied.

"Survival," when discussed, seems poorly defined, and there are as many opinions on the best tool as there are participants due to the numerous ideas of what survival constitutes.

In my opinion, a survival situation would be one in which the infrastructure is damaged, money is likely worthless, and food isn't getting to the store anyway.

Sorta' like the Great Depression.

There was a cool little .22 back then called the Savage/Stevens/Springfield/Whatever Model 15. I bought one for my boy and cut down the stock to fit him.

It appears that this kind of inexpensive rifle was common. Single-stage trigger with a very Mosin-isque pull, simple bolt with manual cocking. Single shot. The receiver was part of the barrel.

It put food on the table. Grandpa hunted his way home from school in the evenings using a boy's gun similar in concept. Great-Grandma shot squirrels out of the trees in the woodlot for supper, too.

They lived on a farm and ate a lot of strawberries. They didn't have much money; Grandpa regularly put cardboard in his shoes when they wore through so his sisters could have new shoes, instead.

Marksmanship was important. When there was a little extra ammo, they'd light matches with their .22s, or shoot bottle caps. These were not MOA rifles but just rimfires built to throw bullets.

Qualifying in the military was not a problem. If I recall correctly, he missed a perfect score by two points. He never told me what cost those couple points.

My ideas of survival are heavily influenced by Grandpa's stories.

Now, in this light, the Mosin-Nagant is exactly what I'd want in a centerfire rifle. If I shoot a deer, I don't want to chase the bloody thing all over creation. I'll break shoulders to ensure it stays anchored. If you're away from civilization, you don't want to traipse through the woods any more than you have to, and you definitely don't want to mess with a wounded deer. You want to get meat and get back home or back to camp or wherever.

A .22 boy's rifle would probably be a lot more useful, and I'd want one of those, too. Dispatching critters in traps and hunting small game is essential.

Now, if we're in a survival combat situation, that's a whole heckuva lot different. I'd opt for an M1a here, or an AR15, maybe an AK.

The idea would be to seem like a larger force than you are, scare the bejesus outta whoever's shooting at you, and break contact. Get out. No reason to
stay engaged. It consumes resources and greatly increases your chances of getting killed.

A gas rifle requires a lot more maintenance than a Mosin-Nagant.

If it were the zombie apocalypse, I'd opt for a Ruger 10/22 with a bayonet and the biggest dang magazine I could find. Mount a peep sight drilled out to a ghost ring.

So...

1. What's Your Survival Situation?
2. What's Your Rifle of Choice for Your Survival Situation?
3. If Not a Mosin-Nagant, Why Is Your Choice Better Than the Mosin-Nagant in Your Imagined Survival Situation?

I hope ya'll participate. It could be interesting and enlightening. Just please, keep it civil!

Regards,

Josh

[roashooter]

the count down begins....

[Josh Smith]

Countdown to what?

[armoredman]

The mods frown on TEOTWAWKI scenarios, etc. Move this to a more realistic Katrina style natural disaster and it becomes more palatable. Far more interesting is the role you mentioned in your story about your grandparents, (sound like they were some pretty awesome people!), so perhaps your "live in the backwoods without civilization because I wanna be a hermit for a year" rifle?
I could see the over/under 22lr/20ga being an excellent choice for that, indeed. if faced with more daunting game or wanting faster follow up shots, then other rifles become more interesting. I have to say the Mosin only would compete here due to price range and real ruggedness, but the ammo is getting harder to find, more expensive and the rifle doesn't lend itself well to serious long range accuracy in it's original guise. Not saying it wouldn't work, but not the choice I would use.
Mine is my CZ 527M/CSR, a 7.62x39mm bolt action carbine with detachable 10 round mag and a spare 5 round mag in the buttstock. I could bring up a bunch of handloads to the cabin/cave/converted crashed airliner. useful against a bunch of things, but it does tend to be massive overkill for much small game - might have to practice snares, there.

[armoredman]

Oh, yeah, if you want to keep this thread open, remove the "Z" word...

[ballisti]

If it is hard to get food, my guess is that it will be impossible to get ammunition for a military rifle that was in use 100 years ago on the other side of the planet.

I would lean toward something that just about any hardware store will tend to have a stock of ammo for. - Something that a lot of people might have in their closets.

[jackstrawIII]

Here's my contribution. My checklist for a "survival" gun has the following qualifications:

1. Magazine fed - quick reloads are a must in any such situation
2. Moderate power - a 22lr is better than a sharp stick, but...
3. Commonly available ammo - something you can scrounge up in a pinch
4. Shootable by all family members - forget the 30-06 (I have kids)

So where does that leave us?

Options, in no particular order

1. AR 15 in 223
2. CZ 527 in 7.62x39
3. Ruger Mini 30 7.62x39
Would have more options if I lived in a free state.

Runner ups (losing 1 or more of the keys, but still good options)

1. Lever action 357 mag (very shootable and portable, just no mags)
2. Springfield M1A - wouldn't be handle-able by wife and kids
3. Bolt action 308 with detachable mag - same issue as number 2

And there's more, but you get the point.

[Spats McGee]

Forum Rule 5g:

5. Topics and conduct that will not be tolerated: . . . .

g. The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI), AKA: SHTF or Doomsday threads and Zombie threads . . . .

Spats