Hypothetical: knife OR gun better for survival?

I knew a stockman who was stuck in the Top End in croc infested mudflat / swamp for a couple weeks

he had a gun and a knife , typical bushie he was kitted out for it but still it rattled him while he was out there .

His opinion was its way easier to do with no gun than it is to do with no knife .

I think its a case of horses for courses tho , if its an inner city urban warfare situation , with a gun yeah , you can get your knife and other gear off of whoever you kill for it , but if its a stuck in the bush with nothing but situation , yeah , go the knife rather than the gun ... but for your own sake , brush up on the bush tucker skills first , without the ease of point n pull hunting that comes with using a firearm , getting food gets to be a whole different ballgame
 
STAGE 2 said:
Once again, if I have a gun, I can get a knife.
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I know this is a hypothetical, but I kind of have a problem with this mentality. Not the poster, just the viewpoint. If you prepare yourself properly, you wouldn't have to make a choice like that. Get both beforehand so you never have to think about it.

You can pick up a revolver for about $100 and a Ka Bar for another $50. Even thinking about using a gun to get a knife when prices are that low is not so good. We're not talking a month's pay or anything, just two days at minimum wage.
 
STAGE 2 said:
Once again, if I have a gun, I can get a knife.
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I guess I just have a different survival attitude. If I fail to have my own knife, I'd rather chip myself a knife out of a coke bottle before robbing other people. Avoiding conflicts is survival, too. If you rob essential stuff from others, they'll follow you and wait until you're vulnerable.
And killing others because they are better prepared is absolutely not my style. ;)
 
Actually, the little 1895 Nagant revolver did have a bayonet version. Still, I don't leave home without a knife - or a pocket 'protector'. It's a sign of the times, sad to say. Left in the boonies, I'd want some kind of firepower - and a 'tool' (knife). I wouldn't want the Nagant with a bayonet, of course!

Stainz
 
misanthropist said:
After reading this thread, I am definitely going to go with gun...there will be loads of guys walking around with knives I can rob at gunpoint.

Knives of course are more versatile...but I would definitely prefer to try to improvise a cutting tool with a sharp flake of rock than try to improvise a gun out of a sort-of gun shaped stick!

But generally speaking a knife is a more useful tool.

I have to say, though, that there is a heck of a lot you can do without a knife if you give it a bit of thought. If I were stranded after a plane crash...say if I were in that movie the Edge...I think I would rather have had a rifle. Hell, you could grind your belt buckle down and get a cutting edge on that if you had to. You could sharpen up sticks by grinding them on rocks if you needed a tool to half-assedly butcher meat. Small wood for a fire could be broken up by hand, and shelters as well can be done with no knife if you have to.

There are a lot of ways to get around not having a knife if you really need one. But there aren't a lot of ways around not having a gun if you really need one of those!
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:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
Bringing this up on a knife forum I should have known most would choose a blade.
We did end up with similar logic to misanthropist, except our hypothetical scenerio was more of a lost alone in the wilderness.

Of course, being a misanthropist caused you to rob the knife guys instead of cooperating ;) Still, you bring up a good point. A gun (especially a rifle) makes it a lot easier to feed and protect yourself.

I still would rather have a good knife.
 
It's harder to get along, day to day, without a knife than without a gun. I carry both for a lot of reasons, but only "use" the gun when I go to the range. In my head, I'm using it every time I carry it, just by it being there, but that's another issue.

So, if given the choice between the two, it seems like the obvious choice to say I would have the knife over the gun, because it is put to use much, much more.

But wait!! As said by others, I can get a cutting edge that will last for at least a while out of a rock, glass bottle, chunk of random metal. I can make a knife from a chunk of steel, truth be told, so it doesn't really "scare me" to be without one -- despite the fact that I have three in my pockets right now.

I can't make a gun. I can make a spear, a knife, a fire, a rabbit stick, a bow, and an arrow, but I can't make a gun without a machine shop.

No reason not to have both, but if I am forced to be without one or the other and have to pick which I keep, I have to pick the one that I can't produce with my own hands.

Gun.
 
I'm a little surprised at the answers here........

What happened to all the guys that bragged "I can always make a knife out of a sharp rock?" or, "I can knap out a knife anytime I need one" kind of thinking?

Weird, ain't it !!!

:D

.
 
The problem with such vaguely worded "what if" posts, is that each respondent has in their own mind what they think would happen in their neck of the woods, so to speak.

"Best for survival".............but to survive what ??

The NYC guy might imagine a riot and will want a gun........the Montana guy will imagine getting lost in the woods and want a knife.

For this to really count as far as opinions go, a better defined set of circumstances needs to be provided.

.
 
Indeed!

Also, with respect to the ethics and morality of taking critical gear and supplies from someone else ... it's not always going to be a "robbery" type thing. What if you have to defend yourself from a predatory human (likely in any urban or suburban survival situation)? In the event that attacker no longer needs their gear, would anyone have a problem with availing yourself of items you might need afterward?

I would not prey upon an innocent, whether to get something I needed or not, but if I were attacked or threatened, taking what I needed afterward would be a completely different story.
 
rhino said:
Indeed!

Also, with respect to the ethics and morality of taking critical gear and supplies from someone else ... it's not always going to be a "robbery" type thing. What if you have to defend yourself from a predatory human (likely in any urban or suburban survival situation)? In the event that attacker no longer needs their gear, would anyone have a problem with availing yourself of items you might need afterward?

I would not prey upon an innocent, whether to get something I needed or not, but if I were attacked or threatened, taking what I needed afterward would be a completely different story.
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I think that's the more realistic way of thinking about it. If the senerio is a civil unrest or urban catastophy of some sort, then every encounter you survive will increase your supplies. There will be enough "not so innocent" people walking around that the situation will sort itself out.

If it's a wilderness emergency, then it still makes more sense to have a gun over a knife as long as it's a viable hunting arm like a rifle, or .357 revolver. Neolithic man survived well using flint knapping technology. Imagine how much better he would have ate with a 30-30 and knowing how to use it?:D
 
Trappers will out produce hunters under most circumstances and it's much easier to make traps with a knife than a gun. Also, the knife lasts indefinitely, the bullets do not.

I agree with David E. The correct answer depends on your circumstances.

Doc
 
Peak_Oil said:
I know this is a hypothetical, but I kind of have a problem with this mentality. Not the poster, just the viewpoint. If you prepare yourself properly, you wouldn't have to make a choice like that. Get both beforehand so you never have to think about it.
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Its kind of disingenuous to take my answer and critique it outside the limitations of the hypothetical don't you think? Of course I don't wake up every day and say to myself, "gee I'm only going to carry one".

It was a tongue in cheek answer to a unrealistic hypothetical question.


I guess I just have a different survival attitude. If I fail to have my own knife, I'd rather chip myself a knife out of a coke bottle before robbing other people. Avoiding conflicts is survival, too. If you rob essential stuff from others, they'll follow you and wait until you're vulnerable.
And killing others because they are better prepared is absolutely not my style.
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Why do all the work when someone else will do it and all you have to do is smoke them. :rolleyes:
 
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I too would suggest a knife.
One reason is that people have used knives far longer than firearms.
It is much harder to do knife things (cutting, slicing, chopping, prying etc) with a rifle than doing gun things (killing stuff) with a knife. One other thing. The "life expectancy" of the respective tools. You can resharpen a knife but hardly reload the empty shells.

It is a hypothetical discussion, but I still find it hard to understand those who choose a "gadget" that only works X times.

Yes, if the zombies attack, like in Planet Terror, I too want a M240 for the combination of punch and portability. In any other "survival" scenario I would go for a good knife.
With proper planning and time I guess I could decimate the zombies with modified animal traps anyway. Just remeber how many GIs that were injured/killed with basic bamboo traps.
 
David E said:
I'm a little surprised at the answers here........

What happened to all the guys that bragged "I can always make a knife out of a sharp rock?" or, "I can knap out a knife anytime I need one" kind of thinking?

Weird, ain't it !!!

:D

.
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I can knap out a knife , Im not an idiot when it comes to neotribal type blade smithing either .
BUT

To do either takes extra time and effort , locating the materials and finding a safe place to do the work to the effort of doing the work itself

there are times when physically and or psychologically its hard to sit down and do that , but its a hell of a head start to have a ready made knife with you , especially in the first few days of whatever it is you are surviving .

just my oppinion tho
 
Not really a difficult choice. Survival means needing to protect ones self and eat. Difficult to build a proficient weapon out of sticks and stones. Though an atlatl or bow can be fashioned fairly easily with some knowledge. On the other hand, a knife can be fashioned out of a rock by simply breaking it to get a sharp edge. Fashion a handle and you're good to go.

Myself, give me a .22lr firearm of some kind and a brick of ammo. The knife will come along shortly.
 
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