knife>gun in survival situation?

D

dberry

Joined
Oct 16, 2007
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Got into an interesting debate yesterday about the real importantce of a firearm in a survival situation. Basically what sparked it was the fact that I am soon going to have a fixed amount of $ to spend on gear. I am going to either buy a pistol or another hard use knife(which I need to complete my gear). I think that a gun is imporant but a knife will keep you alive longer. My thought is that you cannot make shelter, fire,etc with a gun. I thought it would be a good subject to discuss and you can give me your .02 about getting a gun or knife to put in my BOB Thanks:)
 
You should have both. I think a good knife is more important, but it is probably better overall to spend more money on a good gun. Good knives can be had for very reasonable prices, such as scrapyard or ranger knives. Decent guns aren't usually as cheap.
 
What kind of knife, self defense or game gun. Depending on how much money you have you might be able to buy both with some careful shopping. Chris
 
if you have a fixed amount for a blade or a gun ,so I assume you have $250 or more....what brand blade & firearm are you looking out....you maybe able to snag both without skimping on quality....
 
have you ever actually needed a gun? no... get the knife, youll get more use out of it
 
I would look at the Browning BuckMark Camper. .22 Semu auto. You can carry a lot of 22 ammo in a small space and the Browning can be had new for under 300.00. That and a decent hatchet and a good cutting knife and you should be set. I would feel darn secure with my Mora 2000, My lightweight Hatchet or Hawk and that Browning pistol. For a little more money you can get a Ruger 22 Pistol as well.
 
my EDC XD9 & RC3
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what is your set amount if funds are rite buy a used ruger mark 2 at a gun show and use the rest on a knife. i would say just buy the knife you consider best master it and you can make dead fall traps and spring loaded spear traps to feed you. you can also make a bow and arrow with a knife so aquiring game shouldn't be an issue. the gun is extra weight and will only work as long as it has ammo and proper care. so with the gun you have ammo weight ,clean supplies ,and the gun. think of all the snares and stuuf you could carry in place of all that weight and the stuff you carry could be reused. once a bullet is fired it's gone forever. knive don't run out of ammo.
 
Whether you personally get a gun or not completely depends on what you already have.

Gun vs. knife in survival situation? Knife without even a question. Contrary to popular myth, there is no need to go bringing down bucks in a survival situation. You can live more than a week without food, in some climates, however, not more than minutes or hours without shelter/fire.
 
Knife. Kinda hard to shoot yourself a shelter.

But a good knife can be had for less than $10. If you have a budget for a decent firearm, another $10 is but a drop in the bucket.
 
I too don't understand why it's an either/or situation. If you're talking about enough to consider getting a gun, then you've got enough to get a decent used gun and a good knife. You don't have to buy a $200 custom to get something trustworthy. Pick up a used 12 ga shotgun (pump or single shot) and a good fixed blade like an F1, Bark River, Becker, KaBar, Mora, whatever and be done with it. In the shotgun, you've got small game taken care of as well as defense against two and four legged problem causers.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
I too don't understand why it's an either/or situation. If you're talking about enough to consider getting a gun, then you've got enough to get a decent used gun and a good knife. You don't have to buy a $200 custom to get something trustworthy. Pick up a used 12 ga shotgun (pump or single shot) and a good fixed blade like an F1, Bark River, Becker, KaBar, Mora, whatever and be done with it. In the shotgun, you've got small game taken care of as well as defense against two and four legged problem causers.
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+1, all you ever need.
 
Forgot to add: I was in Dick's a few weeks ago and ran across a Rossi single shot combo, with a .22 barrel and a 12 ga barrel, and with synthetic stocks. Cost was around $125 if I recall.
 
A good knife can be had at real bargain prices and there are some very good .22 rifles that can be had for around $300.00 and some very good shooters can be had for under $200.00. Plus, when you consider the politics of firearms will be changing come November, that would put a firearm on my urgent priority list and the knife second.
 
If its a .22 you want, look no further than henry repeating arms. They can be had for less than $175 and shoot right where you point.
 
longbow50 said:
A good knife can be had at real bargain prices and there are some very good .22 rifles that can be had for around $300.00 and some very good shooters can be had for under $200.00. Plus, when you consider the politics of firearms will be changing come November, that would put a firearm on my urgent priority list and the knife second.
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What's happening in November?!

*calming down* I haven't heard any word... I don't own any guns yet, but it's on my 'to do' list, should I hurry up?
 
CanDo said:
What's happening in November?!

*calming down* I haven't heard any word... I don't own any guns yet, but it's on my 'to do' list, should I hurry up?
Click to expand...
I guess it depends on who you think will win the national elections, and what that will mean to gun laws.:grumpy:
 
One can find really good used .357 Magnum revolvers for about $250.00 with some effort. That will easily get you a Ruger Security or Speed Six, the forerunner to the GP-100.

A really good fixed bladed knife starts at around $50.00 and gets into diminishing returns at around $200.00. On the low end, there are many Moras, puukkos, Ka Bar Impacts, used knives off of the exchange here, the possibilities are endless.

I agree that a gun is not all that and a bag of chips for survival, unless of course, you REALLY need one.

For hiking, I think a .357 Mag is the way to go as long as the barrel is four inches or greater. It's flat shooting, you won't lose the magazine, it's hard hitting enough to drop a black bear, one can fire shot shells for snakes and ambushing birds at point blank ranges. It's also freaking loud for a handgun in case signaling is what is needed.
 
You said another hard use knife. By default, that means you already have at least one. Maybe your wording was poor, maybe you don't have a hard use knife. For general camp chores, etc a Mora is a good choice. $10 maybe $15 depending on the model you buy. Regardless, not much money. Throw in a used SAK Camper (used TSA confiscations are less than $5on eBay). For shelter building, chopping, etc... you could something good on that end very easy. You can get a Kabar for $39-delievred (Brigade Quartermasters has a special on US Coast Guard OIF Comemoratives, and I have a free shipping coupon code- OP, email me if you need it;)) I know another place that has Case XX USMC Kabars for $42+PP. There is also hatchets (Estwings are $33 at Cabelas), saws and machetes that could do the same thing the sharpened prybar. Maybe a BKT when Kabar restarts production- those are very hard use and affordable. In all reality, you arent going to be trying to break your knife- even if it is a hard use knife- in a vice. If you are, you aren't trying to survive.

You can also get good guns affordably. S&W .38 Special police trade ins can be had for as little as $199. If your more concerned with foraging than personal protection, a Heritage Rough Rider .22LR/.22WMR convertible can be had for about $150 with adjustible sights and an alloy frame- new. Accurate too. Rossi Matched Pairs are almost always $99 at Dicks- 20 gauge or .410 with a .22LR barrel. The synthetic model can be used by a full grown guy. They even come with fiber optic sights. H&R or NEF shotguns are like $100 new as well. There are also loads of used .22 rifles (bolts, semis, single shots) that are $75 to $150 used- Dick's specials Remington 597's for $159 sometimes, and new 10/22 carbines aren't too much more.

You can do bothif you shop smart. Consider what you have and what you need. I would much rather have a gun and one hard use knife than 10 hard use knives and no gun. I have battoned with stick tang Buck Diamond Back Guide fixed blades- my hard use knife is an Ontario Spec-101- I paid $12.95 shipped (thank you BQM coupon code and sale price (reg 24.95). The gun allows you to hunt and effectively defend against ill intending men. A hard use knife doesn't allow you to defend yourself until he is within arms reach- and able to disarm you- YOU NEVER WANT TO PUT A WEAPON WITHIN ARMS REACH OF YOUR ENEMY!!!!!!! It also gives you the ability to hunt- which could supplement (or even possibly be more fruitful than) fishing or trapping.
 
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