Survival Gun of last resort.

[Kismet]

Had the Freedom Arms version in .22lr, 1 3/4in barrel. It was cute.

sold it.

 

[texastonydobbs]

I have been packing my S&W 686....

 

[Steel-Junky]

One thing for sure, is you can hit a bird or rabbit at 30 yards, you should be on a shooting team somewhere because that kind of shooting with that kind of gun is beyond fantastic. 25 feet maybe. It takes more than the average longer barreled handgun to group 2-3 inches at 25 yards shooting of sandbags. Many top quality handguns won't do it. My minimum would be my Browning Camper 22 pistol 4 inch barrel. I have a much smaller 25 auto but making noise is about all it is good for.

I disagree with your shooting ideas... I have a glock 27 with a 357sig barrel in it that has no problem staying under 3 inch groups at 30 yards from a rest. And i have a Ruger Mark III that can definitely get sub 3" at 30 yards. Now... saying I can kit a bird with the 22mag was just a who knows knida statement... I probably couldn't... never tried. I've hit a soda can with it at about 25 yards with not much problem. Again... probably couldn't do it all the time... but I've done it. I did have to shave down the front sight on my NAA 22mag though to compensate for the bullet weight and brand that I've found performs the best in it. Then again... I've shot that little gun A LOT. Most guys buy them and then maybe shoot 50 rounds through them a year. Since it's a gun I keep with me all the time... I try to put 100 rounds through it every month or two. So I'm very used to it's strange little trigger and ergos.

 

[Steel-Junky]

I've got one as well. It goes with me on hikes for Sankes, been thinking of sending it into NAA to get it fitted for the 22lr cylinder as well. Anyone done that?

Mike

Mine came with a 22lr cylinder. I've never used it though. I've shot it with 22mag and experimented to find a bullet weight and brand that runs the best and most consistantly in it.

 

[udtjim]

I think the OP was talking more about something very lite and small to take along in a small pack. While it is not easy to hit anything with real short barreled handguns, sometimes just having a gun of any kind will discourage a coward which is usually what you run into looking to rob you. In a pinch, you might hit a small game animal but it will be 99 percent luck. I would rather have one of those than nothing if packing a heavy but effective gun just is not practical or comfortable. Packing a heavy handgun is not as easy and pleasant as one might think. Often you can get pretty close to rabbits.

 

[Steel-Junky]

This is W&S right?

Are we talking self-defense or outdoor survival?

Either case, I'd prefer a 12 ga. .

If we divide into SD & outdoors: for street carry, an M1911 in .45ACP but .22lr pistol for something you can throw into the wilderness or BOB. No derringers for me though.

No you're right... I'm just talking about basic last resort survival gun that is light, easy to carry, and doesn't get in the way. As far SD I carry with my Glock 32 or 27 with 357sig barrel in it. I love that round.

 

[Steel-Junky]

I think the .22 is the best all around SHTF round where the primary concern would be procuring food. The main benefit is the the amount of ammo you can carry in the same space a box of 30-30's, for example, would take.

The NAA's are extremely hard to shoot well and the OP's claim of taking small game with one at 90' is BS.

I guess i did state it like I knew I could do it. I meant to say probably could hit a bird with it... Like I said... I've hit a soda can with it at about 25 yards. I'd take a video for ya but I don't own a video camera. And still pics are too easy to fake.

Still a decent little hide-out gun. The sheriff of Sacramento carried one off-duty back when I knew him (in the 80's). Personally, I carry a Beretta .25 950 in a pocket holster pretty much everywhere I go. It's by no means the best caliber for defense but it's suitable and has nine rounds. I'm an ex-LEO and a gun guy so I'm fairly versed in all the arguments about caliber, etc.

A better choice for SHTF will be something like a 10-22 but if you're going to carry a handgun, a .22 revolver would be my first choice and an autoloader from Ruger or Browning my second.

I have no plans on bugging out anywhere as I'm safer at home but an AR carbine or AK carbine would be pretty good choices to defend the home front along with a 12 gauge.

Again... I'm talking about a last resort gun. I like to take my Bushmaster Dissipator with me when I go out into the wild. I'm mainly talking about having to pack only what you needed into a small bag and that's all you can take.

 

[Steel-Junky]

As far as a pistol goes how about the new Ruger LCP? It's chambered for .380 auto. Light and compact, too. I don't know much about firearms but I've been considering one of these little guys for my pack. Seems to have gotten good reviews, and is reportedly more reliable than the similar (and older) Keltec pistols like the p-32.

For me... taking enough ammo with a gun like that would be the problem. 380 takes up almost as much space as 9mm. So if I was gonna go ahead and go that route I'd just bring my Glock 32.

 

[Steel-Junky]

---he is correct

no way in hell can you(or anyone else) hit a rabbit or bird at 30 yards-except by chance USING THAT GUN.

THAT GUN is not capable of that level of accuracy.

30 yards isn't that far... I've seen 1911's that can shot 2" groups at 50 yards from a rest... I'll take it out this sunday and see what I can get done with it.

 

[Steel-Junky]

Having been shot twice in the torso with a .22 l.r, I disagree.--KV

The thing that you don't understand about the 22lr is that it often never ends up anywhere near where it came in. There have been PLENTY of people who have died taking one round of 22lr much as you took two. With this round it isn't the size of the hole that counts... it's what it does once it's in ya. Now.. is it gonna knock a man down like a 308? No... But you can certainly die from 22lr. As the other poster said... try taking one in the brain.

 

[runningboar]

30 yards isn't that far... I've seen 1911's that can shot 2" groups at 50 yards from a rest... I'll take it out this sunday and see what I can get done with it.

It's pretty dang far shooting a sub 2" barrelled revolver, with very small fixed sights and a hella hard trigger pull.

Love to see a 3" or smaller group at 30 yds with that pistol, hell you can even put it in a ransom rest, I don't think the little feller is up to it. Chris

 

[runningboar]

The thing that you don't understand about the 22lr is that it often never ends up anywhere near where it came in. There have been PLENTY of people who have died taking one round of 22lr much as you took two. With this round it isn't the size of the hole that counts... it's what it does once it's in ya. Now.. is it gonna knock a man down like a 308? No... But you can certainly die from 22lr. As the other poster said... try taking one in the brain.

I have been in combat situations, if you think you can draw that little pistol and put one in a bad guys brain pan, when at the same time, he is trying to do you serious bodily harm, I suggest you rethink your ideas.

Also a 22 bouncing around in someone is a myth, it may happen but not as much as people talk about. And yes it will kill someone but that someone won't know he's dead for a good long time, enough time for him to do some serious damage to you or your loved ones. Chris

 

[Steel-Junky]

It's pretty dang far shooting a sub 2" barrelled revolver, with very small fixed sights and a hella hard trigger pull.

Love to see a 3" or smaller group at 30 yds with that pistol, hell you can even put it in a ransom rest, I don't think the little feller is up to it. Chris

Well I don't know either... Like I said I've hit a soda can with it a time or two. I've never really tried to see what kind of groups I can shoot with it because it's not that type of gun. More so what I was speaking about in the post you quoted was that a member was suggesting that 3 inch or so barreled gun can't get within the 3 inch group mark... I've seen 3" 1911s and my personal Glock 27 do that. Now a consistant 3" or smaller group with the little NAA... probably not. You also mention the trigger... I never noticed that the trigger was aweful. It's a little heavy but it has no creep or overtravel. As long as you don't jerk it... it's not bad.

 

[runningboar]

Well I don't know either... Like I said I've hit a soda can with it a time or two. I've never really tried to see what kind of groups I can shoot with it because it's not that type of gun. More so what I was speaking about in the post you quoted was that a member was suggesting that 3 inch or so barreled gun can't get within the 3 inch group mark... I've seen 3" 1911s and my personal Glock 27 do that. Now a consistant 3" or smaller group with the little NAA... probably not. You also mention the trigger... I never noticed that the trigger was aweful. It's a little heavy but it has no creep or overtravel. As long as you don't jerk it... it's not bad.

I said no such of a thing, my 3" model 13 smith I would bet would do 3" or better, I said the NAA wouldn't do it.

The reason I chose 3" was because of the size of an average bird or a rabbits vitals.

Your trigger must be much different than the one I owned. Chris

 

[Steel-Junky]

I have been in combat situations, if you think you can draw that little pistol and put one in a bad guys brain pan, when at the same time, he is trying to do you serious bodily harm, I suggest you rethink your ideas.

Also a 22 bouncing around in someone is a myth, it may happen but not as much as people talk about. And yes it will kill someone but that someone won't know he's dead for a good long time, enough time for him to do some serious damage to you or your loved ones. Chris

Good God... can we turn the pissing off please. No one is saying that a 22lr is the best SD handgun. But lots of people (who are uneducated about guns) think that you can get hit with a 22lr and just laugh like it was a tickle. What we're saying is that a 22lr can and has killed people. It's not a one shot stopper, and it's not a great SD round by any means. But it can kill. And it is absolutely not a myth that 22lr bounces around a lot. A local fella around here died a few years back from being shot in the arm with a 22lr... it ran across his collar bone and severed a main artery to his heart.

 

[runningboar]

Good God... can we turn the pissing off please. No one is saying that a 22lr is the best SD handgun. But lots of people (who are uneducated about guns) think that you can get hit with a 22lr and just laugh like it was a tickle. What we're saying is that a 22lr can and has killed people. It's not a one shot stopper, and it's not a great SD round by any means. But it can kill. And it is absolutely not a myth that 22lr bounces around a lot. A local fella around here died a few years back from being shot in the arm with a 22lr... it ran across his collar bone and severed a main artery to his heart.

No pissing match, fact.... because it may have happened does not mean it will happen and I will not base killing effectiveness on myth.

Slaughtered hundreds of hogs with a 22 never seen one "bounce around". Chris

 

[Steel-Junky]

I said no such of a thing, my 3" model 13 smith I would bet would do 3" or better, I said the NAA wouldn't do it.

The reason I chose 3" was because of the size of an average bird or a rabbits vitals.

Your trigger must be much different than the one I owned. Chris

You're not understanding me. In the post YOU were quoting of mine... ANOTHER MEMBER made the comment about the limitations of a 3" barreled gun. I didn't say you made that statement. Sorry I wasn't really clear.

 

[Steel-Junky]

No pissing match, fact.... because it may have happened does not mean it will happen and I will not base killing effectiveness on myth.

Slaughtered hundreds of hogs with a 22 never seen one "bounce around". Chris

Just because anything happens doesn't mean it will always happen. 9mm is a very effective defense round, so is 40, so is 357sig, so is 45... but MANY people who get shot with all these calibers live to tell about it. Pistols aren't very good killing machines.. but we use them anyway.

 

[orrey45]

I got one of these little guys a few weeks ago because I had $200 burning a hole in my pocket. Mine is the 22 lr version and its friggin sweet.

As far as the accuracy is concerned I have no idea because I have yet to get out and shoot it. Many times I have heard these guns referred to as "Nostril Guns" because this was the only way to hit anything. I hope to disprove this next week when I finally get some range time in.

 

[Steel-Junky]

I got one of these little guys a few weeks ago because I had $200 burning a hole in my pocket. Mine is the 22 lr version and its friggin sweet.

As far as the accuracy is concerned I have no idea because I have yet to get out and shoot it. Many times I have heard these guns referred to as "Nostril Guns" because this was the only way to hit anything. I hope to disprove this next week when I finally get some range time in.

Go buy about 8 different brands and weights of ammo... it's gonna favor one of the rest by a huge margin. I can't even remember the brand mine likes but I bought 1000 rounds of it after it showed the best results out of all the brands I tried. Once you get it to shoot OK with the ammo it likes... You can file down to front sight a little or perhaps even take a file and groove in the rear to compensate some. I had to file my front sight down a little. It's not a match weapon by any means but I think if you experiement a little with ammo and mod it just a touch to suit the ammo and your shooting style... it will surprise you. They are well built for what they are. I love mine.