6 months in the wilderness; what rifle would you take ? ...

[lyman]

I agree, but would go with the .22/20 ga. I once owned a 24 in .223/20 and it was very versatile. A .20 gauge slug out to about 60 yards will kill anything that walks in the 48 States. A rabbit or squirrel needs to be shot with a .22 and CB caps does it quickly and quietly.

good choice

[Vern Humphrey]

Once again, it depends on the wilderness -- I envision something like the Great Plains and Rockies in the 1820s. Read DeVoto's "Across the Wide Missouri," the history of the Mountain Men. For that, it seems to me the '03A3 would be ideal, and a Hammond Game Getter would add frosting to the cake.

The old mountain men were mounted, of course, not on foot, and had pack animals as well. A couple of hundred rounds of .30-06 and a box or two of .22 nail setting blanks would be no great burden -- it would actually be lighter than a .54 Hawken rifle and an equivalent amount of ammo.

For a belt gun, I'm torn between my .45 Ruger Blackhawk and my .45 Colt New Service.

[Mark in Ottawa]

My Lee Enfield No 5 (i.e. the Jungle Carbine). Shoots the .303 British cartridge which is good enough for most medium game; is powerful enough for most predators (probably not a grizzly but it has been done successfully); has a 10 round magazine; is a bit lighter than a full sized rifle and is more manoeverable than a full sized rifle. It can be fitted for a scope but to do so, you have to take off the iron sight.

[dryheat]

.22, a good choice. If the 20 gauge can take down most animals then it's the perfect rifle so long as you can still fire bird shot. I kind of hate the 12 gauge. I finished of a snake once with a .38 snake shot(road kill). I hear you can eat rattle snake. I skinned the snake and tried to preserve it, but I didn't know what I was doing. What else are you doing on those six months? You can shoot the place up, but you need water. Probably killed another thread.

[blackhawknj]

In addition to the type of wilderness, the terrain, the density of the vegetation, etc., are we talking about having a cabin or fixed camp or being on foot, trekking? Here in the someone more densely forested East, a flat shooting long range rifle isn't that useful, few 100 yard shots.
I have read that relying on rabbit too much for survival leads to serious health problems.

[Allen]

I would choose a TV gun. It wouldn't matter what type or caliber, they're all full auto and never run out of ammo so no need to carry any or extra mags.

I would also get training from one of the actors (excluding Alec Baldwin) where they can shoot blindly into a woods and only hit the desired target plus being able to always hit the bad guys that are shooting at you. You can hit them but they cannot hit you even if they are using machine guns and you only have a pistol.

[Art]

.22, a good choice. If the 20 gauge can take down most animals then it's the perfect rifle so long as you can still fire bird shot. I kind of hate the 12 gauge. I finished of a snake once with a .38 snake shot(road kill). I hear you can eat rattle snake. I skinned the snake and tried to preserve it, but I didn't know what I was doing. What else are you doing on those six months? You can shoot the place up, but you need water. Probably killed another thread.

At those rattlesnake roundups they finish up by frying up the catch and chowing down. I can't speak for rattlesnake personally but I have had copperhead and it was pretty darn good. There's a lot out there folks don't think about eating that is not just edible but tasty, some of which doesn't even require a bullet.

On ammo again - some shot shells for rimfire or pistol ammo wouldn't hurt. I've put "snake shot" loads into the heads of a number of venomous snakes and the result was always instant death, I mean they didn't even twitch. Short ranged but effective for the right applications.

[jon_norstog]

I'd go with the .22, a light one like the old Browning autoloader. More importantly, I'd have an axe, saw and shovel, a bunch of parachute cord, a decent tarp, bedding, lots of sox, a good knife, a skillet, salt, a water filter and a cheap wristwatch.

jn

[RED]

I'd go with the .22, a light one like the old Browning autoloader. More importantly, I'd have an axe, saw and shovel, a bunch of parachute cord, a decent tarp, bedding, lots of sox, a good knife, a skillet, salt, a water filter and a cheap wristwatch.

jn

Have you ever tried to eat a rabbit, squirrel, or quail
That was shot from 1-3 yards with a 1903?

The little Browning is a great gun but I knew a guy named Bobby Trump that was scouting for whitetails in Southeast Georgia when a feral boar hog attacked him and he emptied the Browning but saved himself by skinning up a pine tree.

[Art]

I've already stated my choice, but if I was going to pick a centerfire rifle for my 6 months in the wilderness, which where I live involves woods, the CZ527 in 7.62x39 would be a finalist. They are also chambered in 5.56mm/.223. The only problem is its a bit too pretty - however, a synthetic stock version is available. FMJ for smaller critters (rabbit size) soft points for deer (or pig) size game. One fly in the old chardonnay is extra magazines are expensive and I don't think they come in capacities over 5 rounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSu7EuQr6o4

[tom gray]

The low sodium spam is fine

[dogtag]

People in England survived on Rabbit during the war. It's stringy but tasty.
People eat a lot of Chicken with no health problems, don't see why Rabbit
would be any different. People in England didn't die from eating Rabbit, they
died from bombs.

[lyman]

People in England survived on Rabbit during the war. It's stringy but tasty.
People eat a lot of Chicken with no health problems, don't see why Rabbit
would be any different. People in England didn't die from eating Rabbit, they
died from bombs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_poisoning