So ... what's a "survival rifle" anyway?

[JEBar]

The German Luftwaffe M-30 Drilling survival firearm. Two 12 gauge shotgun barrels on top and a 9.3x74mmR rifle barrel on the bottom.:

around 50 years ago I had my only opportunity to see and handle a Drilling Shotgun/Rifle .... it was beautiful but heavy civilian firearm .... it was owned by a member of our bear hunting club in Western NC .... as I remember the shotgun barrels were 12 ga .... the riffle barrel held a 30-30 .... I don't recall him ever getting a bear with it but it sure caught my attention .... I looked into getting one but it was way out of my price range

[RanchRoper]

May 30th 50 yds off hand.jpg (94 KiB) Viewed 6942 times

Frontier Flintlock Apr 7th 2022.jpeg (123.68 KiB) Viewed 6942 times

[Jdl447]

The one you have in your hand.

[Conax]

A survival rifle is one that you didn't buy because of its engraving, curly maple furniture or glassy smooth bluing, or its thousand ft pounds of knockdown. It's any rifle you would take out in the brush and briars, lay down in the wet grass, drop in a creek and shake it out to shoot or lose down a ravine and not lose too much sleep about it when you got home.
IOW, a minimal cost gun that can take small to medium game that is plain, functional and cheap. Small or folding is even better.

[Centaur]

Well, since I am the winner of the drawing rifle, I’ll find out what a survival rifle is. So far, as a combat gunship pilot and 28 years as a cop, I have successfully survived, but not without the assistance of a few different firearms. The AR7 looks like a great little truck gun, good to have if the shtf, but also a fun little rifle that doesn’t mind getting dirty.

[tcpip95]

My survival firearm is my Ithaca Model 37 Home Defense 12-gauge shotgun. 7+1 rounds. I can shoot anything from bird shot to shotgun slugs with it. It's small enough that I can strap it across my back and not even know it's there. For my upcoming moose hunt in Canada I will be taking it as my camp gun (since I can't take my 10mm 1911 into Canada). It will be loaded with heavy duty slugs. It's got a red dot sight on it and a light that will melt paint.

[wjv16]

I agree with several others here:

What is the environment that you will be in?
Hiking trails in a flat / rolling hills area?
Trails around Yellowstone?
In a vehicle or aircraft?

What wildlife could you encounter?

Squirrels to shoot and eat?
Bear or cougars who might want to eat you?
Cartel gangs who might try and kill you?

On foot you probably want something light (gun & ammo) unless you are in a hostile environment where more range/power is needed.

Does it need to be "invisible" until needed?

Match the gun and ammo to meet the environment and the threat. . .

For standard general purposes, I'd probably default to something in .22 WRM (mag)

Rossi .22 mag


Henry (22 lr)


Feather Takedown (22 lr)

[ruhler]

A drilling is a perfekt expensive survival rifle. But why not

https://www.krieghoff.de/en/hunting-arm ... -drilling/