Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Good Air rifle for SHTF

yep.

Yeah, but one can obtain pellets for the air rifle.. 22? Not so much as of late.. Besides, air rifles need no powder. No primers. No brass. No reloaders..

And as a few have said above - the new versions of air rifles can push a pellet 1500 fps with authority.. AND ---- they're vewy, vewy, qwiet..

If a bunch of folks would realize what even the older air rifles can do, this BS with 22LR shortage would go away. I have used a 50 year old Sheridan for small game forever. The newer rifles are heads and above that. Most of them will out shoot a 22 rifle and the big bores will take most game. As I said some people just don't know chit about air rifles. And yes mall ninja I did not get caught short by the latest crazy, or any of the others in the past

In a SHTF scenario, I'd expect most of my protein to come from small game, not large game. That and I wouldn't expect most of my time to be available for hunting so my primary weapon would be



As far as an airgun for such use, I'd also gear it towards small game. As far as a proven design with enough power for small game, I'd give the Benjamin 22 cal pump rifles the nod. Mine was my fathers mdl 312 and is over 70 years old. We had the seals rebuilt in the 80's and it's been running solid ever since.



The larger caliber PCP's certainly have their appeal, but honestly I'd rather have a 357 mag rifle with a supressor. It'll do everything a large bore air rifle will do, as well as what it won't do. I'd much rather pack 50 rds of 357 ammo than a pump and I'd expect the 357 to be less likely to break down.

I agree. With everyone.

What some of ya might not be thinking of is that this doesn't have to be a one or the other thing. It's another tool with it's purpose. I'd rather have many useful tools to choose from if I can. SHTF or not.

Like I said though, not what I'd grab if I had to leave. But if I get to stay where I'm at and just want an additional tool? I'd love to have a good PCP air gun and hand pump.

snares, deadfalls, weirs, nets, and all sorts of traps for ducks, rabbits, deer, fish and bird work 24/7. A good air rifle will kill trapped animals, small game and fowl while you are checking the sets. If you are talking about defense then that is a whole different ballgame, except for the traps, learn from the little brown bastids in SE Asia

+1

Shot placement always matters, but if the gun you're using doesn't have the energy for a QUICK kill, it won't do you much good in a survival situation.

The high tech PCP's are worthless in a true SHTF unless you have the hand pump, and the majority of the springers are pitifully weak for things bigger than squirrels beyond 25 yds.

If you plan to survive by hunting, why handicap yourself?

That's why they make all sorts of guns. All sorts of calibers, and all sorts of opinions.

You can choose what you want.

At least for now.