US Air Force survival gun?

Ideally, my backpacking survival gun would be an over/under 12 ga.
shotgun (for bear defense) and 22 LR (for shooting birds for food). And
it would be made of titanium and composites for light weight. Of course
this weapon does not exist, was just hoping.

Yes the AR-7 was also used by the AF.

I would not want to have to use a Baretta 9mm for survival. But that
seems to be what our AF is stuck with. Maybe the whole notion of having
to survive in the wild is a thing of the past, what with GPS, satellite
beacons and all.



Having a firearm for a survival situation is a bit of an anachronism, combat or
peacetime. I am not aware of one ever having been successfully used in either.
Weight alone would preclude carrying enough firepower to hold off a charging
bear and nothing short of a .50 cal would be enough firepower to hold off an
enemy patrol ot even angry natives with pitchforks for very long. I liked to
think of the .38 I caried as a signalling device and carried a pack of tracers
for that purpose.

From: (SteveM8597)



Having a firearm for a survival situation is a bit of an anachronism, combat
or
peacetime. I am not aware of one ever having been successfully used in
either.
Weight alone would preclude carrying enough firepower to hold off a charging
bear and nothing short of a .50 cal would be enough firepower to hold off an
enemy patrol ot even angry natives with pitchforks for very long. I liked to
think of the .38 I caried as a signalling device and carried a pack of
tracers
for that purpose.

I disagree, having a sidearm in a survival situation is handy for making sure
you don't have to share your resources with strangers.

I carry a 357 magnum when backpacking since I am always alone and I have met
strange people in the woods. Bird or rabbit shot ammunition for the 357 can be
used for taking small game.

Overall a good knife makes a better survival tool if you know basic survival
methods. You can use it to skin the animal you caught with your figure 4
deadfall, snare etc. The knife should have a heavy enough blade to chop wood
with. It's also good for tapping a badguy on the head with. A good bowie can
split a skull. Don't leave your whet stone at home.

A flare gun would be better than tracers for signalling.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

Having a firearm for a survival situation is a bit of an anachronism, combat
or
peacetime. I am not aware of one ever having been successfully used in
either.
Weight alone would preclude carrying enough firepower to hold off a
charging
bear and nothing short of a .50 cal would be enough firepower to hold off an
enemy patrol ot even angry natives with pitchforks for very long. I liked to
think of the .38 I caried as a signalling device and carried a pack of
tracers
for that purpose.

I disagree, having a sidearm in a survival situation is handy for making sure
you don't have to share your resources with strangers.

I carry a 357 magnum when backpacking since I am always alone and I have met
strange people in the woods. Bird or rabbit shot ammunition for the 357 can
be
used for taking small game.

Overall a good knife makes a better survival tool if you know basic survival
methods. You can use it to skin the animal you caught with your figure 4
deadfall, snare etc. The knife should have a heavy enough blade to chop wood
with. It's also good for tapping a badguy on the head with. A good bowie can
split a skull. Don't leave your whet stone at home.

A flare gun would be better than tracers for signalling.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired


I have carried a firearm a time or two while backpacking in grizzly country but
not in state and national parks where they are illegal. I hear the situation
in some of the CA parks is pretty bad, though. Not what I would consider a
survival situation, just common sense.

I also had a flare gun, flares, three radios. I figures I needed when I was
flying and the standard issue GI survival knife. I figured signalling gear,
having a useful tool like the knife, and water were far more necessary than
defensive weapons. So far as food, the survival instructors tought that you
really didn't need to eat for a couploe of weeks but did need water fairly soon
so I neverplanned to do any hunting. Plenty of veggies, bugs and tree bark to
eat until I got picked up. Besides, cooking meat requires a fire. Since I am
a fisherman I figured I could catch fish if I really needed meat on any kind of
a survival experience.

In article ,
(SteveM8597) wrote:

I have carried a firearm a time or two while backpacking in grizzly
country but
not in state and national parks where they are illegal. I hear the situation
in some of the CA parks is pretty bad, though. Not what I would consider a
survival situation, just common sense.

Best bet for bear and cougar defense is actually pepper spray, although I've
also carried a .357, especially when hiking with kids.


I also had a flare gun, flares, three radios. I figures I needed when I was
flying and the standard issue GI survival knife. I figured signalling gear,
having a useful tool like the knife, and water were far more necessary than
defensive weapons. So far as food, the survival instructors tought that you
really didn't need to eat for a couploe of weeks but did need water
fairly soon
so I neverplanned to do any hunting. Plenty of veggies, bugs and tree bark to
eat until I got picked up. Besides, cooking meat requires a fire. Since I am
a fisherman I figured I could catch fish if I really needed meat on any
kind of
a survival experience.

Sounds like a good plan.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur

Harry Andreas wrote:

In article ,
(SteveM8597) wrote:

I have carried a firearm a time or two while backpacking in grizzly
country but
not in state and national parks where they are illegal. I hear the situation
in some of the CA parks is pretty bad, though. Not what I would consider a
survival situation, just common sense.

Best bet for bear and cougar defense is actually pepper spray, although I've
also carried a .357, especially when hiking with kids.


So, pepper spray doesn't work well on kids?

Bob McKellar

In article , Bob McKellar
wrote:

Harry Andreas wrote:

In article ,
(SteveM8597) wrote:

I have carried a firearm a time or two while backpacking in grizzly
country but
not in state and national parks where they are illegal. I hear the
situation
in some of the CA parks is pretty bad, though. Not what I would
consider a
survival situation, just common sense.

Best bet for bear and cougar defense is actually pepper spray, although I've
also carried a .357, especially when hiking with kids.


So, pepper spray doesn't work well on kids?

Bob McKellar

LOL.
But seriously, pepper spray has limited range and is OK for your own
personal protection. But if a cat threatens or grabs a kid you need to be able
to reach out and touch the cat.
I wouldn't try a handgun on a bear though. Too dicey.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur

Harry Andreas wrote:

In article , Bob McKellar
wrote:

Harry Andreas wrote:

In article ,
(SteveM8597) wrote:

I have carried a firearm a time or two while backpacking in grizzly
country but
not in state and national parks where they are illegal. I hear the
situation
in some of the CA parks is pretty bad, though. Not what I would
consider a
survival situation, just common sense.

Best bet for bear and cougar defense is actually pepper spray, although I've
also carried a .357, especially when hiking with kids.


So, pepper spray doesn't work well on kids?

Bob McKellar

LOL.
But seriously, pepper spray has limited range and is OK for your own
personal protection. But if a cat threatens or grabs a kid you need to be able
to reach out and touch the cat.
I wouldn't try a handgun on a bear though. Too dicey.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur

I took a Navy correspondence course on "Arctic Operations". The advice for shooting
a polar bear was to aim for the shoulder, since their skulls are too thick to be
easily penetrated.

It sorta reminded me of some of our regular posters around here.

Bob McKellar

"Harry Andreas" wrote in message
...
In article , Bob McKellar
wrote:

Harry Andreas wrote:

In article ,
(SteveM8597) wrote:

I have carried a firearm a time or two while backpacking in grizzly
country but
not in state and national parks where they are illegal. I hear the
situation
in some of the CA parks is pretty bad, though. Not what I would
consider a
survival situation, just common sense.

Best bet for bear and cougar defense is actually pepper spray,
although I've
also carried a .357, especially when hiking with kids.


So, pepper spray doesn't work well on kids?

Bob McKellar

LOL.
But seriously, pepper spray has limited range and is OK for your own
personal protection. But if a cat threatens or grabs a kid you need to be
able
to reach out and touch the cat.
I wouldn't try a handgun on a bear though. Too dicey.

The ol' Black Bear actually accounts for many more attacks against humans in
the US than does the Grizzly, which makes sense being as they are more
widely distributed and have a larger population. I carried a 12 guage pump
with a slug barrel when I went fishing by myself in Alaska (on the Kenai and
close-by streams)--and of course the only bear I saw was the stuffed one
standing in the airport building at Fairbanks when I flew in. Pepper spray
is bettter than nothing, but I remember camping in the park in the Smoky's a
few years back and a ranger stopping by our campsite to warn us of a rogue
black bear that they were trying to catch (they had one of those neat
galvanized pipe traps near the hike-in only campsite) in the area. He said
that it had ransacked the campsite a few days earlier and one of the campers
hit it with pepper spray in the face without seriously discouraging it, so
the guaranteed-quality of capsiacin aginst a Grizzly is somewhat suspect. A
good handgun, where it is allowed, would be my preference over the spray,
and the caliber is sort of dependent upon the shooter's ability--the favored
round for poachers going after black bears is still the .22 (albeit in rifle
form), last I heard, and I know of one case where a camper killed a black
that had attacked him with a .22 pistol. Though I'd rather have a .40 S&W or
better in Grizzly country if I had to leave the shotgun behind (saying
something about my confidence, or lack thereof, in my own short-iron
shooting ability).

Brooks


--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur

"Harry Andreas" wrote in message
...
I wouldn't try a handgun on a bear though. Too dicey.

Rules for hiking in bear country:

1. ALWAYS bring a friend.
2. ALWAYS carry a .22LR pistol. NOTE: don't tell friend you have a gun.
3. When charged by a bear, shoot friend in leg.
4. RUN. You can't outrun a bear, but you can outrun your friend.

In article ,
Bob McKellar wrote:

Harry Andreas wrote:

In article ,
(SteveM8597) wrote:

I have carried a firearm a time or two while backpacking in grizzly
country but
not in state and national parks where they are illegal. I hear the
situation
in some of the CA parks is pretty bad, though. Not what I would consider
a
survival situation, just common sense.

Best bet for bear and cougar defense is actually pepper spray, although
I've
also carried a .357, especially when hiking with kids.

So, pepper spray doesn't work well on kids?

If it improves the taste of their food enough that they'll eat it
without complaining, then it works just fine.