It dawned on me the other day that a 30-35 cal air rifle that you could cast up your own slugs for might make a very good SHTF rifle. Does anyone know of such a rifle that might exist? (my knowladge of the subject is non existant)
It dawned on me the other day that a 30-35 cal air rifle that you could cast up your own slugs for might make a very good SHTF rifle. Does anyone know of such a rifle that might exist? (my knowladge of the subject is non existant)
Big Bore air guns do exist, but usually shoot from a pre-charged reserve, which could be hard to re-compress in SHTF.
I have one of these. A tin of .22 pellets only costs a little less then a bulk pack of .22 LR, but I can fit a 500 pellet tin in a pocket no problem, and it is rather quiet. Oh, and it will put a pellet straight through 3/8" plywood.
IMO a suppressed .22 LR is just as good, granted you aren't going to reload rimfire cases. Also air rifles work until the seals dry out. YOu won't be getting a repair if it all hits the fan and society breaks down completely. Better off with a small caliber muzzle loader that you can go make your own powder and balls for if you don't care about stealth exactly, but are more concerned with hunting small game.
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Buy some Super Colibri powderless 22.s, I've used them quite a lot to take squirrel, ground hog and raccoons. I'd say raccoons sized animals are about max you can take but in a bolt action rifle they are very quiet, usually the sound of the firing pin falling is the only noise you can hear.
I spent a year in Lousyanna when I was 12. If you did not have an air rifle you were not one of the cool kids. I spent that year killing every robin, squirrel in the 50 acres of woodlands with my Benjamin pump.
I learned to gig frogs, catch crawfish and turtles as well. Many skills I have not used since but I still have the knowledge with me in case I need to eat. Those swamp rats do know how to have fun and survive on next to nothing. Make a meal out anything and make it taste good.
NRA LIFER
BEING THE MODERATOR OF THE ROADHOUSE IS LIKE BEING THE JANITOR OF A PEEP SHOW.
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Originally Posted by Schuetzenman
True, if your worried about a long term survival or TETWAWKI, that would be a more effective solution, at least as far as longevity went, but a spring air gun will last for ages. Admittedly, the one I linked uses a nitrogen piston system instead of a spring, so it isn't as serviceable, but a springer will still function without perfect seals, and the spring is easy enough to replace. A .22 LR will definitely have more power though.
You could probably jury rig something if you wanted to.
What are the main components?
Pump (bike pump)
Resevoir with two strong valves. One for air intake, the other linked to...
Trigger assembly.
Chamber and Barrel (source something from surplus.)
Frame to hold it all togeather.
Seals could possibly be jury rigged from found materials. Some string impregnated with wax, rubbery acrylic paint or thick oils might suffice if you coiled it up in a way that substitutes the rubber parts.
If you built it from the ground up you could include easily replaceable seals in the design.
Would it be as good as a .22? Hell no.
Would it be awesome to have in a world without access to your .22? Hell yeah!
I wouldn't want to go "fighting" with one, but AFA getting small game for the table I'd be darn gratefull for even just a decent Daisy pump and a grip of pellets in a TEOTWAWKI situation.
I have several suppressed 22's that are very quiet. I was thinking about something more like this:
I used to have a single shot bolt Benjamin 22 many many moons ago that could do some nasty damage on 10 pumps. Thing was a tack driver too. I could take a field rat or a pigeons head clean off at 50 yards with it first shot almost every time.
It would bury a pellet about 1.5 to 2 inches into a telephone pole.
Wish i still had that thing.
That one definitely looks nicer than the one i had. Mine was irons only.
That one requires nitrogen cartriges to fire does'nt it?
Edit: Herp derp. You allready said that it does
Last edited by stinker; 05-11-2012 at 09:10 PM.
That was awesome! Gratzi!
Trying to get on the no fly list, one post at a time.
What it actually uses is a nitro-piston system. Instead of a spring it has a sealed container filled with nitrogen, which it uses... pretty much the same way as a spring. It doesn't have to be refilled, and it is MUCH quieter then a spring. Nitro Piston + suppressed air rifle = scary quiet, but even without mine is quiet enough to not be a bother.I used to have a single shot bolt Benjamin 22 many many moons ago that could do some nasty damage on 10 pumps. Thing was a tack driver too. I could take a field rat or a pigeons head clean off at 50 yards with it first shot almost every time.
It would bury a pellet about 1.5 to 2 inches into a telephone pole.
Wish i still had that thing.
That one definitely looks nicer than the one i had. Mine was irons only.
That one requires nitrogen cartriges to fire does'nt it?
Edit: Herp derp. You allready said that it does
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