Food procurement.

[WhirlibirdParticipant]

Sure all the combat and defense guns are cool and where most of us spend our focus, but how much food has that Glock 19 provided?

Disregarding the legality, pound for pound, the lowly .22 rifle has without doubt helped keep meat on the table for more people than any other option since the dawn of the cartridge firearm.

I know of more deer and other critters taken with a .22 than any other option, legal or not. Now I am not advocating anything illegal but what I have witnessed either during or after the fact, has left me of the opinion that I will never be without a good .22 rifle and pistol.

For trapline use, a good .22 pistol has no equal for dispatching the critters yet remaining light and concealed. Today I would probably look at a model that has a threaded muzzle in case stealth is a priority.

I would actually prefer that any “working .22” have a threaded muzzle, rifle or pistol. The ability to surreptitiously gather dinner in times of emergency may be the difference between living and dying. Especially in an urban setting.

Now most of the people that I have spoken with about this were talking from an economic experience , but honestly what are we more likely to experience? A personal SHTF where we have to decide to pay to keep the power on and pay the mortgage or buy meat.

Yes as survivalists and preppers, we should have things arranged long before a crisis, but things happen that are beyond our control.

How will you provide for yours and refill the larder?

My plans include but are certainly not limited to taking targets of opportunity just like my great grandfather and grandparents did during the Great Depression and as necessary after.

And the targets of opportunity is part of the equation, as most people can’t guarantee bringing game home when they go hunting. But that “tool” along with you when you go gather firewood, go to town to hit the grocery or go to work, can provide pounds of essentially free meat, as long as you are willing and able to do what is needed.

Over the years I kept a .22 rifle in the truck year round to augment the other tools along for the ride. More than one impromptu hunting trip was made possible by having the right tools available.

I’m not going to say that the .22 is the end all be all survival round, that’s rediculous.

But I will say that I won’t be without a good .22 or two if I have an option. In fact it is part of the initial design plans for the RV trailer I am planning on rebuilding.

[Anonymous]

Last I looked, they made sub-sonic 22 Short. Those won’t work in an automatic but will work fine in a revolver and bolt action rifle.

[WhirlibirdParticipant]

Subsonic shorts are available but are not always the most accurate or even available.

I ordered a case of .22 Short target HP’s for a customer, I won’t go into the price or wait, CCI doesn’t make them often, but they are out there.

The Remington Subsonic HP load (LR) is probably the easiest to locate and afford. The Aguila SSS 60gr load is interesting but does its best work out of a locked breech gun and with fast rifling to fully stabilize it.

Making or purchasing an SGB tool is well worth the time and effort. The Nasti-Noze tool is also interesting if you don’t mind the price.

 

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by  Whirlibird.

[Crow BarKeymaster]

You do not need a suppressor for a .22LR.

Run quality Match grade sub-sonic ammo, and a air stabilizer aka air stripper.  I have been running that combination on my 10/22T for over a decade and most people thought it was suppressed, it is that quiet.  Ear protection not required.

When taking medium to large game, only if you are close, mastered the fundamentals of marksmanship especially in field positions, and are knowledgeable on the anatomy of the animal you are attempting to shoot.  When I put my hogs down, it is from no more than 15feet, from the standing, and I know full well where to place that shot to drop that 250-300lbs hog right there.

Even then, things do not always go right.  I had one bad shot, when just as I was squeezing the trigger, the hog moved his head and I got it in the nasal cavity.  Not a good day.  Took 10minutes before I was able to get close again, and the hog to presented me with a good target.

Around here, my .22 air rifle gets the most work out.  Mostly rats, the occasional squirrel or rabbit.

I have a friend who runs the same air rifle in .25 and has taken a dozen or so ground hogs out to 60yards.  Just as quiet as my .22 air rifle.

With the right shot placement, he could take coy, fox,  bobcat, and even deer.  But shot placement is key for any firearm when used for hunting.

[Crow BarKeymaster]

It appears Volquartsen does not make the bolt on air stripper any more.

Not sure if their Compensators will have the same effect as the air stripper in the noise reduction.  The one review over on MidWayUSA says it does from the hunters perspective.

[James MitchnerParticipant]

I have both a 10/22 TD and a SR22 with threaded barrels and was hoping suppressors would be re-catagorized like firearms, thus removing the outrageous $200 ‘tax stamp’ and months of waiting.  Didn’t happen!  Never heard of an “air stripper” although I have replaced internals on several rifles using Volquartsen components.

[WhirlibirdParticipant]

The air stripper is a new one on me, will have to look that one up.

But considering that I have been planning to put in a Form 1 and build my own, the tax stamp price just puts the cash price to @$250 total, and having had.an FFL, another piece of paper doesn’t mean much.

i have heard that the E-filed stamps are coming back in weeks now. May be a rumor, but we shall see.

[Author]

Posts