Survival Rifle

reply to post by Wotan

---

Wotan I have version of that rifle. It is very compact but accuracy tends to suffer. Tha is why I recommend the Marlin Papoose. It is a little larger but reliability and accuracy are much improved.

respectfully
reluctantpawn

Wanted to get everyone's thoughts on a recent selection I made and one I am looking at.

I bought a Russian M44 that uses 7.62x54R for protection. For those that don't know, this comes equipped with a bayonet standard. Now, I thought it being a WW2 assault rifle, it would be an excellent choice as it was an all around weapon used for infantry and/or snipers... What I didn't realize is how powerful it is.

The slug from an M44 has as much energy at 300 yards as a .44 magnum at point blank range. Basically, if I had to use this in my house it would go through the intruder, every wall in the house and through my neighbors house. It also has a very loud report.

The M44 would be excellent out in the open for protection from a distance and that is what my main reason for having it is.

I am looking for something realiable, quieter and easy to use for hunting purposes in situation x, that my wife could also use if need be. The M44 would leave her bruised and battered.

For this purpose I was thinking of a .22 long rifle. Would someone give me their opinion of this rifle? Here is the link: www.ableammo.com...

The .22 in question is light weight, carries 11 rounds, bolt action for easy maintenance and something my wife could carry & shoot easily.

Thanks for the thoughts!

[edit on 7/3/2008 by blackbox]

M44 is not an assault rifle. it's bolt action battlerifle. It's accurate out to 500m with a scope. YOur wife CAN shoot it just like every adult. It's recoil is not prohibitive, and if it is i suggest fitting a muzzle brake or preferably a supressor to it.

It's not a plinker nor a CQB weapon, but it's very good at what it was designed to do. That is killing men at 50-500m while being handy to carry in trucks or APCs.

For survival i'd still suggest the M31 model of the mosin nagant as it has a longer barrel, thus taking more energy from the 54R cartridge than the M44. It also has slightly smaller muzzle blast and recoil.

[edit on 25-7-2008 by northwolf]

Thank you for correcting my terminology. And you are right, my wife COULD use it, but she is much more comfortable with a weapon that isn't quite as imposing.

Thoughts on the .22 long rifle I linked to?

It looked like a decen .22LR, can't comment more as i have no experience with that particular model. A .22LR that constantly shoots under 10mm groups at 50m is a good rifle for all purposes... But under 15mm is still more than enough for hunting. Reliable feeding should be checked with all .22LR guns, it may and usually does vary with each specimen and even some of the most prestigious guns in that caliber experience feeding problems every now and then.