Three Contenders One Favorite For days now I have been staring bleary eyed for minutes at a time steeped in research. Pouring over web pages, I have scoured online wisdom for the perfect survival gun. I even trudged on tiptoe into the sanctum of the local library, where elderly women stand guard with grim tart like faces, over their treasured books. I smuggled out a book cataloging the many guns available new and used. I felt like a five year old delving into a gigantic Websters Dictionary. In short there are guns galore and more added every day. So I started with some parameters to thin out my options.
What Am I Looking For In A Survival Gun?
1. It must be affordable.
2. I would like it to be inconspicuous-not a Mosin-Nagant flag pole.
3. I would like it to be in .22 calibur so ammunition is light and abundant.
I can almost hear snorts of disgust at the mention of the tiny, kid sized, but most popular caliber the .22. Yes, I understand rimfire cartridges are less potent.I understand that in a deadly firefight with a .22 I will be the first to perish in throes of agony. However, I am choosing a survival gun for normal outings, not a special ops assault rifle. With the above three things in mind I was able to rule out both .22 rifles and normal pistols. The .22 rifle by law must be at its shortest around 26 inches long. this length is just a little to long for me. The .22 pistols I felt gave up to much practicality because of their short range. For the normal person the pistol will only be accurate out to an extremely short distance. So I was now left with guns like the Ruger 10/22 breakaway, and the Henry Survival rifle type of guns. The Ruger 10/22 while nice, still packs into a large case. The Henry seems a bit frail. So I wanted something a little different. When I found the .22 carbine pistol type of guns I was overjoyed.
Pictured above is the Ruger Charger. Sadly it is discontinued. The Charger is a scaled down 10/22 rifle with a 10 inch barrel and bipod transfigured into a pistol. While I hate the swirly odd grained factory stock, a nice tactical type pistol stock is available. Semiautomatic, with a fantastic heritage little is left not to like except its high price even used.
Now we come to the Berretta ARX 160 .22 pistol. At $302.00 on Bud's Gun Shop online, this handy pistol with a 9 inch barrel looks ready for war. Yet maybe that's the problem. I'm not going to war. I just need a long pistol brush gun. Many people see this pistol as ugly. I'm not worried about its comeliness so much as I am its girth. Somehow it reminds me of a steak and potato chip feed commando at four hundred pounds trying to squash himself into my little four cylinder car. So we'll leave this as a latter option.
Enter the Kel-Tec PLR .22. At $291.00 this is the kind of gun I've been looking for. It has the no nonsense air of a combat rifle. It's almost as if its mother and father were the Ar-15 and the AK-47. Understandably this is still a baby gun but it's older brother the PLR 16 shares some similar parts. For those of you who must have tactical lights and bayonets hanging all over your gun there is a kit that will add the option for about a $100. I guess you've realized this is my favorite gun. At 18.5 inches overall, it's pretty compact. It sports a 10.1 inch barrel. It can hold 26 rounds.
The survival gun like any tool, should be comfortable enough to actually carry. That's why for me I chose a .22 that's short enough to just tag along!
No comments:
Post a Comment