Survival Rifle

On Nov 26, 5:59*pm, " wrote:
Those of you familiar with my Blog have probably read the several
articles therein about survival. *And yes, I've poked a bit of fun at
those who think survival can be measured by the size of your knife.
But an on-going thread, bounced around amongst a few of use keeps
coming back to the little survival rifle/shotgun (called a 'drilling'
in gunsmith-speak) the Air Force included in their comprehensive
survival pack. *As best I can recall this was a .22 *Hornet rifle / .
410 shotgun that folded up. *Ammunition was carried in the stock,
which was all aluminum.

The purpose of such a weapon was not defense but a means of feeding
yourself.

There are civilian versions of such over & under weapons but they are
heavy and tend to be expensive. *But last night I stumbled upon what
may be a suitable substitute: *A black-powder pistol. *(!??)

A cap & ball pistol, typically a replica (the real thing, in good
condition, is worth thousands of dollars) is inexpensive and not very
heavy. *It's also not very accurate :-) *...but hear me out before
condemning the idea.

With black-powder you pour a measured amount of powder into one of the
six chambers then insert a wad of some sort, atop which you place a
round ball, a cone shaped bullet OR A MEASURED AMOUNT OF BIRDSHOT.
Another wad is installed atop the bullet and the charge is compressed
using the lever built-in to the underside of the barrel. *A percussion
cap is then installed on the nipple and you go on to the next chamber.

There are a couple of features not generally known to those who do NOT
regularly fire black-powder weapons... especially cap & ball *...that
makes this idea worthy of thought. *One is that when we do away with
the cartridge case -- the brass part of the 'bullet' -- the weight &
cube of our ammunition. *Fifty rounds for a black-powder weapon weighs
but a fraction of 50 rounds for a regular pistol. *And since the ammo
is not made-up it does not have a prescribed shape. *This allows you
to store the bullets, powder and caps in whatever space is most
convenient. *Another factor is that you'll probably find shot to be
more useful than ball... yet you'll still want to keep one or two
chambers charged with ball. *This presents no problem. *The other four
chambers may be charged with shot, fired, then charged again, leaving
the chambers charged with ball (or with a conical bullet) undisturbed,
giving you one or two 'insurance' shots to protect yourself from the
ravages of an enraged porcupine or ptarmigan.

Firing shotgun pellets through a rifled bore does neither the bore nor
the pellets any good but given the purpose of this weapon the
traditional arguments against this kind of use have no basis.

Just a thot. *Outside the box.

-R.S.Hoover
Just as a practical exercise in creative thinking Bob’s posting is
novel. However, it is also correct when taken in the context of using
a replica Army/Navy Colt or Remington black powder revolver as a
“foraging gun”. Either a .36 or .44 caliber will do that as well as
shoot a shot load. Means of “keeping your powder dry” as well as
substitutes for black powder are commonly used so such a revolver in a
full flap holster is doable to my thinking. Beside’s few forms of
shooting are more fun then cap ‘n ball, especially when you see how
accurate they are. Enjoy.