Survival Rifle

While I have great admiration for black-powder arms, there's another
factor that has to be considered regarding carrying a weapon in an
aircraft for use in a survival situation: You may have injuries to an
arm or hand.

The black-powder arm will require that the survivor manipulate canned
powder, loose balls/shot, patches, percussion caps, grease, ramrods,
etc. to prepare the weapon for ONE shot. A complex job, much more
difficult if the user is crippled.

I just pulled my Grandma's 1906 Winchester pump-action 22LR rifle down
from the wall. I jammed the stock between my legs, twisted the magazine
tube open, slid the pushrod partially out, simulated loading five rounds
into the slot, slid the tube down, locked it, and pumped the slide to
load it.

All one-handed, in little more time than it takes to describe it. I'm
certainly no expert, either...I haven't fired a weapon in twenty years,
and I've never as much as worked the action on Grandma's rifle in the 15
years I've owned it. I had to look it over...one handed... to figure
out how to load it in the first place!

I seriously respect those who hunt with muzzle-loading weapons, but a
survival situation isn't the same as a sporting one.

Ron Wanttaja