Survival rifle choice, 308 bolt versus Ar

[wdemr67]

Ok, So as I am laid up in the hospital with too much time on my hands I would love to get peoples options on this question.
Which would you prefer as a survival rifle, a bolt action in 308 versus an Ar15 in 5.56?
I am torn between the 2 and will most likely end up with both, but if you could only have one what would it be?
Thanks for the input,
Bill

 

[jasons]

For a survival rifle I'd take a .22 breakdown over either.

 

[enbloc]

.

 

[Mountain]

Survival where?

Inner city SHTF? AR-15 carbine in 5.56.

Alaskan wilderness? Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70.

Maine woods? I'd take my Winchester lever 94AE in .307 Winchester. It will shoot .308 in a pinch.

 

[M60]

Neither. It's the M1A for me.

 

[browncoat]

I have a bolt action .308. I would rather take my 10/22 or an AR as a survival rifle. Lighter rifle (usually), more ammo for the same weight. In a survival situation, I don't think you need to worry about hunting regs, so the 308 will almost always be over kill.

 

[Varmint]

If I'm trying to survive humans after SHTF, an AR-15 or SCAR-17, something light and semiauto.

If I'm trying to live off the land, I'm screwed anyway, I don't like the taste of venison.

 

[Christian]

M1A

 

[M60]

I have a bolt action .308. I would rather take my 10/22 or an AR as a survival rifle. Lighter rifle (usually), more ammo for the same weight. In a survival situation, I don't think you need to worry about hunting regs, so the 308 will almost always be over kill.

How many deer are you planning to get with that 10/22,or .223/.556?. The .308 isn't overkill for deer or bad guys. I suspect that my .22 handgun will continue to get me rabbits and other small critters. It's a 4", J frame, .22, with adjustable sights. Very light and accurate.

 

[browncoat]

How many deer are you planning to get with that 10/22,or .223/.556?. The .308 isn't overkill for deer or bad guys. I suspect that my .22 handgun will continue to get me rabbits and other small critters. It's a 4", J frame, .22, with adjustable sights. Very light and accurate.

People take deer with 22 and 223. are they as effective in that role as 308? No. A whole lot of animals are smaller than deer though, and 308 isn't a good varmint round if you want to eat the meat.

 

[In God We Trust]

I've seen guys drop deer with a .22. No chasing or blood trail BS, just dead where they stand.

My opinion is the an AR in 5.56 is the best survival/SHTF rifle there is

 

[Chevy 2 65]

I've seen guys drop deer with a .22. No chasing or blood trail BS, just dead where they stand.

My opinion is the an AR in 5.56 is the best survival/SHTF rifle there is

Winner ! I would have to agree.

 

[M60]

People take deer with 22 and 223. are they as effective in that role as 308? No. A whole lot of animals are smaller than deer though, and 308 isn't a good varmint round if you want to eat the meat.

In my opinion shooting at deer with a .22 or .223 is irresponsible hunting. I shot a buck in Maine with 2 shots through the heart from a 44 magnum Ruger rifle.
The shots were an inch apart. Still had to track the deer. I can't imagine trying that with a .22 as you suggest people do. You are correct that the .308 is to much gun for small game. That's why I mentioned the J frame .22 handgun that's in my bug out pack.

 

[browncoat]

In my opinion shooting at deer with a .22 or .223 is irresponsible hunting. I shot a buck in Maine with 2 shots through the heart from a 44 magnum Ruger rifle.
The shots were an inch apart. Still had to track the deer. I can't imagine trying that with a .22 as you suggest people do. You are correct that the .308 is to much gun for small game. That's why I mentioned the J frame .22 handgun that's in my bug out pack.

With either you should attempt a head shot. We are talking survival here, so you do what you gotta do.

 

[WJM]

I think survival needs to be defined. Are we talking zombie apocalypse or lost in the woods?

 

[SIGPRO 226]

For a survival rifle I'd take a .22 breakdown over either.

Same here my winchester model 62.

 

[M60]

I've seen guys drop deer with a .22. No chasing or blood trail BS, just dead where they stand.

My opinion is the an AR in 5.56 is the best survival/SHTF rifle there is

I've seen guys do a lot of stupid things too, but that wasn't the threads focus.

 

[Chevy 2 65]

In my opinion shooting at deer with a .22 or .223 is irresponsible hunting. I shot a buck in Maine with 2 shots through the heart from a 44 magnum Ruger rifle.
The shots were an inch apart. Still had to track the deer. I can't imagine trying that with a .22 as you suggest people do. You are correct that the .308 is to much gun for small game. That's why I mentioned the J frame .22 handgun that's in my bug out pack.

Hunting in a non survival situation and a survival situation are two different things. 5.56 would do the trick if needed.

 

[Varmint]

The deer and rabbits will be all wiped out in 2 days anyway.

 

[Retired-LEO]

+1

I'm with jasons.

But between the two. The AR all day, every day.

Another +1 10/22TD

 

[Artifact]

Considering survival .22 is out of the question, so Ar would do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Glockster30]

There is no one perfect survival rifle. However, a Springfield Armory M6 Scout should fit the bill for many people. It has a .22LR barrel on top of a .410 gauge barrel, which allows for more versatility, is lightweight, and can fit in a backpack.

 

[robjax]

When you think of survival do not think that one rifle will last your entire life or for the entire event.

If it is only one rifle you can select to start with you will need an all purpose firearm. So you need to list the reasons you need it.

Hunting
Self Defense
Assuault/attack the enemy
Huge animal attack
multiple intruder attack
Zombies
...and so on....

Obviously any firearm can kill. But if you can only select one out of the two listed then for me the AR-15 in 5.56. Plus the ammo is extremely common and not as heavy as the same round count in .308. But even if I were to select .308 over 5.56 I would go with an AR platform over the bolt.

In any case I would probably want some spare parts too in the event I wasn't able to get another rifle.

 

[whalerman69]

Anybody counting on venison for eats in a SHTF situation is either an experienced hunter in the middle of nowhere or somebody who has never hunted deer. If deer had guns there would be no hunters. So I would go .22 and plan on eating small stuff.

 

[bigblue]

What, no AR10 in .308?

 

[greencobra]

I think survival needs to be defined.......

yeah. like urban warfare. 5.56. why? when i run out of ammo, i want to be able to dip into the military's ammo supply or if i have to, scrounge it off their dead. i doubt too many are carrying 308, 30-30, 307 winchester, etc.

if i'm pitty patting around the woods cause my atv broke down 25 miles from the truck, well, moot point. whatever i have at the moment will have to work.

 

[Varmint]

yeah. like urban warfare. 5.56. why? when i run out of ammo, i want to be able to dip into the military's ammo supply or if i have to, scrounge it off their dead. i doubt too many are carrying 308, 30-30, 307 winchester, etc.

That argument is rooted in fantasy, imo - how likely are we as individuals to get into extended rifle engagements such that we exhaust our 1000+ rounds of 5.56? Only in a slow-moving zombie scenario.

Any scenario with real humans shooting back, you'll never survive to fire off 1000 rounds. Especially if you're on foot and worried about the weight of ammo. In that case you'll be lucky to fire 100 rounds before taking a bullet.

So that means every round will count, and you might want the stopping power of .308.

 

[bigblue]

That argument is rooted in fantasy, imo - how likely are we as individuals to get into extended rifle engagements such that we exhaust our 1000+ rounds of 5.56? Only in a slow-moving zombie scenario.

Any scenario with real humans shooting back, you'll never survive to fire off 1000 rounds. Especially if you're on foot and worried about the weight of ammo. In that case you'll be lucky to fire 100 rounds before taking a bullet.

So that means every round will count, and you might want the stopping power of .308.

If weight is an issue and every round counts then you would want the highest round count with the lowest combined weight.

 

[napoleon1815]

No bolt love here today! (I admit I would pick a lever over a bolt but keeping it on scope)...I would pick a Remington 700 sps tactical 308 bolt with 16" barrel.

 

[Varmint]

If weight is an issue and every round counts then you would want the highest round count with the lowest combined weight.

Weight is an issue if you're hoofing it through SHTF, but that's a pretty unlikely scenario outside of books and movies. Much more likely scenario is you're holed up at home, maybe leaving to scrounge for supplies, defend your area etc. Or moving in a vehicle. In either case weight is less important, and stopping power, more important. You may only have time to get a few rounds off in a typical engagement.

Vietnam-style firefights (1000 rounds for one kill) just aren't likely to happen in any realistic scenario.

- - - Updated - - -

No bolt love here today! (I admit I would pick a lever over a bolt but keeping it on scope)...I would pick a Remington 700 sps tactical 308 bolt with 16" barrel.

I think you are only limited to one long gun in the incredibly unrealistic on-foot SHTF scenario. In a vehicle or at home, why limit yourself to one?