I was talking with the wife the othr day and she asked me if I thought we should make up an emergency kit. This came up because of all the stuff in the news. She said that she had an idea of what to put in it as far as food and such. Then she asked do we have a rifle that can go in a backpack. I thought about it and the only thing that I have that could be broken down and put in a backpack is an 870 or 1187 shotgun. If I were to buy such a gun I was thing of a Contender in 223 or the Savage 30-30 over a 12 gage. What are your thoughts? What rifle would you pick to stick in an emergency backpack kit?

Marlin makes a nifty little takedown .22 w/ clip. Unless you think you need to defend yourself from people with guns it would be perfect. Other than that a .45 Auto.

870 12 guage with shortest legal barrel and collapsible stock (if defense is on your mind) or a Super Blackhawk if hunting might be involved.

A Blaser R 93 in 9,3 x 62mm with iron sights and a 4x scope. The size in broken down form would fit in any backpack and you have enough power to deal with anything. A bit weird in choice but very compact and effective.

Aleko

Theres alot of choices.

The Cobra FMJ is basically a 12 gauge or 410 derringer with a back up barrel of 44 mag or similar. But is is also pretty much a piece of junk that a person could probably build in there back yard, but small and compact.

I have a stevens 12 gauge pump that I put a pistol grip on as my camp gun for bears. Its not too bad to carry around and is the perfect size to fit across my back for shed horn hunting when the bears are coming out. Plus it is heafty enough to be used as a club in a pinch

A model 88 winchester in 308win wouldn't be too bad either. Or any lever action in a 308 caliber.

I think its best to stick with 223 rem, 308 win or 12 gauge since that is what their tends to be a huge supply out there for. I don't see why basically anything couldn't be made to work though. Biggest thing I think is having ammo for it.

I Shooter - It depends on WHERE you live and WHAT you expect to have to do with a "backpack gun."

You are talking rifles and most "backpack guns" are PISTOLS.

The feature most people overlook about such things is WEIGHT. You can pack about 500 .22 shells for the same weight as 25 12 gauge shells. Think about THAT problem.

Most serious survivalists don't think beyond the .22 LR for just that reason. And you can take everything from a deer to birds with a .22. As a self-defense cartridge, it beats the heck out of throwing rocks.

I would suggest a good .22 rifle and pistol combo. One ammo fits all and you have two guns for about the weight of one. I wouldn't worry about take down. Sling the rifle and holster the pistol. Hope these ideas give you something to work on.

AR-15, plenty of firepower, lightweight, ammo is powerfull enough for any emergency.

From my backpack experience, which is considerable, there is only one question: weight.

Would you rather carry food, water, shelter, or excess gun weight? Methinks a thompson contender or a lighter weight similar weapon will do the best. IF you anticipate a shootout, you will lose eventually without an armory. If you need to protect yourself and or source food, the weight to number of bullets ratio is way more important than anything else. ANd when bullets get scarce, a single shot will do you more good than a quick second third or fourth shot anyway.

The reason my wife asked if I had a rifle that could go in a back pack is she wonts it with us in the car or truck all the time. She knows that for her the rifle is a better choice than a hand gun for all around shooting,I agree. I have several hand guns,Browning Hi power,629,TC,and Ruger. I also have several rifles, most chambered for 308, one is a model 7 that will almost fit in a back pack but it won't. I think that the 223 TC is what I will go with. As far as where I live I live in the country next to a big city. I am 30 miles from Cincinnati. As for what I expect, I don't expect any trouble at all. As they say, it is better to be prepared than sorry. Thank you all for your thoughts.

I Shooter. When picking a backpack/survival gun, first you must ask your self: WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SURVIVE: If protection against people are your concern, a properly modified 1911 45ACP is the best handgun. An AR-15 rifle is the best choice. Ammo is light, [with proper soft points you can kill deer, etc]. If you must have a 308 [I like them] a Springfield Armoury M1-A bush gun is a good choice.
To feed your self in the woods, nothing beats a shotgun. High base #6 or #4 is the best all round choice. Slugs and buckshot will work for bigger game and close range protection. Ammo is heavy, but you should be able to carry enough for short time to medium time frame situations.
For long term situations a 22 with lots of ammo, and a person who can hit what he shoots at is hard to beat.. I would pick a reliable accurate semi-auto and have about 20 extra magazines. This would give you lots of firepower in a defensive situation also.
So maybe a combination if guns is in order:
For you an AR-15 type of rifle and a 22 semi-auto pistol. [you might consider adding to or replacing your 22 with a 45 ACP]
For the wife a shotgun, 870 pump 20" bbl with magazine extension, and surefire foreend [can also double as the "house gun" until the "BAD DAYS" and the same style of 22 pistol.
Learning how to shoot these guns or the guns you have is the most important thing of all.
If I was in an "emergency" I would not want my guns broken down, and in the backpack.
I Shooter...I think your wife must be pretty sharp.
Let us know what you decide.

The over-under guns have one bad habit, which is this: after the first couple of shots from the rifle barrel, it heats up more than the shotgun barrel and starts shooting low due to the assembly acting much like a bimetallic spring. If that's not a factor, the Savage 24C ( .22RF/20 gauge ) is nice, with storage in the stock for a small amount of ammunition. I had an AR-7 for awhile and didn't much care for it.

I like a single-shot Stevens .22 RF pistol for backpacking. It weighs almost nothing, and a box of .22 RF is not bothersome either.

Tom

I would suggest the Ruger Lever action 44 mag. It would fit in a pack easily. It is small, light and handy.

A 22lr Ruger Mark II, Glock 40 S@W, or 16" AR-15 would be my choices. A prepared pack is a good idea.

I own a marlin 1894p in .44 rem mag with red dot (tasco pdp 6 made in Japan) it has a 16 1/4" barrel and is small compact and holds 9 shots all up. It may be good for what you want.

I Shooter,

I spent some time thinking about your problem - the argument for lightweight ammunition cannot be faulted.

However the end-use of the weapon is uncertain. Hunting or self-defence?

Hunting - calibre is no problem since a 0.22 Long Rifle has been used to kill elephants.

Self-defence - the military have determined that a 5.56mm is enough for offensive purposes and therefore there is no shortage of "ready use" ammunition, and, judging by the quantities of WW2 0.303 & 8mm Mauser ammo still turning up on the market, it will be freely available for decades to come.

The weapon?

Off-the-shelf - The military again - have a look at South Africa's R6 with it's fold away stock. OAL ~ 22". Weight ~ 8lbs. Other armies will have manufactured similar weapons. Look around

Custom - A BSA Martini-Henry Cadet falling block folding stock action in 0.223. Composite forepiece and stock. Buoyant. Half-a-dozen cartridges carried in the stock/forepiece. Long relief 2.5x handgun scope. A laser beam underslung on the barrel within the forepiece - connected to a switch operated by the trigger slack take up. Primary target acquisition via the scope with final aiming by laserbeam.

I have a BSA Cadet in 0.300 Sherwood and a friend who has lucerne fields that need protection against incursions by wild animals. Patrols by moonlight have shown that 4x scopes aren't quite adequate for accurately placed shots. So I dreamed up the integrated laser scheme. Just one of the projects.

There you are food for thought.

cheers edi

I would think any T/C rifle would be the way to go. You can break them down without problems.

i would think a t/c contender with a 16" 45/410 barrel would be about perfect.
woofer

What about a Drilling in 12x12 over 30-06. It is not too long and can be broken down. It is not so light though. It does give you a degree of flexibility.

10/22 with a brick of ammo.

A take down rifle that nobody has mentioned yet is the excellent Browning 22 semi-auto takedown. I have a couple and dearly love them. The have a buttstock magazine so the magazine can be loaded with the rifle taken down into two halves so that it is ready to shoot as soon as the two halves are reconnected. The two halves are the same size so it is nice and short in a pack. I think the weight is around 4 lb.
Norico was making an imitation of the Browning design but the one I looked at was inferior quality.

Bruce How accurate and reliable have you found the Browning 22 rifles to be. I have always wanted one of those.

AR-7 w/ 5-10 spare mags.

You can get a folding stock for the contender, I had one with a 16" 223 barrel, and it is super compact folded up. YOu could also get a subcaliber insert, so that you could fire 22lr ammo out of it. Certainly not ideal, but it would be versitile.

While this is a bit of deja vu from pre-Y2K days and very Mel Tappanesque, I'd go with Paul H. but I'd add a good .45. The .45 is defensive, the .223 provides stand-off capability and the .22 LR allows you to gather food, if available.

The thing is... if you have something really bad happen you either must move (and where "they" tell you) or you CAN'T move. Odds are, you'll be better off where you are. Intel indicates that these people are not thinking outside of NYC, D.C., LA and such. If you're there, you could have a problem (and far worse than leaving town) and if you're not you won't have a problem.

I feel I have to add: If you are thinking duct tape and plastic will seal your house or room, you're sadly mistaken. The military has a big kit for this, but it comes with an air filtration/over pressure system. Bet you don't have that which means all the air coming in (and it must or you will suffocate) is contaminated. This is what I'm talking about when I say you are either in deep kimchee or you're not. No in between.

I shooter - stop dithering - here, get a His and Hers.

http://www.alexanderarms.com/hsg.html

:-) edi

Those HandiRifles take down with only one screw, and make a small package!

Bruce thanks for the reply. The Browning 22 is one of those rifles I have always wanted but never got around to getting.