The way things are going these days it seems more and more likely a catastrophe could happen. What can we do to ensure our families stay safe?
Planning for long-term survival is a guessing game at best. We don’t know what might go wrong, and what we’re going to need for sure. One thing consistently debated online is whether to put an airgun into their survival plans? My answer is yes, absolutely and I’m going to tell you why. By the time you’re done reading this article you’ll know whether that’s the right decision for you too. Let’s dive into this list.
What Kind of Gun Are We Talking About?
I will cover more about the type of gun you need for survival in another article, but let’s cover some basics.
When most people hear the term airgun they think of BB guns or cheap limited power air rifles. The things we grew up with, or see on shows and movies. If that’s the case, why are people debating their use for survival? The answer is those aren’t the guns we are discussing. Not. Even. Close.
Airguns are far more powerful now. There are even .50 caliber big bore air rifles that can take down large game. Now, to be fair, we will not be discussing big bore airguns in this list. In my opinion, they aren’t practical for survival, and when people bring them up red flags immediately start coming to mind.
No, for this article we are going to discuss a .22 springer airgun. For those of you new to airguns, don’t worry you don’t really need to know everything about airguns to follow along. That’s for another article. What you do need to know is this; a springer is:
- Single Pump
- Easy to Maintain
- Can fire a .22 caliber pellet over 1100 FPS
- Effective for small game out to 50 or 60 yards.
Keep that knowledge in your mind as we go through this list below. Now that you have the context let’s move on.
1 – Family Survival
An often overlooked aspect of survival is family participation. Some preppers do a great job planning for how their family will contribute, but if you’re like me you like to take charge and get things done. In a survival situation, everybody is going to need to contribute. Airguns are very easy for any family member to use. They still take skill and training, but the way they handle often sets people at ease and allows them to focus on shooting fundamentals.
2 – Ease of Use
If we are prepping we are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best right? That means, hopefully, most of what we’ve been stockpiling will see little use. While I think you need to get training time in with your airgun and firearms to be at maximum efficiency, that isn’t always a reasonable idea. If you want a gun that can be stockpiled, and still be used easily an airgun is the way to go. Essentially, for the same reasons an airgun is great for your family, it’s also great for being stockpiled.
3 – Doesn’t Scare Away Game
Airguns are much quieter than their counterparts and this has multiple benefits. A quiet gun won’t scare away other game when you take a shot. If you’re really good with your air rifle you can take out a squirrel without its nearby buddy noticing. Given that, it’s easy to understand other nearby small game won’t be scared away as easily either. In a long-term survival situation, this means you’ll be able to collect more for your family.
4 – Won’t Attract Unwanted Attention
Shooting silently won’t attract any unwanted attention. In a survival situation, you want to be aware of other people around you before they are aware of you. A gunshot might alert unwanted guests to your presence. Not only will people know you are there, but they’ll know you have a gun, and they will suspect you have supplies. Some people might argue the sound of a gun will scare people off. I would argue that it might scare some people off, but the people that will be scared off are the people you really don’t need to be as worried about. It’s the other ones, that are armed, and want your things, or are desperate that you really have to be worried about.
5 – Practice Makes Perfect Right?
Airguns are easier to practice and prepare with because they are less likely to draw attention from your nosy neighbors. If we think about it, airguns are easier to obtain, easier to get into the hands of your kids and disturb other people less. While I am not one to give in to the pressure of nosy neighbors I’d rather just be left alone in the first place. If you’re the DIY type you can even make your own pellet trap like Dave did in this article and just plink away with almost no distractions.
6 – Fewer Legal Limitations
Airguns are much easier to obtain right now allowing you and your family ample training time. If you don’t want to mess with the government too much and get tied up in red tape an airgun is a very smart addition. Not only are they easier to obtain, but you can use them more freely in most areas. As we discussed above, training time with your chosen survival supplies is importnat and ease of use without red tape is just icing on the cake.
Who knows what’s going to spark the need to use your prepper supplies? Could it follow an attempted gun roundup? Airguns are less likely to be on that hit list.
7 – Ammunition is Easy to Come By
Now this one is easy to overlook because .22 ammo is so common right now but think about it for a minute. Do you remember, not too long ago when the price of .22 ammo shot up and it was near impossible to find? A problem with a .22 long rifle is so many people have them. If worse comes to worse there is going to be a massive rush on .22 ammo. Non-preppers and preppers alike will be doing what they can to stock up. Pellets, on the other hand, will have airgun enthusiasts, and the smart few preppers and that’s it.
8 – Safer Stored Rounds
I have a concern for storage of my ammunition. It’s probably a non-issue, but I can’t get it out of my head. What if, while in storage, something happens and my ammunition gets wet. I mean really wet. No, I don’t know how, or why, I just think about it. I like the peace of mind knowing that it’s less likely to cause significant damage to pellets than firearm ammunition. For stuff at home, and with me, no big deal.
On a side note, I do have this fear if we were to have to pack up and really get moving. In those conditions, I can imagine being caught in some pretty bad situations with little cover. While I expect my ammunition should remain functional, I would hate to have a round misfire, or not leave my barrel at a crucial time.
9 – DIY Pellets
Since we are discussing preparing for survival we should discuss learning some useful lessons. If you are including an air rifle learning how to mold your own pellets would be a very useful skill for long-term survival. Your own molded pellets probably won’t be as great as store bought precision ammo. What if you run out of ammunition though, and you need to feed your family. I’d rather be able to melt down any lead I find to give myself a fighting chance than try and load .22 rounds.
10 – Speaking of Easy to Come By
Airguns set up well for survival won’t break the bank. I recommend getting a decent gun. Don’t go bottom of the barrel with equipment you need to survive, but you can get at least a mid-range gun for a very reasonable price. If you do the match of price versus effect on survival you’ll see an airgun is one of your most efficient options. There is always a bit of work maintaining what you will spend on supplies you hope you will never really NEED to use. An airgun is affordable enough and efficient enough it should almost be a no-brainer. They are an incredibly worthwhile investment that will really pay off in the end.
11 – Easy to Maintain
Pellets don’t foul your barrel as bad when fired. Some people say they rarely, or don’t, clean their airgun. Now, I don’t recommend not maintaining your weapon, but keeping an airgun operational is far easier than a firearm. Easy maintenance ensures your airgun is ready to use should something happen, and keeping it useful the entire time you need it.
On top of that, the airgun we recommend is well suited to waiting for use making it a great stash supplement. You don’t want to have to worry if your gun is going to work when you do finally need it. Airguns limit that worry.
12 – Great for Small Game
Are you really going to use your firearms on small game. Your firearms will be better than an airgun for self-defense and for taking down big game. Save them for that. When it comes to taking down small game airgun’s are king. They are dangerous and accurate. An added bonus is an airgun will leave you the most useable meat and fur. Every small advantage is still an advantage in survival mode.
That’s it for the list, but I have more for you
Those are the primary reasons to use an airgun for survival, and I think they are really good reasons. Does that mean there aren’t arguments against it? No way, but I don’t think they are all strong, or valid enough to cause problems. Here are the three top complaints people have and what I think about them.
They Are Bad for Self Defense
Oh man, here we go. I wrote an entire article on what I think about airguns and self defense, and I agree, they are not great for self defense, but so what? You will not catch me saying only carry an airgun in a survival situation. I say include it you should have a firearm for self defense purposes. I don’t think you should be using it to hunt small game.
Also, a .22 LR isn’t great for self-defense either. While it will kill someone, and if you get an accurate shot it’ll put them down immediately, there is also a strong possibility of a shot passing through. In a moment of adrenaline and chaos this can mean you could remain in danger even if you manage to shoot whoever, or whatever, is threatening your family. I recomend having a self-defense firearm that is more suited to the purpose than you’re hunting weapons.
No Semi-Auto
First, that’s also true, and it helps keep them from being regulated badly. Second, so what. It’s quiet enough that if you miss you can probably take another shot at that squirrel. How many shots do you need in a row to take one down? What’s going to be left for you to do anything useful with if you have to keep pumping rounds into it? Again, this is a feature better suited to self-defense, which I would not use an airgun for anyway.
This does not preclude us from using it for survival purposes.
Limited Range
An airgun can only shoot out to about 50 – 60 yards before it starts dropping. How far away from that squirrel, or rabbit, or raccoon are you? Seriously? If this is a concern I suggest getting and practicing some of your forestry skills, and I’m not saying that to be rude. Get out, do some hiking, start moving around. If this range is a concern for you, then you are going to have a hell of a time getting some larger game too. While you are out hiking, get a book about plants and start to recognize them. These are skills that will really help you.
For me, this complaint is a non-starter.
Final Words
Do airguns replace firearms in a survival situation? No. Should you include them in your survival plan? Yes, and doubly so if you are planning for long-term situations. I told you above we were discussing a .22 springer. If you want to know more about why I recommended that, and not another gun stay tuned. I’ll be writing that article soon, and I’ll be linking it right here.