I am putting a survival kit together and want to know if my next purchase should be a .22 or shotgun.?

.22 rifle. Why? Weight. You can haul lots more 22 rounds than 12ga shotgun shells. Also a .22 has longer range.

Depends on what your imagined survival tasks will be

If you are planing on meeting with and destroying invading enemy forces then I would get the shotgun

But then the 308 and 9m would serve that purpose

If you are planning on being alone in the wilderness surviving off the land a 22 would be the better option

If you are in true survival mode then there is no reason to be hunting dear that you would not be able to consume or pack when a 22 will provide all the small game you need and be fairly silent in the woods

Of course I live in Florida where preserving meat would be near impossible most times of the year and my imagine scenario would involve avoiding contact and keeping on the move

I have an old Rossi takedown pump 22 rifle that fits into a back pack easily and weighs very little

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As much as I love rifles chambered in .22LR... I think a shotgun is a much more versatile choice for a survival kit. That's because you can switch from small game (birds, squirrels, rabbits), to waterfowl, to large game, to self-defense just by switching the ammunition. So I think that a shotgun (with a good supply of a variety of ammunition) would take priority over pretty much any other firearm when it comes to putting together a survival kit. But that's just me and I don't think I'd like to try hauling 5 guns (and the ammunition and cleaning supplies for those 5 guns) around in a survival situation.

I agree with the answer above about going with the remington 870. A shotgun would be a much more veratile weapon in a survival situation. You can take down any game, depending on your load and distance your attemping to take your target. The amount of ammo you should pack depends on where you plan on surviving. If you plan on getting lost in the Amazon jungle or the African bush you may want to pack many boxes of heavy buckshot or slugs. If your just in the American wilderness, civilization is never too far away.

>>.22 or shotgun?<<

Get both in one, the Savage 24 .22/20ga

If you just want a .22 I prefer the Marlin Model 70PPS to the Armalite AR-7 or any of it's more current clones

>>Ammo<<

Where do you live? What is the kit for(your plane/canoe/shtf scenario)?

Just in general, I would have.

.308 - 500rds >If/when you win, you can pick up arms/ammo from loser.

9mm - 200rds >Enough for 40 face to face encounters. If you expect to go 40 for 40 you're either an incurable optimist, very-very good or both.

.22 - 5,000rds or more if you're planning long term. the .22 LR rd could be a valuable trade commodity in certain survival situations.

20ga/12ga - 500rds of various loads, including 100rds of #4 buck for defensive purposes

>>Survival<<

It's not a one size fits all...You need to tailor your plans to fit your needs/situation/etc

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Added info

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I doubt you will need anything for the "shtf senario", but I believe I would go for the 22 next. And I would look with hunting in mind not protection. I would get something with a longer barrel rather that short. Same with the shotgun- longer barrel, like 28" modified. That puts you right in the middle.

One other thing- no offense intended here- but, I would run a few hundred rounds through that Sigma before I trusted my life to it. That gun has a bad reputation. If its been well field tested and passed- then okay. If you decide to add another pistol- stick with the same caliber.

Depends on what you think you need to survive from.

If spending time in the woods hunting game, and the occasional 2 legged critter... I would go with the .22

Wasy to hunt small game with the 22, can alredy drop deer with the .308 (and other 2 legged critters from afar) and the 9mm for when it gets a little personal.

Carrying all this around is going tobe a PAIN ... so maybe a .22 pistol (supressed? don't know where you live)

If looking to do a long term survival... then need to lear how to re-load... the .22lr ca nnot be re-loaded, so maybe you want to keep a 1000 or so rounds handy for squirrles ans such.

1000 rounds of ammo for each weapon is goung to be HEAVY to lug around. Not sure what your intentions on creating a base camp.. .or a compound... or whatever are.

Mght need to get in to re-loading and manufacturing your own bullets... and then primers and powder are going to be an issue.

Things to think about when purchasing a compound bow...

shotgun is more versitile birdshot,slugs,buckshot. 22 will be more accurate for long shots on small game if your were to have to survive by eating them. You can keep more ammo on you with a 22 lr with less weight. You can kill a deer with a 22 lr if you shoot it in the right place if you had to do that for survival.Both would be good options but i would go the 22 lr route for weight issue and able to carry more ammo.You should check into the Marlin Papoose survival rifle.Mossberg makes a JIC shotgun package for survival too. Another thing you could do would be to get a singleshot H&R with changable barrels get a 22 lr and shotgun barrel.Also Henry arms makes a 22 lr survival 22lr.Marlin looks better to me though.

good luck

you are planning on carrying all three at the same time in a kit?? you won't get far with all that weight. And it limits you on carrying what you really need. And, sorry to say, the sigma is not a great firearm. It was S&W's effort to put a lower cost pistol out to compete with other lower priced pistols, and has had a lot of problems. I understand the newer ones are finally improving in function but 9mm sucks for survival.

Anyway, I would invest in a good quality shotgun with 20" barrel. That length will allow you to hunt and still work well for self defense. I'd carry a mix of bird shot, buckshot and slugs. that way you can harvest birds and the largest game in north America, as well as defend yourself. Add a good .22 handgun and go. BUT, shotgun ammo is HEAVY and weight limits don't allow you to carry a lot of ammo.

So, you need to decide what you want to survive. If you are talking about a break down of civilization, you want a hard hitting rapid firing battle rifle and a large bore handgun with all the ammo you can carry. If you are talking about surviving in nature, then you want a long gun of sufficient caliber to protect yourself from local critters and be able to hunt for food. Again, the shotgun is ideal for this. With a good .22 for taking small game to eat.

I'd spend a lot of time deciding on the items you want to carry in your kit, and be careful of weight. It is easy to overload yourself and then you end up leaving stuff behind. Better to get your kit together based on need. Water is number one, so a means to carry it, and a means to filter more. An excellent knife (don't scrimp here), a sheet of canvass or plastic for shelter, a flint and steel, along with another means of starting fire, plus tender (I use cotton balls soaked in vaseline and stored in a large mouth pill bottle). A candle, wire for snares,parachute cord, a small first aide kit, a hooded windbreaker and gloves, 3 space blankets,a shaker flashlight (doesn't need batteries) and if possible a tightly rolled up blanket. I carry a military canteen with steel canteen cup under it, to cook and heat water in,a plastic water bladder that will hold two gallons,a bottle of water purification tabs (which taste terrible) a small 3 oz squirt bottle of clorox bleach inside a water tight zip-lock, a water tight container that holds dried soup mix, tea bags, instant coffee, hot chocolate, and ready to mix koolaide etc, as well as some high energy hard candy and 2 power bars. I keep a paper back book for reading, and a field guide for the area I will be in to identify plants etc. sounds like a lot, but actually is a very small and compact kit that only weighs 10 lbs or so and fits in a small back pack.

Add ammo for whatever firearm(s) you choose, and off you go. Food, shelter,water and the means to stay warm and purify water all ready for you. And, by the way, you will find a kit just like this in every one of my families vehicle, along with some heavy blankets or sleeping bag.

shoot safe

Charter Arms Folding Rifle, .22 Caliber. You can actually buy a lifetime supply of .22 ammo. The the barrel, action, and clip all fit in the plastic stock. Make a foot and a half long package. Semi automatic, with eight shot clips.