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Most rugged survival airgun

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E

Eelco

Member
Aug 11, 2018
23
0
NH, United States
I am interested in your opinions about what you consider to be the best survival airgun. Think post-nuclear apocalypse combined with zombie plague. No chance of finding or ordering any arcane parts or tools you didnt order in advance; plus you hope you wont need them in the first place in the middle of fending off ten zombies.

If I were to ask the same question about firearms, id personally pick the Mosin Nagant. Few moving parts, easy to service and buy spare parts for. And economical, so you could outfit your buddy with one too. Economical is a plus, but rugged is a must. Unlike a Mosin Nagant, it seems it is hard to get both in the airgun world, but id love to be proven wrong on that. So, what is the Mosin Nagant of the airgun world?

Personally I don't think accuracy is all that important in such a weapon; not compared to the usually more benchrest-oriented angle a lot of the airgunning world is coming from. Theoretical inches at 100 yards mean very little when you are face down in the mud and getting shot at.

I think a powerful .25 60-ish joule would be the best allround choice. Good for taking rabbits with authority and economy, and while it may be frowned upon in times with more options, its not like you couldn't kill a hog or deer with it in a life or death situation. Same for homo sapiens; it may not have the same effect as an 7.62x54R round, but 60J hit is a great start for tipping the odds in your favor between you and any threat. 

What bothers me about most PCP designs is all the parts sticking out; they are low on ruggedness. For instance, I love the aesthetics of the FX and airforce brands, but all that free floating aluminium will be bent to complete junk the first time you fall out of a tree or trip over a bunch of rocks. Compare that to a Mosin Nagant; it is just a beefy steel tube supported by the stock along most of its length. If it jammed, there is no problem using it as a club first, and as a rifle again after. I am not sure any air rifle meets that standard. That said, if we are talking about arming a small squad of people, youd really want a Texan in the mix for cover id say. But while the most balanced arsenal is also an interesting question, my primary question is what to go with if you had to pick one, though.

Here are my personal nominations; but I havnt not been able to make up my mind as to a definite choice yet:

  • AA S510; all wood and steel construction (as I understand; cant find definite information), top notch reputation for build quality; unregulated so fewer parts subject to wear and tear. Barrel is fairly well supported; air tank is mostly protected by the stock. Marauder and SPA M16 could be considered budget options in this category too as they both seem quite rugged rifles, but the Marauder isnt all that cheap on this side of the pond anyway, and they cant touch the reputation for build quality of the S510, as I understand.
  • Vulcan 2; comes in 30 cal putting out 120J or so. Lots of power for its size, and also seems like it could take a bump; very compact build with few bendy things sticking out of the stock. Which is a good thing too, because the metal components are mostly aluminium as I understand, sadly. Only airgun I am aware of with a repeater-mag that looks like it would actually survive a drop on the floor. Sadly impossible to say how these will hold up over the years though, since it has barely hit the market.
  • There is something to be said for break-barrels too; cheaper, no exposed air cylinder to fall on top of and ruin, and barrels are designed with strength in mind. The Hatsan vortex 135 looks like a good pick in this category. Sure, its not quite the power of PCP, but they still put out a respectable 45J in 30 cal, and they may not be repeaters, but you could outfit about 4 guys with one of these for the price of one of the above and a decent hand pump. Not sure how reliable and easy to service gas pistons are in practice though.


Any contenders or considerations that you think are missing from this list?
 
Biggest concern with a pcp is air. Refilling the tank is a big problem in a SHTF world. Spring piston would be a good choice or even a good pumper. Agree with that 25 cal train of thought. For a powder burner i choose my trusty Marlin 25. 10000 rounds of 22 long rifle ammo and can still group under 1/2 inch at 50 yards. Again its the consumables that put the limits on any choice. I do like your train of thought with a do all indestructable gun. Maybe outfit a bayonet on it for close quarters combat?
 
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stefan; yeah in a bug-out type scenario a break barrel would definitely be my first pick. But a hand pump sounds fine to me in any scenario where you are sleeping in a fixed location. If I can pump up to 20 shots in the morning, I think that should get you through the day. Either you can use those 20 shots to dominate whatever opposition you encounter; but if you end up exchanging 20 shots with an opponent of equal or greater firepower, your chances of coming home alive are below 1% anyway; so those super high shot counts are really quite unlikely to make the difference in practice I think. If you really find yourself in a battlefield type scenario of many against many you never have enough shots fast enough, but I consider that somewhat out of the scope of the original hypothetical.

That said, I dont have any experience on how hard it is to keep a hand pump operational long term. That worries me a bit. 
 
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3x Crosman .22 pumpers, plus pellets and maybe some rebuild parts, a couple of good knives, and a RELIABLE fire source. They should last you longer than any phone, electricity, gas, potable water, on any other food supply will. Think about it. Just in the US, A billion people searching for food ( or to protect their food supply) most will go for big game first or expire. With all the horded guns & ammo that have plagued our news..., if you want to compete with that, an Airgun isn't the answer. With an Airgun you'll be living on snakes, rats, gophers.... At least till things thin out (not game, the losers, small game will become more available if you can skip populated areas). That said, I'd rather be invisible than compete for what everyone else wants. On the other hand, I'm passive and would prob not make it long.
 
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I know you asked for one rifle, but I have an argument for two rifles:

Rifle 1: Edgun RM5 in.25 because it's built incredibly tough, puts out around ~50 ft lbs, is simple to maintain, is magazine fed, is quiet, and is compact.

Rifle 2: A backup magnum springer in case you run out of air for the PCP.

Assuming you're not traveling alone, two rifles is also great for defending a position against multiple opponents.

And of course plenty of backup sets of o-rings for your PCP and hand pump and stacks and stacks of pellets.
 
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JCD: I live in an area where hardly anyone owns guns. Being able to put out a few rounds, even if they are just airgun pellets, would be a significant leg-up. That security gaurd with a few clips of 9mm ammo at home is going to feel really antsy wasting them on a scrawny duck; ive got a bullet mold and lead is everywhere where people have lived.

Why do you recommend the crossman pumpers specifically? Would you say they are particularly dependable?
 
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if your serious about this?remember you have to carry all poop" ya better get a old Benj.22-5.5mm or Sheridan 5mm pump.remember those guns lasted 50 + years.And if ya have to kill something as big as you well ya better get a old Savage 22-20 gauge with the selector on the hammer.22cp cap,to long rifle .up to 3" mag.for the shotgun pumpkin ball for the Elephant"and when the mob come's to still your food give them a dose of number 8 shot"that should take care of 5 or 6 meth heads?believe me iv lived on a reservation and more deer taken with a 22 then anything ".
 
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Lots of voices going up for pump action rifles; I suppose mostly for their proven long term reliability? The best I am seeing in terms of energy is 14fpe or about 20J. Still its not like any man or hog would like to be hit in the face with that; but 20J or 60J does make the difference in being stopped by the first thick bit of bone or not I think. Is a 40J break barrel an inherently less reliable mechanism than a pump? Not sure about the internal details of a pump action but id imagine they both have a similar number of moving parts and seals.

@Richardo; im getting mixed messages wrt the reliability of springers vs gas pistons. On paper I hear gas pistons are supposed to be more reliable, but you see more people vouching for their springer. Is that because springers have been around longer? Or are gas pistons mostly marketing hype?
 
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Looking back in history you will discover that pneumatic air rifles have a long history. Springers were a newer development, but nevertheless they have been around for many decades.

i have owned pneumatic, co2, gas piston and spring powered air guns. All have provided excellent service although the spring powered ones best stood the test of time. Something like an HW80 will last a lifetime and likely be passed onto your kids, then their kids. Currently my oldest springer is a 60 year old BSA Meteor, followed by my FWB124 which is almost 50 years old. Both springers and both still going strong. Generally speaking there are only three parts that need to replaced, - piston seal, breech seal and mainspring, and only after many thousands of shots. For longevity with accuracy a quality springer will always be my preferred choice.
 
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Career 707.... simple, sturdy, accurate, powerful. Mine came shooting 80 ft/lb with Dae Sung 31gn and very nice peep sights. OR, I can turn it down as low as 6 ft/lb with a flick of the power wheel.

A bit heavier than a Leshiy, though. 

Springers seem iffy to me, over 20 ft/lb, and good ones are pretty heavy. I'd go for a spring over the gas ram for repairability, too.

The Benjy 312 or 342 would be a great choice if you are limiting to small game.

Bob
 
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