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Most rugged survival airgun

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Airforce Condor full length barrel in .25 hands down. One of the new 2018 models with the most up-to-date valving. Add a good shroud or suppressor to it and buy the interchangeable tophats so you can control FPE level more easily.

The design is tough. All you need are a handful of replacement o-rings to keep it going, and maybe buy a couple of extra breeches from Air-Force (only $10-$15 or so a piece). 

Set the gun for 50fpe and you've got a 40+ shot gun you can brain shoot most animals in the US (a lot more shots if you want to shoot outside the top of your curve). Crank it up to max FPE and cast your own heavy slugs and you have something that could possibly take whitetail deer behind the shoulder in a pinch. 

The point of a survival airgun isn't to be the gun you go fight zombies with. Its the gun you keep around your homestead that you set out on hunting trips with so as to quietly take game without alerting other humans or using valuable firearm ammo. That's how Louis and Clark used their's (besides to bluff the locals into thinking they had magical weapons). It was a substitute for firearms while hunting so firearm ammo could be conserved. 

A survival airgun is probably the biggest benefit to a person who already lives out in the country around game and already has some firearms that can be used for self-defense. Its not the gun to pick for permanently bugging out. Its the gun to have once you've already bugged out or homesteaded and have your mountain-man or frontier existence established.
 
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@Arzrover: Thanks; ShinSung hasnt really been on my radar yet at all, but indeed they really seem to focus on no-nonsense hunting rifles. Few suppliers and few reviews sadly. I find myself wanting to know if it has a good trigger and all that; but tbh do I really care for a match-grade trigger given my stated requirements? As long as it will hold up I guess I dont really care if I have to pull a little harder. The outside components look like a tank but I hear a lot of people doing repairs on the internals though.

Leshiy is a cool package, but I do think lack of a repeating mechanism is a real downside. Also the aesthetics take some getting used to for me but I guess that wasnt in my original list of requirements either :)
 
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A real 22 revolver pistol lol. I mean I honestly can't see any real use for an airgun as a post apocalypse type weapon or tool but then again who am I. If I had no choice at all then a crosman pumper is your go to gun as it could fire bb's or pellets and everything is cheap and has just enough power to take small game. I would say IMO there is no way a PCP could or should even be considered as a real choice as I don't see running around with a hand pump and a pocket full of seals to rebuild it after the humidity eats it alive as well as the inside of your air cylinder. End of the world you probably won't have air conditioning which basically eliminates all airguns lasting all that long. Like I said this is just what I feel but I don't disagree with some options and I think it would be kinda cool as a novelty to have a "bugout edition" air rifle of some sort. 
 
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I dont think running around with a pump and seal all the time sounds great; but having them in my basement sounds doable. Any tool is going to need maintenance. As for moisture; I hadnt given much thought to corrosion yet I must say so good point. A lot of the materials used in air rifles are not terribly corrosion sensitive though. A lot of it is aluminium which is not terribly impressed by salt-free condensation water. But I suppose most rifle barrel internals are some kind of steel?

That is I do see the appear of a pump action or break barrel. Arguably there is a pump in the loop either way wether PCP or not, but a gas piston does away with three stages of seals, a hose, a fitting, an adaptor, and a bunch of valves, as compared to PCP. As an engineer my gut tells me a gas piston is the most robust design overall; but I dont know how well that book knowledges translates into practice.
 
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Eelco-- my particular 707 is an early one. The trigger was heavy enough that I could pick up the cocked rifle by it and shake it without discharging. Modification wasn't difficult. In combination with lowering the max energy to around 45 ft/lb, it is now a measured 4 oz. Very nice offhand rifle and very accurate with older Premier 14.3s or it's favorite...Barracuda 21 gn. Newer batches of Premiers don't seem as good. Will shoot well over an extremely wide power range. I shoot it a lot at about 25 ft/lb with the Premiers and get about 75 shots on a 2800 fill.

Newer rifles exchanged the match peep sights for adjustable trigger, wide range power wheel, and threaded muzzle. 

Anyway... to me it's a keeper.

Bob 
 
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So more votes for the pumpers... if it is just about catching rabbits I think I see the reasoning; although it do not see from a mechanical point of view how it is simpler than a gas piston... it basically has the same number and type of components... but perhaps the critical wear sensitive parts get loaded more gently in a pumper in practice?

And aside from that; for anything other than hunting rabbits? Unless you manage a shot in the eye it seems like a dedicated opponent with a knife (or tusk) has a really good chance against you. Let alone if there is two of them. I think id feel a lot safer with a little bit more power and a little more investment in spare parts and tools.
 
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@bulfrog: yeah sure next to an arsenal of firearms its a different question, what niche an airgun could fill. As a pure hunter that you never have to run or crawl with it I suppose airforce designs are great. But if its your only weapon id want something I could at least drop on the concrete once before bending everything out of whack.
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I dropped my Flex on concrete right on the carbon tank and it wasn’t worse for the wear. 

I haven’t seen any evidence that AF guns can’t take punishment. My Condor is my utility gun that gets thrown around in the bottom of my kayak or left outside overnight. Its just plain tough and compared to my $2k Flexes, I won’t feel the burn as bad if I accidently trash it

If you’re trying to survive in a concrete jungle post-SHTF, I don’t think an airgun is going to do anything for you unless you only use it to quietly take small urban animals. The guys running around with suppressed ARs are going to out fight or out compete you. 
 
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@Bullfrog: you got lucky then. More often than not a CF tank dropped from 1 meter on a hard surface will show damage obvious enough that nobody sane will want to be pressure testing it for you. And just because yours does not show any surface damage does not mean it isnt at greater risk of sudden failure. Exposed CF is the design hallmark of luxury toys, and the antithesis of rugged. Thats why you see it on Bugattis, not on Humvees.

Not saying airforce guns are not well designed for their purpose; they are great for target shooting or stalking animals. But as a matter of principle, if you want to be serious about rugged, youd prefer to see your carbon fibre behind a solid layer of moulded nylon stock; that is, not see it at all.

As for firearms; again, they are hard to get by here. As for those that do have them, they will mostly be killed by others that do, or good old hunger, while me and my cubic meter of beef tallow keep a low profile.
 
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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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Bob,

You are dead RIGHT on Career 707. The barrels are incredible,lever action is close the semi-auto. The ability to shoot at any desired speed is so easy.....turn a wheel.......done.

Whenever I shoot with a novice, I hand him the 707. So user friendly and the magazine NEVER jams like rotary magazines.

Go with Bob and Don's advice.
 
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@Arzrover, @DonC: the 707 is hard to get by these days in my neck of the woods. I can get pretty good deals on the Infinity 9mm though... looks to be the same rugged simplicity as the 707. I hear of a lot of people tinkering on it but seemingly not because of fatal flaws but because the gun is just very inviting to it; which id consider a big plus.

9mm is quite a different beast than .25 tho... but harebrains arnt particularly good eating anyway, and I like doing my own casting, which bigger bore is also more amenable to. The combination of 6 shots in 9mm is also more or less unmatched in terms of practical stopping power id say. Zombies are going to have a very bad day with that.
 
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Hmm. Definitely wouldn’t take any of my pcp’s. Even if I was in a fixed location. A hand pump will eventually fail and pcp’s will blow a ring at some point. Have to be a springer. Now if I could keep it fed I would take the Hatsan 125. It’s pretty accurate or at least the one I owned was and I’d be comfortable taking larger game with it at closer ranges. If I couldn’t keep that fed, then I would go with a synthetic stock lgv in .177. Light weight, easy to disassemble if needed and pellets would be easy to come by. Out of what I currently have on hand it would be my lgv master pro. Makes you think. I’d leave my impact, my royale, and my other pcp’s and grab the ole trustee springer lol
 
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That particular scenario calls for a rope. You tie it to something slightly higher than you and then around your neck. 

But, if you REALLY want to live through a post apocalyptic age and use an airgun to hunt animals that probably don’t exist or are poisoned by radiation, then I guess a springer in .177 would be my choice. Something lightweight (think HW30) that you could carry around. Be able to carry enough ammo in a small space, along with tools and a stash of seals, a spring or two, etc. Otherwise, perhaps a breakdown blowgun with plenty of darts? 


 
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Rugged & survival? Benjamin's & there's a new on board pumper PCP hybrid. Rugged goes to Benjamin Sheridan's.

I have a Hill MK4 & want a new MK3 and 5 reseal kits. I just dried dessicant, opened pump to clean & lube main 3/16 ring. Rust on main end threads. That dessicant is useless. So IF you go PCP have full rebuild kits for gun, pumps, & lots of cosmoline, some sort of rust prohibitor & lube like silicon & pelgun oil. Slick 50 one is good so pellets don't oxidize. You're going to need to coat everything in the lower 48 with humidity & salt 50 miles inland anywhere.

We saw Nomad Manny take a 7.9 .177, 17ftlbs, @17yrds 60lb. Boar right in the ear. I've seen a .177-18ftlbs-20yrds right between ribs into a doe's heart. No deer ran. She twitched like a horse fly bit her. Walked to weeds 10 yards, circled to bed down & went night night for good. So, respect & don't underestimate.

I guess you are thinking ammo is cheap & air guns are quiet. For a good PCP you can buy an excellent .22LR, rifle & pistoll. Add a pump scope, compressor on gas. You can buy silencers ($300+) tax stamp ($200 each) all for under @2K which is where "rugged":comes in. A 2K RAW or older Rapid much cheaper.

I know this is partly theoretical. Fact is a Ned Flanders type can turn violent when seeing family starve or suffer. So yes certain times a simple hit to lungs/heart area (1'x2') will end up killing a person with no medical care. I prefer bows, knives silenced air but you could go tax stamp dedicated rig zeroed with subs of any caliber. Full shroud. Quiet enough that nothing 1/4 mile radius hears.

I myself can only speak on what I've owned. 50 some good air guns, down to 6. I WISH I had 25K to blow now instead of 8 years ago. I'm not a bull pups fan but the semi auto Barrage by Hatsan? Give me that in .25 & I'll show you a dead attacker. Being a lefty I like their pump action, Sumatra or any powerful lever action. 

Off topic but if companies like Air Force ( I hate that they bought RAW) & Extreme Big Bores get noticed & keep pushing 500 grains at over 1000fps topping .30-06's at 3Kftlbs. They are going to get regulated. God use a centerfire or muzzle loader. I'm complaining, even though I can buy these, there are vets with PTSD stripped of their firearm rights. Yes, guilty of serving honorably, being traumatized & telling a Doctor the horrors of war. I'm guilty of being caught as a passenger in a stolen car & unarmed robbery. Yeah. Never carried my handguns or revolvers. Never committed any crime with any weapon. So if air guns get regulated like U.K., Scotland, Ireland, screw that I'm out of here WITH my air guns. Your question is not far fetched (minus zombies) this Country is at war with idiots.

I love my tuned spring guns but admit I've no knowledge of servicing them. New spring compressor. Tightens where scope goes in dovetail. I may try it. I know my PCP's in and out but no machinist equipment if something breaks. You can make springs out of piano wire. Just a heads up.
 
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@intenseaty22: haha, yeah I am mostly just trying to push my hypothetical to its extreme. Not expecting any zombies, and modern society *most likely* wont collapse soon either. But I like rugged pieces of engineering, and I like being able to invest in my self-reliance. Already own some bows but a blowgun isnt such a crazy idea; does not get more rugged than a pipe and some nice steel darts, and I just watched a guy cleanly fell a grown bear with one on youtube... Modern bows have many components that wear out yet are hard to replace by yourself though; and id say an airgun *in theory* could be a much more robust piece of equipment. I do think its easier to keep a kit with spare O-rings and a bullet mold than it is to make your own black powder from scratch, for sure.
 
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@Ag5643; keeping it fed strikes me like one of the beautifully easy things about an airgun. Lead is everywhere if you know where to look, and you only need to stoke your coals a little to get it molten. Labor intensive for sure, but in the given scenario there wont be any online forums to waste your time on anyway.

Compared to the amount of materials, tools and patience needed to make a halfway decent arrow, or any other projectile weapon i can think of, its nothing really.
 
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