What Airgun would you want to have after Complete Economic & Social Collapse?

If for some reason airgun only. .35 MAX with solar charger and hand pump



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I think we have played this game before. I think I would go for an HW77 in .177. I do not own any airguns that use iron sights, but I have that luxury now. In such a situation, I think I would take my chances with iron sights just in case my optics fail at some point. I think I can get by with that caliber to gather enough food here and there. Even an HW30 might do, lighter, easy to tote around, very accurate. As for a PCP, I think easy to work guns like the Leshiy and a hand pump and a handful of O-rings will do. 
 
Well, what do you want to do with the gun? Hunt small game? Probably a really nice break barrel. Completely self contained, not much can go wrong, and you can store 5,000 rounds in a single ammo can.

Defend your self in a SHTF situation? Not an airgun, maybe a trusty 9mm so the ammunition is cheap enough to stockpile. If you want more range, 5.56 or something similar?

Purpose and Use determines everything.
 
after Complete Economic & Social Collapse?

Well, as long as you asked,,, sorry, thats not a air guns place, at all. Although if thats all you got go with it....

In "complete social collapse" as you say, there will be marauders, stealing food/all necessities. Maybe raping and pillaging..? Maybe with ballistic vests/helmets and serious weapons of there own. And the very definition of social collapse means no law enforcement, a lawless society. Good chance the jails will empty, letting many bad actors escape as has been the case in Italy right now..

I for one want my m4 556 with green tips on its sling right by my side, with my 40cal glock holstered and my 9mm in its ankle holster. And plenty of ammo on hand. My wife and brother and friends will be similarity equipped to defend/protect the homestead.... I do not want to go up against invaders with AK47's with my single shot Texan45, or Kral .25, both air guns I love. The right tool for the job could make all the difference, and an air gun is the wrong tool imo... Now for survival in the wild, putting food on the table, AG is fine.

Although hunting will be very important its not the top priority in lawless urban or rural type areas, at least not in the beginning stages of total social collapse... For hunting large game, my 308, and when hunting small game and or stealth is needed, then air guns come out. At times like complete social collapse I'm not wanting to challenge my skill level with 200 yard air rifle shots at deer, nope, just want to put food on the table as fast and quick as possible. I can do this with my 308. Don't get me wrong I love my air guns and know they can kill, but for protection against packs of armed marauders in total social collapse, imo only a fool would opt for an just an air gun....

Lets pray it never comes to this, and really doubt it will in this current CV19 climate,, but if it does, way to many serious weapons/bad dudes out there for me to depend on an air rifle or air pistol for my defense of home and family...

jmo
 
In the event of complete economic and social breakdown everyone will grab whatever they can to defend themselves and won’t limit themselves to airguns. But to play along within the limits of airguns I would say that a 1322 with a flat top piston and valve and 24” barrel and Donnyfl sumo or short shroud installed would be fantastic for quiet small game hunting. The flat top piston and valve use standard o rings and replace the rubber piston cup found in the original Crosman. Chances of finding a new piston cup are slim to none in my imaginary post apocalypse. Overall this would be a simple-to-maintain hunting tool.

i thought maybe as far as simplicity goes, the airforce condor ss in .25 would be a good sturdy air rifle that would survive rough handling and provide enough power to kill most critters 200 pounds and less. Maybe not ethically but in reality yeah it’ll kill. But then I thought, the guns simplicity and robust build is not the only thing, how to fill it becomes the problem. A pcp pump has more o rings that are most definitely going to wear out and need replaced. Having an indefinite supply of fill tanks is unreasonable also. I suppose with sparing use the pump or a few tanks could see a person through for a good while, but target practice for fun would not be sustainable at all. 

Speaking of not sustainable.....imagine some situation happened today that forced everyone to immediately be self sufficient and find their own food. Stores and warehouses would be empty within a couple days. Most people seem to think they can “live off the land” and/or hunt for food. Well folks you can’t just decide to become a farmer anytime of year you want. And if everyone is looking for any animal to shoot for food........how long before you don’t see any animals? Not long guys. You hunters that spend time in the woods know you can sit out there all day for a week and not see a damn thing. And the meat that is harvested won’t be able to be frozen and used later, so it’s got a really short shelf life before it is going to be thrown away and need replaced. Unless everyone else suddenly learns to smoke and dry meat or salt cure it. Which isn’t going to be the case guys. Living off the land and hunting for food is going to be a big disappointment to many that think they are going to live well in such a situation, and I’m talking about city boys well as hard core country folks. We’ve all had a notion that we know how to hunt and fish and can survive, and you COULD, but not if everyone else is trying to do the same thing. Too much competition and pressure for the same food source. There isn’t a lot to go around.

The same goes for firewood to heat your house. If everyone suddenly needed to use firewood to heat their house and cook every meal, what would the woods look like? It ain’t gonna look much like woods anymore guys. 

Large cattle farms and ranches will, I predict be the target of the most poaching and I believe they will be the site of quite a few small battles until the supply of beef disappears which will happen before the end of the first full winter of the year of the apocalypse.

So in my prediction there will be chaos and uncertainty and starvation and murder and eating of things that shouldn’t be eaten for a period, maybe around Apocalypse +1year. As people die off and survivors learn to cope with the challenges of life after the apocalypse then the situation will begin to improve, depending on what kind of social structure has been established at that point. 
 
pnwairgunner" We’ve all had a notion that we know how to hunt and fish and can survive, and you COULD, but not if everyone else is trying to do the same thing."



agreed, but must point out one thing: not everyone has that skill or the gear to do it. Many people have lost their connection to the land, are second or third or fourth generation URBAN dwellers that havent been in the woods or off paved roads their entire life. Those folks are easily bypassed.

So those people that CAN attempt to live off the land will be much smaller in number. Moving some where like Montana or Idaho to escape the hordes and masses is only trading one set of issues for another: the weather. If youve never been out this way in the winter, suffice it to say, its cold, gets cold early and stays cold thru mid april. in the 27 yeers Ive leved in montana,Ive seen 6 inches of snow in June, 2 weeks plus of -15F being a WARM day in February, and going to bed with no snow to waking up with 24 inches in my yard, more in the mountains...

more to living off the land than just getting food......