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The Best Survival Weapon.

Best Survival Weapon? Poll!

87K views 336 replies 199 participants last post by  fx77 
#1 ·
Question is simple, which is better in your opinion for TEOTWAWKI. Think long term, hunting/defence in a serious survival sitation. Consider that your ammo stores are limited, and that eventually it will begin to wear. Nothing lasts forever:

Recurve
Longbow
Compound
Crossbow
Slingshot
Blowgun
Muzzleloader

If you have a minute, please leave a comment on why you voted the way you did. This will allow us who are trying to figure out what to buy make an informative decision.
 
#303 ·
I've got 4 compound boys and one recurve. The compounds aren't anything shiny and new, I think one is a Ted Nugent II being the newest. I also have a recurve (Bear I think it is) I picked up at a gun show for (Make sure you're sitting down on this part) $7.00. Guy had 4 or 5 other recurves and I still don't know why I didn't grab a couple more at that price. I refinishes the Bear, re-camoflaged it, new string..

To tell you the truth, it rides in my truck 10 times as much as the other 4 bows combined.

I think seeing your buddy take an arrow in his arm or chest is a lot more traumatizing than a bullet. Just watch a Cowboy and Western movie. When someone shot someone with a gun, you grabbed yours and shot back. But, when an arrow sunk in your buddy's chest, someone yelled "INDIANS!!" and everyone beat feet for cover.

Even removing the arrow looked a lot more painful back then. Breaking the arrow and feeding the broadhead part on through the entry area? Yeah, that's gonna mess them up a lot worse than giving them a shot of whisky and taking a hot knife and digging the bullet out.
 
#306 ·
Recurve and a takedown at that. I hunt with a compound but for simplicity, recurve hands down. I have 150+ bows in my collection everything from 100+ year old longbows to modern compounds. I have had 2 compounds string let go while stored in the case. Unless you have a bow press or a way to change the string/cables and extra strings or a way to make them, this would be an issue in TEOTWAWKI as OP asked. I have 50+ year old recurves I regularly shoot. Yes, more practice is necessary with a recurve than with a compound but for the long term, it would be worth it.
 
#307 ·
Overall I'd vote slingshot. Ammo can be found in most any stream bead. Lightweight and portable. Handle of a SR7 WristRocket does not wear out, & ample replacement bands/pouches can be easily stored. It will kill any bird around, from wild turkey to quail, along with squirrels, groundhog, rabbit, and even a fawn (headshot). One can become reasonably accurate by just practicing a few hours a day, for like a month. Do that for decades and you will not need to aim anymore.
 
#308 ·
THE QUESTION is which is a better SURVIVAL weapon.

That indicates a period where things may not change for the better for a while.
So, as far as long term, anything mechanical or complicated would be out

The compound bow has to stay in tune to be useful and has cams/wheels parts that cannot be replaced if damaged or broken.

Muzzle loader is a funny stick when the powder is gone or wet.

The longbow/stick bow is basic survival and I own 2 of them from SAS but they are takedown bows that really get down and will fit in a pack.

Crossbow, powerful but bolts have to be tough and might be hard to replace compared to other arrows.

Slingshot and blowgun are specialty items but unless you have access to poisonous frogs the blowgun won't get you big game and neither will the sling shot.

The recurve is just a little more user friendly and a little more compact and at the same time has the simplicity of the stick bow.
SO

I chose the recurve.
 
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#309 ·
12 gage

The ultimate single survival weapon is a 12 gage break open shotgun.

It can be used to hunt anything on the North American Continent.

Any thing from a squirrel to a grizzly bear !

You can fire flares or tear gas with it.

You can reload the ammo with simple hand tools.

You can even use it with black powder as a muzzle loading weapon.

No other weapon has the versatility of this weapon .
 
#315 ·
The ultimate single survival weapon is a 12 gage break open shotgun.



It can be used to hunt anything on the North American Continent.



Any thing from a squirrel to a grizzly bear !



You can fire flares or tear gas with it.



You can reload the ammo with simple hand tools.



You can even use it with black powder as a muzzle loading weapon.



No other weapon has the versatility of this weapon .
Great post.

Sent from my Note 8 using Tapatalk
 
#310 ·
None of the above here. Knives ( Multiple knives per person) = #1 choice.....and followed closely by the axe. ( Again....more than 1)

I assume that everyone already has at least 3 knives prior to picking anything on the list above? At least one hatchet, tomahawk, or axe?

One might find them handy for fabricating traps, cordage, etc..... making those bows and arrows in the first place, processing critters etc...and more than a few other things common for surviving TEOTWAWKI long term. ( Axe = firewood, building shelters, pens/ corals for livestock, etc...)


Just my opinion here, but nothing on that list is more important than the knife and axe. ( Too include modern firearms)

Again....... Trapping would be a primary means of obtaining wild game as well as a means of defense. ( Fabricating nets for trapping and fishing is also high on the list)

.....And both could be utilized for personal defense if required. Especially knives, as there is no person in my group who would not have at least one on thier person 99.9% of the time.

Fwiw...... I can think of a few more items that would have more importance overall than anything on that list above, but those items probably dont fall under a " primitive weapon" area as knives and axes do.

In short...... The knife and axe combined with a few other items means modern rifles are selected for security, but have the consistent capability to take any game in North America with a 1 shot dump out to 300+ yards. Ammunition can be there by conserved for security and longer distance hunting.

With that said, our budget for ammunition is rather high by most standards, and we reload. ( Ie. ....7.62x51mm, 7.62x39mm, and 22lr by the pallets , a rather extensive cache program, etc......

Note: Regardless of whatever else is in it......every cache container has at least 1 knife inside.

Here is how my list would look like, and in order by precedence.......

1. Knife x 3 plus
2. Tomahawk/ short axe x2
3. Long axe x2
4. A few other items not mentioned...lol
5. Modern rifle x2 ( 308 )
6. 308 pallets ( 40k rds per pallet) x5 plus
7. Modern rifle x2 ( 22lr)
8. 22lr pallets ( 100k rds per pallet) x5 plus





11B
 
#316 ·
The OP started out with a weak, poorly defined argument. A modern rifle is the best solution.

The very best weapon choice for a long term crisis, is one that lets you live through the first few months.
That means a semi auto carbine with several high capacity mags, ie an assault rifle!

If you current ammo supply is limited, go shopping. Or better yet, learn to reload.
If you are concerned with part breakage and wear, learn to build new parts, or store replacements, or simply buy a couple spare guns.

You might end up having to hunt with a bow and arrow several years after the event.
But first, you will have to defend your food supplies, your family, and your life with your rifle.
 
#319 ·
It's alive!


The OP might have had added repeating weapons to the Poll but, the thread is so old, they might not have been invented yet.:D:

Al
 
#322 ·
The best weapon is the one you have until you get a better one and the ability to make and use primitive weapons are a must bows atlatl bolas blowguns Kylie sticks Spears slingshots Swiss arrows David slings plumbatums knives war clubs rope dart cross bow pvc pipe bow pebble bow pvc gun windless if you can't make and use half of what's on here you won't make it and this is not even a list of all the other stuff that should be on here.
 
#323 ·
Agree with you 100% in regards to the " best " comment above. Already have the better weapon as well as the means to support it long term.

How many of those weapons mentioned can be made without a knife , axe, or some " other" cutting instrument? Animal traps as well as mantraps , early warning devices, etc...? Fishing / bird nets?

While a modern firearm as well as a few other weapons on both lists may constitute as " better" for defense, knives and axes were both left out .....even thou they are just as essential now as when they were " invented"....... and neither can run out of ammo, BP, bolts, or arrows. ( Not all areas have suitable rocks to load slingshots with, or materials to fabricate a decent sharp stick ( spear)....let alone archery of any kind.

The " best" may be a modern firearm, but I would still argue that the most " essential " is a knife followed closely by the axe. Either is about as primitive as you can get.



11B
 

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#324 ·
I was hoping for more on bows as firearms were not one of the options. I'm getting ready to put a bow at the cabin. Thinking compound over recurve. I will start with 1/2 each of carbon, glass and aluminum. A dozen broad heads and field points. A hand full of knocks, inserts and vanes. Even a small hand fletching jig. I'll finish sighting in the scope the nagant and a single shot 22. I will find one of my single shot shotguns, with a couple of spare barrels and should be set. the cabin just needs to be ready for a blizzard and a months stay
 
#325 ·
2 rifles and a shotgun with a couple of spare barrels for a month should be more than sufficient. If this is about archery season where your cabin is located, I would go with a compound bow . ( Have hunted with both and a decent compound bow is the better tool during archery season)

Have no idea if the compound bow would be considered a " primitive" weapon. ( The M14 service rifle has been around d longer than the compound bow has.) Your Nag ant is quite a bit older than either.

11B
 
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