Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Ultimate Survival Gun

I have heard it said that the ultimate survival gun is a flintlock rifle, because both powder and bullets can be fashioned from primitive materials. While there is truth in that, a better solution may exist.

IMHO, the ultimate multi-purpose firearm would be a 4-barrel combination gun with two rifle barrels mounted over two shotgun barrels. This arrangement would allow for accurate rifle sights and/or a scope. The calibers would be 7.62mm over 12 gauge. By using subcaliber barrel inserts, it would be possible to fire a large number of different calibers, including .223, 9mm, .22 LR, 20 gauge and .410. Such a gun would have a break-barrel action, and be virtually weather-proof with blued stainless steel barrels and polymer furniture. It would break down into two sections and fit into a small, waterproof backpack. The barrels would be of medium length - say, 20 or 22 inches. With the break-barrel action, the weapon would be quite small and compact. It could be used for hunting, or for defensive/offensive purposes. It would have a bayonet lug, as well as a top rail and a sling assembly. The stock would be hollow and contain a cleaning kit and a survival kit. A removable shell/bullet rack would clip to the outside of the stock.

We can go one step farther, and create a hi-tech, rapid-fire version of this weapon. Using MetalStorm in-line ballistics technology, each barrel could be loaded with stacked, caseless projectiles. Say, 8 7.62mm rounds in each rifle barrel, and 5 12 gauge caseless shells in each shotgun barrel. This would load the weapon with 26 rounds, which could be fired at any desired rate, in any desired order. Reloading would be done by breaking the barrels open, removing the spent cartridge casings (one per barrel) and inserting new multi-shot cartridges into each barrel. Furthermore, different types of ammunition could be loaded into each barrel, ie: armor-piercing 7.62mm rounds in one rifle barrel, hollow point 7.62mm rounds in the second rifle barrel, 00 buckshot rounds in one shotgun barrel, and nonlethal bean bag rounds in the second shotgun barrel. The multi-shot cartridge inserts could also double as subcaliber inserts, ie: a cartridge loaded with 22 LR ammo could be seamlessly loaded into a 7.62mm barrel. Such a weapon would be suitable for combat and, having no moving parts, would not malfunction.

Perhaps one day.

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