.22LR vs .22 Hornet: Advantages, Disadvantages, Drawbacks?

for the M-6... I'd say 22 LR... ( & I'm a huge hornet fan, with at least 6 different shooting platforms in that cartridge )

twist rate is one of the main disadvantages... I have changed out the barrels on both a revolver & a ruger bolt action to 1 in 9" twist & love that set up...

but honestly... why an M-6 ??? you could use any number of single shots ( like an H&R or a Thompson Contender, or Encore ) both of which offer change out barrels, so they break down to a compact size so you could carry one action & a couple of barrels, in everything from 22 LR to 416 Rigby ( for the Encore... including shotgun & black powder barrels ) both the Contender & the Encore are offered in stainless

back to your choice of cartridges... in the guns I listed, the Contender could be had in stainless, 3 barrels, one in 22 LR, one in 223, & one in .410 & you'd have a light compact & versitile set up... if you were more worried about getting game, & the 223 is not something you are after, a 7-30 Waters, or 30-30 could be you mid bore barrel...

BTW... I collect Contender stuff... have many pistol grips to rifle stocks, including camo laminate thumbhole stocks, & barrel lengths from 8" to 21" my 16"vent rib 45 colt / .410 barrel is particularly versitile, it has a straight rifled choke tube that is used with the shot shells, & unscrewing that gives a normally rifled barrel for the 45 Colt rounds... I think I have close to 50 different calibers of barrels... I started collecting, before the Encore came out, so I haven't crossed over there yet, I'm not sure if you can get rim fire barrels for the Encore... but with the Contender, I can change from pistol grip, to rifle stock & barrel in less than 1 minute, so converting it from one caliber or from pistol to rifle is very easily & quickly accomplished...

this is my lil 45 Colt / .410... with the thumb hole stock, it can still be shot as a pistol ( I've shot rabbits that way, when I didn't get time to bring it up to my shoulder ) the straight rifled choke tube keeps the pattern nice even though the bulk of the barrel is rifled... one screw in the fore end & the pin slides out & the barrel changes that easily... one screw at the base of the grip, & the stock comes off, & a pistol grip can be placed on it...

BTW... always use 14" & shorter barrels with the pistol grips, 16" & longer barrels with the rifle stocks, & just so you know, the 16" barrel is legal with the shotgun, because it's a 45 Colt / .410 barrel... I also have several rubber grips & fore ends that make these quite durable... & they are well known for their exceptional accuracy

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I've had a SA M6 for something like 15 years now and I've used it quite a few times. I only paid something like $175 for it new. Made in the USA. Tough as a car jack. My son started using it as his intro .22 rifle back when he was 8 years old. Single shot, manually cocked. I could sit next to him and keep a casual eye on him and he could plink away at the creek bed and go through a 50 round box of .22 LR before you know it. He is 14 now but he is still ready to shoot that little rifle any time.

Right after I bought it, I removed the silly trigger guard. The military version didn't have that. SA only put it on there to make some lawyer happy. Without it, you can fold it the way the military did. Makes for a much more compact package.

We have also used it around the ranch as a general purpose .410. It's the only .410 on the property and any rural area finds a use for single barrel .410's over time. Any time I've needed to kill something up close that seemed a little too much for a .22 but not big enough to need a .44 Magnum, I went and got the .410 M6 and it worked fine.

So I've never had to "survive" with it but I've gotten plenty of use out of mine. Wouldn't sell it. And in my case.... I wouldn't have gotten one tenth as much use out of it in Hornet. We've put many hundreds of .22's through that top barrel.

Oh, as far as the trigger... you get used to it. It's different but it's not that bad. The "good" thing about it is what the Air Force liked. You can use it while wearing gloves or mittens. IMO, the bad thing is what I went through with my son. When you use it to train a new shooter, it doesn't really help them to learn about proper trigger control for when they move on to a more conventional trigger. When I moved my son to a Ruger 10/22, we had to start over on the trigger. Almost like starting on a second language. But he speaks both now.

I had to defend the poor ugly duckling. The M6 is a rather unique little thing. Worth owning. Especially for the kind of money they originally sold for.

Gregg
 
What exactly is a survival rifle?
And the OP did slip in the fact that it could be used as a SHTF gun.

The way I view a survival is basically SHTF, eg, the gun you grab when you need to survive. So in that case being able to find ammo and carry a reasonable amount is important.

I don't think that the OP is wanting to keep the rifle in his car so if he crashes or gets stuck in the middle of no where then he can survive.

Have you considered a Savage24 or any of the other combo guns out there? Theres a few variants on gun broker, gives you a few more choices of caliber/gauge
 
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