9mm vs. .22lr for bugout bag gun

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simonrichter

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Given you have limited volume and weight for a weapon to carry in your bugout bag: Would you prefer a full size 9mm with two mags worth of ammo or a small .22lr with say 200 rds (or whatever number so both gun + ammo combos weight about the same)

My point is that especially when it comes to carrying (not in the sense of CC or open carry, but rather literally) a gun with its full ammo supply for a time, weight does maybe matter more than in normal daily routines...
 
How about 9mm as ccw and 22lr in the bugout.

I guess it all has to do with what I may need to shoot. If i'm in the wilderness 22 will do for small game but gets limiting on larger unless using headshots.

I guess that can be the same if it turns into one of those zombie things.

Either way I'm hiding more 9mm in my bug out than 34.
 
I would use the weight capacity for the protection of a 9mm and at least a hundred rounds. Then figure out how to get the other items lightened up.
 
How far? Thru what? When? How? Where?

A mile or two or 500 miles.

Cross country, thru the hilly woods, or on the Interstate across a desert.

Summer, fall, winter, or spring.

foot, bike, motorcycle, boat, car/truck, or plane.

to a real place, or to a idea/dream.

To answer your question, sure, of course, why not, are you kidding me?
 
If I'm already packing a 9mm, a 22lr would be the better option. In fact, an accurate 22 pistol wouldn't be a bad choice for anyone's BOB.
 
You are a lucky man, being able to choose your emergency bag contents before the emergency. Most folks will not have the option, they'll be stuck with whatever is at hand, if anything at all.

No doubt, the 9mm is the superior choice. Power and penetration. The 22lr offers no advantages over the 9mm, none, except for not wasting meat on the small game you shoot while bugging out of whatever scenario you thought up.

You can solve that need with a few power bars. Go with the Nine.
 
It depends on your bugout scenario/plan.

If you expect calamities to conclude within 2 weeks, 22lr serves no necessary need.

If greater than 2 weeks the 22lr makes sense as a supliment to your bugout bag.
 
I'm not very much the bugout type, so I guess I'd pick .22LR with a pile of ammo since I've already got a centerfire pistol IWB all the time anyway.
 
I had a Ruger 10/22 with a folding stock 2 10 round and 3 30 round in old days 1980's along with 500 rounds . Now I live in my bug out general area so no longer worry :D

Keep in mind won't be no real medical service and a 22 wound can cause great problems . People will not want shot by any caliber With a 22 rifle I can start hurting people at a good range and going to be hard to locate.
 
It depends on where you plan to BO from. If I had to get out of philly or similar area I would want the added power a 9mm offers at close range. If I was going from suburbia or less urban area to the mountains I would likely want the 22. With 22 I would be more inclined to have a Henry SR or 10/22 takedown in the bag.
Either should be fairly easy ammo to acquire at later times.
 
How about 9mm as ccw and 22lr in the bugout. * * *
Click to expand...

Good point, as this highlights a false premise underlying the OP's question.

What's in your BOB is always secondary and supplementary to the "survival essentials" that should be carried on your person where they're immediately accessible, including a defensive weapon.

And whether you're caught in a permissive or nonpermissive environment, it would still be the same. You have a weapon, like a small 9mm, concealed on your person and a redundancy in the BOB, like your .22 & ammo, which could serve as a secondary SD weapon as well as for food-gathering if the scenario you're envisioning becomes a long-term affair.
 
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In a scenario where you are forced to flee, likely you would be carrying some sort of SD (9mm) on your person, it would make sense to have something else in a BOB such as the Henery Survival Rifle tucked away. Obviously ammo for both as well. The .22 would be useful for hunting and harassing targets from a longer range and the 9mm for short range defensive uses.
 
Since it is likely I would be carrying a handgun suitable for self-defense most of the time, I would opt for the .22lr in the bug-out bag, given our limited choices for the discussion.

But I would recommend the OP explore more avenues besides the simple choice between these two. For example, your personal situation might make some type of a shotgun a better choice. I have also always thought that .22 magnum offers an order of magnitude increase in performance, without an order of magnitude increase in bulk or weight.

As others have suggested, we need more information to give you solid advice.
 
No Bugout Bag for me; With a couple of hundred firearms and thousands of rounds of many caliber cartridges while being too old to stomp the woods carrying all that tonage I will sit in my recliner with a cup of coffee, an AR, my faithful Westie and let the bad guys suffer a few losses. Now I do not have to make the .22/9mm decision and besides just where would the average shmoo hide if problems arose. :)
 
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