9mm vs. .22lr for bugout bag gun

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Just revised my bag .Ruger takedown charger .
With 2 X 50 round ,3 x 10 round , 1 x 15 round mags ready to go .
My edc 40 sw .
 
It depends on where you plan to BO to more than from. For how long. How you plan on getting there. And what will you do when you encounter a guy with a rifle who shoots you and takes your bug bag?
 
for many years, I have carried a S&W Model 63, .22 LR revolver in my emergency bag. I carry two containers with 75 rounds each as well. Weight is minimal, it is a very accurate revolver. Yeah, I know it isn't a combat round, but then if I am escaping and evading, I am trying to avoid contact.
 
It depends on where you plan to BO to more than from. For how long. How you plan on getting there. And what will you do when you encounter a guy with a rifle who shoots you and takes your bug bag?

I daresay it lies in the very nature of prepperism that one doesn't know what exactly will lie ahead... It might be some natural disaster forcing you on the march or temporary loss of public order after another financial crisis - you never know. In any way you have to go into the wild, you will have a lot of more important things to carry and only limited weightwise resources for a gun.

So the question facing this contingency (instead of any defined scenario) is whether you'd prefer a "small and rimfire + loads of ammo" or a "full size and main centerfire caliber + less ammo" option.
 
I lean toward a 22 myself and one you can actually hit something with beyond 5 paces. But it would really depend entirely on the situation as I saw it. Have lots of choices.
 
Sounds like a perfect niche for a 22 Conversion Unit.

I have the Uhl conversion set, which is cool because it works flawlessly with almost every sort of ammo, yet it is quite heavy - the G17 plus the conversion kit are much to heavy a combo to make for a suitable an "firearm add on" for a BOB one would actually carry and not just toss into the car...
 
In any way you have to go into the wild, you will have a lot of more important things to carry and only limited weightwise resources for a gun.
I live in "rural" Alaska. I get out about 340ish days a year "into the wild"; I do take vacations hence not the full 365. When I look out of my living room windows I can see for miles with not a human soul in sight. I walk out of my front door and go for hours long hikes. I go for days long canoe trips in the summer.

I never take a 9mm anything out with me. (I have owned one once or twice over the years, trying to see why I would want a 9mm anything; always sell it, as I find it pointless to own one for where I live and what I do, preferring different chamberings as more practical.)

22lr, yes often. I do carry extra rounds of .22lr in my fanny pack. And extra ammo for rifle and other handgun. And I pretty much always have two guns and bear spray. (Note: bear spray only when it is not too cold, negative double digits, don't want the canister to explode and envelop me in a pepper spray cloud!) And bear spray works on moose too.

Funny thing is that I have never HAD to use anything other than the bear spray out in the wild to save my bacon. My closest bear encounter was at 4 feet.

Since I "Bug Out" on a mostly daily basis, one can carry as much as one can physically manage. I have packed out a moose hindquarter and my gear for miles in the mountains.

Depending on what you are considering, I would say that skills are far more important than what one carries. However, having a knife, a first aid kit, some cordage, a way to start a fire and to obtain clean water, some food, and a firearm are a good start; in my neck of the woods, I consider bear spray as an important item.

So now the short version:
.22lr.
From my experience "into the wild" I have used it/.22lr on numerous occasions to my benefit.
 
While I see no point in bugging out in the woods when I have a perfectly good house I can fortify, I would choose .22lr since I will have a 9mm on my hip.

Living in MA we don't have natural disasters like in other parts of the country, the worst we get is snow and when we get enough of it like we did this winter the last place you are leaving is your home.
 
whatever one's ccw, everyone should have a single action revolver with both 22lr and 22mag cylinders. they are great for teaching tools for newbies. single action slows down ammo expenditure, and thus improves accuracy and manual of arms proficiency. can carry alot of 22. 22mag defensive rounds are not to be 100% dismissed. being untacticool single actions fly under the radar. a good deal is a used ruger at $300 or a new heritage at $200.
 
with no other info about whatever "scenario"

If you include what you wear, I think centerfire handgun in any emergency. It can afford defense against armed attackers. If you are good, you can still harvest small game although not ideal. Dying of starvation takes longer than dying while being attacked.

A 9mm pistol can be as accurate as a 22 pistol, so no inherent accuracy gains there.

A 22 rifle can help for small game if you can fit it in this "bug out bag".
If it's a natural disaster, relocating is the goal. If it's a riot, up to you.
Both are temporary and you probably would not need to resort to small game living out in the woods while your beard grows long and your clothes magically turn to plaid.

If it's a national disaster with NO foreseeable destination or aid, I would bring more options... In a car, not just a bag.
 
As a confirmed urbanite, I'd go with the 9mm, probably Glock 26 as it's small enough to carry and still can stop robbers, looters & whatever trash, I'm likely to run into in a urban disaster situation.
If I were also going to carry a 22lr, I think a break apart rifle like the Marlin Papoose or a long pistol with a scope like the Ruger charger, would make good choices as I don't think I'm likely to bring down many rabbits or squirrels with a regular 22 handgun. Although now that I think about gutting and cleaning and cooking a squirrel, I might just become a Vegan during the bug out period. Once I learned about "pink slime" I stopped eating in fast food places. I don't see myself knowingly eating rodents. :)
 
How many gunfights you planning on living through in a "bug out"?


Probably not many. Less if you are packing a rimfire.
 
I keep a ruger 10/22 take down (threaded barrel) with 2 mags and suppressor in a bug out bag with 500 rounds of Eley SSHP. I also keep a box of 357 magnum in the bag as well (for my CCW). Other than that its got a water purifier, a knife, parachute cord, Bottle of aspirin, 2 lighters and a bit of food.

If it was me id do 22lr but that's just me. You could all ways d both.
 
i say a 1911 22lr conversion for a 1911 in 10mm/45acp(as the primary carry with the 22lr conversion) and a 22lr longgun of some sort, whether it be a 10/22 takedown or a quality levergun, with at least 50rnds of 10mm/45acp and 1k rounds of 22lr and plenty of mags for the long gun and the 1911 22lr/10mm/45 for a BOB.
 
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