Have always been intrigued by the concept, never shot any, but was wondering if anyone makes these anymore. For a bugout/survival gun I think you'd be hard pressed to do better (other than an all out firefight) than a .357/20 or .44/12 combo, especially as a takedown variant.

So, what says SigForum?

They seem like a better idea than they work out to be, from my experience. The ones I’ve had were made by Savage and they were heavy, clumsy shotguns and not that great of a rifle, either. If that was the only gun available, it would be a lot better than a sharp stick, but even an old 30-30 lever gun and a single shot 12 gauge would be money better spent, IMO.

As far as any type of single-shot shotgun for a survival gun, it seems to me that shotshells are pretty heavy and bulky for the size of game they are best used on. They’re more of a “sportsman’s” weapon. A .22 rimfire (much cheaper, lighter, and more compact ammo) would be worth considering for small game use.

I guess what would make the best “survival gun” would depend on the particular circumstances you are trying to survive.

The newer ones by Savage are plastic-y and don't engender much confidence. Based on a friend's experience the ones from Chiappa benefit from a fair amount of correction but don't require anything beyond shady tree skills. There are still a few of the Russian Baikals around on FunChoker - FWIW, the 12 gauge/7.62x39 in the house is a little bit of a plank but I've enjoyed both it and one of their .22LR/.410s a lot. Neither is a takedown, but they're readily broken down into barrels, forearm and receiver/buttstock like so many double-barreled shotguns, and they don't take much time at all to reassemble.

As for circumstances, I think of the larger Baikal as a hurricane gun. When everywhere's flooded and you never know whether you'll have to deal with snakes, coyotes, rabid animals or looters, it's a kind of comforting thing to keep near the back door. It's portable and comes with sling swivels as well, but I can see wishing it were a bit lighter if I were going to carry it for any kind of distance. I haven't hunted with it, but it certainly seems accurate enough for the purpose at moderate ranges.

Grampa had a Savage over/under that I shot quite a bit as a kid. The bottom barrel was a 20 gauge and the top barrel was a .22 magnum. It broke open like an O/U shotgun, had traditional-type iron sights in order to aim the .22, and had a heavy wood stock. It was a fun gun to shoot as a kid, and I fondly recall the can plinking in the pasture. I shot my first porcupine with that gun. I believe my cousin got that Savage (dagnabbit) when grampa passed.

It was a perfect gun for the way we used it -- casual plinking, and teaching a newbie how to shoot. It is likely among the worst of bugout/survival/tin-foil-hat applications. For that application an AR-15, a Mini-14, or an AK-47 is eminently superior.

I have an old JP Sauer drilling that was my grandfather's. It looks kind of like a break-open side-by-side 12ga shotgun, except it has a .30-06 barrel below and between the shotgun barrels.

It's a reasonable gun for walking around the woods hunting when you don't know what you're going to run into and want to shoot. My grandfather used it in East Texas where ducks, dove, squirrels, deer, and pigs were sometimes all legal at the same time.

It's pretty heavy, though. It has a rear leaf sight that flips up from the rib when you move the selector to rifle.

I don't think it would make much sense in a survival situation. Hunting for food I'd want a silenced bolt action .22 and for defense I'd want a magazine-fed semiauto in a decent caliber.

Currently... Chiappa makes the Little Badger.

I thought I saw some other offering recently (not the Savage 42) , but I'm drawing a blank.


(Owner of, but as of late infrequent visitor of, The Savage24 forum) lol

For Bugout, nothing beats an AR-15. All of them already a 'takedown' model, as designed.

If you need more for small game, bring a 10/22 takedown rifle or a quality 22LR pistol.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
They seem like a better idea than they work out to be, from my experience. The ones I’ve had were made by Savage and they were heavy, clumsy shotguns and not that great of a rifle, either.

Yes, this is my opinion too. I also owned a Savage and while it was an interesting concept it never did anything particularly well.

The original Savage 24 came in a variety of caliber/gauge combos. Trouble is used ones have gotten stupid expensive.

Then they came out with the 42 (clever huh? ). Too much plastic and nowhere near the quality.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Currently... Chiappa makes the Little Badger.

I thought I saw some other offering recently (not the Savage 42) , but I'm drawing a blank.



(Owner of, but as of late infrequent visitor of, The Savage24 forum) lol

Interesting firearm, I like that you cane get a 22lr/20ga combo....the 22mag hits harder but costs allot more.

review here
http://rockymountainbushcraft....a-double-badger.html

I just threw an old Savage .20 gauge/.22LR in the ocean. It was clumsy and not too heavy as a rifle, but heavy to carry in a backpack. It was a 3 piece gun, the receiver, barrel, and forearm were the 3 pieces. It would do the job if you needed it to and .20 gauge is stout enough if you use 4 buck or better or slugs and .22 LR could be used for hunting small game if you needed to eat. The owner put it on the yacht I brought back from the Panama canal to the U.S. for safety as we were going to San Andres, Colombia, along the shore of Nicuragua and Honduras and Belize. I tossed it right before we got to Cancun as bringing a gun into Cancun on a yacht will land you in jail for a very long time and no worry of piracy from there to the U.S. We had plans to shoot off all of the 4 buck we had through it before tossing it overboard, but never got around to it.