​Best survival rifles: the Savage Rascal

Why is the 22LR so revered? Why is it the most popular round? Why, if it's so ineffectual, are more people killed by the 22LR round than any other. Why is .22 (okay, sorry, .223) the primary dimension for our uniformed services’ ammunition? And if all those are true, why is it so derided by the caliber snobs? Are those caliber snobs the same people who buy behemoth pickup trucks but never swing a tool? Possibly. There are people who think size matters, and to some extent they’re correct, but it’s also what you do with it that counts (to misuse a cliche). 

One thing I know is that a 22LR rifle would be the weapon of choice if it was an all-out, everyone to themself test of survival because the number of bullets you can carry and the accuracy with which you can shoot them would determine the duration of your stay on this planet. There’s a very good booklet written by DD MCWolfe called THE ACE HANDBILL: THE HERMIT'S GUIDE TO SECRET FOREST LIVING IN THE TECHNOLOGICAL ERA, which outlines the best possible set of tactics for surviving unnoticed in a forest wilderness. He writes primarily from the standpoint of being a hermit, or a fugitive from modernity, but it’s application is equally well suited to those who subscribe to a pending zombie apocalypse. McWolfe argues that evasion is the first law of survival and that a 22 should be used only for food procurement, and ideally suppressed utilizing the one-shot-one-kill mantra. For self defense against larger predators (or zombies) he prescribes a large caliber pistol or pistol-grip shotgun used at very close range when your threat has literally discovered you hiding in the undergrowth as opposed to shooting over long distances and thereby drawing unwanted attention. I may not be doing it justice but it makes perfect sense when read.

The Savage Rascal fits the McWolfe bill for a food procurement tool. It’s mandatory single shot (no magazine) means you’re less likely to hastily discharge a second round at a missed target and thereby draw focus: a single unexpected gunshot is very hard to pinpoint among echoing hills, but a second shot will allow a person to triangulate and identify your whereabouts. The Rascal has excellent little peep sights that can be even finer tuned by a .040 aperture from Skinner (email Andy Larsson andy@skinnersights.com) and is very light at 3lbs (especially with the plastic stock) and short enough to shove in a backpack. It also wouldn’t take much to craft a folding stock for this sweet little rifle. The Accutrigger provides trigger precision (2.5lbs pull) normally only available on larger adult rifles and Savage has tapped good accuracy into this youth rifle’s spout. If you want it threaded you can contact Justin Gaunder at info@class3designs.com; he’ll fabricate a special adapter (the barrel is borderline too small at the muzzle end to tap a proper bore concentric thread) with thread protector and fit it to your barrel for $135 shipped.

So there you have it. Quit thinking of your kid’s trainer as a throwaway or stopgap to an adult rifle and start thinking of the Rascal as pretty much the only 22LR he/she’ll ever need, and one they could trust their survival to. GOM