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The idea of a “Survival Rifle” is nothing new. In fact one of the first survival rifles to be issued by the US military was the “M4 Survival Rifle”, produced in 1949 after WWII. This was a bolt action 22 hornet with a 4 round magazine. It had a 14 inch detachable barrel and a telescoping wire stock. This gun was not intended for combat, but rather as a survival weapon for downed aircrew to forage wild game for food.
During the 1950s, the M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon supplanted the M4 Survival Rifle.
This was a double barrel rifle chambered in 22 hornet and 410. This 14” barrel combination gun had a large trigger lever so as to be used with cold weather gloves. This was important given the area of operation for pilots during the Cold War. This survival gun design is still popular today.
The M4 and M6 were intended to be replaced by the ArmaLite AR-5, a 5-shot bolt action 22 hornet.
The AR-5 was adopted, but soon cancelled along with the cancellation of the XB-70 fleet it was intended to be issued to. Armalite had made a name for itself though, and in 1959 the U.S. Air Force adopted the “ArmaLite AR-7 Explorer” as a pilot and aircrew survival weapon. The AR-7 was a takedown semiautomatic 22LR developed from the AR-5.
Marlin Papoose: A Modern "classic" Survival Gun
The Marlin 70P tkaedown breaks down into a compact arrange
High velocity, Standard and subsonic, the Papoose runs them all without any issues
Sometimes still called a survival rifle or bug out rifle, in the civilian world these would be more accurately described today as takedown utility rifle; meaning a handy, light weight and compact rifle that once assembled can be used for a number or roles from hunting to plinking or pest control, just to mention some. They make a great choice for a pilot that may end up stranded in the wild, both civilian and military, but also for truck drivers, park rangers or to keep in a boat as well as hikers that want to carry as light a rifle as possible.
The Marlin Papoose 70P is one of the most popular guns in this category. Based on the Marlin 60/65, at a time the most prolific 22LR carbine in the world.
The gun isnt just light and portable, but also just a good reliable 22LR. As a “work gun”, meaning dispatching animals, shooting predators, taking care of pests and even sending some poachers away, the gun is very well suited for all of that, all while also being a takedown gun.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”
3 comments:
I have both the Papoose and the AR-7. Both are good rifles.
The Papooses is flatter, and fits better under the seat of my car. The AR-7 (charter arms version) fits better in the truck. Both are easy and quick to assemble.
The Papooses has a case that is (legally) lockable, as the zippers can be zipped together, making it a "cased and locked" firearm if one has to go to other states where the rules may be different.
I have found that the Papoose is slightly more accurate.
YMMV
Nice little take-down, I need to get one of those. I have one of the now discontinued Marlin Midget Magnums, a take-down bolt .22 Magnum. The action is easily removed from the stock, the barrel does not come off the receiver.
I had an M6 that somebody had added a wood stock to that I used to shoot rabbits with,but 22 hornet ammo became scarece as hen's teeth.I still have an AR-7 which was cool because when taken down it could float. They were both astoundingly accurate at short ranges. The biggest criticism I have of the AR-7 is that it has a polymer barrel with a steel steeve bore, and the fittings for the barrel to the reciever wore out very quickly. I was probably using it a lot heavier than intended, but still, the plastic barrel fitting wore out incredibky quick. Its still functional, but for long term use it kinda fails. (granted, it wasnt designed with long term use in mind).
I'd still be shooting the M6 if ammo wasnt as hard to find as unicorn shit.
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