In the 1980’s hard times had come my way. I was going through a divorce and had recently lost my job. I decided for the time being I would camp out on some public land until I was able to come up with a better long term living solution. Before heading out, I stopped at Walmart to purchase some supplies with the little money I had.
I purchased a tarp, twine, a wool blanket, rice, beans, tea along with some other various supplies I thought I might need. I also decided to pick up an air rifle, a Crosman 2100 to be exact, along with a tin of pellets and a container of six thousand BBs.
I figured with my money situation being tight and with most of it going towards fuel as I continued to look for a new job, I would possibly be able to bag some small game and help supply me with food. As it turns out the purchase of this air rifle would turn out to be one of the most important purchases I would make that day.
For the first couple of weeks I camped out next to a small spring. I believe this was one of the few water sources for miles in this area. Every morning, this spring would be frequented by all of the wildlife in the area. Doves, quail, rabbits, along with many other animals would gather at the spring. While plinking with my air rifle the first evening, a group of birds started to make their way towards the water. I began to move slowly towards the watering hole. Once I got there I positioned myself and waited for their arrival.
Finally they made their way to the watering hole and out into the open. I was able to pick to of them off with only six pumps of power. This makes the air rifle much quieter than the maximum 10 pumps that the rifle could handle. That night the feast was on. From then on my air rifle was on me wherever I went. Over the summer months it became my standard operating procedure to scout an area for small game while out checking various snares and deadfalls I had set up.
In a survival situation, you will eat things you normal never would. Night time was an excellent time to hunt for frogs. As they sat on the bank, I could get very close to them by shining my flashlight in there eye. I would get close enough I could put a BB through their head. One a good night I could get half a dozen or more sizable frogs.
Squirrels could be found up in the trees in the early morning right after sunrise. The occasional raccoon could also be spotted resting on the branches. Rabbits were my favorite, but they required more skill to bag. Turkeys were great too when they could be found. I was not picky though. I ate what I could find.
My air rifle put at least seventy percent of the meat over my fire those summer months. Eventually I was able to secure a job and was able to secure housing and move off of the public land. My air rifle was indispensable to me that summer and proved to be a valuable tool when I was most desperate.
For those out there who want to plan for hard times, I want to leave you with the lessons I learned from my time surviving with an air rifle.
My Crosman 2100 never failed me and it went through hell that summer. I went through over half of the the six thousand BB’s in that container over that summer. I would guess I averaged 6 pumps per shot. That comes out about eighteen-thousand pumps. I was sure to oil my seals at least one time a week. This same gun has over seventy-thousand rounds through it now and it still performs flawlessly. If I ever had to do it again, it would still be my gun of choice.
I found that after five hundred shots or so I was no longer consciously using my sights within 25 yards. This is where about ninety-five percent of my game was bagged. Hunting became so natural to me, it had to!
When it came to handling the air rifle, this was where this particular rifle really shined. The rifle came in at under 5 pounds with a couple hundred BB’s loaded in the hopper. It was a joy to tout around. The gun was well designed and pumping it was incredibly intuitive.
While I share this information for the purposes of survival, you should always read your state laws before hunting with your air rifle. I was in a desperate time and desperate times call for desperate measures. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, you know that stuff goes out the window. With all this said, here’s what you need to know.
I was effectively able to take turkeys out to twenty-five yards. I used 10 pumps and head shots only. Raccoons and skunks could be taken with ten pumps out to ten yards, head shots only. Squirrels could be taken out to twenty-five yards with ten pumps and head shots. Frogs only required four pumps and head shots.
Where this rifle really shines is with birds. Birds do not require as much power to take down. Having the ability to vary your pumps can make this rifle much quieter. I was also able to bag some big lizards and some large grasshoppers with three to four pumps. The BB’s do almost no damage to the meat either regardless of where the animal is hit.
Many times I hunted near campgrounds without raising an eyebrow. Most often, if you missed on your first shot, you could usually get in a second without anyone even noticing you were around.
After returning to the field and switching back to my 10/22’s and my AR-15’s, I noticed my shooting skills had become quiet honed. Shouldering the weapon, trigger control, breathing control and obtaining an instinctive site picture were ingrained in my muscle memory.
If you are looking for advice on an air rifle that’s right for you, here is my opinion. In a survival situation I would not want a single stroke weapon for several reasons.These reasons include excessive power and report. They also have excessive weight and are limited to pellets only. I mostly shot BB’s which are much cheaper and readily available and are plenty capable of bring down smaller game. Pellets were used for the larger game. I am also not sure how one would go about servicing this type of weapon in the field. Rifles that use CO2 would be a definite no because of their need for cartridges. I think a good pump air rifle is the best option in my opinion for a long term survival situation in the field.
The Crosman 2100 air rifle is my favorite air rifle. I keep an extra set of seals in the butt stock of the gun incase they ever wear out. There are a couple of negatives to note though. The first being the higher your altitude or the colder the temperature, the more pumps are required to get up to the same velocity. For example, my gun required two extra pumps in the morning to make up the difference compared to the middle day. Take the time to learn your guns quirks. That goes for any weapon though.
BB’s were my preferred ammo due to cost and availability. With BB’s I could generally shoot a one inch group at twenty-five yards. This was after shooting on a daily basis. Pellets would give me much more accuracy, especially out to fifty yards. The penetration would also be much greater, which is required for the big game. Crow magnums are my preferred pellet. I was able to bag several jack rabbits with head shots out to fifty yards.
It’s also worth mentioning that the general public and law enforcement officers pay almost no attention to an individual with a BB gun. Of course this was back in the 1980’s before all of the gun hysteria we see today.
When living out on public land, most people complain that the rangers and the law enforcement officers get on them about camp fires, especially out here in the western United States. I made a practice to keep my fire small and in a scout pit. The fire would be extinguished immediately after use. I lived as if I were trapped behind enemy lines, a good practice for an actual survival situation. I hope this information is helpful to anyone reading.
For anyone looking from some insurance in the event of a future disaster, an air rifle is an excellent tool to have on hand. Pellets and BB’s are cheap and can be stored forever in a small space. Air guns can also be very quiet, especially good in an urban environment. They offer the power needed to taken down small game and can put some food on the table if needed.