OK so, I did a lot of thinking about a supposed best survivalist weapon. I figured for this post I would do more of a pros & cons/talking type list to make sure I get all the info without the boring.

The first weapon I would like to propose is the Glock 17L (L is for longs lide). This might sound ridiculous but hear me out on this one. First and foremost it’s a 9mm semi automatic pistol that holds 17 rounds. I’ll go right into the things that appeal most to me about this gun then the downsides and maybe a little hypothetical at the end.

PROS
1. Weight and size. All together it weighs in at like 24oz (670g). That’s light and it’s mostly do to the fact that a lot of the gun is made of high strength polymer i.e. plastic and yes the “I don’t trust plastic guns people” are slowly fading away. Weight is important. The fact that you can put the gun fully loaded on your belt and walk around all day with it is a superb bonus not to mention it’s not in the way. The fact that it’s small enough to hide easily in a back pack or under a loose jacket/vest or even a shirt or pant is even better. It’s not super concealable like some small guns but it’s probably the smallest gun I one could still consider adequate self defense. This may be more or less important depending on the situation. For example, if your trying to appear non-threatening or trying to not let on you have a weapon i.e. You can’t do that with a giant assault rifle on your back.

2. Reliability It’s a Glock, people have laid claims to shooting over 100,000 rounds through them without replacing major parts. The thing was designed well. No it’s not like an AK-47 but yes it will work through the extremes if well attended. Anyone who claims you can pour dirt into the barrel and so and so forth is half full of it anyways. Even if you could why would you not clean/clear you gun before firing? Even if a gun did fire with dirt in the chamber or barrel it would still eventually wear it or ruin it over time if not right away.

3. Efficiency This is probably the last strong point and I think grossly overlooked by many in terms of quality for value. I think the word efficiency get’s a bad rap especially when it comes to guns. To start with 9×19 or 9mm rounds are very cheap not to mention you can find them almost anywhere on the planet where bullets can be found. They were meant to be fired out a semi auto gun as well as have been around for quite some time (over 100years). No it’s not renown as the “crazed native stopper” but yes… it is deemed effective by our military. So it doesn’t have the knock down power of a .45 but usually it holds around twice the capacity, this is called a trade off. And yes smaller rounds have their advantages such as lower recoil which means quicker shots, less noise and generally a more manageable weapon for smaller folks. Anyone who does not take into consideration shooting a .45 can be cumbersome to the shooter is either a pro shooter or full of man ego.

Also the gun is fairly priced. Around $600.00 new which is about the same as many other military/law enforcement type guns in this category. The beauty of the long slide is it’s almost the same as it’s shorter counter part. Just go to an online auction site if your local dealer gives you the “you can’t find it anywhere schpeel” and no you don’t really need an add-on. Personally, I dislike laser sites but highly recommend a tactical light. Don’t cheap out on the light either. A good light will make your pistol a universally effective weapon. This can all be done with a comparable budget to most things. Even a good sword or crossbow is going to run you $300+ only that Glock is probably 100 times more deadly if properly used. Also the ammo is cheap too. You can pick up 1000 rounds of ammo online for less then $100.00. And going back to the knock down power issue. Accuracy is the first factor then size/power. Who is going to be more deadly accurate the person who shot a 1000 rounds through their weapon cause it’s cheap or the person who shoots 100 and then saves the rest of their ammo cause it’s expensive? Price out .44 magnum costs. They’re not cheap. Try and find a 10mm round, good luck!

4. Capacity It holds 17 rounds or 19 if you ad the extension and yes you can buy a 30 round magazine for it too. This is superb. It also speaks to the plausibility of a survival concept. If you have to fire more than 17 rounds you probably should have been long gone by then. Not to say that this is always an option so if it isn’t you should still find a 30 round magazine or an extra 17 round magazine adequate as an extra magazine can be.

5. Accuracy This is where the strengths can also be considered weaknesses in other words a conundrum. Also why I suggest a long slide instead of regular Glock 17. For a out of the box handgun it’s superbly accurate. But compared to thousands of other guns it’s lacking. Usually the effective range for a hand gun is around 45yds tops in the military or 15yds if your talking practical self defense. I think with practice you can put a Glock 17L out further than 60yds. How much further would depend on the target. But really it’s not at all a long range weapon. So yes it’s accurate for what it is but no it’s not ideal for longer ranges. That being said it will be quite effective at closer ranges and for very close ranges I would say ideal.

6. Overall plausibility The over all plausibility could also depend on a whole slew of factors whether it be availability or the application in which the weapon would need to be used. I know that you could kill a deer with it if you had to even a bear (yes a bear) but really by no means is it practical for that. So really it depends and yes you would have to consider what type of options you really would have in a survival type situation as the circumstances would vary. I think the fact that it could be so easily carried is probably the first and foremost logic behind having one.

I have considered using it for hunting as the 6″ barrel and center fire round makes it legal in Wisconsin to hunt deer with it. However, I think that I would be restricted to more of a bow and arrow range and definitely wouldn’t have make sure the shot would be in a vital area. Also, not sure how other hunters would feel about it as some might consider using a 9mm inhuman if you didn’t quickly kill the game. Although if I had a dollar every time someone shot a deer with a high power rifle and it ran away, I’d still be poor, but at least it’d pay for the ammo. Perhaps the gun would also be a better compliment to a larger weapon system in survival circumstances. As in the glock is the gun you always have with you and you can rely on something else for bigger problems.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
1) Another good option for a survival weapon would be the bigger brother to the Glock 17L is the Glock 24 the first thing better than a Glock 9mm is a Glock 40 cal. pistol. And yes follow the link it has been used to kill a Kodiak brown bear. This is a just like the regular glock 40 caliber but like the 17L it has an extra long barrel for more accuracy. Also, 40 caliber rounds are still in the cheaper price range. They are consider more effective at penetration than 45 and 9mm calibers. More powerful than a 9mm less cumbersome than a 45 to shoot. The bullet still has significant knock down power and a high velocity and a readily available supply of ammunition at least in the us.

2) Another suggestion for the pistol would be to make either a temporary shoulder stock and/or lanyard to more accurately aim your shots. I would confidently say that these two items can/will easily put either a Glock 17L or Glock 24 out to 100 yard effective ranges. Simply being able to hold the gun steady is sometimes the hardest part about long range shooting. A 9mm will most definitely go that far with a loss of power I wouldn’t go shooting large or dangerous game with it but it won’t drop nearly as much as a .45 which is a much slower moving bullet. The 9mm relies on it’s higher velocity to make the smaller bullet effective and means it’s trajectory is flatter i.e. it drops less over the same distance/time. Also, I say a temporary stock because adding a stock to your pistol could make it illegal (class 3 without a license) and harder to carry. So something that could be used to hold the pistol steady and against your should allowing you to precisely aim with the sites that could easily be taken off would be ideal. I am working on making a stock that slides in the back space of the gun handle and wedges secure with a chunk of rubber. That way it’s more of a shooting stick against your should as apposed to an actual stock.

There are many circumstances that could be considered a survival situation or a survival challenge. Most are inspired by stories either passed on by word of mouth much like urban legends or great tails of adventure and many published by books. However, in our modern world adventure or survival situations are inspired many through movies and television. Despite the best efforts of actors and directors and movie makers as well as the audience to subdue themselves with the craftiness of a true survivor individual it seems in a lot of ways, to fall short of the real experience. For some people, watching the tube is enough but for the rest……

I would for the sake of understanding my concept classify survivalists, survival-ism, survivors for the sake of this article into several different categories with no personal offense or judgment meant to any. The classifications are purely an unbiased observation of the respectful circumstances these categories encompass. This classification defines the motivations behind why one would want to practice or partake in survivalist activity.

1) Enthusiasm: If you’re like me and have spent tons of time outdoors then you will realize that it is quite relaxing and fun to spend more time doing what you love. Any excuse to get out of the house or test your craftiness in the woods is a good time. This enthusiasm comes from wanted to spend as much time as you can in nature and our natural environment.

2) Curiosity: Many people want to test themselves it’s really that simple. Especially since these types of scenarios whether they be real or fake show up on TV all the time. It’s a bit more of a competitive attribute but as long as it’s done in good sport no need to fret.

3) The unplanned and/or disaster: This is without a doubt one of the strongest and most logically demanding reasons for survival ism although the most difficult to plan for. To be prepared for a disaster is like saying I’m going to be prepared for the rest of my life. It’s very vague and you can spend all your time training to do something and never need to use it and then something can go wrong and you won’t be prepared for that specific situation. But nonetheless. Perhaps this motivation would convince people to realize their mind as their strongest tool.

4) The conspiracy theory: Justify the need and/or logic of being able to survive off of the land and/or their own self sufficient manner in/or out of society because the government as a whole and/or our society cannot be trusted to either fulfill those needs or will disregard our civil rights for other reasons such as war and greed. Although history has proven these scenarios as possible it is kind of hard to predict exactly what could actually go wrong or what wouldn’t in our society today and how to deal with it properly. I think at any given time our society is on the verge of great disaster and/or great accomplishment as whole. Although I would validate this concern simply because it cannot be ruled out just as well….. in most cases it’s a harmless logic to be prepared assuming that being preparedness does not dwell in paranoia or irrational action.

The Survivalist Challenge, A test of survival skills in the wild. Most people think of surviving as something they do everyday some people associate it with great struggles or a means of testing ones willingness to endure. For most though it would probably be associated with adventure movies or drama packed reality TV. For the sake of this blog and it’s contents. We would like to keep it real. It’s easy to get caught up in what the Television portrays as a survival situation but you have to remember that most of TV is about the hype. They would rather sell you adventure with no authenticity and a lot of excitement than reality and boring facts that might actually save your life (despite the fact that it is called reality TV). To keep a truly authentic situation you would need to skip past the theatrics and head to the heart of what our concept of a survival situation is. So, what exactly would make an excellent survivalist challenge?

Their is no good way to simulate an actual survival situation so you’re just going to have to suspend your disbelief. Why, because the idea in the first place of a survival situation is rooted in the idea that a person must overcome a set of circumstances or face immanent danger. How could you simulate this without violating/jeopardizing your own personal safety or the personal safety of others? For example, to simulate a plain crash in a remote area you would have to beat someone up then drag them behind a motor boat for an hour and dump them off in the middle of a remote lake? Obviously these circumstances are not except able. However, there are many ways to practice these situations without putting yourself in danger.

The method that I came up with for developing a survivalist scenario requires a five step planning process.

1) Develop a scenario: be it Hollywood based or your own invention of a survival situation. Describe the event in detail but be sure not to make it too complex. Also, you may want to keep in mind the individual or “survivee” has to survive at the end of this adventure. Something for starters could be surviving a snow storm like Luke Skywalker did in Star Wars.

2) Realize the obstacles: Make a list of obstacles that the individual will have to overcome in order to survive their situation. Be detailed and describe acceptable results of the situation/s being completed. Like what the person would have had to have done to complete the scenarios previously developed. Think of them as goals. For example: “survived a snow storm” is too vague but “spent the night outside in -10 degree weather with only a knife and a blanket” is better. Good would be “outside from 9:00pm-9:00am the next morning in, -10C degree weather moderate snow fall, winter clothes on with a blanket and a knife,”

3) Quantize the goals: Distinguish between ascertainable goals and highly achievable goals. Get rid of anything that is impossible in respect to human limitations as well as legality as well as get rid of anything that’s too easy. Take what you have left and put a numerical value and/or parameters to it. You need something you can measure. So as in the “survived a snow storm” scenario. You could make a stipulation that a person must stay X amount of time in Y amount of temperature with Z equipment. Obviously you don’t want to make it too easy thus negating the survivees ingenuity as well as eliminating any amount of adventure out of the situation.

4) Methods of simulation: Think of way that you could simulate each situation with the resources available to you. Remember this is a controlled simulation, you must make sure that what you are doing is safe. There are a lot of easy ways to do this. It will be important to practice a lot of common sense. Since you cannot accurately depict a survival situation why jeopardize yourself attempting too. Controlled means planned. So for each goal you must provide an alternate and fail safe plan/solution should the survival situations and/or scenarios not work out. This means if you someone intends to stay out all night in -10C snow storm they will need to have immediate access to safety (i.e. a warm house, emergency phone, etc…) as well as assistants checking to make sure this person does not push themselves to far and hurt themselves and/or accidentally injure themselves. It requires a lot common sense on the part of the survivee and the assistants. If you don’t know then don’t do it.

5) DO IT: Find a group of willing participants and do it!