5 Types of Survival Weapons: Pros and Cons of Each

If you are an enthusiast for outdoor activities like hunting, hiking, camping, and bushcraft, then you are likely familiar with the importance of being equipped with the right survival kit.

An essential part of the list of things you need for your outdoor activities is survival weapons. These are defensive tools (or equipment) that you could need in emergencies (bear attacks being an example).

Guns and rifles are not very user-friendly as they require skill and practice. They also have lots of legal issues associated. So, this article will discuss a variety of survival weapons you might be interested in.

Advantages of Investing in Quality Gear

Quality gear can come in handy on several occasions. Before you go ahead and decide which weapon or gear you need to invest in, lets first see how beneficial they are:

Reliable Back Up

Good quality gear will ensure quality performance, security, but most importantly, it will ensure that you have a reliable backup to fall on.

The outdoors, unexpected weather conditions, accidents, and various other factors can sometimes affect your primary set of equipment. Therefore, in such cases, reliable-quality survival gear can come into play to help you out.

Safety Assured

The most crucial benefit of survival gear, as the name suggests, is that it ensures survival. Out in nature, you can’t predict what might come your way.

Therefore, with quality, durable, and reliable survival gear, you can assure yourself of safety and security. Whether it is an animal attack or a natural disaster, you can always put your gear to good.

Upgrade to Pro-level

Complete equipment set-up can help you be ready for it all! Survival tools have a lot of variety. The better the brand, the better the performance.

So, why not use them to upgrade your level, too? Good quality gear will help you level up in your survival skills and even help give rise to a far better experience during your next adventure.

Types of Survival Weapons

Moving on to an essential section of this article, let’s take a detailed look at the various kinds of survival weapons you can find commonly available in the market. All these types stand out from one another and have different pros and cons. Go over them all to decide for yourself which type is the most suitable for you!

1. Tactical Shotgun

Tactical shotguns, when it comes to their definition, have a lot going on for them. How can you define a tactical shotgun?

Well, a simple and most general description of a tactical shotgun is that it’s a full-sized semi-auto shotgun that is widely used in police and military operations. It is one of the favorite and most widely used survival weapons by professional hunters.

A typical tactical shotgun features a barrel measuring up to 18″ and 20″ in length. Shotguns are mostly used for covering shorter ranges.

A standard shotgun is known to hold up to 2 to 6 rounds (the capacity of rounds varies depending on the model). The Remington 870 is a popular manual shotgun you can find in the market.

2. Tactical Crossbow

If you want to know what a silent killer looks like, a tactical crossbow is a perfect answer. Tactical crossbows are every hunter’s favorite tool as they are precise, professional, and highly effective.

They are stiff, sturdy, and have great power. These are widely used for hunting deer and fast animals, as they are so precise in performance.

A functional, durable, and well-built crossbow should weigh about 80 lbs. They require lots of practice if you want to be an accurate shot.

But once you get the hang of them, they are highly beneficial! Most crossbows also come with metal arrows.

3. Kukri Knife

The kukri knife originates from the Indian Subcontinent, particularly Nepal. It features a distinctive curved blade that sets it apart from other usual tactical knives.

These types of knives were first introduced in the early 1800s and have been a hunter’s favorite ever since. Knives are essential during your outdoor activities.

For camping, you might need such knives for cutting ropes or for food preparation as well. While hunting, you might need a sharp curved blade to kill an attacking animal.

Since the very beginning, kukri knives have been used as both weapons and as tools. There are two main kinds of kukri knives, which vary in terms of the thickness and shape of their blade.

These two kinds are Western Kukris (with broad blades) and Eastern kukris (with thinner blades).

4. Bow

At this point, you must be wondering how a bow and a crossbow differ from one another when it comes to usage. Well, the key difference between the two is the difficulty of use.

Crossbows are easier to learn and use, while traditional survival bows take some time to perfect the skill. Other than that, a traditional bow is also faster in loading and reloading.

Moreover, a bow has a longer draw length, which also further increases its power and efficiency. For these reasons, many people choose to go with traditional survival bows than crossbows.

Bows are also held vertically, while crossbows are held horizontally.

5. Ruger 10/22 Rifle

Ruger 10/22 is a series of high-quality, highly popular rifles in the market. Their factory version of magazines is so outstanding that you might not need aftermarket ones.

They are manufactured by an American brand called Sturm, Ruger, and Co. The 10/22 are semi-automatic rifles, and the benefit of using these as survivalist weapons is that they are built in America and have high-quality parts that are each assembled with lots of care.

Such a quality build of the 10/22 makes them a reliable and durable option. A lot of the variations in the 10/22 rifle series also have an impact-resistant built quality that ensures safe and dependable use in all kinds of environments and situations.

How to Choose a Great Survival Weapon

You might now think that you have finally chosen the perfect survival weapon for yourself, but here’s the last step.

You need to ensure that all the features (discussed below) are present in the survival weapon you have chosen to buy or are thinking of buying.

Accuracy

This is the foremost vital factor to consider. An accurate weapon will not only ensure high performance but also guarantee safety. Accuracy is essential in a weapon.

It needs to help with accuracy when you’re in a rush. Therefore, if you are going to invest in a weapon, make sure that it’s highly accurate and precise so you can depend on it when the time comes.

Easy to Learn

It’s essential to learn how to use survival weapons. But don’t spend too much time on it.

This means if you think learning a hunting bow is going to take a lot of time, especially when the hunting date is close, then don’t opt for it.

Using a hunting bow when you aren’t experienced with it, will increase the chances of injury.

Easy to Pack

As an outdoorsman, you need to make sure that the weapon you are buying is either easy to pack or easy to carry.

For a rifle or a heavy weighted crossbow, you might need to reconsider as they can be challenging to move around. This is especially important if you are an on-the-go hunter or camper.

Maintenance

See how much maintenance the survival weapon is going to need. Are you ready to meet the maintenance requirements?

Not maintain your survival weapon properly can lead to it not functioning properly when you need it during a hunting or camping trip.

Conclusion

What did you think of this list on survival weapons? Being outside (hunting, camping, etc.) opens doors to various dangerous factors and you should be ready to stay safe.

There are numerous survival weapons you can opt for depending on your skill level and preferences.

Again, make sure you opt for a reliable weapon you can effectively use during your next hunting or camping trip.