Survival Homestead

Practical survival rifles must be able to fire 22lr

There are a lot more small critters than large ones, and often, you are in no position to be able to preserve the meat of a large critter. Until about 35 years ago, you had to choose between having only a .22 rifle, or only a centerfire. Then Atchisson invented the .22lr conversion unit for the AR-15 223 autorifle, and since then, you have been able to have both a 200 yd deer rifle and a small game .22lr. The unit is currently sold by Ciener Firearms, and as of 2010, the price was $150. It weighs 3/4 lb, groups 2" or better at 50 yds, the caliber swap takes 20 seconds, and the point of impact of the .22 bullets will be within 2" of the POI of the 223's, at 50 yds. This is quite adequate for small game hunting, and a lot more than adequate for teaching novices or snapshooting practice for adults.


Every modification that you make to the AR-15, (scope, silencer, night vision, light, triggerjob, folding stock, ambi-safety) is automatically made to teh .22 unit as well. That single feature can save you thousands of $. With the .22 for small game, you can skip the shotgun, saving you another $100 in ammo and gun. Animals all stop flying or running sooner or later. Calling in every enemy within 2 miles, and only having a shotgun is a really bad idea, if shtf. It's not feasible to carry two longarms, or a bow and a rifle. Under stress, an iron sighted .22 pistol has nothing like the effective range (on small game). Optical sights make the handgun impractical in several ways; battery dependence for one, slow acquisition of targets for another, and holstering problems for another. The short barrel also hurts your impact power and penetration. Practice with the shotgun doesn't help your rifle skills. Ditto pistol practice. 22 unit rifle practice will help such skill. So the 22 unit is a great deal.