Best weapon available without a firearm license?

reply to post by LLoyd45


Leaf-suspension springs can be remade into a very durable edged blade

Blacksmith Knife Tutorial

How To Make a War Sword

Spears can be made from a long stave and a piece of tin can folded to an arrow head shape. I assume with all the canned rations going around that such a weapon would be in huge supply. can also be used in arrow heads to give a good piercing capability.

for ranged weapons i would say bows. recurve bows are rather simple to fashion, although they wont last long unless the wood is aged. then again, just make loads of them.

reply to post by angryamerican


I started to dismiss your weapons call. But I couldn't. It was thought through and the best call. Your brain and a bow, perfect.

Very nice post man.

Firearm wise.. buy a can of compressed air and turn it upside down Now you got yourself an ice gun, its good for about 5 feet.

nail gun, dont need heavy modification to make it long range

BB guns arnt terrible if you modify them with a stronger CO2 Cartridge

you could always use a military form Longbow/Recurve (they have scopes and such, military form isnt supposed to mean from the military)

Close range... an axe. Straight up an axe, multi uses outside of stabbing and you can use it with a lot
Average knife, your going to need one

The best weapon I can think of is thermite, and thats easy to make... hard to control (ok not best just strongest)

Second best would be Napalm, its controllable if used correctly and burns rather good, can be launched long distances and can be used in close range(dont hurt yourself now ) and all you need is an igniter.

Third would be a good dog, nothing more reliable but at the same time, it could be heart breaking if you lost him/her and it was your fault, or if they got sick and you had to put them down.

Just my 2 cents (I have more if you'd like)

I'm at work so I havent had time to read all the posts. That being said sorry if my idea has already been mentioned. As long as the situation is correct frozen paintballs fired from a paintball gun can be very lethal and painfully. Not sure it would be usefull for hunting, but in a last ditch effort to defend yourself it may be usefull.

Going with the paintball gun one could try other things such as marbles. rocks, steel. Really anything round that can fit in the barrel would work. paintballs in general hurt, so I imagine a frozen one would kill....literally.

hiLB3rt

Bows may not be the best option if you are thinking of making your own. Yes, with a little knowledge and skill we can all make bows, but how effective would they be? How hard would the arrow hit the target? If we are talking about a bow for hunting and defense, then we have to remember that we are looking for deep penetration which is harder to achieve on a homemeade bow. At close range, maybe but not at long range. I would suggest getting a good commercial made bow. They will last longer than a homemade bow. Your bow will also get wet. Through use of a homemade bow, your clear coat will wear away and allow water to soak into the bow causing weak points which will cause your bow to snap. Commercial bows are made out of metal which would stand up to nature longer than a wooden bow.

Get a commercially made bow, learn to make a bow and practice, but plan not to have to use it unless you loss your bought one and have no other choice. Spear would be preferred over a homemade bow. You can easily create one almost anywhere. Learn to trap. Better idea than relying on your skills as a hunter in which most of us have little experience in. At least if you learn to trap you increase your chances of catching food.

Just some food for thought guys and gals.

reply to post by ultralo1


Well said ...and totally realistic..

Regards weapons ...I train with a small and large horsebow..the little one is a grozer scythian 50# and really packs a punch a Kassia bear70#
The wife has compound pistol crossbow ( she will watch my back )plus there is a high tech catapult with quarter inch ball bearings for ammo in the rucksack!!

All legal in the UK..

And all will pack in the car ...if we manage to get away..

I think if anyone is serious about survival it should be one thing that they should learn to make and use!!...a very effective weapon I think!!

Sit X will be no holiday....there will be people that will take what you have if you have no means of defence!!



A bit of knowledge about the bow and how to make and use one

Originally posted by MichaelMyers

They have airguns that shoot at 1,600fps now, and with Gamo's new pellet, you can kill wild boar, deer, etc with a headshot.

Pellets are inherently unstable over 1100 fps. Once they pass the speed of sound, they tumble, and due to their light weight, will go off course. Most of the higher velocities cited on manufacturers goods are produced by useing very lightweight alloy pellets instead of lead.
I have an air rifle here that will go 1200fps with alloy pellets, and trust me, you wouldn't anything over 30 yards with it, never mind a precision death shot. If I use sub-sonic lead pellets, I can get good, consistent grouping WITH GOOD pellets. Cheaper pellets give a much larger grouping. Some are almost as bad as the alloy pellets (GAMO, anyone?).
Windage and distance are huge factors with pellets.
.22 is better than .177 for hunting, but the increased weight gives reduced velocity. Usually with air rifles, you are looking at accuracy as opposed to kinetic delivery to kill a quarry. From my experience, hollow point and round heads seem to be more accurate that pointed pellets or flat heads.
A good air rifle, or even over 360fps air pistol will bag you a lot of edibles.
An air rifle could be used as a defensive weapon if you can aim to the face or throat.
Cheap or old air rifles can be re-sprung, if you have a business nearby that uses hydrolic compressin machinery. You can buy excelelnt springs as replacements. The problem is compressing them into the rifle. Pistol springs can also be replaced, but their tollerances are much less than air rifles.
Pheasibly, you could probablt get 2000-3000 fps out of a rifle. You are probably looking at up to 100lbs of pressure to cock it, though, and accuracy wouldn't be anything to write home about, but as a defensive against large creatures and people, it would produce excellent results at close to mid quarters. Again, spring swapping would eventually give rise to fatigue in the metals.
I would also figure that some sort of toxin or poison could administered via a hollow point pellet, as the resistance from the air would keep it in place. I really don't know about toxins or poisons, but it's a thought. Snake poison, perhaps? Would be very usefull against larger game. Not very practical though. And you'd have to track it. More than likely you would have to track any large game shot with a pellet. More than likely, you would need multiple shots, anyway.

FYI, supersonic (over 1100fps) pellets make a lot more noise than sub-sonic. Something to consider when hunting scitterish 'meals'.

[edit on 31-5-2008 by cruzion]

I would have to go on knoweldge as a best weapon. Knowing how to use the resources availible at any given time could prove to be life saving

I vote for Pellet gun as well. The above poster is correct about supersonic pellet guns. You really don't want one above 1000fps if you plan to have any accuracy.

I have these:
Rifle:
Beeman SS1000T (I bought mine from pyramydair.com but here is a pic):
www.airgunwarehouseinc.com...
This rifle comes with a case, a scope, and 2 barrels. Shoots .177 at 1000fps and .22 at 850fps
With the barrel detached and the gun packed in it's case it is a very small package, which is nice for transporting it. It will fit into a good size backpack or duffel bag.

Pistol:
Crosman 1377C:
www.pyramydair.com...
This gun shoots .177 at 600fps, which is very good for a pistol.

If you live outside the US then you might need a license for a pellet gun. Here we can order them off the web and have UPS or FedEx bring it to the door (same for bows & crossbows). =)

The two guns listed above I chose because they do not need anything other than pellets to use them. In a survival situation you are probably are not going to be able to obtain pre-compressed air or CO2 cartridges. After doing a great deal of research before buying I found that these two guns are the among best you can get in the price range.

Don't for a second think that you can't kill a human with one. I grew up with a friend that had a scar on his chest where doctors removed a pellet that was lodged 3mm away from his heart. His friend shot him thinking that the gun was not loaded. They told him that if it were 3mm over he would be dead as it would have punctured his heart. This was with a fairly low powered pellet gun a kid would have, not the newer hunting pellet guns available today.

I also plan to pick up a compound bow for large game hunting, but that will be when the budget allows.

In almost all of the states a long gun (rifle or shotgun) can be purchased from someone that does not have a Federal Firearms License without paperwork. If you buy from a dealer with a FFL license they are required to fill out the paperwork. Odd, but so are most gun laws...

I am surprised that no one has mentioned smoke bombs or a permanent method of generating artificial smoke like what was present on WW2 warships . Such functionality could allow you to conceal or advertise your position as needed . Burning green leaves will generate smoke but it wont be instantanus(SP?) and such an action would damage the health of your fire .

And yes otherwise your brain is your best weapon .

[edit on 3-6-2008 by xpert11]

I just wanted to clarify, it's not because a pellet travels at super-sonic that makes it inaccurate. It is when it transitions from super-sonic to sub-sonic that the interferance from the change in pressure makes it unstable, and hence tumble.
Theoretically, as long as you were shooting a target within that above-sub-sonic threshold, it should be accurate.
The other problem again is that these velocities are reached with lighter alloy pellets, which are much more prone to being moved off course by wind resistance.
Another thing is differing shapes and weights of pellet have a huge impact on accuracy. You might have two different makes of what looks like a very similar pointed pellet, but there is subtle differences in aerodynamics and weight, and the slight change in design may affect how the rifling (spiral) inside the barrel spins it. Each time you use a different style/weight pellet, you will have to sight it in. Find one that you like, sight the gun in, and only use those pellets. Look at how the pellet is formed - is their a lot of disfiguration and mold lines? If so, look at another manufacturer for better quality. I really like crossman premier hollow points. They aren't exspensive, and are manufacteured well, and are pretty consistant. There are better out there, but availability is an issue with obtaining them, and they are more espensive.
Every survivalist should own and know how to use an air rifle! Invaluable tool for quiet and effective hunting.

reply to post by Yarcofin


A flaregun makes a great close up weapon. Anyone can get one. It is a survival device, cannot be classified as a weapon

Survivalist... Ahhh I can talk about this all day. Having a stash is a good idea and its easy. I found best way to stash stuff is to get some inner tubes. Cut the ends store what you want in there then lash the ends with galvanized wire or plastic rope something that won't break down from the elements. It will last a long long time too. Get a survival book I know some may think it's silly but pickup a boy scout hand book. There is loads of information in there. Head to the library get some books on how to learn how to make traps for tapping small game. IE. the Figure four trap or a deadfall, or a tripline/noose.

Funny when I read the Ma Bell telephone crank, but more then likely you won't have one of those lol. It is a good technique though sometimes after running out of fish bait I would find a clam pool of small minnows and a good size rock half in half out of the pool and grab another rock and smack them hard together. This will stun the fish and they will float to the surface. Then you use those as bait, Or fry up a bunch and make a snack if your starving to death. ROFL. Other bait you can use parry winkles, craw fish tails, rock crawler bugs. Sometimes they hit better then plain old worms.

Gamo USA has a very powerful air rifle that shoots 1600 fps. Steve Scott used this rifle to shot a 250 lbs wild bore. On the website you can watch the video. Since it is an air rifle no license is needed. The following is the website

www.gamousa.com...

Have you considered numbchucks
Not a one liner

your brain ,oops been covered,sorry for small post


[edit on 2-11-2008 by all2human]

reply to post by Snap


Precharged pneumatic air guns are easily recharged with a hand pump. Not as easy as scuba tank but still darn simple and as practical as carrying extra ammo. Some PCP airgun have removable tanks so that you can carry a spare into the field. I get about 40 shots at 30 foot/pounds energy level from my .22 Career(a Korean built PCP airgun) which is as capable of taking any small game critter as any .22 rimfire rifle.

The problems with spring-powered guns is that there are very tough on seals and not very easily repaired in the field if they break. Multipump airguns like Crosman, Benjamin and Sheridan are slow to fire but offer more potential power and accuracy than spring guns.

A PCP airgun were taken on the Lewis and Clark expedition and took a fair amount of game during the expedition. Modern bigbore airguns have taken game as large as buffalo but really should be limited to deer and small wild boar.

Benjamin has released the Discovery PCP kit which sells for less than $400.
Some of the Industry brand QB-7x series CO2 airguns can be converted PCP for similar price levels to include the pump.

I still use spring powered airguns every now and then but PCP airguns are much easier to shoot more accurately and offer more power, so I'll tote my pump with me if a I had to.

Not sure whats with the crossbow knocking.
I actually bought one of these on a whim this year thinking it to be a gimmick, but i was woefully wrong. Its a pretty standard and easy to come by design, and worryingly legal in the UK.

It has a 72kg draw weight, the equvalent to pulling up a 11 stone man up on two fingers. It does take a bit of muscle to shift! The penetration power of these things is frankly absurd, and would have no trouble bringing down small to medium sized game. Nor are they particularly hard to reload. The quickest way ive found is to lie on your back and shoot with it resting on your knee, that way u can quickly put ur foot in the stirrup and haul the string back. The accuracy, at close range at least, is comparable to an air rifle, and requires little practice. Its not like your gonna be hunting shrews with this thing.

Other than this id probably second the pellet gun idea. Only problem with this is for them to be any use they should have a power of at least over 12 ft/lbs, which alas in britain, requires you to have a firearms licence

[edit on 2-11-2008 by TheSilentProtagonist]

reply to post by TheSilentProtagonist


I lived and hunted in the UK back in 94-96 with sub-FAC airguns. For small game such as hares and rabbits, .177 are fine out to about 50 yards and do a better job on birds than sub FAC .22 guns. .Sub FAC .22 work fine on tougher small game like squirrels out to 40 yards but after that they have a very pronounced trajectory. I even hunted with a bang on the limit BSA Superstar in .25 cal. With Milbro Rhinos. it's the best rat and squirrel gun I've ever used out to 35 yards. Brain/heart lung shots with it are lights out kill shots.

Crossbows are fine for much larger game but are bit of overkill even at the 50-lb draw pistol level on small game. Lethality in hunting small game is about being able to accurately hit small kill zones of 1" or smaller. Fairly easy even with open sight with an airgun out to 40 yards . That would be a very tough shot for any crossbow. I've seen hares hit with practice arrows and thumper limp away and even 5/8" broad heads simply destroy too much meat for practical small game hunting. It's very hard to beat an airgun(even with the UK ridiculously low FAC levels) for hunting small game.