SHTF...Real guns VS. BB Guns.. lets end this!

First, They will not come for your guns, they are coming for you. They will have level 3 ballistic armor and likely be armed with automatic weapons. When they knock it will be too late. Your real options are stealth for escape and gorilla tactics for resistance as they used in Vietnam and Iraq.

Don't under estimate the power of the BB gun! I mean for self defense, Not only no but hell no i have my mossy and XD-9 for that. But birds, squirrels and other small creatures, Sure. I have taken out countless Pigeon's in my back yard. and i got real gutsy one time, and i got a pigeon in the neck from 150 yards away with my daisy BB gun that i got from walmart. I wasnt even using the scope that came with it, because Zeroing it is a pain, having to pump it 30 times after each shot.

But, if you did not want to waste ammo and tell some thugs to get off your lawn, shooting them in the arse with the BB gun will have em crying home to mommy and daddy.

All I got to say is let this gal show you the difference.



She is hot and handy with the firearms!

Lets see a bb gun do that.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Looking at that gun, it would be SOMEWHAT difficult to tell the difference, if one didnt know anything about guns. Personally, it would take me about 5 seconds to realize that is a bb gun. And what if they simply dont care and rush you. Would you feel ok pulling that trigger to save your life?

BB guns have their place, but it isnt for survival. No range. No stopping power. Limited co2 capacity.

bottom line: If you had to take one shot to save your life, would you want it to be a bb or a .40 cal?

Definitely the .45. If the shtf I definitely want a gun, not a bb gun. It might be nice to have both, but the gun would be the priority.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Looking at that gun, it would be SOMEWHAT difficult to tell the difference, if one didnt know anything about guns. Personally, it would take me about 5 seconds to realize that is a bb gun. And what if they simply dont care and rush you. Would you feel ok pulling that trigger to save your life?

BB guns have their place, but it isnt for survival. No range. No stopping power. Limited co2 capacity.

bottom line: If you had to take one shot to save your life, would you want it to be a bb or a .40 cal?

Definitely the .45. If the shtf I definitely want a gun, not a bb gun. It might be nice to have both, but the gun would be the priority.

My bugout bag has a Gamo .177 cal pellet rifle with a 3x9 scope strapped to it. I have 2,000 pellets for it and it doesn't need CO2. A single pump from a barrel break gives it 1100fps, more than enough for small game.

As far as defense goes it's crap against anyone who knows about guns, but those folks will likely already have guns. And with the big scope and large front peep sight aperture it looks real enough to fool most people I guess.

I have a regular .45 pistol and plenty of ammo in there too, but the Gamo will be the food getter.


If you don't own one of these and have $300 to spend I'd pick one up. I'm very fond of the Gamo's, but there are dozens of quality air rifles out there. Avoid the plastic multipump junk and stick with a real wood stock unit that needs only the single barrel break pump. Less to break and very accurate. The pellets are cheap too, and they never go bad.

I would recommend a pump bb gun.. I owned one when i was like thirteen and it was about 750+fps and was very reliable. It will take down squirrel bird skunk possum snakes coons anything small...

Obviously a .22 or higher caliber rifle is going to be the best option but eventually you will run out of amo or be too loud and be noticed. BB guns are great back ups, I wouldn't bring it alone.. only for saving amo and hunting small game quietly and efficiently.

A pump action doesn't need co2 tanks making it lighter and cheaper... I prefer co2 bb guns but when shtf i'm packing a pump with some hunting pellets

pellets are better, and come in the same size calibers as most guns. .177-.50

ive played around with a 9mm pellet airgun 8 shot repeater. it was impressive.

9mm at 800fps... range is much shorter than a real one but thats ok considering you can just order one right to your home. (excluding some of the nanny countries that make you register anything over 700 fps)

i hear you though, i keep a co2 pistol in my bugoutbag. try to get one that fires both BB's and pellets.

www.bigboreairguns.com... this guy took out a 2000 pound bison with a .457 airgun(needs to be filled wtih scuba tanks) so i guess it all comes down to what kinda air gun you have for what your trying to do

The Beast Is Down!!!! March 23rd 2007 2000lb bison shot with the Quackenbush LA .457 Safari gun Stephan Boles shot this HUGE bison from 53 yards. He took 2 shots through the shoulder and took out both lungs. The 510 grn Hunters Supply bullet was traveling at 700 fps.

but needing a scuba tank might negate some of its usefullness post shtf but who knows pretty big animal for a "pellet" gun

Friend of mine is a certified bada$$. I won't share his story, I don't think he'd be thrilled if I shared his name, but his advice to me was one of the best way to build your marksmanship skills is putting 500 bbs downrange every day for a month at 25/50 feet.

Concentrate on body control, trigger control, breathing etc. It's a nice cheap way to hone the skills for marksmanship. It works.

T9

Wow, I have never heard anyone suggest taking a BB gun into such a scenario, seriously, no sarcasm. It's brilliant; not so much as a line of defense, but definitely for taking out small game without wasting larger ammo. Also, a bunch of BB's can easily become buckshot if you have some empty shells, and CO2 canisters for small demolition jobs.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a BB gun and plenty of the necessary components.

FYI, airsoft guns can also shoot metal BB's, and are not just spring action. Check out the Socom Cheytac M200 and the force in which it shoots. And, if you knock the small orange tip off of it, it's identical to the real thing, even down to the weight. The thing actually has shells in the magazine that eject when the bolt is pulled back.

Edit: On a side note, we had a guy go into an office max a few months ago and rob them in a ghillie suit, with an airsoft pistol that he had modified. The manager was a former Marine, and couldn't tell the difference.

I would recommend using the real deal though, just in case the other guy has a real one. Never bring a knife to a gun fight, and don't bring a BB gun, or Airsoft gun to a gun fight either. You'll lose.

A BB gun might kill a small bird or a squirrel or something but that's about it. If push comes to shove and you have to actually shoot someone, you don't want to do it with a BB gun. The minimum I would go for would be a .22 rifle. It can kill a person and small game, although probably not larger animals. Also, ammo is cheap and pretty common as well. It can make a big enough bang to make someone think twice too.

You meet the real thing, you loose every time. A bb gun, really. The boy scouts got you beat.

reply to post by RickGrimes


good luck with that when you need to hunt for food

A survival quality co2 gun(what will you do with it when you have no more gas cylinders?)will cost as much as a decent 12ga pump...why screw around?

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


tru tru my state has the best gun laws, and has already and will continue to tell the government to screw themselves when it comes to touching our guns

you only need a permit to conceal your guns in inner city limits, other then that as long as you don't plan on using your assualt rifles for offensive purposes, or mount them on a atv/snowmobile your pretty much golden, lol, pleny of wildlife and nature left too,

poor newyork, that state will end up eating itself whole, there not enough land there to feed that population,lol

reply to post by Homedawg


because when food is scarce, and your hungry neighbour hears the big bang from your 12 gauge he will know where the freshly caught food is at.

your camp.


plus the 12 gauge tends to blow small game into a thousand pieces. youll be eating more lead than squirrel. and dont kid yourself, small game will be your main food supply.

reply to post by RickGrimes


I already know how to deal with the co2 issue. Get one of the oldschool compressed atmosphere versions, just keep pumping, it will kill a large dog with a pellet. I learned this lesson the hard way as a kid, my frinds newfunland ( think I spelled that right ?) Suffered the with a punctured lung, but the kiddney damage from an imbedded pellet ended him . We were told to shoot him in the a** if we saw him in the trash, we were not told that pumping that pellet rifle several times ( as much pressure as 2 10 year olds can manage ) would impart lethal energy to the pellet( we were told to use bbs only). Not even a week later his dog was dead, quite badly at that, I still feel terrible when I think back on that day.

So I would say, yes it can take down largeish game, maybe nothing as big as a deer( pack animals/herbavores usually have a lot tougher and or thicker fur/skin) over time, but not a instant kill, like what would be preferrable, in a survival situation. It would be quite handy to have, yes. However ,you would still need somthing with a lot more force, to insure your safty.

Don't forget, the world will be full of the worlds top apecs predator. Hunting in both packs, and lone wolf situations, using advanced tactics, superior team work and unprescedented use of environment to their advantage over all other species on earth. Don't forget, MAN conquered the earth, long before guns, or boats, or any tech at all really. We crawled up out of nothing, and begat technology, but that doesn't mean it is essential for survival, on the contrary, I believe that we will have no problems securing weapons and or fabricating them if needs be.

Just my 2 cents

In a SHTF situation a BB gun would be a luxury. For small game a 22lr would be first choice.
And if I were to keep a BB gun it certainly would be pump action and not CO2 for the simple reason that
you would never run out of "pumps".

But first choice would be a 22 long rifle. The ammo is cheap and readily available, and you can carry
alot of it. Great for small game, which you will probably be eating alot of, and a powerful enough
deterrent to crime to be reasonable.

Second choice would be for personal protection. A 9mm or any other handgun in a popular caliber.
Popular caliber is important to assure you have the best chance of obtaining ammo if needed.

Third choice is a needed luxury, a hunting rifle for larger game.

Fourth and fifth choices are definite luxuries, maybe a bb gun, maybe a shotgun for
homesite protection and birding. Who knows what you'll be faced with, but for me the 22lr and
Glock 26.