Sustainable Guns.

[CharlesHarris]

I am with MB on the .22 as well.

The rimfire is fine for recreation, training and practice, but for any game larger than a cottontail rabbit or gray squirrel it is lacking. While high velocity ammunition and hollow-point bullets improve killing power on larger pest animals, they make a mess out of edible game.

My favorite small game rifle is a restored Army & Navy Cooperative Society rook rifle, which was originally a .255, which had relined to use the .32 S&W Long revolver cartridge. This is mild, quiet, accurate and very effective on larger small game animals such as woodchucks, raccoons, as well as for larger pest animals such as coyotes. Best of all there is little more meat damage than a .22 LR subsonic HP and you can eat right up to the bullet hole. Unfortunately .32 rifles are uncommon, so you must reline or rebarrel an old small-caliber centre-fire or have it scratch-built.

In mass-produced guns a lever action rifle chambered in .357 Magnum give similar small game performance and low noise when used with standard velocity .38 Special solid lead ammunition, which remains subsonic in the rifle. It also has the advantage that +P or magnum can be used for deer or similar game.

For the US prepper a .357 lever-action and companion revolver of the same caliber is truly solid kit!

A pound of common shotgun powder will load about 2000 .38 Special cartridges.