Ok... who wanted to be safe in bear country ? well, here you go. The venerable Marlin Model 1895 chambered in the old government 45/70 round. Butter smooth and rock solid, whatever it shoots will go down, and will not get back up. The barrel, receiver, and all major parts are made from stainless steel, most other metal parts are nickel plated, so it will hold up under extreme conditions. The stock is american walnut, with checkering and a nice fat recoil pad. The flat top receiver is tapped for a weaver mount, but because the eyepiece prevents you from being able to get your thumb on top of the hammer, an offset hammer spur is included with the rifle and installed easily with a set screw. If you choose to mount a scope on your survival rifle, you should make sure you can still use the open sights proficiently, should your scope break or malfunction. It should go without saying that you need to be intimately familiar with the operation and construction of your survival rifle, and practice shooting with it regularly. Finally, consider that all this firepower comes with a tradeoff, the ammo is heavy, and will completely disintegrate a squirrel or rabbit, and the rifle itself is not as compact as some of the choices you have with smaller caliber survival rifles. Also, there is compelling evidence to suggest that Bear Spray, not guns, are a better deterrent to bear attacks, see the backpackers survival kit page to download the "Bearspray vs. Bullets " factsheet from U.S. fish and wildlife. Make up your own mind on that one.
Marlin Model 1895
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