it is an idea that comes up a lot

I think it is an American idea of woods bumming that we might get from the writings of George Washington Carver , from early American westward expansion , the Oregon trail , maybe even a little Lewis and Clark , cowboy writings and of course the trappers of the fur trade era.
Maybe even the writings of Kephart.

the idea we could set out one day on a travel and spend weeks in the wilderness hunting , fishing , traveling about for one reason or another.

Wolfie sort of brought the idea back up with the little pistol or rifle that is a few pounds and single shot.

thinking about this and the historical answers to it I had some thoughts

really we need to answer some questions
1.Mode of transportation , hiking , biking , horse back , canoe , auto , plane or some other
2. threats , Man , Wolf , Bear , lion , other
3. targets of opportunity , game that you could see and harvest.
4.Laws , game laws and the law of the land.

some of the ways these questions were answered in the past were

Trade guns , a simple black powder long gun with a smooth bore that could shoot ball or shot depending on how you loaded it , this was a mainstay of the Fur trade era

The Lewis and Clark expedition found they really liked their 50cal air gun it was quiet and didn't need cleaning after use.
it needed lead but not powder.
they carried other guns with ball and powder should they be needed.

Cowboys may have carried a revolver , a rifle or both
may well have been a carbine and a revolver in 44-40 or 45
possibly a sharps carbine or a shotgun.

Wagon trains , wagons had a bit more space and were headed to a new life may well have had a rifle and a shotgun possibly a revolver also.

what are your answers.
thoughts and reasons why.

as for packable it's hard to beat the 10 22 take down if you don't mind how thick the stock is are. Both the boys cva 350 legend single shots break doelwn as expected with no tools and easly fit in a pack if you after somthing bigger. we never bother breaking them down but its a nice option to have. Honestly not much I would feel under gunned hunting with the 170gr loads and 150 to 200 yards.

any AR can be taken apart and become more compact and has a lot of optiona and may be the best option. have a .22 lr upper for small game and any number of others for larger game in a compact adjustable package.

1 mode of transportation for me is generally a half ton truck
mostly I am going to visit a friend or family or camping
I would like to take some more boat and canoe camping trips but it hasn't happened in a number of years

2 . threats Man , Bear , wolf , lion , all fairly unlikely but not impossible

3. potential targets of opportunity
really not many when camping
there would be some when visiting friends or relatives
hunting trips can have targets of opportunity as well

4. laws and game laws
in WI if you are hunting birds you have to have only shot , if you are in a non toxic shot only species or area you can have only non toxic shot on your person.

you can Always have a handgun for personal protection even if you are archery hunting, starting at 18 it can be carried openly and if 21 with a CCL it can be concealed
long guns can not be loaded in vehicles but handguns can


so I basically always start with a center fire handgun that generally covers threats.
it seems most often after that a shotgun with a selection of shells.
and since it is handy and hardly takes up any space a 22lr pistol. fun, for practice , teaching and handy for dispatch if I trap something or happen into a coon in the barn situation.

it never occurred to me that not always having a defense pistol on you was not a given as much as your going to have on boots. I was just thinking of packable out of the way long guns you can take along and get out if the opportunity comes up. like having a take down fishing rod in the truck so you can stop and make a few cast if you run across a lake you may want to try out.

I’m my truck at all times are a .22 rifle, .22 revolver, AR10, and 12ga shotgun and shells for each. A little prepared for anything, lol.

I keep a 22 250 in my truck all winter. 22 single six also.

often I will have a shotgun with me if I am going anywhere with targets of opportunity which usually means pigeons around farms

when I am trapping farms it is typically 10/22 besides my wrangler

back when I had my van there was always a shotgun , then I had a rifle stolen from my truck so I don't leave anything in vehicles everything comes and goes with me , so I want it to be as easy to move as possible.

I bought an RIA single barrel shotgun that folds in half. Has a 20" ventrib barrel, adjustable rear sight, three choke tubes, and sling studs. It's pretty light so it does pack a wallup with slugs or 3" shells but it gets the job done. Fits in a larger backpack and I usually carry it in my snogo box for ptarmigan,grouse, and rabbits while running my line. Think maybe I paid about $150 for it but it's a great gun and I use it quite a bit.

I have several model rifles that are take down models that would be packable. A savage model 24 is a good gun to tote around being it has a rifle and shotgun together. But, they are getting pricey and I wouldn't want to leave one in my vehicle to be stolen. An AR is probably one of the most versable rifles. Broken down easily. Many different calibers. Light. A .22mag is just a hard round to beat for an all around caliber to carry or pack. I would love to have a marlin 25A I believe. Its like the papoose but 22 mag?

I definitely expected the M24 Savage to come up in this discussion.

I was a little surprised to not hear any light and heavy loads come up

like a 30-30 with a 90gr swc at about 1000fps that can be loaded for small game at short distance then regular power ammo 150 or 170gr for lager game or threats.
I suspect that may be in large part two factors besides how do you have 2 zeros
first not that many people load light round ball or pistol bullet type loads for a rifle
and legal issues using a center fire rifle on small game.