H&R M4 Survival Rifle: the Pilot's Game-Getter
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
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The M4 Survival Rifle was issued to USAF and RCAF aircrew starting in 1949 to allow them to hunt small game if forced to bail out over uninhabited wilderness. Though less well-known than the later M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon, both rifles served alongside each other well into the 1970s.
Special thanks to the Heritage staff at 17 Wing Winnipeg for allowing me to film the fascinating artifacts in their collection.
1). Has a real example of the rifle
2.) Perfect Ian of Forgotten Weapons impersonation
3.) All the information was interesting and relevant
C’mon UA-cam algorithm, help this man out.
2 years ago. 519 likes. The algorithm says "no".
this is not what i expected when i decided to browse this man's catalogue. I roared LOL
Not to mention a good intro sequence.
Seems like the fault lies in your first premise, namely the "rifle" part.
The Forgotten Weapons jokes will simply never get old.
Loved the Forgotten Weapons shoutout at the beginning, I really hope Ian sees this video!
Killed me with that Ian McCollum intro!
Unfortunately, the hand gesture associated with "I am Ian McCollum" was sadly (and unnecessarily) inadequate. Grade: B- .
I have an M-6 rifle and man, it is the absolutely last rifle I would ever get rid of. It's my "bug out" gun. .22lr and .410. Now that they make Tungsten ammo for it I can legally even use it for Turkey hunting. Tungsten #9 will penetrate same as a #5!
In a true SHTF/wrol situation legalities aren’t going to count for much
Wow , being Canadian I envy you greatly ,especially when the Chinese come in our west vast and good old Russia in the north . We are dieselling our pellet guns . Lol
I have one too They're great
@@dwaynecarruthers2258be careful you can ruin your piston seal.
Thanks for the knowledge dump! Looking into it now
Really impressed by this channel. A 2 year old video was randomly recommended to me, and I've just been your binging videos since.
Your semi random set of interests seems to align closely with mine and this was another in a line of excellent videos. As informative as an actual FW video, great presentation, interesting topic. 10/10 would subscribe again.
Wonderful opening … this is such a creative channel, it deserves great success.
Just an FYI at one time a toy version of the AR5 was once Available as a serial box top mail in prize.
“toy” or toy?
@@OkieDokieSmokie a plastic toy, it may have ejected fake cartridges but that's it.
I had that Springfield Armory survival rifle in 410/ 22lr, I loved it and I'm so mad that I sold it, when I sold it I realized they didn't have them in production anymore and I've kicked myself in the butt ever since!
I have extra appreciation for the intro. Good stuff.
Watched two videos, subscribed. You're exactly the kinda channel we need more of
Also a recent subscriber. It is a crime UA-cam hasn't recommended me this channel sooner.
If you are not aware. The Air Force issued these as well as the M5 & M6 weapons with 45 grain full metal jacketed .22 Hornet ammunition (50 Rounds) and .410 shotshell loads for the M6 with copper plated shot and copper plated "Rifled Slugs" (I believe 10 shotshells and five slugs.) HTH.
Dude I was only half paying attention when the video started, but I didn’t even question it. Spot on impersonation, title fits, I clicked on a video about a rifle, you got me hook line and sinker
To add, you will rarely see them out on the free market, for sale in the US. Some M4 Survival Rifles have been sold, but they were registered and carry a tax stamp. Seems kind of silly for a 22 rifle. I think the last one I saw sold for a little over 2K. If a person has one, it should have been registered during the amnesty act of 1968. The M4 22 Hornet survival rifle is considered an SBR. If someone has one for sale, avoid it unless it is registered with BATFE in the US. I have also seen M4 Survival Rifles where a flash suppressor was pinned and welded to extend the barrel to 16 inches. If I am correct, the Air Force was selling them, to clear out inventory, and discovered that they were an SBR and destroyed what they had left in stock. Only a few exist today.
If you have one, would be interesting to hear a little more about your M4 Survival Rifle. I wish the BATFE would make an exception for these unique rifles, letting the few that are hiding be available on the market.
Here in Canada they are classified as Restricted Firearms due to the combination of barrel length and overall length when folded. This means they are subject to the same rules as handguns: you can only own one with a Restricted-Class Possession and Acquisition License (RPAL), they can only be used at a designated range, and you need an Authorization to Transport (ATT) that only allows you to transport the rifle between your house (or other designated storage site) and the range - which kind of defeats the purpose (and the fun) of a folding bolt-action survival rifle.
Military museums are exempt from the Firearms Act, which is why 17 Wing Heritage (where I examined this example) is allowed to keep theirs without a license, along with aircraft machine guns and cannons and other firearms that would otherwise be completely prohibited.
"Only a few exist today"
man i really lucked out on getting one. mine does have an "extension" pinned and welded to make it a 16 inch barrel (which appears to have been taken from a 30 cal barrel)
@@mannequinfukrI got an M6 and those are rare, but an MA-1! 😮 Never sell it ... except to me! 😂
@@CanadianMacGyverEver seen a M-6 up in Canada? I have one, alas I'm in states. Was curious if anyone up there even has stuff like that. You should do one on the Cooey rifle, like that world record bear was taken with in 1950's. Those are common up there yet rare here. I love history!
ATF be damned if I found one of these for sale by a private seller I would snap it up tax stamp or no.
AWESOME VIDEO. I love your channel so much. Please don't get discouraged subs will come. Just keep putting out great content!!!! Love the Ian bit at the beginning btw.
Is there value in these.?
That barrel length in Canada is for semiautomatic firearms, manually operated firearms are different, hence why mares leg lever action firearms are non-restricted
I think most people, most soldiers, most countries ignor ethe ammunition bans in the Geneva Convention. When my dad first got to Vietnam, he bought a 38 special S&W pistol from a guy whose tour was up & was heading home. He bought the pistol & was handed a bag full of different kinds of ammo. He had hollow points, tracers, exploding 38 ammo. He said pretty much anyone that had a pistol was carrying it with hollow points or dum dums.
I‘m taking note on how well you speak.
Thank you, this made me smile 😊
Great work! Got to keep Ian on his best game.
Such a fun intro... Love the look of the M4 , wish such a thing was legal to own in Canada .
Great video, thanks for sharing.
Excellent as usual, great blend of fact and "fiction" (storytelling) superb presentation as always.
0:55 -- the M6 fit nicely into the seat pack under the okole of any USAF fighter pilot, as did a wallet with extra ammo. Originally intended as a 20ga, it was made in .410 so that it could be used with rifled slug (and still conform to the laws of land warfare), and can also fire .45 ACP rounds, using a circlip (that was never actually issued). 6:00 -- the expedient was only needed if you had lost your flying gloves. The barrels don't heat up, but the can be cold enough to freeze to your skin. The AR-7 was on the market in 1959, before the B-70 was cancelled. The AR-5 and AR-7 were light because they were largely made of aluminum, with a steel sleeve inside the barrel. 8:55 -- the Bushmaster arm gun was sold on the civilian market (semi-auto variant), and occasionally shows up at gun shows. It was designed to be used by either hand -- the grip/trigger assembly swivels to the appropriate side. However, it's cute but kind of waffenposselhaft, since there's no way to aim it (in full-auto, you would use it as an area weapon).
This M6 is quite nice in its own way... Definitely original. This trigger and safety/selection of barrel used. I'm surprised I've never seen him in any movie, because he would fit perfectly into the post-apocalypse.
The 'barrel getting too hot' thing did have me laughing- just how bad a shot would these guys be to bag their rabbit?
This would be really easy for PSA to reproduce with a 16" bbl and/or rechambered in .22wmr / .22lr
I'd like that too... even 22 hornet or 5.56mm...
@@AldoSchmedackI don't think I've seen a box of .22 hornet ammo on a shelf since the 90s or early 2000s.
From time to time I find myself contemplating a survival gun concept. I really cannot get too far away from the Savage/Stevens model 24 over and under platform. I do however, think a 28 ga and .22 magnum combination are probably better for the purpose than anything packaged previously for such use.
Great vid, thank you.
Thanks for posting.
for the record... I AM HERE BEFORE HE BLEW UP
Correction at 9:05: there are two different AR-15 variants adopted by the USAF known as the “GAU-5.”
The one shown is the Vietnam War era GAU-5/A and GAU-5/A/A SMG, and the Army called the XM177E1 and E2 SMG. They were used as aircrew survival weapons, but primarily for helicopter pilots where you have a bit more space to work with. Further development of these weapons would result in the M4 Carbine we all know today.
The GAU-5A the USAF uses now is a version of the M4 with a slightly shorter quick-detach barrel assembly and a folding pistol grip to fit inside ejection seats.
Love the content btw, I too am surprised how you got to the M4 Survival Rifle before Ian did.
The "Forgotten Weapons" impression may have caused me to wake the neighbors, lmao.
Im a sucker for those beautiful German m30, and the craftsmanship, even the case.
I wonder if anyone ever got caught with these and they just handed the enemies the box, and said see im not supposed to shoot you with this.
I usually hate goofy intros like that, but that was awesome. lol
How have I missed this channel?
1:42
Probably the best possible choice for an *actual* survival rifle.
...this guy is the Ian McCullom of 'Forgotten Devices'...
I truly enjoyed that intro
But seriously forgotten weapons should do a video on this gun.
You would think they would have chambered a survival rifle in 9mm which would have been readily available in the ETO because it was issued on both sides. Just a random thought.
9mm tends to liquefy some small game, while .22 is great for rabbit sized game, and happens to be super light and easy to carry. Plus a decent amount of pilots would have some sort of actual sidearm with them anyways. This was just for food. Nowadays you can build a takedown 10/22 rifle with 2 spare mags and over 200 rounds of ammo in its stock that fits neatly in a backpack, which is just pretty rad and i thought i would share that lol
Good video.
1:17 A Drilling rifle is pronounced in German speaking countries as “Dry-ling” as it is named after the German word for “Triple”.
That was funny, I enjoy your videos thank you
I had a M4 but I traded it for a M6 that I still have now I like my old Stevens single shot 12Ga with insults for 20 & 410 ga and a Ruger cruser the pistol version of the 10/22 rifle
Spitting image of Ian 🤣
HA HA HA!!!! That was totally unexpected!!!!!! Cheers!
Lufwaffe drilling, made a .410/.22 lr for awhile that resembled the Springfield M6 date unknown?
Good stuff.
Well, he is not completely correct, the rifle is only 14 inches broken down, it fits into a 14 inch storage can that contains every thing. The cans are extremely rare, I have one
Hate to ask but what is the twist rate on these? I read a 1:16 was a thing for 22 hornet rifles for a while and then turned to 1:14 (and faster for custom rifles)
Update after getting one.
I learned the hard way its a 1 in 16 twist
Thank you for your service
@@chillmonkey6782 I never served though?
This rifle is dubious in the extreme ,from the shit stock to the fairly optimistic use of .22 hornet and peep sight the horror of gripping this thing in cold weather I would be interested to have any real world use reports
As long as the stock detents hold good when extended I would imagine it would be an extremely effective critter getter. I know that my m6 reproduction while not exactly pretty or the most accurate with the hornet barrel has gotten me a few dozen grouse and ptarmigan a year. A lot of the effectiveness of the m6 in my use is that it can be compact and I am not especially concerned with it getting bumped around so it ride around on floor boards, backpacks and in snow machine sleds so it is easy to just have it around compact and out of the way till a opportunity arises.
The AR-7 should have been bolt action like this instead of semi-auto.
i'd like that in .410, with a removable "paradox" rifle choke; maybe with a straight pull bolt. maybe capable of firing .45 colt too?
Has there ever been a documented event where an aircraft made a
forced landing and the pilot or crew had to use a survival rifle of this
type to shoot game to survive?
I wonder if you could make something similar out of a cricket, or Stevens cadet.
When I do inherit this piece Does anyone know where I could find a 16 inch barrel for the H&R M4 Survival Rifle?
And would i have to throw away the 14 inch barrel?
Reading from the Book of Armaments, Chapters 44-40 :D
How did you get 42k views showing a left handed bolt version that doesn’t exist?
Hi guys I may be inheriting a Very old Harrington & Richardson M4 Survival rifle But I heard they are illegal? What’s the process I’d need to go through to sell it?
I am in the USA
😱 That wasn’t Ian?
One error. The earlier Steven's combination gun was chambered in 22 LR and 410. Not 22 Hornet as you report here. Just one error.
And I have never seen-heard anything that USAF adopted the Ar-7 as official survival arm. I think this was only a commercial endeavor and foreign clients.
@ 2:11-- What is an M1 folding garant ? (as pronounced)
Wrong time stamp, nothing at that mark like it
The rifles shown at that timestamp are M1 Carbines. They're lighter rifles than the Garand and in the much less powerful .30 Carbine instead of the full size .30-06, but they are also from WW2.
If you google both M1 Garand and M1 Carbine you'll find more information.
Listen again. He says "folding variant" . . .
The fact that these would be a regulated firearm by any agency, shows that firearm regulation is not well intentioned, but rather malicious and draconian.
Title of the opening music piece please.
Ian looks different today...
That girl in the beginning bore a strong resemblance to you. Sister, cousin?
what is the name of this intro song??
How much are these going for?
Never seen for sale despite looking. A lot! Thousands!
If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
@@lennylee6528 You need to check with a Class III Federal Firearms Licensee (not your average gun shop), because it's a special class of firearm. There is a lot of administrative proctology to deal with, at the Federal level.
Gilles may not be Gun Jesus, but may be in the running for Gun Buddha if he gained some more weight....
If the sten gun or M3 grease gun was a bolt action
Anyone ever have to use these?
It seems like this cold war obsession with having a "survival gun" in the kit is an intellectual hanger on from earlier frontier times. I would be interested in the ROI for these weapons. Did the presence of one of these guns ever make a difference to an air crew or airman that went down in the far north? Did an airman survive for 2 months on arctic rabbits, or defend himself against timber wolves and brown bears? How many cartridges were issued? It seems like the weight and volume of the weapon would be better traded for calorie dense survival food.
I've done enough outdoors to know that it is the food you bring with you that you will eat. The amount of calories an average untrained in hunting person could bagged would probably not even make up for the energy used in the hunt. I can see it providing an entertainment against boredom factor.
A sidearm in the kit I see as a moral necessity - in 99 percent of situations down behind enemy lines you would not use it. But there is still that 1 in 100 chance it would make a difference. A light battle rifle is just stupid - thinking you are going to fight your way past a patrol is akin to signing your death warrant.
The M4 and M6 weren't intended as battle rifles. The rest of your comment shows a complete unfamiliarity with both the weapons and with SERE doctrine and training.
I never said they were - that's in your mind. Read my first paragraph again - I pose a simple question about the survival gun actual utility record. You didn't answer that question, I doubt you can answer it.
I stand by my second paragraph, I'd much rather have the equivalent weight and bulk of energy dense food than a firearm and a few rounds of ammo.
The vid mentioned other guns that clearly weren't survival in nature, not the main topic, but kind of rounds out the subject of emergency gun kit on a plane. I ruminated and opined about this in my last paragraph, but it's not something I'm very curious about. The subject seems very important to you, take a second and explain some of that SERE doctrine of what a solo downed airman is going to do with a cutdown battle rifle behind enemy lines. @@SoloPilot6
@@randydewees7338 I somehow doubt that your 4 pounds of "energy dense food" it going to last that "two months" you think a downed crewman would spend wandering around.
SERE doctrine is to avoid any contact whatsoever, and only shoot people to disengage and evade. The M4 and M6 reflect that doctrine.
The M6 stores 9 rounds of .22H and 4 .410 shotshells in the stock. A wallet or a bandolier was also in the seat pack, with either 20 .22H and 10 .410 (wallet) or 50 .22H and 20 .410 (bandolier). Since this was to supplement the use of snares, you could probably get an extended period with them . . .or you could get a couple of days eating your "high energy" food, and find yourself with no way OTHER than snares to get more.
@@randydewees7338 generally pilots had their own issued sidearm with them, such as the ultra lightweight 38 revolvers or something like it. The m4 and m6 just served to bag food. Also as somebody who lives in a more wooded area, the amount of rabbits, squirrels, and other small critters i see daily numbers in the dozens, maybe hundreds, all you would need is to bag a few of them and you would be fine. not every hunt is the stalking kind that uses up tons of energy.
In terms of cartridges, this is .22lr, which weighs basically nothing, i could see them easily providing 100-300 cartridges with the gun without taking up much space or weight. When my grandfather was young he lived out in the boonies and was gifted a small bolt action 22 long and 20 cartridges, whenever he brought back a rabbit or similar animal for stew he was given 2 more rounds of .22 long, he said he never ran out or went hungry, if a young boy can do it an airman easily can.
The question I asked is did a downed airman, in the arctic, ever use one of these weapons to "live off the land"?
My family were Ozark hillbillies, certainly could and did bagged game, I get that. Family stories are not evidence that the weapons were ever used for this purpose
.
I made a point that substituting an equal weight/volume of calorie dense food would be a better option for survival. I stand by that point.
I don't know the details of the survival weapon kit, but I don't think all that many cartridges were included/issued - what 18? Unless one of the airman happened to be a country boy, with an imagination, I doubt anyone was going to have hundreds of cartridges when they needed them.
But getting back to my question on Return on Investment. Did the presence of one of these guns ever make a significant difference to a downed aircrew? I suppose one could asked, did any aircrew even survive their plane going down? My feeling about this is the survival guns were just the obsession or interest of basically, a gun nut. Which, I surmise, there were more than a few around at the time.
@@marcusborderlands6177
of course they had to call it the 'M4'
The absolutely best 21st century survival rifle is the KEL-TEC SU16C in the 5.56mm caliber. It is reliable & accurate. This rifle uses 30 round capacity AR15 magazines, has an under folder shoulder stock and only weighs 4 pounds !
Probably still the Savage combination gun. I don't think anyone understands what a survival gun is for.
Gotta admit, that intro made me laugh....
The only thing more asinine than Canadian gun control laws is NFA laws in the USA…..🙄
Agreed. Logic defying regulations written by idiots under the guise of thwarting a non existent issue.
Miaoow
Gun Judas!
Gun Jeebus.....sort of.
ive always wondered why they make such crappy cheap rifles for this, surely it wouldnt hurt to much to give them a nicer one
they weren't so much crappy and cheap as much as as light as possible. every extra ounce is 9 rounds of .22lr lost.
@@marcusborderlands6177 yeah i get the part about being light, they just seem really cheap to me, the survival rifles we use now are mostly 556 carbines
Should give em p90s
If your survival rifle is heating up to the point it is too hot to touch
you are working much too hard to survive. The exception being
if you are fighting off Zombies.
😅 😊
Wenn wir Deutsche etwas machen denn richtig... keine extra Waffen fürs Überleben 😅
😂