Top 5 Wilderness Survival Guns 

"Personal danger from cougers decreases with my increase in grey hair..." Absolutely hilarious. Best gun guy around. Well done.

"My danger from cougars decreases in direct proportion to my increase in grey hair" Paul's dry humor never fails to be fantastic.

Imagining Paul colouring in the rabbits made my day

Many people have asked which is my favorite .410 bore shotgun. There are a lot of good ones but my favorite is the ithica M-66

Paul's raw disdain towards the Taurus Judge always cracks me up.

A friend had a Taurus Judge...and a very sad thing happened. He left it in in full view on the seat of his unlocked car to go in the local convince store. When he came back, it was still there. 😒

Always love how Paul pulls guns out of every pocket.

I can’t decide whether Paul’s first word as an infant was “caveat,” or “disclaimer?”

"So once again, the Taurus Judge remains usless."

The arterial spray gave me a chuckle.

"Revolvers don't jam!" Taurus: Hold my beer!

The cougar joke was one of the smoothest I've heard in a while.

“So once again the Taurus Judge remains useless “ 😂 this killed me

" You're not going to break up with her on the trip, you are going to wait until you get home." Instant sub. That is sound advice.

”Some times you to have a gun, and not let your girlfriend know” every day! If she doesn't know how many I have, she can't prove I got a new one

One huge advantage of the 22 is that the ammo is super light. You can carry a box of 50 without noticing. You start noticing the weight of a box of 50 in 9mm or 38 special. I might be inclined to carry a can of bear spray and a 22 of my choosing.

How Paul has not yet thrown that Judge into the nearest very deep body of water is beyond me.

80% of the way through we get an outtro, a black screen, and then BOOM bonus Paul content. Don't miss it.

Instead of the Ruger, I went with the Henry AR-7 in my survival/bug-out bag; especially for when you don’t want folks to know you have a rifle. Sure, it’s not immediately deployable like my .45 EDC, but it assembles quickly, is lightweight, and remarkably accurate. Plus, it breaks down and fits into the stock, which is waterproof, and floats.

100% the best informational firearm channel on RU-vid. Nothing but professionalism.

The part at the very end where Paul says he hopes those people don't have kids, driver's license, supervisory positions, or ever sat on a jury is simultaneously the most savage and polite diss I have ever heard.

The Best survival tip of the video: Don't break up with your gf on a camping trip. Wait, till you get home."

Timestamps for people who want them: - 00:00: Intro - 00:15: Wilderness survival in brief - 04:15: The rifle you brought with you on your hunting trip that went bad (example: Marlin 1895, .45-70) - 06:35: .22 pistols (examples: Ruger Mark 3, Beretta M9-22, and Ruger LCP, all in .22 LR) - 11:50: 9x19mm pistols (examples, Beretta M9 and SIG M18, both in 9x19mm) - 13:10: .22 takedown rifles (example: Ruger 10/22 Takedown, .22 LR) - 14:13: .410 shotguns (example: Mossberg 510 and Taurus Judge, both in .410; the Judge, naturally, performs poorly here and Paul doesn't recommend it) - 19:06: Little guns (examples: S&W 638 Airweight, .38 Special, and Ruger LCP, .380 Auto) - 22:30: Slightly less little guns (example: SIG P365, 9x19mm) - 24:01: Conclusion (credits a little bit before during the P365 shooting sequence) - 24:25: Addendum explaining signal shots and addressing the "coulda shoulda woulda" brigade

""It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it."" Too many people have never heard this quote or never understood the meaning. You just have to shake your head or laugh and move away from them.

I love the fact that he colored in the rabbit targets. This attention to detail is the hallmark of a top notch gun channel.

I find it hard to believe that anyone actually skips any portion of a Paul Harrell video.

I was told by a Royal Marine to always remember the 7 P's. Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Paul, back in the 80's when I was a teenager a friend had a Savage Model 24 (i think that is correct) over/under that was chambered in a rifle on the top barrel and shotgun on the bottom. I think the rifle was 222 Rem and the Shotgun was 20 Gauge with a 3 inch chamber. It was great for a survival situation. They made them in a lot of different combinations. I don't know why guns like that are not made anymore.

"...Getting some arterial spray...." I died. "Danger from cougars goes down proportionally to my grey hair..." I experienced a second death.

Paul: Please follow this video up with one about how to field dress a 2 liter soda bottle and cardboard rabbits. Some of us ate not as versed as you in these skills. As always, good video, good information. Thanks.

Paul Harrell "this is the boring part where I talk please bare with me" Me *excitedly pulls out note pad, audio recording, stops what I'm doing to watch and listen*

I like that this man is really an expert. Most others are just giving you their opinion, Paul gives us the facts!!

"So... Once again the Taurus Judge is useless." Paul's truth in life.

A tense encounter in Northern AZ was finding a pack of about a half dozen wild dogs between myself and the car. I had stopped on a dirt shoulder to photograph passing trains and the only armament was a 35mm camera. I recall saying "nice doggies" a few times...

Going to miss this guy. Who else is going through his back catalogue?

"you're not gonna break up with her in middle of a camping trip, you gonna do that when you get home" .... That cracked me up!

There are people who believe staying in a 2-star hotel in lieu of a 4-star resort is “adverse conditions” your results may vary

30 minutes from Paul is worth every second (1800 of them) I spend listening and learning

Greetings from Guam, Paul! First I just wanted to thank you so so much for providing a channel for us to be educated and better prepare ourselves through the sharing of your knowledge and experiences. Some of us may not realize it, but the fact that you put so much into making these videos is not totally lost on us. Now with that being said, this " thank you" comes with a list of caveats.. although I am extremely grateful for all your hard work.. I really would love to request another 2-3 hour long timed video. I greatly enjoyed your Thanksgiving special and would very much enjoy seeing a video with you camping, cooking, hunting, bushcraft or any other content youd like to throw in there. Thank again!

The Judge came out the year I turned 21 and I thought it was the coolest thing ever...fortunately, I didn't have the money to spare when I was young and dumb.

As soon as you said yes that one and had that "you've got to be kidding" look, I knew it was a Taurus judge. Nailed it!

So glad im here this early on a Paul Harrell upload. This man is a legend. Ive learned so much from him. God bless everyone and America.

Best survival info: if you can’t carry it (relatively) easily, it’s close to USELESS in 75%+ of “survival” situations. Love that ya start with something close to that.

My go to 'take a walk in the woods and survival gun' has been my Savage Model 24. I've had a 22 WMR/.410 and currently a 22 WMR/20 gauge. I think it provides every practical combination of take a deer, squirrel, rabbit, game bird. Bear or cougar you can try a 20 gauge slug and then be eaten.

I saw your ending after your ending Paul… now you’ve got me interested and I’ve got to hear more of your anecdotes. Maybe make a compilation of just your anecdotes titled “story time with Paul”? I would definitely watch that in its entirety regardless of how long it is.

I always like how Paul turns his head to look off screen before the scene changes. That used to be something that they did on the old Hee Haw show.

"So once again, the Taurus Judge remains useless." Haha. Best line in the whole video.

As a recent subscriber, I very much appreciate your dedication to accuracy in both your informational content and your oration. I am enjoying the channel very much.

“So once again, the Taurus Judge remains useless.” Bravo!

This guy is fascinating. Love how professional he is and knows what he’s talking about. 🤟

"And once again, the Taurus Judge remains useless." Lol I truly enjoy your little barbs and sense of humor. Never change, my friend. 👍

Hi Paul! I found your channel because me and my dad were watching your video about .38 special vs .357 magnum snub nose and we are both thoroughly enjoying your library of videos for education and entertainment. Thank you very much for continuing to produce content!!

If it were my INTENT to spend the night here tonight, I would have a backpack with a tent, a sleeping bag, and a camp stove, and fuel, and five or six hundred rounds of Remington, green and yellow box, five point five six, fifty-five grain...

I watched Paul shoot a running Jackrabbit at 75 yards with a Model 92FS. Twice. High desert sage brush. Yes, he can shoot.

"...now let me tell you an anecdote..." Oh hell yeah it's story time! *grabs popcorn*

Dear Paul, there's this feature in RU-vid where you can give sections to your videos, with that you can save some words and whoever that wants to skip, they will know where. (although most of us are here for the full experience) A fan of yours.

This channel is in the top three of all channels for knowledge gleaned. I greatly appreciate you sharing with us Paul. God bless sir

It only came out 8 seconds ago but I have no expectations of what I'm going to see. Paul you always have wildcards.

Paul I can watch your content for hours, you truly are a professional. I had a sea kayak experience were we got stuck on an island because of rough seas. I had a ruger mk 2 with a shorter barrel. I missed every small animal I shot at. If we didn't have dried food we would have had no energy to paddle back. I purchased a Browning buck mark with a bull barrel. It was very accurate, but weights the same or more than most full size pistols. Now I just carry a 9mm.

No Sir. Not skipping any part of your videos. Every second is priceless. Thank you for the video Paul.

"So once again, the Taurus Judge remains useless." Amen.

Just a heads up; just because you see Paul's typical closing credits shot, doesn't mean the video is over!

I like the Chiappa Little Badger. Super light, cheap, surprisingly good trigger. You can get it in .22LR and 22WMR. I have the 22LR version. Folds in half to put in a backpack.

Reasonable, Informative, and fun to watch. In other words, why I watch your vids, generally. Nicely done.

NGL, I was hoping this would be 30 minutes of introduction with 10 minutes of information. I just really like hearing him talk.

I'm starting to wonder if Paul gets his rabbit targets from a first grade art display. " Mommy, Mommy my art class coloring project is going to be on You Tube. . . "

When carrying my 30-30, I carry extra 10 rounds. Then a 45 acp for backup with fifty rounds. In my backpack, is my ar7 with 100 rounds. The same with my shotgun, plus extra 5 slugs and 5 buckshot. 1 box of #6 (25 rounds). Pistol and back is the same no matter the primary weapon. My shotgun is the 590 Mossberg. And three knives, including a bayonet got my 590.

Great video, thanks. As a bush pilot on the amazon forest I use to carry a Drilling, cal 16x16 over 30-06 and I believe is the best survival gun, of course is a very special condition and situation, easy to pack and to kip at the tail compartment of the Cessna 185 with some assorted cartridges to cover any situation! Thanks again!

I appreciated the coloring on the rabbits... well done Paul

I love how disappointed he looks when he pulls out the Taurus Judge and immediately has the "told you so" look. Absolutely perfect.

I love your introductions, it helps set the tone and establish fundamentals that a novice might need to understand the content and effectively use the information to make good decisions. I don't usually need most of the information, but I do use the information when talking to non gun owning friends and it's valuable to less experienced friends when I point them to your videos when they ask simple questions that need a lot of unpacking

The danger from ignorance cannot be overstated. Thank you, Paul for your videos. Don't let the SOBs grind you down.

"So once again, the Taurus Judge remains useless". Had me laughing out loud. No truer words have ever been spoken.

Is this in the top 5 best videos ever made? You decide.

Personally the .410 would be my choice. I use a 500 Hushpower with subsonic weekly for rabbit and birds. On ground targets it is accurate to 40/45 yards. In the US where bigger game would present it would be a 12g with a mix of cartridges using a semi or pump. My usual semi is a Franchi Affinity on a 3/4 choke. Don't forget even a humble spring powered air rifle can fill a pot. You just have to have some skill.

“It’s (.45-70) powerful enough to deal with any game in MY neighborhood” Mine too, and I’ve got moose and brown bears.

Thank you Paul. A dose of sanity is most welcome. You never disappoint. Bravo! Encore!

Yes this made my evening.... thanks Paul Harrell for you videos... always makes my day or evening...

I made up a load for my 3006 using 90gr cast bullets and trailboss that pushes that little guy just over the sound barrier. With no magnification these rounds hit dead center on the 5th line down on my scope at 50 yards. I keep a dozen of them wrapped up in 2 pairs of extra socks (no noise) in the bottom of my hunting bag. I figure a 90gr bullet at 1200fps is the exact ballistics as a 30 Luger and that would take any small game without any meat loss. I'm also lucky enough to have access to an Iridium satellite phone I take on long overnight hunts in the Adirodacks. That is the ultimate survival tool. I have one from work and never had to use it but you can rent them for like $20/day and it sure makes me feel good knowing if I fall down a cliff and break my legs I can call my wife and let her remind me how stupid I am to hunt alone.

I live in the Midwest and spent years running a large river near me and camping on the banks and also out running in the woods camping, hiking, hunting and trapping. In my area we have Bob Cat's which don't bother people normally, Mountain Lions which can and coyotes. A coyote by itself rarely bothers a person but a pack can hunt and kill them in the winter when they are hungry or one with rabies in the summer can be aggressive. We have had wolves come and go in the area and one was just killed this year near where I live. All that being said when I was out by myself I always carried a Rugger GP100 in 357 magnum in a shoulder or a chest rig depending if I was walking or riding a horse or a utility vehicle or in a boat or canoe. It was always strapped in tight so as not to lose it. I often carried a 22 revolver with a 6 inch barrel or a Buck Mark in 22 LR in a hip holster with it loaded and a 50 round box of 22 ammo in my pocket. I usually carried a 22 pistol anytime I was trapping or Coon hunting. If I was out hunting for anything else I normally carried a shotgun or a rifle and the 357 on my hip out of the way of shouldering a long gun. I grew up from a young age carrying a pistol of some kind almost year round in the country or woods because of dangers or dispatching vermin. We have 3 kinds of poisonous snakes in my area and people used to carry a few rounds of bird shot in a revolver to dispatch them with. We have Cotton Mouths ( Water Moccasins ), Timber Rattlers and Diamond Backs in our area. Cotton Mouths are very aggressive, Timber Rattlers try to avoid you if you let them and Diamond backs are unpredictable. Sometimes they are aggressive if they feel cornered, sometimes they ignore you and go their way and sometimes they will lay right up alongside you or crawl right into bed with you for your heat at night. We farmed/ranched and it was a standard rule that we just killed Diamond backs to protect us and livestock. They can overpopulate in an area quickly if conditions are right. That is why we carried bird shot loads in our revolvers. If we traveled into bear country we carried at minimum a 357 magnum and up usually big bore revolvers or a 45ACP or 10mm. Also Bear Mace and a Bell with a magnet that you could quiet it with. If I could only take one pistol and it had to be for all of those uses it would be my Ruger GP100 and several different loads of ammo. I would load or stagger them according to where I was at. I can shoot bird shot close up for snakes and small animals. I can shoot quite a distance away at small game. I can take a deer with it. It can kill most medium to large game close in or 50 yards and under. The loud report can be heard a long distance away or could scare off a dangerous animal. I have several speed loaders and can reload fairly quickly , even in the dark. I enjoyed this video.

The thumbs down are all Taurus Judge owners.

Just goes to show, you can be lost in the woods, but if you have a good ol' .22 rifle you can stay fed (assuming game isn't scarce, of course). Excellent presentation, as always, Paul. Thanks for sharing.

Pretty interesting. My favorite all around backpack gun is my Taurus .22mag revolver. Dependable very accurate powerful enough for medium game. Not too brutal for small game or birds. Easy to carry and you can carry 100 rounds or more of ammo without weighing you down. And it's very affordable to buy the gun and ammo is affordable as well. Great all around survival gun.

Perhaps the best part of this video is that time and again he proves what I've been saying about all of this - without having to go out and waste ammo proving it. Thanks Paul!!!

Paul: Top 5 Wilderness Survival Guns Me: Oh nice! Probably gonna recommend some .22s Paul: *swings around a 26"-barrel 45-70*

A top 5 from Paul, I upvote! I'm a simple man.

This is excellent, it's like going back to the early 2000s. Honestly, I like this video for the information and nostalgic purposes.

I love the big / little combo. I almost always carry a . 22 LR as one of my firearms and either a medium game rifle, or 9mm pistol. Good stuff here.

I enjoy very much how Paul Harrell just produces large guns from his pockets. It's as if the Tardis was a jacket. I think you're better off just throwing the Judge at the rabbit.

I absolutely loved the comment about using proper prior planning, to prevent the survival situation.

Great video, keep doing what you. Praying for quick recovery. You're the best Paul.

Paul: "I'm putting the camera back here rather than near the target because I am firing shot." Me: "The spread isn't that bad. How are you going to get pellets five feet from the target?" Paul: "And finally, the Taurus Judge." Me: "Ah."

So happy! Tough week then a Paul video. Time to relax

6:27 arterial spray example had me laughing! Didn’t expect that from Paul Harrell!

Thanks for all your videos. They're simple but technical enough to validate gun and projectile performances to help guide our choices.

I cant wait ti watch the wilderness channel's "How to survive Paul Harrell"

Next: Paul's Top 5 Pieces of Classical Music, but with a long list of caveats and yeah-bits. I'd watch, like, and subscribe.

I'd like to imagine Paul with a brown crayon in his hand coloring those paper bunny targets.

Caution from a vet deployed with Beretta's: The Problem with them in the field, is that they are such a well made piece of equipment that sand (especially sand) and dirt tends to jam them which is why most people in the field are switching / carrying the un-destructable Glock instead now days. So when carrying Beretta's in the field, Do Not forget your cleaning kit, your gonna need it more than other weapons but if you do she'll never quit on you. My suggestion? If you actually want to torture test a weapon, leave it in a muddy puddle for about an hour, then shoot it. 1) To check to see if the ammo stays dry or whether the factory seals on your ammo fail, 2) To see if the change in temperature will affect the weapon or how you shoot it and 3) To see if the weapon jams due to debris. My choice for top survival weapon is this instead, which is a lot more quieter plus cheaper and will still get you that rabbit out to 75m: www.amazon.com/XtremepowerUS-Multifunctional-Crossbow-Equipment-Magazine/dp/B076L1S9HM?ref_=ast_sto_dp Why? Two different types of ammo at listed 180 FPS (160 clocked but still good enough to take a boar) with 3 full receiver length picitany rails and 200 round capacity (80 5/16 ball bearings with 3 featherless arrows come with it - 2 standard target points, with a devils pitchfork fish shooter). Amazon also sells the featherless bolts as well which can mount standard broad heads but in 7mm, I believe. I dropped the okayish huge sight on the top for a cheap tactical and dropped the separate laser / flashlight that came with it for a good combo laser/tactical flashlight with strobe (as well as dropping an entire pounds worth of weight). Top it off with a nice tactical sling and you have a really nice multi purpose survival package for about $300 bucks once you get all the mounts which is about what a standard firearm would cost you.