[bestseller92]

This is so far-fetched I'm not even going to try to concoct the sci-fi scenario that would enable you to actually do it. But, if you'll consent to suspend your scientific knowledge and logic for a minute, let me ask you this:

Somehow, someway, you have the opportunity to go back in time to the 15th century (the 1400s, for those of you still half-asleep). The deal is, you and up to ten of your buddies will be dropped off, in the year 1425, on the coast of North Carolina. You can take as many weapons and as much ammo as you want or as you can carry (you will be on foot, with no transportation such as horses, etc.), but all your weapons have to be those which are legal for U.S. civilans to own now (no M1A1 tanks, etc.).

You and your friends will have to make it across the North American continent any way you can, and, in exactly one year, you will be picked up (and "flown" back to present day) at the edge of what is now San Francisco Bay.

It would be a grand adventure -- you'd get to see and hunt game animals in unbelievable abundance, see totally unspoiled lands, and be totally free for one year -- no job, no TV, no telephone, no nothing except nature. But it would also be amazingly dangerous -- wild animals, Indians, disease, etc.

So, if this were possible, would you do it?

I think I just might.

What say you?

 

[bestseller92]

Assuming I had ten people in my party (including myself), I'd have the majority armed with a Glock 20 10mm (lots of power, high ammo capacity, and fairly lightweight -- also, Ruger doesn't make a 10mm) and probably a Ruger stainless Mini 14 (rugged, good firepower, fairly lightweight). Three or so would be armed with some sort of accurate, scoped bolt action 7mm Mag. We would also have some lightweight (maybe Buckmark) .22 autos in our packs. I considered arming one man with a shotgun (so as to be able to harvest wild fowl), but rejected it due to the relatively high weight of shotgun shells as compared to rifle or pistol ammo.

Don't forget that weight would be a huge concern -- you'd have to carefully select each item based on what it weighed, since you have no pack animals (unless you found a Sasquatch and tamed it ). Even your winter clothing you'd have to carry in the summer months.

I've also decided to give us 18 months to cross the continent.

Feel free to tweak the scenario as you see fit. It really only got truly interesting to me after I'd constructed it (which took a good 5 minutes) and then started really thinking about it.

Some of the questions that occurred to me:

What route would be best?

What kind of clothing to take?

How would we cross the rivers?

How much ammo could we reasonably carry?

And on and on....

 

[Calvin Wiles]

I wouldn't. I wouldn't last a week with the Indians unless they were all friendly, which they weren't.

 

[gunman42782]

Heck yes, I would do it. I would rather take my chances with the Indians than the idiots living in modern America anyway! I think a Mini 14 with 20 rounds mags would discourage the most savage Indian living at the time anyway! Would love to actually have lived back then. Have said I was born in the wrong century many, many times.

 

[kansas45]

I would go. Probaly, most Native Americans wouldn't be too hard to get along with at that time. 18 months would be better than 12. If we go, we had better get in much better shape! I think shotguns are a must, maby some AR's,P345's, XD's, Glocks ect. in 45 & 9mm would be good, along with some 270 cal. long guns. Really, I think most of the ammo would be used for gathering food. Maby we should take some basic fishing gear. I did learn how to make rope & string from weeds & fish hooks from Hedge thorns. Heck, I have even caught fish with those things! (but it is kind of a pain in the butt) When are we leaving?

 

[snarski]

WOW! The easy part would be picking the 10 people, you could use the forum roster for that. The choice of Rifle and handguns would need some thinking about.(Everyone carry the same for weight of ammo, or a variety?) 44mag long gun and hand should handle anything that youd come up against, it was done with less. Study Lewis and Clarke trip, they made it. Big draw back would be the time element. Could it be done in year? The indians wouldnt be a problem, in 1425 they hadnt had contact with us yet so they had no reasons not to trust us. Drop 35-40 yrs off my age and wether we made it or not what an adventure it would be!!!!!

 

[bestseller92]

I amended the original scenario to allow 18 months for the passage.

A guy on the Louis L'amour board suggested taking along a couple of silenced Ruger .22 pistols. GREAT idea for silent hunting.

 

[J Miller]

I'd love to go, but...... I'd probably miss the rendezvous at S.F. bay. Oops I got lost. See ya.....


Joe

 

[sheepdog]

We're missing something-we'd all be disarmed as we entered into California and never make it to the rendezvous-there have always been what there are now in Ca.-just more primitive models...

 

[legacy38]

I'd make contact with my Tslagi (Cherokee) ancestors and get them help me kill off the rest of the party, and then we'd make sure to kill the other Europeans when they began to arrive. We'd still have our way of life.

No offense intended.

 

[ratgunner]

I would carry my .357 Marlin 1894c and a GP-100.That way I only need one kind of ammo.Them folks were trying to kill each other off long before the whites came over, so I doubt they would hesitate to kill us.Of course the animals and sickness would probly get us first.I read that most mountain men died of dissentery not native attacks.Sounds like it would be hard to resist going though.

 

[sheepdog]

Ratgunner, the dysentary was before men learned to drink upstream from the animals What a lousy way to go......

 

[ratgunner]

Yep sure is a crappy way to go in the end.