12 ga shell is 12x as big, heavy as 22lr rd

and has less effective range. shooting birds on the wing is stuntwork, really, totally impractical for shtf survival foraging. All animals and birds stop moving eventually, it is stupid to think that you just HAVE to fire at them every time you see them, and even dumber to make a lot of noise, calling in every enemy within 2 miles. A sound suppressor makes a subsonic 22 as quiet as a BB gun, and game doesn't flee when you miss with such a setup. nor do the other birds or animals flee or hide when you get a clean kill with such a quiet .22. So this setup is many, many times more effective for foraging than any shotgun. by having the 22lr conversion in a Mini-14, 223 AK, or Ar-15, you have the option of using the 1/4 mile effective 223, or the very quiet 22lr rd, and that beats the limitations of the 12 ga all to heck.

snares and traps are far more efficent than hunting, and you don't have to expose yourself in daylight to use them, either. Ditto for trotlines, fish traps, and nets, of course.

 

Content, I wouldn't call shooting birds on the wing stunt work. It is a learned skill. As for impractical, not really. when the Geese or ducks are coming in tree top level or lifting off a small farm pond, a 22 isn't going to do it unless you are annie oakley.

I've had many a meal of duck, geese, pheasant, grouse (partridge) and turkey that were flying just before being knocked dead out of the sky with a large number of high speed projectiles?

Ranges from 10 yards (only found feathers and beak of that woodcock) to almost 65 yards (when lead was legal for geese)

Those birds were not going to be shot on the ground,tree or on the water. The air my friend is where birds travel.

every game has it's particular requirements, and yes in a SHTF scenario you don't want to attract attention to your self. but don't diss a weapons platform just because it doesn't fit a tactical niche.

I'd trust my skills with a 12 gauge from 2 inches to 200 yards. and yes, It's not a single ammo that can do it all. bird and buck and slug and sabot.

btw, a 22lr round is probably going to cause you to have to chase larger game like a deer a long way unless it's a head shot. 12 gauge Not so much. Just saying you might want to tone down evangelism just a tad or you might get labeled a troll or something like a nut job .

 

Didja....
ever wonder about statistics?
Well didja?
According to the DOD, in Vietnam 1 kill was registered for every 10,000 rounds of 5.56 fired , and a 1:1 kill ratio with the 12 gauge.
Just sayin'.......!
But maybe I'll dump my shotguns, and buy more 22's....maybe a few suppressed pellet and BB guns too!
Everything has a purpose.
Some more than others.
I don't take 300 yd shots with my shotguns and I don't hunt small game birds with a .22...
There's a reason!
IF I have to be quiet I have several options besides a suppressor ( aka: silencer) I can use a slingshot, a bow, a crossbow, a BB gun or even a .177 or .22 caliber pellet gun.
Too mnay areas to cover with asingle waepon.
Besides, UNLESS you are an Eskimo,... I wouldn't go around poking bears in the eye with a .22!
YMMV
Ok, I don't get all the silencer/suppressor stuff!
1) As I have come to understand them, "suppressor's" only reduce the sonic "crack" down to subsonic levels, so why use subsonic ammo?
Or, maybe AWC is full of crap? ( They build "suppressors" for the Military as well as the civilian market)
I used to make all the parts for them....
But they never met an expert such as this person!

 

"Don't feed th Trolls!"

 

I have taken MANY ducks,geese on the ground andon the water with 22's, mostlly with pistols, just because YOU are too inept, impatient to do so does not make it impractical.