The Great American Road Trip

[Aesop]

Apropos of nothing in particular, I think it's time for what was once an annual Kim DuToit tradition:

It's 1617. You've been dropped off at the Golden Gate. You have three years to make it across North America to either Jamestown or Plymouth Colony, with your choice of 1 pistol, 1 rifle, and if you wish, 1 shotgun. All travel is on foot or self-constructed boat (no pack animals). What do you choose to carry, and how do you go about it? Show your work.

[Netpackrat]

I reject your premise. If I can carry a shotgun, I can certainly choose to carry a second rifle or a second pistol in lieu of that.

[Greg]

I never really cared for those when they were original.

Should clarify at least a little to make it just a little less artificial. Say you have a certain choice of supplies to be dropped off/exiled with. As in, you can't choose to start with pack animals, or a 40' sailboat, etc. Saying you can't *use* pack animals seems to be a bizarre artificial restriction.

[Yogimus]

I will stick with my "Solid Gold Longarm", Belt Fed Machinegun, and a glock.

Sell the gold to ride like a king, sell the machinegun to live like a king, use the glock to kill a king.

[Jericho941]

F-15E. As is tradition, I'd have an M9 strapped at my side. I'm assuming, of course, the M61 fits the "rifle" slot, thus justifying the F-15E and allowing me to cheat out of about 2400 miles.* If I couldn't reach the destination triple-bagged, I'd fly until dry, and jettison the travel pods. These would contain supplies and a Remington 870. If I'm allowed to drag a WSO on this adventure, his or her travel pod would have their weapons stored in it, along with my Remington 870, and supplies. We'd ditch over the "drop site" and wander the remaining 200 miles on foot.

*Favorite line from the Michael DiMercurio novels: "You ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'."

[Aesop]

I reject your premise. If I can carry a shotgun, I can certainly choose to carry a second rifle or a second pistol in lieu of that.

Your rejection is rejected. Color inside the lines please; rules is rules.

F-15E. As is tradition, I'd have an M9 strapped at my side. I'm assuming, of course, the M61 fits the "rifle" slot, thus justifying the F-15E and allowing me to cheat out of about 2400 miles.* If I couldn't reach the destination triple-bagged, I'd fly until dry, and jettison the travel pods. These would contain supplies and a Remington 870. If I'm allowed to drag a WSO on this adventure, his or her travel pod would have their weapons stored in it, along with my Remington 870, and supplies. We'd ditch over the "drop site" and wander the remaining 200 miles on foot.

Sadly, with neither fuel nor an airstrip for takeoff, you'll be spending a lot longer than three years, with or without WSO, clearing a strip, drilling for oil, and constructing the necessary instruments to refine crude into JP-8 using whatever you can construct from abalone shells and pine trees.

I'd have to seriously wonder about people who'd specify that to play chess, they'd put miniguns on the rooks, and give hand grenades to the pawns, and thus kill all the opposing pieces before they could attack.

As in, you can't choose to start with pack animals, or a 40' sailboat, etc. Saying you can't *use* pack animals seems to be a bizarre artificial restriction.

Fair enough. You can't start with pack animals, and as there are no horses native to the region at that time, there are thus no mules, and no oxen. If you choose to try sled dogs on a northerly route, or spend some of your time catching and domesticating goats, buffalo, or antelope for the trip, feel free.

[Netpackrat]

I reject your premise. If I can carry a shotgun, I can certainly choose to carry a second rifle or a second pistol in lieu of that.

Your rejection is rejected. Color inside the lines please; rules is rules.

I don't think you quite understood. My participation in this thread will be limited to heckling, not playing. And perhaps a better question might be, why would I want to brave hostile savages, wild beasts, and inhospitible terrain in order to reach either of your proposed destinations? One is a malarial swamp, the other is populated by religious fanatics. I'm thinking that California before it got filled with the current crop of Californians might be a nice place to just stay. Sure as fuck I am not going to head for Alaska.

[Aesop]

Your uncontrollable Too Coolness is noted.

[Netpackrat]

Thank you. I declare this thread irrelevant, and bid you good day.

[evan price]

So the challenge is therefore to reach your cross-country destination in some sort of speed?
Instead of worrying about guns, I think I'd be more inclined to worry about water purification, building fire, salt, antibiotics, navigation instruments, and proper clothing/footgear. A good knife would be capital, and a couple extras even more so. A hatchet, fish hooks, needles...so many things would be useful and you are limited to being man-portable. So maybe 60 pounds total loadout.

Obviously any sort of cartridge-fed arm will do much better than the smooth-bore matchlocks and wheel-locks of the era. That again will be far superior to most string-powered arms.

Primary use for a firearm will of course be subsistence hunting. Far down secondary will be defensive; I'd say that since NFA rules don't apply I'd prefer an AOW-style shotgun, with switch-barrel capability, and carry the field-length barrel for that same gun. Can do shot or buck or slug, and that will get you 90% of game creatures that a single human being who is travelling can realistically use.

Secondarily, some sort of 357 caliber stainless revolver (Like a S&W 686), and get the shotgun chamber adapter that lets you also use the same 357 ammo in the shotgun just in case.

Other than some romantic cowboy notion, I don't even see a need for a rifle. The objective is to travel quickly, not get into long range shooting of either other men or game animals.