"best"caliber for wilderness survival

My thoughts are inspired by the TV show "alone". Obviously , they don't allow firearms, but if you had to live off the land with no help from others, what would your choice be?
My choice would be a bolt action 22 magnum.
Here's my reasoning.
Weight of ammo. A bit heavier than 22 l s lr, but not much.
Effective range. Quite a bit farther than 22lr.
Weight of rifle.    Nuf said.
Harvesting. I've shot deer in my youth with 22lr and magnum. (Not recommended) I found the 22mag much better. For small game, its more destructive, but not like most centerfires. In the unlikely scenario of predator defense, cougars and wolves, the 22mag  is pretty effective.  Bears, well, placement of the shot is critical!

It's all theoretical, I'll never find myself living off the land, but I thought this would be an interesting topic for discussion and thought.

In a survival scenario, obviously a rifle would be more useful than a handgun if only for the increased range and accuracy. As for caliber, the .22 mag is certainly a viable option IF you have a good supply of ammo on hand when you go into the situation. The .22 mag is not something you're likely to find lying around in the ruins of civilization. The .22 LR is everywhere, and much more likely to turn up among the ruins if you dig long enough.

Picking up ammo that someone else no longer needs may lead to other choices. An AR15 or M16 could be very handy, again considering the likely availability of ammo. It's almost as plentiful as .22 LR.

So it may all boil down to what you have on hand or can find in short order in your situation.

In a survival scenario, obviously a rifle would be more useful than a handgun if only for the increased range and accuracy. As for caliber, the .22 mag is certainly a viable option IF you have a good supply of ammo on hand when you go into the situation. The .22 mag is not something you're likely to find lying around in the ruins of civilization. The .22 LR is everywhere, and much more likely to turn up among the ruins if you dig long enough.

Picking up ammo that someone else no longer needs may lead to other choices. An AR15 or M16 could be very handy, again considering the likely availability of ammo. It's almost as plentiful as .22 LR.

So it may all boil down to what you have on hand or can find in short order in your situation.

Good points! I was thinking in terms of the scenario of the TV show. Out there by yourself with your boots being the only transportation.
In a post apocalyptic scenario, I'd easily see 5.56/762x39/762x51 to be the choices. Whatever is common with the military in your AO at the time.

Yeah. I think it’s different if you’re in a “full govt shutdown SHTF” vs “The Hatchet.” If you’re alone in the Appalachian Mtns and might need to eat squirrels, rabbits, and deer to survive, that’s quite different than if you’re in your living room taking pot shots at the neighbors who want your dry beans and rice supply.

For pure survival- if I’m planning a survival kit and I know I might need it to stay alive- I like the .22 WMR. My AR7 is from when Dad used to carry it and other survival gear while fishing in Ontario. Northern Ontario was a genuine wilderness in the 50’s and 60’s and it was plausible that you might have a few days of swatting mozzies and working out how to get home if, for example, your outfitter was incapacitated. (Long story.) .22 mag would put more meat on the… tarp, and if your kit was planned, you could pack virtually as much WMR as LR. One of those nifty little folding .22 WMR/ .410’s sounds good on paper, but now you have two types of ammo to organize and I imagine the rifle isn’t nearly as accurate as a nice little bolt action 22 mag with good iron sights.