Use a bow to extend your supply of ammunition. If you want something intermediate, get a flintlock -- not a rifle, but a smoothbore musket like a reproduction Brown Bess. That way it can double as a shotgun, and will fire a slug out to about 100 yards with fair accuracy. If you must, you can make your own gunpowder (See "Foxfire 5").

But if you must hunt for survival, try traps, snares, and deadfalls instead of weapons that fire projectiles.

Nothing here is simple! You either learn it beforehand or you can't use it -- it's not on the job training.