Five guns

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It's always interesting in threads like this to see how many people own the one, three, five or ten guns they consider essential.

Many do not, which always puzzles me how they can cite a gun as "essential" when they've never owned it.
 
Some years ago, I was fishing near Lake Iliamna in Alaska, and one evening in one of the non-native communities, a bunch of the locals were chatting about their favorites. In an extremely un-scientific poll, my "research" comprised of answers from 22 folks, almost all of them year-round residents, and all were subsistence hunters. Oddly enough (for me, anyway), I kept notes which I have today.

I don't believe any individual felt the need for 5 guns; most had a minimum of 3 though: a .22 handgun, a rifle and a 12 gauge pump shotgun.

Most of the handguns were Ruger Mk I/II, although there were a smattering of S&W, Ruger and H&R (!) revolvers. There was one Colt Woodsman.

The rifles were: (4) Savage 99 (300 Savage); (6) Win Mdl 94 (30-30), (5) Marlin 45-70, (2) Win 95 (30-06 & 30-40), (4) Remington 700 (30-06 & .308), (1) Win Mdl 70 (30-06).

The pumps (there were no semi-autos nor doubles) were about evenly split between Remington 870s and Mossberg 500, plus 2 Ithaca and 2 Winchester. The only non-pump shotguns were 3 Winchester single-shots (I presume Mdl 37). All were 12-gauge and I didn't hear anyone expressing a preference for 3" shells (but it was getting noisy by that time....)

Yeah, I was surprised at the lack of big caliber guns.....or more to the point, a preponderance of moderately-powered lever-actions. Even the 45-70 owners said they use low velocity loads most of the time, saving thumper loads for backing up paying-guest hunters.

But most of the game they shoot are caribou, and I got the feeling that these folks (including 7 women) didn't waste much ammunition.

.22 LR were used mostly for varmints and pelt critters. 12-gauge pumps were for birds and bear protection, especially in the winter.

But the general consensus was that brown bears were to be avoided, rather than shot at.....not only was there the chance that one wouldn't kill the bear (thus becoming lunch), but if successful, the paperwork with the fish/game authorities was "worse than being bear bait."

My host and his family had a few of those firearms and while the actions were all well cleaned, oiled and cared-for, by no means were these guns "beautiful blends of wood and metal." Most of the stocks were really beat-up, and I suspect if I went back today, there might be a lot more synthetic stocks. Probably find more .308.....as the Savage 300 owners were "retiring," their sons/daughters were replacing them with bolt-action rifles in .308.

But....maybe not. As long as they work.....
 
Interesting info! How many years ago was this?

If one has a specific, constant use for a gun, it's easier to pick them.

When the uses and interests diversify, it's harder to only pick 3 or 5 to "do it all."
 
dan wesson valor 1911 (stainless-black coat)
ruger mark 111 target--stainless steel
awc amphibian--suppressed stainless
thompson contender 22lr w/ suppressor and 45-70 barrel

also--32 seecamp (stainless)

or

fun gun--auto ordnance tommy gun m1--can use as a sledge hammer if need be.:D
 
Honestly I currently own 5 and I think my 5 are a wonderful cross-section. Full size pistol, CCW pistol, AR-15, pump shotgun, 10/22 plinker

O'course my lack of a bolt rifle and revolver makes me think 7 is the absolute smallest a collection oughta reach eventually. :D
 
Sadly there are still a couple of niches I need to fill in my firearms accumalation. I still don't really have a good .22 target pistol & I would like to have a semi-auto centerfire rifle of some sort but what I have does pretty much cover my bases.

I would say the essential should be
1. Mossberg 500 12 gauge
2. Marlin model 60
3. centerfire handgun 9mm/38 special or larger-my go to is an XD-40
4. centerfire bolt action rifle-mine is an old U.S. Repeating Arms Winchester model 70 in .30-06
5..22 pistol to plink with-I would like to pick up a Ruger Mark II or III or maybe a Browning BUckmark for this but for now I have to content myself with a heritage single action revolver.

Of course one would have to learn what the interests the person who is purchasing the 5 guns are. What applications the guns would be used for. Their budget would also be useful to know. A Ruger P95 or S & W Sigma could be fine for a centerfire handgun for someone on a budget. If someone wants a handgun for woods carry a revolver might be a better choice than a semi-auto. There are just too many ways to go with this.
 
Maybe only one is "necessary" for YOU.

if SHTF, that's a poor time to go gun shopping.

"What guns" depends totally on what the person does or wants to do. If he's only into skeet, trap and bird hunting, 5 assorted shotguns will serve those pursuits pretty well.

As I said earlier, as needs and desires diversify, selecting five guns that adequately address all gun needs becomes more difficult.

But one premise is almost always left out of these "only 1, 3, 5, 10 guns" threads is the reason why.

Am I just starting out? Am I replacing my lost/stolen collection? Is there a budget? Am I bugging out/in? Or is there a new federal law that restricts each person to 5 guns or frame/receivers?

My answer depends on the reason why.
 
DavidE" said:
Maybe only one is "necessary" for YOU.

if SHTF, that's a poor time to go gun shopping.

"What guns" depends totally on what the person does or wants to do. If he's only into skeet, trap and bird hunting, 5 assorted shotguns will serve those pursuits pretty well.

As I said earlier, as needs and desires diversify, selecting five guns that adequately address all gun needs becomes more difficult.

But one premise is almost always left out of these "only 1, 3, 5, 10 guns" threads is the reason why.

Am I just starting out? Am I replacing my lost/stolen collection? Is there a budget? Am I bugging out/in? Or is there a new federal law that restricts each person to 5 guns or frame/receivers?

My answer depends on the reason why.
Click to expand...
The X amount threads are for two reasons... people enjoy stating their favorite anything, and people enjoy thinking about how their choices would serve them. Harmless fun, and it is helpful to newer shooters I guess, when the bulk of the answers are .22 rifle, carbine, sidearm, bolt gun, or shotgun.
banned member John Melvin Davis said:
the only NEED is for self defense. It's quite rare to have to fire, much less hit the attacker, much less have to hit him repeatedlly iin the chest, with something more powerful than a 100 gr PowRball 9mm jhp.. I say that as a Life Member of NRA since 1978, reading the Armed Citizen column every month, as well as personally knowing Jim Cirillo, Ken Hackathorn, Jeff Cooper, Mas Ayoob, and many others of their fame and experience. Nobody has to hunt these days. If they did, they'd be ignoring seasons, bag limits, regs about what mag capacity or gender, night hunting, baiting etc, they'd be using snares, traps, gill nets, etc. So the hunting is for sport, it's NOT necessary, on the face of it. You seem to be unable to separate needs from "wants'. That is very, very common in this indulgent society. Since the M4 is the military rifle, ability with the pistol will suffice to get such a rifle. I agree, however, that IF shtf, ability with that M4 would be nice to have, requiring prior ownership.
Click to expand...

If your focus is NEED, then CURRENTLY, there is no NEED for a firearm at all. You can get by in most self defense situations without, you can find other ways to spend a Saturday morning than at the range, and you can hunt without one if need be. There's no conflict on our land, so that's not a concern either. So do you NEED that 9mm? Or do you just WANT that 9mm? Sounds to me like you just WANT it.


My point really is that it seems silly to me to say that you would need a handgun for day-to-day, but dismiss a rifle for SHTF. You're planning on the worst with the handgun, which is no different than planning for the worst with an M4.

EDIT - If that came across as hostile, I apologize.
 
One is none and two is one, so I'd say two of one type of pistol Glock 19 or XDm, two battle rifles, either AK or AR, and maybe a .22 rifle or 12 gauge.
 
My turn:
S&W Model 41 .22LR semi pistol
H&K P7M13 9mm semi pistol
H&K MP5 9mm in semi carbine or full auto SBR (depending on your credentials)
Browning BPS all-weather finish 12 gauge
Remington 700 in .308
 
David E: Interesting info! How many years ago was this?
If one has a specific, constant use for a gun, it's easier to pick them.

It was in the late 80s. And I didn't quote my notes correctly....the 45-70s were Marlin and Win '86.....don't know the correct mix.

FWIW, on another trip to a different area, I saw a couple of Win '71s , and on that trip, sold mine, sight-unseen and shipped it up. I believe good lever actions are still in demand in Alaska.

When the uses and interests diversify, it's harder to only pick 3 or 5 to "do it all."

That's probably why so many of us have many more than 5 guns!
 
VancMike
Some years ago, I was fishing near Lake Iliamna in Alaska
Click to expand...

Have an uncle who has lived in Illiamna for years...beautiful area.

I believe it's the same story for him though. They run into bears on a daily basis, and I got very close a few time when I was there. The biggest gun I saw was a 12 ga. pump. A few guys had .44 mags or the like, but it was well known that a 12 gauge was all you needed.

Nobody died from bear attacks that week.
 
A few guys had .44 mags or the like, but it was well known that a 12 gauge was all you needed.


Every resident/native of Alaska that I've ever talked to says using a .44 Mag on a charging mama brown bear is like swatting a locomotive with a wet noodle....you might make a mark, but it's not going to stop her.

Unless, of course, you shoot the leg of your companion so that he's slower than you......:eek:
 
I've never shot a bear, but it seems to me that the soft lead of a 12 gauge slug wouldn't deliver consistent penetration on said bear.

Or are certain types of slugs being used?
 
22lr rifle
center fire hand gun 9mm or better
center fire rifle .223 or better
shot gun 20ga or better

5th gun is the wild card to be chosen to fit the individuals particular circumstances/environment.
 
Huh. I always hate trying to figure these things out, because I don't usually buy a gun for several hundred dollars+ on a whim. All the ones I have are owned for a reason! And I've taken years to accumulate them.

My concept of necessary:

#1- Concealed carry pistol. Got to have at least one. I have a pocket revolver, and a 3" Kframe .357, and a full-sized 9mm that share carry duties. The 642 gets carried most. The 9mm gets shot the most, and goes to shooting clinics and such. The .357 gets loved the most, and goes hiking and hunting.

It'd be a toss-up between the 642 and the .357, if I had to only have one between these three. That is the niche that I most don't want to do without. Packing a pistol for emergency self protection is day-to-day life. All the rest of the guns in the safe get shot on the weekend, but certainly not every weekend, not every month for most of them, and there's one or two in there that have been not shot in far too long.

#2- .22 pistol. Very useful, inexpensive to shoot. I have a Ruger MKII and a Single Six. Restricted to one, I'd be happy with either. Both have advantages. The MKII can double as a credible defense piece, if needed, due to rapid fire capability and decades of familiarity. The Single Six will happily and accurately shoot any .22 rimfire ammo I can get my hands on, and I have even more decades of familiarity with shooting similar guns.

#3- Shotgun. Got to hunt birds. I like my little Spanish 20 gauge SxS.

#4- .22 rifle. Too useful not to have one or more. My Savage MKII gets shot an awful lot lately. My Ruger 10/22 is a ton of fun, too.

#5- Some kind of centerfire rifle. It'd be a tough call between my AR15 and my .243. I suppose, if it was a legal restriction causing me to downsize, I could let the .243 go and get a 6.8 SPC or .300 BLK upper to add to my AR15. That's a plan I could support, and considered when I got my .243 last year. But it cost me less getting into and setting up a bolt action, than getting a quality upper and getting it set up would have.

I've got other guns - muzzleloaders, which were my first hunting rifles, and still go out some years, milsurps, kids' .22 rifles, and so forth.

But five, or any other arbitrary number, is always going to be problematical for me. I'm always going to side with getting or trading into what I need at the time, rather than trying to predict a forever armory of x# of guns. I could probably get my accumulation down to five if I had to, but I definitely wouldn't be happy about it.
 
This is obviously not a firearm enthusiast's or collector's list of must haves for a lifetime (that'd be much longer).

I would apply this list to anybody and everybody legally able to possess firearms who has the mental capacity and responsibility to do so.

.22lr rifle
.22lr pistol
Shotgun
Carry-able defensive pistol in either 9x19/.40S&W/45ACP/.38spl/.357mag
Wild Card, variable depending on the person.

That's as specific as I can get. I won't say "12 gauge pump" for the shotgun because for a lot of people that is simply too much gun. The old, feeble, small female who won't hardly ever practice, etc, would often be better served with a 20 gauge. Just as an example.


If I was to give the list to one of my buddies, that meaning an able bodied youngish male with some firearms interest and a willingness to do a little bit of training, the list might look like this:

Carry-able handgun, preferably a semi auto 9x19 or above
10/22
12 gauge 870
Semi auto centerfire rifle of choice
Wild Card, possibly another handgun of different size
 
David E: I've never shot a bear, but it seems to me that the soft lead of a 12 gauge slug wouldn't deliver consistent penetration on said bear. Or are certain types of slugs being used?

My un-scientific survey of 12-gauge shell used in AK didn't extend to the type of slug used. And the only bear I've ever shot was a black bear (much smaller than a Kodiak/Brown Bear) with a .32 Win.

So obviously some slugs are more effective than others. But, even in a standard 2 3/4" shell, the slug weighs one oz......that's 437.5 gr. floating along at 1600+ fps, with 2500+ ft. lbs. of muzzle energy (almost 3 times a 44 Mag). At close range, that's gotta hurt a soft-skinned critter.

To Warp's post, I agree. My 20 gauge and .410 shotguns are a lot more fun to shoot....even for a manly man like me!!;)
 
I can give a bit of an answer for what 12 gauge slugs are used for bears in Alaska.

Brenneke.
 
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