Just one gun....a discussion.

[Tightwad]

To start the Shotgun board here's a discussion of the value
of a shotgun as THE gun for families.

comment if you want to...........

http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=fir-other-weapons;action=display;num=1158935705

[zebraman]

Hey Guys; Just out of Curiosity,how many people on this site just has one gun?

[Tightwad]

Not to many today have one gun but that is NOT
correct from a historical point of view nor would it
be in a SHTF scenario. "Collecting" guns is a modern
day habit that history will not support which is why
I posed the "one gun" topic.

That said......"I" firmly believe that the shotgun is
THE only real family choice for hunting and self defense.
Taken from that point of view do you agree or disagree
and why?

[Star1pup]

I think a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun will do just about anything with the right ammo. I have an 870 Express in 12 gauge and have taken deer, turkey, squirrels, duck and rabbits with it. I did switch to a fully rifled barrel for the deer and used Lightfield Sabots. I have never needed it for self defense, but it sure would do the job if needed.

And, yes I have a bunch of guns.

[scoutinlife]

I believe the 12 Gauge would be a good one gun solition if you only had one.The versatility between buckshot, slugs ,makes it great for hunting and defence!

But I have way more than one gun ;)

[Old_Dog]

Like everyone else, I have several guns. If I had to get rid of all but 1, I would keep the NEF in 12 guage. With a variety of shot sizes I'm loaded for everything from squirrels to bears.

[commonsense]

I saw the gun today if I could not have but one. It was a Remington/ Spartan .308 over a .12 gauge with proper ammo this gun could do it all for you.

[longshot]

beyond a doubt, a 12 gauge pump, fairly rapid fire and versitile the do most things weapon/tool

ls

[RangerRick]

A 1/2" socket is perfect for a 1/2" bolt but it isn't worth a damn on a Phillips head screw. *No one tool does it all so my recommendation would be a "defence in depth".

Ranger Rick

[Tightwad]

"No one tool does it all so my recommendation would be a "defence in depth".

Just out of curiosity how do you define "defense in depth"?
More weapons? Different types of weapons? What?

It could be that a shotgun (as the one gun), a knife & and ax
could be a good combo. Or were you thinking along different
lines?

[JeffColorado]

One problem with a long gun for home defense, as learned in a class on same, is
When of if the victim of a home invasion, and finding yourself with the need to "sweep" through rooms to get to others you need to get, say to get to your kinds when someone is already in the house, and you don't know where they are, a long gun has the distinct disadvantage of making you at risk to having it taken away from you. This can happen while are entering rooms or going past doorways, due to having the barrel out in front of you – as you would in order to have it at the ready, and having someone hiding around the corner who can grab the barrel and take it away - especially if there is more than one person hiding there. In the class it was shown that in this case a good pistol is the best weapon to have. This portion of the class was backed up recently on a show on the outdoor channel showing the exact same thing making the same point.

That being said, and watching the demonstration of a sweep, the notion of one all around, good for everything gun doesn't hold water IMO.

[Tightwad]

While I understand your well taken point the *
exact same thing can happen to you with either
a hand gun or carbine. So while the size of the *
weapon does enter into the picture it's the weapons
"knockdown" power that is more important. One *
shot with a shotgun will either kill or so badly
wound and intruder or attacker the game is over. *
*
I don't know about you but staring down the business
end of a shotgun,to me, means the person holding it ain't
gonna miss. *
*
However, having the gun taken away from you does present
a catch 22 that means that whatever gun you use you're
gambling so if you have to shoot.....shoot and don't hesitate.

Also note that under stress most people can't hit a barn with a
hand gun. Depending on the caliber of the handgun there is a
very real danger of punching through walls and killing or injuring
family members where neither of these factors play as large
with a shotgun. "Sweep" is the last thing in the average sleepy
homowners mind when he has to defend his home. He just
wants the intruder the hell outta the house.......NOW!

[gunslinger2006]

While shotguns are very powerful, they and no other guns are magic death rays. Don't count on one shot to do the job.

[longshot]

just to clarify, i didn't say the shotgun was a do everything weapon i did say it was a do most things weapon, if i were restricted to just one weapon i would expect it to do multiple tasks from defence to putting meat on the table. a pistol is more specialized and i like them but i do find them better for specific tasks and less verstile.

jsut my opinion

ls

[Tightwad]

just to clarify, i didn't say the shotgun was a do everything *weapon i did say it was a do most things weapon, *if i were restricted to just one weapon i would expect it to do multiple tasks from defence to putting meat on the table. *a pistol is more specialized and i like them but i do find them better for specific tasks and less verstile.

jsut my opinion

ls

Yes, I agree that in a "one gun" scenario the shotgun holds the most
promise. NO one gun will ever be perfect for all tasks.

That said, this discussion is meant to challenge the multi-gun owner
to step out of their square a bit to help those who only have interest
in one "very useful" gun to find that "one" gun. As it stands now the
general consensus is leaning very strongly towards a 12ga pump
shotgun to fill that need. For some smaller ,or female, owners I'd
say a 20ga pump or dbl barrel might be more appropriate.

As a speedy ,little chance of missing, home defense tool the pump
shotgun is as reliable as any one could want ,or need, to own. Only
the venerable dbl barrel is more reliable as guns go.
And you can also hunt with them! ;D ;D

[Archangel]

If I had only one gun, which I don't, it would be a 12 GA. I was surprised to find reading some historical things that it was the recomended gun for wagon trains. ;D :) ;D Just my 2 cents, Michael

[Tuckahoe]

A shotgun is a fine weapon that "can" provide protection and food in many situations. That being said I believe that many are turned off from homesteading and or survival prep due to gun forum commandos who will spout that if you don't have a national match M14 and a super tuned handgun that costs more than the average car you just can't make it. Think of the young couple with a few kids and a tight budget who are ready to get out of the urban jungle and feel that they can't make it without all the bells and whistles of the latest wonder gun. While much of the game is mindset and doing with what you have on hand.

[the_grizz]

I'm new to this site but not new to this subject, while my family has handguns,their sole purpose is to get to our long guns, ie: while working in the garden etc. But i agree 100% the pump 12 ga is the way to go.My boys and I all have pump 12's , while my wife and daughters have youth model auto 20's.My reasoning is simple ease and availability of ammo/many diferrent types,home defense/hunting,also if we had to bug out and walk from point A in North America to point B in North America. the odds of finding ammo in abandonded vehicles , homes , barns , sheds etc: are greater with these two gauges because of their popularity in North America. jmho, I look forward to sharing ideas with everyone here no one person can think of everything.

[Tuckahoe]

Welcome aboard grizz!

[Crash]

Tightwad,

If I were restricted to just one gun, a 12 ga pump (and I own one, BTW) would probably be the best choice. That being said, they might not be the best choice if one had to hunt or defend oneself over long distances. But their versatility with different loads and general lethality probably make them the no. 1 choice.

Crash

[Tightwad]

A shotgun is a fine weapon that "can" provide protection and food in many situations. That being said I believe that many are turned off from homesteading and or survival prep due to gun forum commandos who will spout that if you don't have a national match M14 and a super tuned handgun that costs more than the average car you just can't make it. Think of the young couple with a few kids and a tight budget who are ready to get out of the urban jungle and feel that they can't make it without all the bells and whistles of the latest wonder gun. While much of the game is mindset and doing with what you have on hand. *


;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Truth CAN be very funny....... :o :o

[hunter63]

My vote also goes to the 12 ga, as it can be game getter(all kinds) as well as a protection weapon, able to be fired in the general direction of an intruder with good results, no matter how inexperienced the shooter.

That being said, everyone in the house hold should be able to find, load and shoot any weapon in the home as needed or if taken will only arm the intruders.

[the_grizz]

Thanks Tuckahoe

[Tuckahoe]

I used to be of the school of I must have a gun for everything. I had a golf bag battery of arms and had a weapon to fit most situations.
I have been an avid survivalist from 1982 to today. My arms collection is not as stocked as it once was. I have reduced my calibers and chosen weapons after much thought.
I do not see the united states going into a civil war on a mass scale but I can see where incidents like Katrina or the Rodney King riots could put people in need of arms for defense.
I enjoy hunting but know that it is not a realistic way to feed my family on a daily basis. Trapping and growing my own food is far more productive.
The survival mindset is to make the most of what you have. Will a single shot .22 rim fire take a deer? Yes. Would anyone advocate a .22 rim fire for deer hunting? No. The same could be said of many other calibers they may not be ideal but they will work that's where your survival mindset kicks in.
Take a careful look at your personal survival situation. What are the dangers? What are your needs? Are you getting out of Dodge or hunkering down to ride out the storm. Take time to think out the what if's.

[Mac_Muz]

Tightwad
Little dated back to Dec 22, but I'll play......

One gun and everything it needs right?

brown bess rock crusher... I live in the nor east so the woods is thick, making long shots a non event hunting.

it shoots a ball weighing 1 ounce... .753 round ball, which will take moose, bear and deer.

Since it is a smooth bore it will take any shot size for small game.

A home load would be buck and ball, which means a ball then 9 or more buck topped off with another ball and a card to hold it all.... (ummm the real mans load, kicks like a mule and you can't miss the notion either)

The belching stink would blind by standers facing it with a blast if burnt sulfur fryin their eys making a quick re-load something of a possibility, and God help those who move to fast before the ram rod has been removed....

SO long as only 8 jerks came to assault and stood in a row every one em would be white meat... at the door step.

However that isn't likey and so the 2 foot long pig sticker might be the next tool used.. and the butt end.... (no sence wastin nuthing so kill em all)

This gun isn't gonna break easy....

You could loose just about everything and still get use of the loaded shot, and use the flint to dress and skin game... Even do minor surgey with.

If some reason water was hard to come by and you found a pocket in a crevice the barrel can be converted to a pump..

You can start a fire with or with out the gun loaded and use no powder.

I suppose if you fished with a rod you could use the ram rod.... (I fish with plants and a net)

Most certainly the rod can be used to assist in cooking, and beaning rug rats in need of a positive gesture to behave....

Since I get the entire kit I have a powder horn with a compass in the base, I have a possibles bag filled with tools, like a bullet mould which doubles as pliers, a lead ladle which doubles as a nasty spoon, but I would only use it to feed terrorist with anyway..

I get a few little patch knives, and dainty little metal vent picks to use as interrogation tools (what fun huh?)
These are handy to pick a wood splinters with as well.

I get maybe 100 .735 round balls too, all nice in a leather bag which is handy to get folks to see things my way.

Whats more I can make a dice set and play craps for the times torchering terrrorists isn't fun any more.

I get a sewin kit, with steel needles, I get jute twine for cleaning the gun mulitples of times, and can make it a fuse since it contains sulfur residue and nitrates still, and can use the twine as is for a snare.

I should also get my flint and steel set with fish hooks, and burning glass (another nice set of instruments of torcher too)


With all these bodies, I get skin for new mocs, sinew for the sewing and brains, uh, do they have brains, err I dunno, but if they do I can use them to tan their hides..

That do it for you?

[DM]

"If" i had to get down to one gun, this would be it!

http://www.fototime.com/3307385D2BCD845/standard.jpg

I already do 99% of all of my hunting with it now, and i've harvested everything from moose, bear, deer, on down to ducks and all kinds of other small game with it...

BUT, getting down to "one gun is never going to happen for me!!

DM

[Mac_Muz]

I have always wished for a Drilling.... What is the rife bore?

[DM]

The bottom rifle bbl. is chambered for 8x57jrs and i handload 200 grain Nosler partitions for it...

It's pretty much all i hunt with anymore, and it's been working out perfectly for me since i bought it in the early 80's...

DM

http://www.fototime.com/71D5748CCA76B2C/standard.jpg

[Mac_Muz]

Thats pretty plain so see, I just can't see the image well enough to determine the 8mm casing...

I hope one day to have something like that... Perhaps after I get black powder out of my system, but that day isn't close yet....

I once knew a dealer who has since passed away that more or less specialized in drillings and double rifles, all more than I could afford....

[Rick]

Beware the man who only owns one gun.........

.....because his wife has him on such a tight leash, he's bound to be in a bad mood.

;D

[Mac_Muz]

LOL Rick,

that ain;t my problem at all... I bought a SAR-1 ak clone less than a week after 9-11 due to a women of clinton's ilk sayin that the attack was directly related to Americans being able to legally own private fire arms..

I made the error of taking my wife with me to try it out, and once she did I got "The Look" you know that look a women gives you that says if you even think of taking this away from me yer a dead man look... ever see that "look"???

So I solved the problem with another gun just like the first one. Somehow being able to still suck air seemed better at the time ;D

Now I have to hide any new gun from her for fear of going broke.....

[Rama_das]

i had one gun once, then the next day i went and got another lol.

order my shotgun got it the day before my birthday, then on my birthday i got my rifle.

but if i had to run out and could only take one. i'd take my shotgun. mossberg 590 12 g

[ozarksnick]

I'm a strong believer in the one-gun theory. Simply because if you train with one gun, you're shore as heck gonna know how to shoot it.

That said, I own two guns. A snubby revolver in .32 mag and a NEF 20 gauge. I used to have more but I sold em off a while back.

The .32 is the gun under my pillow at night, and the 20 is hid behind the bedroom door.

My wife and I have it planned out, if someone comes busts through the door while we're sleeping I grab the pistol and she grabs the shotty and the phone.

[retrieverman]

I shudder every time I read a "one gun only" thread, but I would if I had to. I have a safe full of guns and wouldn't want to part with any of them.

I agree with the others that a 12 ga could/would be my "one gun" if I had to choose. Mine would be my Benelli M1 Super 90 with a 21" barrel and screw in chokes, and I am in the process of buying a rifled slug barrel for it now. I have had it since 1995 and killed everything from doves, ducks, and quail to deer and hogs.

I do reload my shells for upland and small game but am not set up for buckshot or slugs at this time.

I really can't imagine not having a handgun for "personal" protection, but I guess that I could get by.

[Tuckahoe]

Could one gun be a platform such as the AR-15 with a number of uppers? In truth it would be one gun but able to change to fit other needs. I always thought the Savage Model 24 had lots going for it. Available in a number of caliber guage combos it could be two guns in one.These have gone to the pricy side so some may be discouraged in this model.
The H&R NEF combos could also be viewed as one gun. Ahhh but one rifle that is a muzzleloader, shotgun and centerfire rifle all of these at a very affordable price nice package.

[RazorBack]

I really don't see the extreme threat of human wave attacks or being able to snipe from 800 meters like so many others do, so I see the shotgun as a very good choice if you can only have one.

Buckshot is absolutely devastating up close -- basically, it trumps the handgun, with only slightly more effective range. You should be able to put foster slugs on a paper plate at 100 yards with just the bead sight, it's not that hard, and not likely that you can justify shooting much further.

Various other shot sizes for other game, oh yeah, the shotty's got it going.

I forgot where I read it, but contrary to popular belief MOST frontier/cowboy era people didn't have the money for a brace of handguns, shotguns and a few rifles. The most common, by far, choice was a shotgun, often a single shot, and quite often, a BP muzzleloading shotty. It's been a good choice for a long time.

I bought an 870 Police Magnum, and a spare barrel with choke tubes. Buck and slugs go from the 18.5" and for birds and small game, it's the spare barrel, usually with a Mod choke screwed in.

[ozarksnick]

The only time that I start thinking about somethin other than my shotty is when I imagine of all the scumbags in my town coming looking for my garden if food is ever short for some reason. And then I think of a hi-capacity semi-auto rifle. Or at least a good lever gun.

[Old_John]

Well, I've pondered this thread a few times.......
The only way most of us are going to be "caught with
only One Gun", is if we get caught out, away from the House.
And, in that case, it'd be whatever Sidearm, we happen to be CCW with, that day.
For me that'd be a .357 magnum Ruger, 3", GP100.

Now I also have an old beater, 12 ga. single, behind the seat, in the pickup, with a half a box of various shells.
DSW has a truck gun in her pickup too. I think she's got a beater .22, right now. And she has a CCW, too.

If you don't have an old "truck gun", Well, you prob'ly ought to, in case you're out away from the House.
OOPs, that'd be Two Guns, wouldn't it.

What's the point of this discussion, anyway?
It's hard to figure when we'd have just one gun, between us.
Take care, hunnh.

[retrieverman]

Hey Guys; Just out of Curiosity,how many people on this site just has one gun?

I can honestly say that I only have one gun (on me right now).LOL!

I really hate "one gun" threads (mainly because I hate choosing WHICH gun), but I would probably take my Benelli Super 90 12 ga. In the last 12 years, it has proven to be a do-all gun.

[huntershaven]

I dislike these one gun threads as well because they sound more like a contest of who is right/wrong and why. Unless by purpose or circumstances most people will have more than one firearm and other tools with them, on their body or in camp.

I believe a handgun from about 9mm Luger/.38 Special potency up to a .454 Casull or .500 S&W (depending on potential predator encounters) would be part of a trio of arms at a minimum. The others in the trio would be a .243 Winchester rifle at a minimum upwards to perhaps as large as a .458 Winchester Magnum or .45-70 Government depending on game hunting and defense needs. The third would be a 12 gauge shotgun, yes, but it is still a specialized tool even with its versatility.

What I would say is for small to medium game, snare or trap it when possible to save resources. For larger game, hunt smart. For two-legged predators, evade or quietly ambush when the opportunity is right. Force on force confrontations with firearms as an individual or small group against a larger group are not a good idea.

Big and dangerous game, I would prefer to have a powerful rifle to deal with them for safety and ethics. Also, in a scare food world, long shots may be the only shots. A 12 gauge is not normally a long range proposition.

[Tuckahoe]

I do not believe there will be an end to rifle vs shotgun vs handgun based on the fact that there are so many situations.
Someone living in a large metro may be well served by a handgun. A person in the suburbs will find more use with a shotgun. A person living in a rural setting may find the rifle or shotgun a better choice and find little use for a pistol. Some person may want all three based on their unique situation.
Each weapon has its pro's,con's and limitations. Guns are tools and a hammer cannot replace a screwdriver so we look at the situation we are in and our needs and budgets to get our ideal weapon.

[commonsense]

I found the one. Savage 24 30/30 over 12 gauge. This unit also has a screw in choke system. I have an extra full trueglo in it now. Put in the remington 4x6 dueplex loads and that makes a excellent all purpose load . Then you have the option of all other 12 gauge rounds. We all know that millions of game animals have fallen to the old 30/30