[MJRW]

If you were to create a list of handguns which are a must have, what would it include. Let's keep the prices and acquisition simple. Current manufacture under 850$ only. My list would be:

1. Medium frame revolver, 3-4" barrel, .357. Ruger or Smith.
2. Snub revolver, .38 or .357. Ruger, Smith, or Taurus.
3. .22 semi-auto. Ruger, Browning, Beretta, Sig, or Smith.
4. Polymer 9mm. Glock, Walther P99, Springfield XD.
5. 1911.

[4thHorseman]

I'm a revolver kind of guy now. I had my "fling" with semi autos. So I would say..
Colt Python, Colt Dective Special, S&W model 65 3" and 4", S&W model 686, Model 29, Anaconda, and Colt SAA. Not necessarily in that order.
By the way, my good wife has seen over the years I got my wish list fulfilled.:)

[Longbow]

Mine would be:
1. S&W 686 4"
2. Browning Buckmark 4"
3. Glock 4" w/ standard capacity mags also known as high cap mags ;). Your choice of model (I like the 17).
4. a well tuned 1911 (i.e. one that works!), in any brand w/ in your $ limit.
5. Ruger Redhawk 6"

I already have 1 through 4, I'm still saving for # 5.

[DeltaElite]

All of the above, plus a 10mm. :D

[Longbow]

....Keltec p11 for CCW! ' got that too!:)

[cslinger]

One of every type of action created.

If that is a little too extreme....you at least have to add a single action of some type. Colt SAA, Ruger Vaquero etc.

Chris

[Shane]

Must haves?

.22 LR semi-auto pistol
.22 LR revolver
.45 ACP semi-auto
.357 magnum revolver
9mm semi-auto pistol
.44 magnum revolver

[10-Ring]

The ones you can afford & pay proper homage to on a regular basis ;)

I think it really depends on what you like and what you do w/ your collection...if you shoot them or just admire them.

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's All-

My list looks something like this:

a) Small J-frame type 5-shot revolver: Smith & Wesson .38SPL.(original, old model 60) with a 2" pinned barrel and the "R" serial prefix

b) Medium L-frame type 6-shot revolver: 6" Smith & Wesson 686-5 ".357 Distinguished Combat Magnum"

c) Large N-frame (heavy duty) type 6-shot revolver: 5" Smith & Wesson 629-5 "Classic" .44 Magnum

d) Compact 9m/m High Capacity Semi-Auto: SIG-Sauer P228

e) Large frame (full size) Combat Auto: .45 caliber SIG-Sauer P220A

f) Home Defense Shotgun: 12 gague Remington 870 Marine Magnum

g) Back-Up Handgun: NAA 1-1/8" barrel "Mini" .22 Magnum


In my way of thinking, this is an adequate supply of "must have's"!


Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[caz223]

Must haves, huh?
OK, I'll play.

1. 4" DA revolver, .357 magnum smith/ruger/dan wesson, colt pythons also work. ;) Must be accurate.
2. Old school full-size 9mm steel pistol with standard capacity mags, smith/CZ/beretta/etc. Must be reliable, and able to buy ammo anywhere. Substitute glock 17/19 if you already have one.
3. Magnum revolver DA or SA .41 magnum and up. Ruger blackhawk/redhawk/vaquero/bisquero/smith n-frame/large frame Dan Wesson/colt anaconda. Able to take small/medium game. Substitute 30/30 , .357 mag lever action rifle, or Glock 20, if necessary.
4. 1911, either .45 acp, or 10mm. Single stack mags. Must know operation, and able to field strip same.
5. Plastic compact pistol, caliber not important. Plenty of extra mags. H&K/glock/etc. Practice concealment and presentation (Empty, or course) in front of a mirror. Must be reliable.
6. 2 1/2" snub .38 or .357 revolver. Comfortable grips. Good holster. Able to hit a paper plate at 15 yards, double action. Must be light enough to carry easily, yet heavy enough to be able to practice all afternoon without pain.
7. Woods pistol/rifle/carbine. anywhere from .22 to .38, must be easy to use, quiet, reliable. Easy enough to carry that you can carry supplies, gun, and bag of stuff without getting tired.
8. Shotgun. Must be familiar with action types, safeties, and what ammo goes into what gun.

Uber-tactical gun optional.

[Ian11]

1. A 1911 .45 Preferably a Colt. The Legend Indeed Lives On!!

2. 9mm. SIG P226, Glock 17, or Browning High Power

3. Effective CCW: Snub Nose .38, Kahr, or subcompact Glock 26/27/33

4. .22 pistol: Browning Buckmark or Ruger

5. Modern Cartridge Auto: .40, .357 SIG, or 10mm by Glock, SIG, or H&K

6. Not really necessary esp. if you want to concentrate on your skills with an auto but a .38/.357 Mag revolver like a K or L frame S&W revolver, Colt Python, or Ruger GP-100. Very versatile and can be left loaded and can be unloaded without a lotta fuss.

7. Pump action shotgun. A good pump like a Remington 870, Mossberg 500, or Winchester 1300 can be had for @$200. Used or new. If you own more than one handgun you have no excuse not to get this highly effective, incredibly durable, and reliable defense gun. Having just a handgun is comforting but my Remington 870 makes me feel as well armed as I could be.

[Boats]

I start from the premise that everyone should have as near parity with the military as one can afford, hence:

1. Ar-15
2. Beretta 92FS
3. Remmy 870
4. A high quality combat knife. My is a Fallkniven A-1.

Then the pieces I humbly think everyone should have one of, even if I am still working on this myself.

5. A 1911A1 still standard enough to strip another one for parts in a crisis.
6. A battle rifle. Mine is a Garand.
7. A bolt rifle in .243 or better. I have a Remington Model 700 Custom Mountain Gun in .30-06 on layaway.
8. A medium framed DA revo.
9. A .22 rimfire rifle, Mine is a CZ452 Lux.
10. A mousegun for deep concealment. Take your pick.

[stevelyn]

Must have a SW1911 for IDPA.
A Kimber Eclipse for CCW (Commander size)
Browning Buckmark for pure utilitarian use. Most useful gun, or used I should say, has been a .22 pistol.
Torn between a single action .44Mag or .45 Colt capable of handling the hotter and heavier Garrett and Buffalo Bore type loads.
I already have everything else I need.

BTW Boats, I agree wholeheartedly on your premise of military parity. However my battle rifle would be a FAL.

[Tropical Z]

Good list!
Id also throw in a Kel-Tec P32 and a good 4" polymer .40S&W.

[Boats]

Didn't mean to get so off topic with the rifle talk, but the main reasons I like the Garand are cheap en bloc clips, fantastic and rugged sights, non-threatening look, (until the bayonet goes on), rugged, reliable, a buttstoker in a pinch, and far better for prone firing than most box mag rifles.

I am not touching it off inside of 300 yards anyways. Mine is sighted in at 500m right now.

[MikeJ]

This is an interesting and timely subject as I was just discussing this with a gun buddy the other day. My conclusion was that after nearly 20 years of shooting/collecting handguns in every major caliber and operational mode I still believe that the following are the only guns I really need, much the same as when I began acquiring handguns.
1. A 4" adjustable sight .357 - I have a S&W 586
2. A good 9mm in a medium to full sized frame - tough choice
3. A snub nose revolver - my current choice is the S&W 640 .357
4. A true pocket pistol that is undetectable - NAA Guardian .32

Mind you that this is the absolute minimum I came up with not what I would want to be limited to. Three others that I would most certainly want to include would be my Sig 229 in 40 S&W, stainless Colt Commander in .45 and Browning BDA .380. There are others but the subject is "must haves" and to be quite honest I would hate to get rid of any of these or others I have collected, they all have their place and purpose. Mike

[cratz2]

Must-haves:
1911A1
Full size Wondernine of some sort
4" 357 Revolver
Quality 22 revolver or pistol.
Lightweight CCW if you carry

My preferences:
Springfield Loaded
Beretta M9 or Taurus PT92/99 or CZ75/EAA Witness
S&W 686 or 60
Ruger Mk for pistols, Dan Wesson or S&W 617 for revolvers
Kahr IWB or P32 in the pocket


Of course, this doesn't take into acct, a dedicated handgun hunter that might want a 44 Mag or 45 Colt Blackhawk.

[Jason Demond]

1. S&W Model 27 .357 Magnum.
2. S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum
3. 1911A1 .45 ACP
4. Glock 17 9mm
5. Ruger 22/45 .22LR

[yzguy]

my current choices:

1911 .45 (my first gun) next to bed (lock box) for home use to get to a long gun
18" Rem 870 long gun I'm getting to with my 1911 (can't leave laying around, kids...)
P-32 Always Carry gun
P-11 Normal Carry gun 13 rounds of +P 9mm
Ruger MKII Range plinker

Marlin .22 rifle (scoped long gun plinker)
AK-47 Fun plinker/SHTF short range rifle
10FP Savage .308 acurate range fun/SHTF longer range rifle

[Longbow]

...I'll throw in; an AK clone (the standard for reliability in automatic rifles, IMO) prefferably in 7.62x39, a good bolt action in common caliber (.308, 30-06, 7.62x54R, 8mm, .223...), a shotgun with at least 20" of barrel (the most versatile weapon one can have, IMO), and a 10/22 in .22 LR.

[Dorrin79]

if we're just talking about handguns, must-haves would just be

1) the smallest, most powerful handgun you can shoot comfortably (if you plan on carrying it) or simply the most powerful (if you don't)

2) a .22 LR for practice & plinking.

everything else is just for fun

seems silly to me that everyone would "need" both a wheelgun and an auto; it's not like either one fills a niche that the other doesn't save aesthetics

[22luvr]

Let's make it really minimal:

Revolver: Ruger SP101 with 3" barrel
Autoloader: 9 mm (Glock, Beretta, CZ, Browning, etc)
Rimfire: .22LR Buckmaster or Ruger
Shotgun: 12 ga pump
Rifle: AK47 or SKS
concealment: P32 or NAA mini revolver

That's barebones minimum but would pretty much cover all the bases.

[Delmar]

Minimal pistols?
an old S&W 22 kit gun
Colt 45 Auto
Ruger Super Red Hawk in 44 mag or 45 Colt

[axeman_g]

Must haves ...

.22 LR Rifle of any sort (I have Marlin 60)
Shotgun .... it does not matter what type or gauge
Combat Handgun (nothing under 9mm)
Rifle, bolt semi, single it does not matter

What would matter in a SHTF scenario is movement, hidding and accuracy when needed.

For just ownership "the must haves" are the ones that catch your eye.

[blades67]

One of each gun you desire.

[meathammer]

Not taking make/model into consideration, (too many good ones to list).

a .45Acp, .44Mag, .357Mag, .22lr

[redmule]

Here's my list.

Ruger single-six for everyday use around the ranch.
Short barreled blackhawk 357 or 45 when something bigger is needed.
colt lw commander for trips to town.