If you had to choose one...

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I was asking that of Goon, not in general.

The gun selected depends greatly on the scenario. If I were heading for the hills and staying there and had to carry everything on my back, a strong case can be made for an accurate .22 rimfire rifle.

"disaster type" situation implies probable civil unrest and looting. .22 rimfire is out, AR or M1A is in.

What's the "most versatile gun" means different things to different people. An AR-15 with multiple uppers or a 1911 with multiple uppers would allow many different calibers to be used on one "gun" frame.

This is why this question needs specific, unchanging parameters.


Good points. Not really looking for a tight scientific experiment though. I think you nailed most at what I was going for with:
Ok, for a "disaster type" situation and I only had time to grab one, if the wife were with me, it'd be the M4-gery. If I was alone, it'd be the M1A Scout.

Both are ready to grab along with accessories at a moments notice.

(truth be told, I'd also be able to snag a handgun, too..............but which one? )

Next time I'll spend a little more time crafting the question, but I was mainly going for a thought experiment. Everyone's answers have been interesting and adamantly defended.
 
Carter said:
As far as people fondling their AR's, the same can go with FAL, M1 garand, M1a, etc guys. People naturally latch on to one gun type as their favorite. But those AR guys sure do love to fondle them and defend them to death. Good rifle, but its not the only one or best one out there.

I was generalizing. It's impossible to cover every possible variation of semi-auto rifle available in the time allowed.

David E said:
What gun best fits THAT criteria?

While seemingly a simplification, that is even worse.
A disaster and TEOTWAWKI are two different things.
A disaster is likely short term. It's likely that any firearm of sufficient power that you happen to have on hand and a couple boxes of ammunition will suffice. As long as you like it, use what you got. Personally, I'd likely use the FAL. I'd probably load most of my magazines but I probably wouldn't need more than the one in the rifle.

For the end of the world... I am not prepared for that. I have only the most vague idea of what that will entail. If you come up with the "best" gun for that, let me know. But I'm kind of back to thinking that you're going to need one one concealable gun that's powerful enough and with sufficient ammunition capacity for defense against people or animals, accurate enough and with enough range to at least make a rifle-armed attacker nervous, and able to knock off the last stringy cat in the neighborhood without drawing attention to your meal from three counties away. Seems like if you could only have one, you'd need a true multipurpose gun. But I'm getting the feeling we already discussed that... ;)
 
I was generalizing. It's impossible to cover every possible variation of semi-auto rifle available in the time allowed.
Come on man, you have to cover all the obsessives out there, its only fair and PC! JK.

How about this...picatinny mount a .22 pistol to a rifle and we have the perfect ONE gun for all situations. I'll bend the rules for that...haha. It'll take care of larger game and smaller game, including that cat of yours.. =p
 
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Any SHTF situation that allows me to get one gun allows me to get more than one. I have a gun belt with a holster, four magazine pouches and a sheath. In the holster goes a Beretta PX4 Storm 9 mm, into the pouches go three 17-round magazines and one 20-round magazine. The sheath is for a Gerber MKII knife which has served me well for many years. One more 17-round magazine goes into the PX4, and another 20-rounder goes into the CX4 carbine that my wife would pick for her "one" gun.

If I play by the rules, it's the PX4 and aforementioned gun belt. Since I wouldn't have the CX4, I would grab its magazine, as well. With a round in the chamber, I would have 109 rounds of ammunition already loaded in magazines. It's heavy but handy.
 
I guess my old 10/22. Had it for about 30 years. 22LR ammo is plentiful if forced to scavenge.
 
ChCx2744 made it really easy for me since I only own the two long guns: An OLD .22 bolt action rifle and a 12 guage pump gun. Yes, the .22 is a great gun, but with my skill, it would only be suitable for small game, I'm just not good enough to use it against big game. The 12 guage has the power, and with the options of different loads, I could very well take a rabitt with a weak load, and a dear with buckshot or slugs. As far as a combat/SD gun, I'm pretty sure Clint Smith, Jeff Cooper, and Massad Ayoob would all laugh at me if I chose a .22 bolt action rifle over a 12 gauge shotgun that I can shoot just as well if not better.

As far as the knife, I would probably grab my SOG Seal revolver, but it is always in the same spot in my house, and I think it would perform well, bet I'd probably go for either my folder which I always carry, because I trust it, or my leatherman, because in a SHTF scenario, I'd probably be better off with a multi tool that would allow me to make other tools/weapons a little easier.
 
Well, to answer the question as it was initally worded...

"If you had to choose one"
Is fairly unambiguous.

If I had to choose one, it would be either my 4" M66 or my 4" Kimber Eclipse. The S&W would probably be more versatile for hunting, while the Kimber would be better for daily CCW. So Iguess it would depend upon whether society had broken down completely or not, and where it is that I was living at the time.

I would be satisfied with either....but I am happy to say that I can own both, and do. :)
 
As much as I'd like to say I'd grab my brand spankin' new RRA LAR-6.8, I just haven't spent enough time with it to fully trust it, not to mention the lack of availability and high price of the ammo.
If I had spent more time with it and I completely trusted it and if ammo were as plentiful and similarly priced as 7.62X39 or .223, then it'd be a no-brainer, I'd choose it.
But as of right now my top choice would be my SLR-95, ammo is affordable and plentiful, it is accurate, compact, reliable and the rifle is just plain simple as a rock and could take on just about anything on planet earth.
After armaggedon there'll only be two things left on earth, cockroaches and AK-47's :)

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While this is a common question, I never tire of the responses and opinions of folks. "To each his/her own" has never been more true. As a couple of posters have stated, my answer would depend a great deal on WHY I was "forced" to choose only one. And yes, it would most definately be a "forced" situation to be sure. One other consideration that needs to be made, tying directly to the "why" aspect, is WHERE do you live or where are you going? I know some folks in the deep South who have harvested Whitetail deer with .22 Magnum rifles off their back porch. While one can debate the "legality", when you're hungry........... Up here in Wyoming, that might be a far more challenging trick on a Muley.

General purpose, one size fits all, does everything good or pretty good? No doubt for me: a 4" barreled, .357 Mag, double action revolver, preferably a S&W 686. While that is NOT my favorite gun, for an end-of-the-world and you can only pick one, that IS it. Bomb-proof, reliable as hell, 3 caliber ammo option, good for self defense, hunting, and just about anything else. Again, not my personal, all around fav (that would be a 1911 in .45ACP), but in THIS scenario, it wins hands down.
 
P.S.- If I was going to hunker down and wait for judgement day in my own home, then it would be a .308 rifle, hands down. Pick a flavor, I like choices, and have them. :evil:
 
For those of us that pocket-carry a pistol full time, we'd be taking two guns because when we grabbed our long gun our pistol would already be in our pocket. :evil:
 
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For those of us that pocket-carry a pistol full time, we'd be taking two guns because when we grabbed our long gun our pistol would already be in our pocket.

Maybe I should start a thread later where you get to choose one rifle/shotgun and a pistol. Everyone should be happier then.
 
Hey Carter, the rules of nature apply here too. For even on THR, you CANNOT please everyone, all the time, no matter what. It just ain't gonna happen buddy :D

Even on a fairly straightforward, "simple" question, although simple depends on your perspective, you've got folks who want to break the "rules" :neener:

All in good fun folks, no need to start flames or wars. We all have our little quirks.;)
 
Just trying to add a dose of reality! What I'd really need would be my wife to carry all the extra mags & ammo!!!
 
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Just trying to add a dose of reality! What I'd really need would be my wife to carry all the extra mags & ammo!!!

Haha. My gf would kill me if I said that.

I was being semi serious about a thread with a rifle and a pistol option. It is more realistic. But, anyways, I have no desire to satisfy everyone, mostly because people are way too whiney about their favorite gun. Its quite cute really, lol.

Instead of the wife carrying all the ammo you should get a side saddle for your dog. That way you piss off PETA instead of your wife.
 
I like that answer Tex, only problem for me would be my wife packs her own. Depending on what she's wearing any given day, that could be a .380, .38 Snub, or a 9mm. She has been eyeballing my PM-40 lately though, so we could have trouble brewing, and she's a pretty good shot, with ALL of them. :eek:

And to make matters worse, I "let" her run a few mags through my favorite 1911 the other day; she banged every gong, had a real big smile, and her final words that day were "I like this one too." Can you believe that......"I like this one TOO"????? Well, at least I've got a reason to go and buy another one. :D

But, even that doesn't change my choice to the question of this Thread: a 4", .357 revolver.
 
I was thinking more disaster type situation. End of the world, zombie invasion (gotta love the silly scenario's), etc. No law changes or selling your collection. Just only have time/room/weight for one weapon.

What a sly way to slip in a SHTF scenario:D...and it's lasted 3 pages! I didn't think the mods would let this go this long.

For this scenario, I believe M4/M16 fits my bill.
 
A side-saddle for my Toy Poodle??? Heck, he thinks we're supposed to carry him!

Ha, my mom has five poodles. I feel your pain.

What a sly way to slip in a SHTF scenario...and it's lasted 3 pages! I didn't think the mods would let this go this long.

Well we are all being quite civil on this one so why should it get locked?


For you ar-15 guys aren't you worried about long term cleaning in an non-ideal situation? I've owned an AR, thought it was a great rifle, but would hate to thoroughly clean it in the field. I don't have any military experience, so enlighten my if this is actually a problem or not.
 
As mentioned, End of the World is different than Disaster... or to put another way, is this a temporary or permanent situation?

In nearly every case except (possibly) permanent, my choice would be Walther P99 in 9mm. I would choose concealment, versatility (in travel), and ease-of-carry. It's lethal enough to take someone down, and ammo is easy to acquire.

My 30-30 and 30-06 are good for distance, but ammo is very heavy and slow to reload. My 20ga is better than NO shotgun, but again - ammo isn't light, and the barrel is very long... carrying would be more difficult and concealing impossible. My 44mag is powerful, but it's very heavy (8" barrel) and only 6 shots.

My environment would be urban, and a handgun will be better suited than a deer rifle for most tasks and times.

I don't worry about bears and critters, as I don't live in the woods nor have plans to travel in said woods. If I end up for an extended period in bear country, I'll be more worried about adequate food, water, and shelter than a bear. And though a bear can certainly run faster than me, he'll have a much easier time chasing down the guy carrying 200 12ga slugs in his backpack. ;)

thorn
 
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