One Gun Man - what's he (she) carry?

AKM.

socalbeachbum said:

what's that old saying, 'beware the man who has 1 gun'



(cause he sure as heck knows how to use it)

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I doubt it.

Usually, the man with one gun bought one box of ammo with it and still has most of it left.

He just doesn't care much about guns or shooting.

Rigby Mauser in 30-06

Now that it has been made clear the gun has to be a rifle, I will say .22 LR. It is good for survival, which implies getting far from all bipeds. Not so good for bear, but I would bet you anything it is better than running low on ammo due to weight limitation in survival mode. Poor choice for defence, I agree, but still, better than being too limited in ammo carry, again.

If defence is the primary purpose, be it against big bad bears from the North or the very far West or against bipeds, the old .30-06 Springfield still has its place, I believe.

If all roles must equally be met, then it is necessarily a compromise. The best compromise I know is sadly not a rifle, but a twelve gauge pump shotgun fully loaded with two belts of varied ammo.

It must exist, but I do not own a twelve gauge/.22 LR over and under. It would also be a good compromise, letting one down only against bipeds due to its limited rate of fire.

Yet, that being said, if a situation in which one would have to think about long term survival and defence was to arise, why, oh why limit oneself to only one gun?

socalbeachbum said:

What's your opinion, if reduced to carrying 1 gun, what will it be? Picture backpacking, bear country?, maybe survival mode, weight and size of firearm, weight of ammo.

What would YOU carry?

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For the fun of the thread, I'd probably look into one of the Baikal M94 combo guns. I'd just have to balance weight of the gun versus the punch the gun can deliver. http://eaacorp.com/portfolio-item/mp94-series-combo-shotgunrifle/

The "bear" thing would have me wanting a repeater of some sort instead though.

Since in rifle forum, I will limit my answer to rifle choices. That is really easy for me. It would my 30-30 lever action. I just love the handiness for walking about. Plenty of power. I have taken it to a number of training classes over the years and am confident in making my shot. I sent it off to Jim Brockman and had the barrel cut down to 16.75" and a slightly enlarged lever loop. It has a youth 12" LOP stock on it, scout scope, XS back up,sights, and a Galco Safari Ching sling. I am very happy with it. 5+1 capacity is more than enough for most realistic needs. No, it isn't the perfect rifle for all scenarios but nothing is. I love the feeling in my hand and the look of wood and blued steel.

You'se guys!

America has always been the home of 'the one gunner', since before the First Continental Congress!!!

The frontiersmen, longhunters, and farmers had just one gun, and they made it work! Whether that was a older musket, one of the many 'schools' of valley-made rifles, a Jaegersschutzen, or what was called a fowling piece. It's what they had in hand, and they KNEW which loading for what purpose was most effective for the situation.

Later, as folks traveled across the plains, it was, again, A rifle, or A shotgun, and as they moved, they LEARNED their loads for the new game and threats to address.

After the War Between the States, the names of Henry, then Winchester, and later Marlin, became 'the one gun', for game and threats, and still are, today.

As for me, my choice of 'one gun' will NOT be anything AR/AK/M-anything. Three years in Southeast Asia was enough of that type of firearm.

I SHALL be choosing a lever action rifle in either .357Magnum or .30-30winchester.

One gun?


.300 Win Mag...

socalbeachbum said:

What's your opinion, if reduced to carrying 1 gun, what will it be? Picture backpacking, bear country?, maybe survival mode, weight and size of firearm, weight of ammo.

I'm sure this has been covered in the past, but new weapons have become available. I'll avoid the 'D' word (doomsday). Ya, I know, it depends and varies, but.....

I'll throw out an idea of mine, AR-15 12" barrel, 100 rounds of 61 gr penetrator, .22LR bolt, 500 rounds of 40 gr HV .22

OR, Savage .22LR/.410?

What would YOU carry?

what's that old saying, 'beware the man who has 1 gun'

(cause he sure as heck knows how to use it)

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"One Gun"...for survival in Bear country...Grizzly, Kodiak, even BIG Black bears...
...1 gun not gonna get it.
I'll take either my Sako Kodiak .375H&H MAG., or my WWG "mod" Marlin 1895GBL .375WWG/.45-70Govt., should do for all those bears.
In my backpack, a taken-down LaRue PredatOBR 5.56, and on my hip, a Glock G20 10MM

I'm happy now...

Benelli Nova pump 12 ga. You could be hunting rabbit for dinner with low brass #6 shot when you see a grizzly hunting you for dinner. Push the mag disconnect button , pull the slide back, put a 3" brenneke in the barrel, close the barrel and shoot that bear in the face. All in about 5 seconds.

Only 1 vote for the sks? I gotta chime in and make that 2.

As for me, Kel-Tec Sub 2000 9mm all day long.

Ultra portable/concealable but plenty of firepower and accuracy. Also hits pretty hard with 9mm +P+ JHPs and a 16" bbl to get them up to speed!

I have a US Model of 1917 someone sporterized that I wouldn't part with in 30-06 of course.

Since I reload I can make any ammo I want from light bullet Varmint loads to whatever I need up to 220grs.

This one gun thing never works though because you really do need a 22LR for small game if you will be feeding yourself for any length of time. The bigger game isn't always available.

How about a Drilling type rifle but with a 12GA barrel, a 30-06 barrel and a 22LR barrel. (not available are they?)

One gun?

Easy. My Ruger 10/22 All-Weather, with a decent ammo reserve. It's not glamorous or tactical, but it fits that role very well. It's tough as nails, unfailingly reliable, and while the .22LR is not an ideal defense cartridge, I own 25-round factory magazines for it and that will work just fine against a two-legged target. I've got 25 tries to hit something incapacitating, with almost zero recoil. With CCI Stingers that's way more formidable than it seems at first.

Also more than adequate for taking small game, and stainless/poly for durability in the elements. Yep, that's my one.

Easy

If only one gun for everything it would be the gun I carry all day every day right now which is a 4" 1911. I have been switching back and forth between a Kimber CDP and an Eclipse, but if only one, I would stick with the Eclipse. It ain't light but I am used to carrying it, and two extra mags, around on my waist 12-18 hrs a day.

Self defense carry gun Check
Home defense Check
Hunting deer sized game to 50 yards Check
Black bear defnse Not so much

If it has to be a long gun

Make mine a Marlin Takedown in 45-70 from Wild west guns. I want it made of stainless with a black Nitride finish and I want an 18 inch octagon barrel. I want a Leupold extended eye relief scope of about 4x mounted on a quick detach base along with Iron sights, maybe something from XS sights. I do not want an ugly picatinny rail. As for stocks, I want laminated wood, probably the gray black kind.

I would go with a Winchester M70 Ultimate Shadow Hunter Stainless in .308.

Marin 1894c lever 357 and same caliber handgun.

Mosin Nagant M38

ETA: or M91/59

Golden Desert eagle .44 on a black leather Miami style holster.

Marlin 1894s 44 mag. Good for everything.

Impossible to answer.....so I will answer.
Assuming, as discussed, that it must be a rifle I would cheat and go with one of the over/under rifle-shotgun combos. Since we are all assuming the ultimate "need" here I think the shotgun gives you the ability to take any game from a goose to a grizzly (though those bears can get a bit agitated if you shoot them with #4 shot) while the rifle allows you to reach out and take an animal at a greater distance. This of course makes the weight of the ammo a problem because you need a couple of different types of shotgun shells and they aren't light.
If I had to survive forever (or a long time) with just one gun AND it had to be extremely portable (meaning I was on the move EVERY day without a base) then I would go with a 22. It can kill virtually every big game animal in the USA (if you get close enough and make a good shot) and you can easily carry a couple of thousand rounds. 1k rounds of 30-06 can get mighty heavy and it tends to make a mess of rabbits and other small game.

Long gun= 12 gauge
handgun= .45acp

My choice would be my Browning BLR takedown scout in 308 .
It can be taken down and stuffed in a backpack.