One gun?
To arrive at an answer I have to decide what guns are
for. Guns can be used for the following:
- Hunting
- Leisure (target shooting, etc.)
- Personal protection
- Protection of home
- Protection of liberty
If I can have only
one gun, I would want one that can perform most or all these tasks in a satisfactory manner:
handgun
Hunting – poor
Leisure – good
Personal protection – good
Protection of home - fair
Protection of liberty - poor
shotgun
Hunting – good
Leisure – fair
Personal protection – poor
Protection of home - good
Protection of liberty - poor
rifle
Hunting – good
Leisure – good
Personal protection – poor
Protection of home - good
Protection of liberty - good
In light of the above, if I can have only one gun, it would be a
rifle.
I now have to decide what type of rifle, and what caliber. This really isn't as important as most people think. But if I had to decide on a type, it would be a bolt action, since it has the strongest and most reliable type of action. As far as caliber goes, I would want something
common and
powerful. I can only think of one that meets this criteria: 7.62 x 51 NATO (.308).
So there you have it... if I can have only one gun, it would be a bolt action rifle in .308.