What To Do, or Do Nothing.

[scaatylobo]

At "that " age too

I am retired LEO and own an 'ar' and a few others that are more hunting rifles.

I too pondered your dilemma.

My solution is to keep an M-1 CARBINE,as my belief is that no matter how old or fragile you get [ and we WILL get there,if we 'get there' ] you can shoot and handle a really light long gun such as the carbine.

Don't get me wrong,I will stick to the better centerfires until [ IF ] I can no longer shoot them or CARRY them with accuracy and some degree of comfort.

Then I see the carbine as the solution to the problem of age and lack of usable joints.

I am still shooting the heavy stuff,but I see that getting older and more fragile will require change.

My 870 set up for 'social' use is still a viable gun to use,but not to hump = ammo is too heavy.

Hope you settle on a usable and accurate solution.

 

[45_auto]

You know your financial situation a little better than we do. If $2000 or so won't make any difference in your life, then get both.

My personal opinion is that I need a couple of each for me, a couple of each for my kids, and a couple of each for my grandkids.

But my wife and I have both had very good jobs for 30 or so years and I can easily afford to indulge myself.

If you're living from retirement check to retirement check on cereal and beans, stay with what you have.

 

[gym]

I have a 12 gauge, and an AR, I don't get out to the range much to shoot either, but they are loaded and ready to go, if I feel my handguns aren't enough, or don't have time to grab one. I can still shoot anything in the distance required with no hesitation. I don't plan on anything any longer than my line of sight between houses, which is 50 ft, so the 12 gauge should work just fine.
If anything does happen, it would more than likely be the length of my home, which is about 60 ft, 2500 sq ft, so it's really point and shoot distance.

 

[HighExpert]

I am 62 and went for years with my handguns, (lots of confidence since I have shot bullseye for 35yrs), shotguns, and .22s. I never thought I needed a semi-auto rifle. Then Feinstein reared her ugly head again and I bought a mini-14. Love it. I bought dies and the other parts needed to reload .223, whipped up a couple thousand rounds and feel much happier. Do I need it for SHTF? Who knows, probably not, but it feels good. Do what you want while you still can. We aren't getting any younger.

 

[goon]

If you can afford it, there isn't a reason to not have both. Personally, I think everyone should have a good centerfire rifle, a good concealable centerfire handgun, and a good .22 rifle on hand just because. Prepping for doomsday or not, those guns cover a lot of needs. You don't even need to have semi-autos. If you like lever actions and revolvers, go with what makes you happy.
I've gone without anything other than a single shot shotgun for years, but I'm coming back round to laying hands on a good used pump action at some point when I can afford it.
One place where the shotgun really does beat out the AR though is in terms of price. I bought a used 18" Mossberg 500 12 gauge once for $149. Even if you have to pay $200 each, you've still got three shotguns for the price of one AR.
Why do you need three shotguns? Well... maybe your wife or friend or brother can watch one side of the house while you watch the other. Or maybe if you need to use one for defense and it gets confiscated, you still have a spare weapon to defend yourself with.
But as a retired LEO, you've probably already thought of that (but the guys who read this thread later may not have).

I know nothing bad about the Core-15 rifles, but locally they are overpriced. I'd suggest you maybe look for a Colt 6920 or something from BCM in the same price range that I'm seeing Core 15's for locally. No offense, but I'm not paying $1,200 for any AR other than Colt, BCM, or some of the LMT's I've seen around in that range. Daniel Defense and Noveske are also loved by many, but I've never even handled one of those in person. But there's no need to gamble on a start-up when you can have a proven name for the same amount. If you want to do an AR on the cheap, maybe consider Palmetto State Armory or a S&W M&P15 Sport - both should be available in the $650-$700 range and I haven't heard complaints about either.

 

[Rock185]

ergon, I'm retired LE too. Before I started in LE in '73, I shot rifle and shotgun a lot more. After entering LE, I came to feel that, should I be involved in a sudden, violent, potentally lethal confrontation, on or off-duty, the gun I'd likely actually have with me, and immediately available, would be my handgun. That being said, I certainly have nothing against anyone having whatever long guns they believe appropriate readily accessible. I'm just a reserve now, but have no doubt that the Dept. would issue me an M-16 and Remington 12 Ga, as I had when working full time, if I wanted to continue to qualify and train with them. As I don't choose to be out on the street anymore, doing all the stuff full time LE does, I decided not to continue training and qualifying with the long guns. I have long guns locked up in the safe, but it would take me a few minutes to gain access to them, even if i happened to be at home when I needed them. I am not recommending my way to anyone else, just sharing one old retired guy's thinking on the subject...

 

[RugerBob]

if you make it thru the first incursion, there will be ground pick ups.

 

[tnxdshooter]

The panacea is Springfield Armory M1A 'Scout'.

At almost 12 pounds with a fully loaded magazine I'd say it would be a real pain to carry in a shtf scenario literally.

Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy.

 

[SouthernBoy]

I think you are correct in your logic. Some handguns of varying calibers, a quality rifle, and a quality shotgun are the way to go. As for AR's, they are great fun to shoot, easy to take down and clean, and quite accurate. Cost and configuration are going to be your factors here. A great low cost high quality AR is the Smith and Wesson M&P 15 Sport in the carbine version.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...4_750001_750051_757785_-1_757784_757784_image

 

[denton]

As a couple of commented, none of us know the OP's situation or desired application. But maybe some of the following will help with alternatives.

A lever action 357 is a blast to shoot. With 180 grain cast bullets at 1200 FPS, it's cheap to operate, and a lot of fun for target shooting. It's adequate for deer at 100 yards, and it is well nigh perfect for social work at 100 yards.

Savage and Stevens made bolt action 30-30s that were built to sell for $100 back in the 80s. I think I paid $165 for mine, plus half that much to put a Williams peep sight on it. I run 175 grain FP cast lead in it at 1900 FPS. It's cheap to own, cheap to operate, and it won't beat you up. It's more than adequate for Utah mulies at 150 yards.

ARs are fun. Truly, they are. Honestly, I don't think they are any more fun than my bolt action 30-30 or my Marlin 357 carbine. If you're cheap like me, sometimes the game is how much fun can you have, for how little money? Either of those is financially attractive alternative.

If a larger centerfire hunting rifle is on the menu, there are a lot of very good choices. If I were starting over, I'd probably get a decent 7mm-08, and consider myself prepared for hunting. That said, most of my hunting rifles are collecting dust. My grandkids like going on the muzzleloader hunt, and I enjoy taking them.

The Remington 870 is the largest selling shotgun in the country. I have one, plus a Benelli Nova that was built to compete with it. I think the Nova is a slightly better piece of equipment. Still, I'd be perfectly happy popping clay pigeons with either of them or with a Mossberg. They all put shot on target. There are alternatives that will fit you better, but those are all good workhorses that many of us have used and are happy with.

 

[MattShlock]

Practicality is important. And so is fun frankly.

I used to believe that every American woman should have a pistol and every American man a shotgun. But the AR is a good home defense gun and useful for longer ranges, but, also, alot of fun to shoot at the range if you aren't interested in trap and skeet as well as most hunting. That said, shotguns are so versatile with choke if not barrel changes and different kinds of shells...

In any case let's all admit that pistols are for shooting "feet" away, not yards or especially hundreds of them. Yet a whole lot better than nothing.

I would have both but you are retired... So, what do you like to do? Can you add some target shooting into your routine Sir!?