Here is an article I wrote for another site. I'll post it here, because it may help you choose what you want for a set of guns to do all you need.
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=304375
I’ve been musing over what would be the essential four firearms that should be in everyone’s survival arsenal. If the world as we know it crashed in all around us tomorrow, what would be the top four most-needed, most-useful weapons? So what should be the paradigm? In any survival discussion, there are common trends of thought that people discuss. Generators, bug-out bags, long-term food storage. These are our survival paradigms… codes of conduct, or standards if you will. Has anyone ever discussed this and established the status quo?
I submit to you, my brethren fellowship, my choices for the
Four Weapons of the Apocalypse:
#1 A .22 Caliber Rifle.
For this I choose the mighty Ruger 10/22. The semi-auto action is solid and effectively digests thousands of rounds of even the crappiest ammunition. Great for small game, and in a pinch, it can be handed off and used as extra defensive firepower. The 10/22 is hands-down master of the quick-reload. The 10-round factory magazines are the most-reliable, but there are now fully-machined 25-rd aftermarket magazines that have even more solidity and precision than stock. Surely there are other rifles that will be more accurate that the 10/22, but the 10/22 is a winner for its great combination of quality, ease of use, and reliability.
#2 A Scoped Bolt-action Centerfire Hunting Rifle
We could argue the best choice for this category, but I will leave that, dear reader, up to you. I personally will be choosing my Remington 700 in .308 with the marvelous Leupold scope. A fine rifle indeed, and basically bomb-proof. A reliable weapon for harvesting big game, or in a pinch, a tactical weapon for those longer precision shots. The bolt-action hunting rifle is by no means a sniper-quality shooter, but a minute-of-scumbag shot out to 500 yards is easily possible. A fine-quality scope can mean the difference of accuracy that your life may depend upon.
#3 A 12-gauge Shotgun
If there were one weapon that could do it all, the venerable shotgun would come very close. The shotgun is an incomparable tool for shooting birds for the table or serving equal duty as a buckshot-loaded deer gun. With a scope and a rifled slug-barrel, you can easily drop elk and moose. As a close-quarter defensive weapon, the shotgun reigns supreme. A simple single-shot break-action shotgun would work very well, but a basic pump shotgun would be my pick. There will always be debates over which brand name is best, but even an old used pawn-shop Ithaca, or a hammered and beat up Mossberg would be better than no shotgun at all.
#4 A Handgun
This was perhaps the toughest category to nail down. My thoughts ran from identifying another long-gun category, or making the determination that a handgun is the logical fourth choice for a must-have weapon. A sidearm would be best to carry as a backup weapon, allowing you to stay armed while doing chores and needing both hands. A sidearm fills the bill for so many things, the list would go one forever, but suffice to say that the plausible uses for one soon made this a clear decision. Contemplating the best handgun choice was also quite a chore, given the many variables in which one could possibly use a handgun. My top picks boiled down to a couple serious contenders: The 1911 .45 pistol and a large-bore revolver. I went with a Smith and Wesson N-frame .44 Magnum revolver for its sheer reliability and versatility. Pull the trigger and it works… every time. No fuss, no bother, and enough power to take out a grizzly bear or a pcp-crazed invader.
Disclaimer:
Feel free to debate these choices, as nothing is set in stone. I have always maintained that the best gun to use is the one you have when you need it. Many of you will probably take notice that this list does not include a main battle rifle. For many people, and for the purposes of determining a “basic four,” I did not elect to include one in this essay because not everyone will need one, and I feel that having one would be a luxury more than a necessity, which is also a subject for debate.
). $300 to $350 for the 357's and probably $400 to $500 for the 44's used.
