3 Guns Only

[medezyner]

This is a build on to paiN’s “Going to one” thread and the thinning of his gun collection. It got me thinking what would be the absolute bare minimum collection I could live with that is currently in my possession. I came away with 3. These aren’t 3 that I’d like to have, they’re the ones I won’t part with.
1. Mossberg 500 pump 12ga. w/smooth bore for shot and my rifled barrel for sabot slugs. What can be more versatile than a well appointed shotgun? It can put meat in the table and do an admirable job at protecting the castle.
2. Colt 1911A1. No way will I part with this baby. Great caliber, plenty of parts for rebuild and it’s a shooter.
3. Kahr PM9. OK, this one’s a gray area: it’s not in the collection yet, but it’s on order and I should have it in 6 weeks. I’m highly confident it will replace all of my CCW’s.
I’ve got a good variety of common calibers: 12 ga., 9 MM and a .45 ACP so having ammo for at least one weapon if the SHTF is a pretty good bet. paiN trimmed his collection down to 2 guns. Thank God this is hypothetical; I’m already going to have nightmares about cutting mine down to 3. What about you guys & gals, which ones are the keepers? Warning: this can be a painful exercise.

[Dietrich]

Kahr PM9 for cc.
Remington 870 Express Magnum for if a few "friends" drop by.
Remington model 700 30.`06 in case I need to reach out and touch someone
A picture of my ex mother- in- law for a weapon of mass destruction..

[Smoke Eater]

1)Rock River AR15 SBR(short barrel) supressed
2)Remington 870
*3)PM9

* If this were a merde contacting the ventilator situation I would trade my PM9 for my Glock 17c.

TOUGH CHOICES (ALL SUBJECT TO CHANGE EVERY 5 MIN.)

[PaiN]

This thread requires a look into the "Philosophy of PaiN"

Firstly, I can't believe I did it. Now that the cut down is done I feel completely liberated, almost like a weight has been lifted off me.
My beliefs and complete disdain for the elite fools that have wormed into control of our lives and where I see this going had me preparing for the worst. I was almost to the point of justifying "a gun for every situation". Over years I've slowly mellowed as my understanding grew I lost the anger and fear which drove a build an arsenal mentality...For me, that was the fundamental change that had to occur before any serious thinning could happen. I'm glad it has ;)
As for what I "need"
1. a utility rifle: What could be better for utility than a 12g shotgun. I kept a Benelli Nova 18.5"
2. a protection pistol: The P9 won me over for this

[mr surveyor]

If this is to include all varieties of pistols, revolver. rifles and shot guns.....

1. 1997 Series 70 Kimber Stainless Compact .45 acp

2. 1999 Ruger Mark II 22/45 .22 cal pistol

3. 1973 Marlin 336 30-30

with these three, given sufficient ammunition, I think I can defend myself as well as feed myself (given anything left to shoot for food)

For me, of all my handguns, the Kimber is the most accurate, best handling and gives the most bang for the buck. Admittedly, at almost 2.5 pounds per 50 rounds, the weight factor of the ammo could be a deterrent, but If I am twice as effective with the larger caliber than I with my other pistols and revolvers, I'll take the .45 cal. Now, as for the rifle, the old 30-30 lever gun is about as easy to carry and pack as you'll find, accuracy is very good, bullet energy is sufficient for defense as well as food gathering, and 30-30 rounds are generally available most everywhere. At 25 pounds per 50 rounds of 30-30 ammo, I'll gladly pack the Marlin. Now, why the Ruger Mark II? At about 3.5 pounds for a bulk box of .22 cal (about .3 pound per 50), there's the potential for making a lot of little holes for the amount of weight/mass involved in carrying ammo. My Ruger pistol is no doubt the most accurate handgun I own, and I have no doubt it could effectively be used for defense by either myself, or my wife. More importantly, the .22 pistol is very effective for taking small game.... for me, out to about 30 yards. I almost hete to admit it, but if I had to pick only one gun to bug out with, for defense as well as survival purposes, I would probably...wince....have to pick the .22 cal pistol.

I hate to not have a shotgun in the above mix, but the big bore pistol and rifle are a must, and I am NOT going to give up the versatility of the .22 cal.


surv

by the way... this was painful

[mr surveyor]

double post

[Bawanna]

Painful exercise my backside, this is borderline sadism. I'd rather go on a date with Rosie Odonnel than live with only 3 guns. I could scale down to 103 easy enough, well not easy but could do it. Don't tell the feds if they try to record and tax them. I sold em all. Actually I'd prefer bamboo under the fingernails or eating barb wire over the Rosie plan. Hate is a terrible thing but some people just earn it. That being said I'd have to semi mimick medezyner. My Mossberg 500, a good 1911 (do I have to choose which one?) but I'd have to take the other fork and go with a M14 or Garand. I'm near tears just thinking about this. I'll no doubt be in the dog house leaving my K40 behind but I've been wanting a Kahr 45 anyhow. I'll find one when the looting begins. Somebody please wake me up, I'm in a true nightmare here.:eek:

[medezyner]

Ah, I can see I have inflicted a fair amount of (unintentional) pain with this question. At least I’m not alone, misery loves company. You want pain? I had to cross my M1 Garand off the list. Someone please put me out of my misery! I dont know paiN, I'm not feeling too liberated.

[ltxi]

Not sure I can grasp the concept of only three guns......and what would I do with the other 40 some? Seriously...I could maybe pare it down to 10 if I absolutely had to and didn't have to count the wife's.

[PaiN]

Well, cutting down to two firearms is not something for every gun person to do.

But I do double dare ya to do it :9: hehehe

[ltxi]

Ok, here's the absolute best I could do...again, not counting wife's guns...

- 870 w/a Vang Comp barrel
- S&W 442
- S&W Model 19
- S&W Model 13
- Custom 1911 Colt Officers ACP
- NAA .22 Mag
- Beretta Minx .22 short
- PM9
- Browning 30-06 semi-auto
- Ruger Super Single Six
- Ruger .357 old model Blackhawk
- Ruger 10/22
- Ruger Ranch Rifle in 7.62X39
- Marlin .30-30 lever action
- Scout carbine in .308
- Restored Vietnam era Russian SKS....functional back-up for the Ruger when it all goes to hell

Guess I overestimated with the 10 gun thingy when I really thought it through. Still left out a whole lot of favorite firearms I'd really hate to part with....plus all the leftovers.

[RiskPro]

You total gun whore.....That Said, you definately have your priorities in order!

I've tried this too and here's how I justify a few:

General CCW (IWB)....CW9

Night Stand....G23

Car Glove Box.....G22

Running....KeltecP32 or NAA .22

[mr surveyor]

gee..... I feel so inadequate......I only have the three guns I mentioned and a single Kahr CW9.... and that's all.... really... I gave the rest to some nice guys at a gun buy back thingy.... and donated the money to green peace..... really.... yeah, that's the ticket........


surv:D

[jfrey]

I thought a while and tried to get down to three but it just ain't gonna happen. I can find a reason for having just about every one of them. How else am I going to get rid of that ammo I bought before the price went up?

[ltxi]

You total gun whore.....That Said, you definately have your priorities in order!
......

Ha,ha..so you're right. And I had difficulty coming up with that list. Left out some others that I commonly use, like my G23 and G27 that are mostly used as console guns now but that I routinely shoot, a second J-frame bobbed older Model 60 that I carry "naked" with just a clip, a '60s era Charter Undercover that I carried much in earlier days and still keep at hand, the Mustang Pocketlight that the PM9 replaced, the MK9 in my home office desk drawer, The K9 I just stole from my wife in exchange for a custom LW Kimber 3" 1911 'cause she shoots it much better. Then there's the custom 1911s, more K-frames, the Ruger S/As in .44 mag and .45 Colt, .22 Browning and Ruger plinkers, and the rest of the short and long guns that I would hate to part with but could get along without, and others that I just happen to own.

In my defense, all of this comes from a lifetime of collecting and being able to acquire more than I needed to trade or sell.

I understand your wife's reluctance to carry the Jetfire. I love those older s/a Berettas, hence the Minx I won't part with for plinking and knocking off squirrels that won't give up on invading the garage, but I sold my Jetfire to my sister. Then felt bad 'cause I got her into carrying a .25 and "semi-permanently" loaned her my lw Colt Gov't .380.

Happy New Year To All!!!!

[ltxi]

...again, not counting wife's guns...

- 870 w/a Vang Comp barrel
- S&W 442
- S&W Model 13

- Custom 1911 Colt Officers ACP

- Beretta Minx .22 short
- PM9

- Ruger Super Single Six
- Ruger .357 old model Blackhawk
- Ruger 10/22
- Ruger Ranch Rifle in 7.62X39


- Restored Vietnam era Russian SKS....functional back-up for the Ruger when it all goes to hell



Ok....I cut it back to survival guns with the necessity for some redundancy and ammunition supply considered. Now I'm going to stop thinking about this because it's hurting my head and I've run on too long on the subject anyway.

[Ryder]

3 guns huh? well if we are talking about a strictly survival situation, it would be :

1. mossburg 500 12 gauge w/ smooth bore and rifled barrels
(small and medium sized game)

2. CW9 (self defense)

3. Browning Buckmard 22 (for small game)

Shoot, i am not even sure this is a fair question.lol. :)

[medezyner]

Ok, maybe the question wasn’t fair, but I deliberately didn’t want to say "why" because I thought it might raise some interesting reasoning. Mine was mainly survival because up here in NH we don’t get many natural bug-out disasters. Hurricanes...nope, tornados…very rare, earthquakes…nope, water shortages nope, zombie attacks…well we have had an influx of liberals crawling into the state. I liked some of the thought process so far, as painful as it might have been. Happy New Year Karh forum! It’s going to be an interesting one. Where the hell did I put my bourbon?

[ltxi]

Storms.....don't forget the semi-catastrophic winter storms, like last year's, that come along about 1 1/2 per decade. Although, in the long run, the liberal infestation threat is probably the bigger problem.

Bourbon....I wish. We're doing wine tonight, along with live lobster and clams FedEx'ed in from Maine. Wife's still a hard core NE coastie.

[medezyner]

Storms.....don't forget the semi-catastrophic winter storms, like last year's, that come along about 1 1/2 per decade. Although, in the long run, the liberal infestation threat is probably the bigger problem.

Bourbon....I wish. We're doing wine tonight, along with live lobster and clams FedEx'ed in from Maine. Wife's still a hard core NE coastie.


Excellent, she's got good taste. AhYa, I'm looking at some chowda and a couple-ah 2 1/2 pounders. We took an equity loan for those babies! Cant do that too often. Where's my bib? Have a great New Year ltxi and enjoy the lobstah.

[zena]

What a horrible way to start the New Year! Can't do it. I know I'd have to keep my Saiga 12 gage with the 20 round mag. And the AR 15 because we do have zombies her in MA. But I can't commit to the 3rd gun because then I am foregoing all others. In other words, I am invoking a woman's perogative to keep changing her mind. My third gun will be a handgun....Kahr, Glock, STI......:4:

[mx5fan]

There's no way I can par my guns down to 3, no way, no how...just can't do it. I'm still working on building up my arsenal! To that end, I'm trying to figure out what the next procurement will be, so you see, my psyche will not even let me go down the path of firearms reduction. I have a yen for a rifle as I have none and we all know every girl should have at least one rifle. The Ruger Mini14 has caught my eye. I've also read good things about the Saiga 7.62X39...ah decisions, decisions.

[wyntrout]

Maybe I don't understand the topic... is that limiting yourself to carrying THREE guns at one time?? That seems reasonable... if I can still carry my knife, stun gun, and CS/pepper spray. :D
Wynn

[PaiN]

reasoning.....hmm
Here in CT I'm not overly worried about natural disaster, bug-out type situations. Its so damn densely populated nothing is too far of a walk. I'm not going to lost in the wilderness, unless by choice ;) but then I would still have to get there.
Where my concerns lie in the bigger picture(outside typical personal/home/family protection) is in a "breakdown-in-rule-of-law" situation. How do I keep myself and family safe if all hell has broken loose and we either have to hunker down or more likely be mobile to a safe local..
One thing I didn't mention is along with my two guns, is a decent stock pile of ammo(but not insane amts) and plenty mags need to be on hand and ready to go.
As for the "other situation"....Authoritarian-takeover, freedom-grab...it is my opinion that this is the main reason for an arsenal building mentality.
In all honesty, if this situation was to occur, I don't care how many guns, ammo and knives a person has. If they decide to "fight it out"...they are as good as dead. There is noway armed citizens are going to duke it out with trained military and para-military on a planned mission. This kind of thinking is for the movies.

[wyntrout]

reasoning.....hmm
Here in CT I'm not overly worried about natural disaster, bug-out type situations. Its so damn densely populated nothing is too far of a walk. I'm not going to lost in the wilderness, unless by choice ;) but then I would still have to get there.
Where my concerns lie in the bigger picture(outside typical personal/home/family protection) is in a "breakdown-in-rule-of-law" situation. How do I keep myself and family safe if all hell has broken loose and we either have to hunker down or more likely be mobile to a safe local..
One thing I didn't mention is along with my two guns, is a decent stock pile of ammo(but not insane amts) and plenty mags need to be on hand and ready to go.
As for the "other situation"....Authoritarian-takeover, freedom-grab...it is my opinion that this is the main reason for an arsenal building mentality.
In all honesty, if this situation was to occur, I don't care how many guns, ammo and knives a person has. If they decide to "fight it out"...they are as good as dead. There is noway armed citizens are going to duke it out with trained military and para-military on a planned mission. This kind of thinking is for the movies.
Maybe there are some cops, mostly admin and appointee types that might gleefully start gun confiscation programs, but at some point the military IS going to rebel at the outright unconstitutional practices being promulgated by the current regime. After all, they swore to UPHOLD the constitution and at some point that will cause great conflict, if not overall, then from the bottom up in the armed forces, which is composed of citizens like you and I. This won't be a Tiananmen Square-like bloodbath. Obama mentioned wanting to create a "national police force equal to the military"... for what?? Already, in the more liberal areas of the country, "they" are trying to maintain lists of "stuff" so that they can trace guns and gun ownership, circumventing the outright ban on such by federal law.
I am NOT a conspiracist, but I have listened to the things prezbo said as a candidate, unlike a lot of the sheeple who wanted "change". Change can come in many forms, not all are good. I haven't seen any good ones so far, but I have seen another liberal politician apologizing all over the world for our "failures" to roll over and join the herd at the United Nations and let them lead us. Obama just dropped all restrictions or limitations against Interpol operating in this country. Most of the UN wants to ban guns and confiscate them. There are too many idiots here who will give up any of our rights to have security and be taken care of. :blah:
There I go again. :typing:
I get carried away.:D
Wynn

[ltxi]

There's no way I can par my guns down to 3, no way, no how...just can't do it. I'm still working on building up my arsenal! To that end, I'm trying to figure out what the next procurement will be, so you see, my psyche will not even let me go down the path of firearms reduction. I have a yen for a rifle as I have none and we all know every girl should have at least one rifle. The Ruger Mini14 has caught my eye. I've also read good things about the Saiga 7.62X39...ah decisions, decisions.

The Mini 14 is an excellent rifle/carbine. Accurate enough (it's not a long range varmint gun) and dead stone reliable, as are most classic Rugers. I've owned, and sold, two but currently own the 7.62x39 version because I prefer that cartridge for "general" use. Also, I have a few more firearms in that caliber and none in .223 as well as enough ammunition in everything from mil surplus to quality US made to disturb my neighbor's lunch if my house ever caught fire. From what relatively little I know about Saigas, they're pretty decent, but not up to the quality (or price) of a Mini 30.

[ltxi]

....... There is noway armed citizens are going to duke it out with trained military and para-military on a planned mission.......

1776

Sorry, almost. Understand your point, but just couldn't help myself....an aging member of both.

[mx5fan]

The Mini 14 is an excellent rifle/carbine. Accurate enough (it's not a long range varmint gun) and dead stone reliable, as are most classic Rugers. I've owned, and sold, two but currently own the 7.62x39 version because I prefer that cartridge for "general" use. Also, I have a few more firearms in that caliber and none in .223 as well as enough ammunition in everything from mil surplus to quality US made to disturb my neighbor's lunch if my house ever caught fire. From what relatively little I know about Saigas, they're pretty decent, but not up to the quality (or price) of a Mini 30.

Thanks Itxi,

Since I have neither .223 or 7.62X39 ammo I suppose the Mini 30 would be a better choice, due to the caliber, all around. I'm still in the pre-purchase phase, but I do like the idea of a Ruger, so I'll check out the Mini 30, one of these days.

By the way, I see you too are in Colorado....Longmont here :yo:

[boykinguy]

Benelli M2, Bushmaster XR15, Colt Gold Cup or Taurus PT92 or Ruger Security Six or Sig 229 or ..........

[ltxi]

Parker....going on 17 years....pre-california invasion back when it was still a "small town", E-470 was new and only five miles long...hi neighbor!

I admit to having something of a bias against the .223 as a practical large person/animal killing round that goes back to my early military training and the very early M-16s. I was raised with .30-06/.308 and personally found the easily deflected .223 in a finely machined, jam insistent weapon rather annoying in a combat setting. I've always admired the concept of a .30 cal short in a cheap, loose tolerance, automatic rifle that always worked; even when I was on the wrong side of the equation.

I've also always thought Ruger's decision to chamber the "Mini" in .30 cal was a prescient move....a high quality arm in a very practical medium range cartridge with a huge mil surplus supply available.

[wyntrout]

I hope that your Mini-30's shoot surplus ammo better than mine did. I bought one with the intent of using surplus ammo. With a scope and rest, I could put the first round dead center at at least 100 yards on a range. The rest would be all over the place further from center with each subsequent shot. I heard that they were bored for U.S. spec ammo ~.002" different... I don't remember which way .308 vs .310. I didn't want to pay for US ammo so I sold the gun. For a while I toyed with sending it to an outfit in Texas for cryogenic stress treatment. I just gave up though and sold the gun.
I would love to have an SS Mini-.45ACP for home defense, though.:D
Wynn

[ltxi]

Mine has never had a problem with "junk" surplus ammunition although 3 inch groups at 100 yards isn't uncommon..no rest, no scope. Doesn't matter with that stuff....quite well suited to the purpose. Quality US ammo is a different matter...more like an inch.

Gotta understand that for me this isn't exactly a primary hunting rifle....it's a practical "off-hand" ranch carbine.

[Bawanna]

The Rugers are 308, the import AK's, Sks's and such are 310 or 311. I was told by the folks at Ruger that it was ok to shoot surplus in the ruger but accuracy might be questionable. The average person wouldn't shoot enough to cause barrel damage. Not sure what a normal person implies, probably not me. The domestic ammo usually doesn't shoot that well in the foreign guns, guess the bullet rattling away down the barrel doesn't contribute to accuracy. Justa guess.
As mentioned they aren't match rifles, any of them, just fun to shoot and great tools for fending off the storm troopers when/ if they come.

[wyntrout]

Hey, you both have good points there, and 3" groups at 100 yards without a scope or rest is great. I just expected better accuracy with a scope AND a rest, even with cheap ammo. I don't know what else I would have done with it. I didn't buy it for hunting. I should have bought a $90 SKS or $100 Russian AK back in the '90's for a when-the-SHTF gun with a few cases of canned ammo. I just wanted a quality stainless gun and was disappointed with the accuracy of my chosen ammo -- the cheap stuff.
I really like pistols and liked to shoot cans and stuff that would move when a large caliber pistol bullet hit it. 22's just whiz through cans and such without moving them unless you hit the rim of the can, and they don't kick -- no fun!:33:
I can't wait to get the P380N I ordered and then look for a PM4544N. My wife decided that I can get another new gun since I didn't care for all the pricey fragrance stuff she got me. I like night sights and my S&W 645's have died and my K9's have dimmed to where acquisition is a problem. When I get another gun, I'll have the K9's sights replaced. I shall have had the K9 12 years in March, which is about as long as you can expect those tritium sights to last. I like Rugers but I don't care for the looks of all of their newer automatics. Kahrs just look and feel so great in my hand, though DAO wouldn't be my first choice normally.
Well, I think I'll see if I hit the lottery. GN. :)
Wynn

[medezyner]

After reading these posts, I may have to add one more: my son's Russian (Tula amory) SKS. I had him buy it 8 years ago. I wont say for how much, but lets just say you cant even find a piece of junk for what we bought it for. What a shooter! Wolf, surplus, doesnt matter. It's accurate and dependable. I'll have him take that one. Then someone mentioned a .22, well maybe I'll have my daughter pack that one. Ok, so now I'm up to 5, not really, I'm still hanging on to 3, but I'm making sure the remainders get spread around to family. So, if I can get my brothers from MA to take of the remainders, I'll sleep better at night. Damn, why did I start this thread anyway? I'm having freakin anxiety attacks!

[ltxi]

To be clear/fair, that was prone, not standing, but no rest. I actually bought the Ruger for the same reason you appear to have. I'd picked up a bunch of $69 SKSs 'cause they were cheap enough to play amateur gunsmith with and a challenge to improve. I culled out some that were pretty good, looks and accuracy, and still have them. The rest got sold or junked. But then I really wanted a quality gun to fit all the ammo I had lying around. Then 'cause I had a quality gun I went out and bought quality ammo.

And then there was my 7.62x54 phase.......

[medezyner]

I'd picked up a bunch of $69 SKSs 'cause they were cheap enough to play amateur gunsmith with and a challenge to improve. I culled out some that were pretty good, looks and accuracy, and still have them. The rest got sold or junked. But then I really wanted a quality gun to fit all the ammo I had lying around. Then 'cause I had a quality gun I went out and bought quality ammo.

And then there was my 7.62x54 phase.......

Man, $69 SKS's, I'd do the same; pick up several and and put together 1 really nice shooter. Keep the surplus parts for backup. We kept ours bone-stock and from an appreciation point, I'm glad we did, but so many aftermarket parts would make that baby sing.