One gun, all purpose

[the1kidd03]

I'm not going to go into what made me think of this, but let's just say you had to pick only ONE firearm for all purposes. ie SHTF, hunting, survival, defense, etc,etc. What would you pick?

Let's assume regardless of choice and reasoning you're legal in owning/using it, or otherwise aren't concerned with laws. Let's also assume the owner may not currently be an avid shooter and may not have a lot of time/money to spend.

For such a scenario, I would lean towards an AK perhaps. .30 cal round capable of killing pretty much anything you would ever need to. Able to pack more rounds if/when needed. Reliable. Simple.

The only drawback I see with that being the choice is the one of accuracy, but then the ability to stockpile more ammo for relatively cheap sort of negates that I think.

What say ye INGO? ONE gun for ALL purposes if you had to...

What will it be??

Note: after a few more ideas I might include a poll

I thought there was another thread like this a while back, but I couldn't find it.

 

[ryan3030]

Truly all purpose?

A 10/22 and as much .22lr ammo as I can find. Easy choice.

Cheap, light gun, light ammo, runs forever. Still lethal enough.

 

[K9Bass]

Ryan 3030 makes a good point. I'll take my marlin 60 with as much ammo as possible. The thought of a shotgun also did cross my mind, I remember reading somewhere that the majority of the first pioneers into the wild west only had with them a shotgun. food for thought? All in all i'll take my marlin.

 

[Audie Murphy]

I would have to choose my AR15 in 5.56. Accurate to a good distance and can be used for taking small game.

 

[lizerdking]

Shotgun is a clear winner
SHTF/SD 00 buck
Hunting/survival, #7 small game, slugs for bigger.

 

[chibicascade]

I thought a Ruger charger would be a pretty good SHTF gun, but It would be better with a folding stock. It probably isn't worth it to SBR it though, so might as well stick with a regular 10/22

 

[Sailor]

AK or AR. I would not want to be in a rifle fight with a shotgun.

 

[MbMinx]

If I could only have one, I'd probably pick a shotgun.

 

[Birds Away]

Very interesting question indeed. The saying that every handgun is a compromise of some sort shoudn't, I see, be limited to the short guns.

My friend and I at work have been discussing this.

Ak would be plus on reliability and take down power of the round. AR would usually be a bit more accurate and you can carry more rounds.

I think I would take the AK.

 

[WWalker]

Have to agree with the .22 people. Marlin 60, Ruger 10/22, S&W 15-22 would all make great choices.

 

[6mm Shoot]

If I could have only one. I would pick my 11 87. I have three barrels for it. One for birds, a rifled barrel for deer and such and a police barrel for HD.

 

[indiucky]

Remington 870 in 12 gauge. 26 inch barrel with choke tubes (including a rifled choke tube), remington factory extended magazine tube, sling swivels, and aynthetic stock.

I would call it....Armagedgun..

 

[Wesley929]

If prioritizing my needs for 1 "Do Everything" firearm. I would rank them
1) Home Defense (daily right now)
2) Hunting (seasonally right now)
3) SHTF weapon (future possibility)

With those rankings I'd have to say a pump shotgun with bead sight and assorted loads.
It may not do any of them perfectly but could adequately do everything I'd need it to do.

 

[Spikedog]

Truly all purpose?

A 10/22 and as much .22lr ammo as I can find. Easy choice.

Cheap, light gun, light ammo, runs forever. Still lethal enough.

1+

I might even get a 10/22 breakdown.

 

[Indy Wing Chun]

What about an AR in 300BLK?

The biggest drawback is ammo availability/pricing right now. But you can get the (basic) ballistics of .30 cal in an AR platform so that can remedy the accuracy issue while keeping the capacity.

 

[Mrmonte]

Remington 870- It can do everything necessary for survival and do it well. Also, its low maintenence is a real plus for a long term SHTF scenario. Chances are you wont need to have any spare parts to keep it running long term and you can shove a rag on a stick down the barrel to clean it if need be. Good luck doing that with a semi auto .22 to 30 cal.

 

[XDLover]

I'd take my Marlin 39a or Mod 60 in 22LR because I can take small game from Squirrel and rabbit. You are more likely to hunt small game as taking larger game means you have to process and store all the meat.
You can take bird and even a bit larger game with the 22lr

 

[indiucky]

Remington 870- It can do everything necessary for survival and do it well. Also, its low maintenence is a real plus for a long term SHTF scenario. Chances are you wont need to have any spare parts to keep it running long term and you can shove a rag on a stick down the barrel to clean it if need be. Good luck doing that with a semi auto .22 to 30 cal.

When the NRA convention was in Louisville my wife and I were talking to an Argentine woman whose family had an "estancia" where they hosted dove hunts. Dove hunting in Argentina is insane. My wifes family is from there so they were both happy to be jabbering in Castillian while myself and her husband kind of sat there looking dumb like us gringos do when in that situation.

I saw an opening when they both had to take a breath at the same time. Being a Gringo in an Argentine family for nigh on 16 years, I knew I only had a split second and I jumped in and said. "What kind of shotguns do you all keep at the Ranch?" My wife glared but translated for me and the young lady in perfect english said "Remington 870 12 gauge" and then said something in Spanish that my wife translated to me as "They don't break."

 

[iMac]

Smith .357 mag.
Can't see any situation where it would really fail you and it's built like a tank.

 

[Sailor]

Remington 870- It can do everything necessary for survival and do it well. Also, its low maintenence is a real plus for a long term SHTF scenario. Chances are you wont need to have any spare parts to keep it running long term and you can shove a rag on a stick down the barrel to clean it if need be. Good luck doing that with a semi auto .22 to 30 cal.

Really? My AK is easy to clean with puddle. and the bore snake in the grip. Reliability is not a question.

I will take two guys with AK's against 5 with shotguns any day. Unless one is Zoub.