The folks at Cheaper than Dirt sell guns and ammo, so their minimum cache of what you should have in your gun locker might qualify as not-so-minimal, but it’s a solid list to send to Santa:
- Glock 19, compact 9 mm pistol
- Remington 870 or Mossberg 500, 12-gauge shotgun
- Ruger 10/22, .22 LR semi-auto rifle
- AR-15, 5.56 mm semi-auto rifle
A friend of mine always recommended:
His thinking was that the smaller gauge shotgun and the wheelgun would be more suitable for a wife in a home defense situation.
He specifically recommended a 1911 .45, a Remington 870, a S&W .38 snubnose and a Garand. I have the .45 and the 870. The 20 gauge is a lot handier than the 12.
That’s not a bad list, either.
The 9mm-vs-.45 argument is legendary in gun circles. The pro-9mm argument is that it’s easier to handle and holds twice as many rounds — and with the right ammo is just as effective. The pro-.45 argument is that it handles just fine with proper training and practice, and you won’t need so many rounds, because the first one should do its job — if not the first, then the second. Really, neither is much good without substantial practice.
I’m surprised your friend recommended the .45 and then a 20-gauge shotgun, because the same folks who like a “manly” pistol tend to recommend a 12-gauge. The 20-gauge is lighter and quicker to put on target, but the 12-gauge is more versatile. In particular, the 12-gauge can used “managed recoil” ammo with no more kick than a 20-gauge, but with more pellets. Either makes a good home-defense weapon.
From my limited experience with a couple friends’ M1 Garands, the kick of a .30-06 isn’t so bad, but the rifle itself is long and heavy. It doesn’t lend itself to shooting off-hand at moving targets.
Lastly, I’m just not a revolver guy. There’s something to be said for a gun that doesn’t jam, but it takes some work to shoot a (double-action) revolver quickly without jerking the trigger, and six shots is even less than a 1911 holds.
I have a thing for lever-action rifles. Probably useless in home defense, unless your home is surrounded by open fields.
Without wanting to kick off another flame-war, I think if there’s any battlefield where sound and size count more than actual lethal capacity, it’s the home invasion.
Whether that’s an argument in favour of heavy weapons or high rate of fire is up for debate, but it does seem like most debates of this issue take as given that you’re actually setting out to kill or maim the other guy, rather than just make him redo his cost-benefit analysis.
Incidentally, of those weapons, the shotgun and the semi-auto .22 rifle are the only ones legal in the UK.
A minimal selection for an experienced shooter is a very different question than a minimal selection for the cash-strapped beginner.
It’s senseless to recommend a finicky high-end hotrod gun (or a cut-rate low-end version of the same) to a new shooter. We have pistol designs now which function flawlessly right out of the box at a price point of $400-$600. The 1911 is not one of those designs.
Looking at the UK’s gun laws, it appears that pistols have been outright banned since 1997, and rifles (a) require a rather restrictive firearm certificate, and (b) can’t be semi-auto (self-loading) — with the exception of.22s. Shotguns are the least restricted, but they’re limited to two-shell magazines — unless you get the more restrictive firearm certificate, rather than a simple shotgun certificate. Also, UK shotguns must have a 24-inch barrel; US shotguns need at least an 18-inch barrel, or a special $200 tax stamp.
Since 1946, self-defence has not been considered a valid reason to own a firearm in the UK.
My friend was thinking more of a family set-up rather than for one shooter. That’s why he recommended the 20 and the revolver. For reliability a small revolver can’t be beat, and you never have to worry about doing anything to prepare the weapon to fire. The 20 gauge is a lighter weapon and easier to handle.
He allowed that there are lots of choices for long guns, that is just the one he liked best. He did insist that it be bigger than a .22.
His thinking on pistols certainly influenced me — he is a big .45 advocate. And the Kimber is a weapon that does work flawlessly out of the box, at around $600. On the other hand, I know he had a Sig 9 mm and an S&W .40, so he wasn’t a fanatic about it.
He also liked the notion of compatible ammo — like the old .44-40 for Colt SAA and Winchester ’73.
Buckethead,
You have to know a hell of a lot to buy a 1911 with fair confidence of getting a good gun. You need to know virtually nothing to buy an M&P or XD with much higher confidence of getting a good gun.
New shooters aren’t experts. Anything that requires expertise is inappropriate for a new shooter.