One thing I hate is moving about the woods with more hardware than I need. That said my choice for hunting is a combo rifle/shotgun made by savage. It comes in 2 models the 24-C and the 24-V they are over under top barrel rifle bottom shotgun. The C is a .22/20ga. The V model comes in 2 styles a .22/20 and a 30.30/20. The Disadvantage of the weapon is you only get 2 shots before having to reload and you have to flip the firing pin between those. The advantage is the weight of another weapon can be invested in ammo. Every thing from bird shot ( please use steel not lead ) tho solid slugs. It really dosn't take long to get a feel for what ammo you want for what animal. For personal protection I like the 9 mil Baretta. It just fits my hand well with packmeyer grips. Oh one other advantage tomthe shotgun is if you simply want to discourage rather than kill you can use rock salt. I know from personal experience that being hit with rock salt really is quite painful. I really don't reccomend the discourage tactic personally. I feel if you don't want to kill don't shoot if you shoot shoot to kill. There are plenty of other ways to discourage. Pit traps, razor wire, and smoke screens to name just a few. As to the question "Do I need gun?" my answer would be an unequivocal yes, and my advice is get training and practic, practice, practice and not just on stationary targets. Find a range that has moving targets aswell. I guess that's it for now in this subforum.

This is great advice although I must say that if someone doe not have any experience. May be a shotgun is too much and maybe a .22 long rifle is more advantageous to the beginner due to basics getting formed and not bad habits. This way range time can be very easily accommodated plus cheap and effective. I don't hear anyone ever complain they were shot by a small caliber at all. Hopefully they get help from someone with experience and get the proper training.

Tried to 'thank' this post, but got an error message...

Along with me NOT owning guns! I've recently purchased a compound bow for other means of protection silent hunting. Protection maybe bows can be very silent and deadly. I think as preppers we should look beyond the use of guns as a means of protection and hunting for food. There may come a time and day when someone comes crashing down your doors and takes all your guns. But most likely won't touch your bow. Even in a shopping epidemic looters and such. Most people don't know how to shoot a bow and that will be some of the over looked items at first. It's always best to think ahead of these kind of things. You can also take a gun and say 1000 rounds of ammo and burry it in the yard in a tube for safe keeping just test it before you burry it. Sink it in a tub of water for 30 min or so and check it to make sure there are no leaks. It's been mentioned before PVC pipe can work great. You might need to go to a plumbing store to find a larger sizes for maybe rifles and such or large quantities of ammo.

TX

[ Posted via mobile device ]

Let's try it again.
This is a good post.

Thank you Doc,

You are correct in that the final decision is mine, and mine alone. And I get to live (or not) with the consequences. The purpose of each firearm is simple (yea, right!)

Shotgun - close quarters defensive, my partner is prone to panic. Everything I have seen, researched and experienced has suggested to me a shotgun is most effective for slowing/stopping intruders at limited ranges below 10 yards. Also good for bird hunting except I have concerns about OpSec and we are raising chickens. Hopefully sufficient protein supplies meeting both PETA agendas. Well, maybe not the original but not my job to feed them.

Pistol - Defensive in close quarters below 20 yards. Resources enter the equation. 22 cheap, not effective in stopping power unless extremely accurate. I do not consider myself that good a shot. Large bore, .45, etc. expensive and kickback can be a problem. 9mm seems to be a reasonable compromise, reasonable cost, availability, some stopping power without serious kickback allowing for increased accuracy.

Rifle - I lean heavily towards 7.62X39. Good stopping capabilities, relatively dirt cheap ammo allowing for lots of practice. Prefer CZ-858 over SKS although have experience with both. .22LR excellent varmint control, truly dirt cheap ammo for LOTS of practice, not so great for stopping larger predators. Ruger 10/22 appears to be the best choice for all round reliable, accurate and "toughness" in the .22 category.

The worry of becoming an armchair warrior is of concern. These are not matters to be taken lightly and debated because of emotional bias. I anticipate I will be using the weapons the most but I can't be everywhere all the time. Having assigned lookouts for watch periods means I have to consider others capabilities. Who to bring into the inner circle vs. maintaining security vs. when do I sleep.

The more information, with accompanying reasoning, will permit me to make informed decisions best for my and my own specific circumstances. I hope that I have given you sufficient insight so that you can offer suggestions. Budget is limited so every purchase must be targeted for maximum value. Ongoing practice is critical so having practice ammo available eliminates the more esoteric calibers in my opinion.

All ideas and reasoning eagerly sought and appreciated.

QF, excellent thought process! For your handgun consideration, I suggest either .40 or .45 for stopping power. While it is possible for 9mm with hp ammo to be adequate for stopping with one shot, I made the decision (along with the others I prep with) to go with .40 as our common ammo.

Guns are one of those personal issues that everyone has an opinion on. Personally I am just getting into my gun preps. Even though I was raised around guns and hunting as an adult the only time I shot a gun was when I went for my yearly qualifications for the Air Force. I feel fairly well prepped for everything else, but weapons and am slowly attempting to get these preps in order also.
At our house I am the only one that really preps . My husband just sort of humors me with it, but since I feel pasionately about it he doesn't give me to much grief over it. Guns though are another story and even though I have brought it up several times that I would like to have more and would like his input I don't get any response. There fore I have started to take action on my own. We already have a 16 gauge shotgun that my husband inherited from his Grandfather. As a Chirstmas present my husband is getting a 22 to get rid of the skunks, racoons and other critters that bother my chickens and other animals. Next up for me is to get a handgun. I have been wanting to get my concealed carry permit and that is on my to do list for this year. AFter that I will be purchasing a good rifle. I think when the time comes for that purchase that I will make a trip home to my parents and get my Dad and Step-Dad's advice. Heck they will both take me out to the range to try out various guns to see what really works best for me. Then all I have to do is stock up on the ammo and practice practice practice.