by crbutler on Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:51 pm
"basic everyone should own"
One gun, doesn't matter what kind. If you need to defend house and home, anything will work.
For a basic outdoorsman-
A rimfire rifle. Use for small game/varmints/practice. While a .22 LR is the most common, if you are not a doomsday/zombie guy the .17's or the magnum versions will serve the role.
Defensive caliber pistol. Don't care if its a revolver, a DAO revolver, or even a block... Something man portable without using your hand to carry it around. If you think a .32 ACP is a defensive round, its OK, if you are dirty harry or hang out around big bears, a .44 mag is fine also. As long as you can holster it and carry it with some degree of comfort, its good.
Shotgun- again, doesn't matter what action, but make sure its capable of dealing adequately with the birds in your area- so if you don't live in a desert, something that can handle #2 shot for geese. Essentially means that smaller than 20 gauge is not a good choice. If you have a accurate shooter for a shotgun, then the last isn't needed, as smoothbore slugs will take most any big game here in north america, although lots of them you will need lots of luck to get close enough.
Mid bore centerfire rifle. Something capable of putting down an elk at 200 yards with a shoulder shot. You may not need this in MN, but if you hunt much out of MN it is a good thing, and can serve as a back up for defensive uses. Essentially, a 7 mm Mauser on up.
Muzzleloader- this is on just because there are way too many "primitive weapon" seasons for an outdoorsman to want to give up that much field time.
Gun enthusiast's basic list:
Air Rifle- Indoor practice (and it takes care of squirrels when some rodent won't let you shoot em....)
Rimfire Rifle- Small game and plinking/practice
Rimfire handgun- plinking, practice, and useful as a kit gun
Defensive handgun- self explanatory
Large bore hunting handgun- in case you are around bigger animals, or if you want to hunt with it.
Defensive rifle- this is where an AR or a AK fit. It can be used for other roles also to some effect, most notably 3 gun competitions.
Varmint (smallbore centerfire) rifle. In case Wiley coyote bugs your chickens.
Mid Bore rifle- deer, elk, bear, sheep.
Large bore hunting rifle- Buffalo, Lion, Elephant-er engine blocks...
long range specialized rifle- if you want to hit at 600 or more, you gotta have the tools
Upland bird shotgun- nice light 20 ga double gun....
Waterfowl shotgun- heavy gun to take the recoil a bit. Will also work well on turkeys
Social shotgun- home defense and 3 gun.
Muzzleloader- primitive season hunting, and they are kind of fun. Also, for the prepper types, you can make everything you need to shoot by yourself.
Gun Enthusiast's advanced list:
All of the above plus whatever you can afford, and then a few.
If I had to narrow it down to 3, I would keep my .375H&H, 12 Ga Benelli, and one of the .45's.