I know topics about choosing X amount of guns or having to choose one gun for a specific purpose get done a lot. Some people enjoy hypothesizing about such things, some people don't see any point in imagining settling for anything less than the 50 guns they have. But getting to the point...
I first saw this article by Massad Ayoob in the printed Backwoods Home magazine several years ago, and I still reread it online every so often.
For those who choose not to read the whole thing, I'll try to sum it up. Ayoob addresses building a "four-gun battery." It's addressed primarily to people who live away from the cities. People with rural acreage, livestock, fields, and vegetable gardens. People who encounter bears or poisonous snakes that may do them harm, and other critters that may harm pets, property, and crops.
The four gun types he recommends are...
1) .22lr (rifle or handgun): Used for taking small game and dealing with smaller pests in the yard and garden.
2) shotgun: Used for birds, small game, and larger game hunting (within modest ranges) and for use against larger 4 and 2 legged threats. He recommends 12 or 20 gauges for versatility (bird, buck, slugs)
3) centerfire rifle: used as main medium/big game getter. Also for longer range varmint control and possibly bear medicine. He seems to be thinking more in terms of traditional hunting guns than "black" guns.
4) centerfire handgun: the constant sidearm used for defense again snakes, rogue livestock, and other threats. He mentions using a .357 or .45 himself.
To the best of my knowledge, grizzly/brown bear and poisonous snake habitats don't overlap much, so all the scenarios he mentions probably wouldn't apply to any one person, but regardless, I'm curious which four guns people would choose—either according to the criteria he describes or according to you own current situation... or both.
*the article is geared toward economical guns... if you want to go with economical, fine. If not, fine.
I first saw this article by Massad Ayoob in the printed Backwoods Home magazine several years ago, and I still reread it online every so often.
For those who choose not to read the whole thing, I'll try to sum it up. Ayoob addresses building a "four-gun battery." It's addressed primarily to people who live away from the cities. People with rural acreage, livestock, fields, and vegetable gardens. People who encounter bears or poisonous snakes that may do them harm, and other critters that may harm pets, property, and crops.
The four gun types he recommends are...
1) .22lr (rifle or handgun): Used for taking small game and dealing with smaller pests in the yard and garden.
2) shotgun: Used for birds, small game, and larger game hunting (within modest ranges) and for use against larger 4 and 2 legged threats. He recommends 12 or 20 gauges for versatility (bird, buck, slugs)
3) centerfire rifle: used as main medium/big game getter. Also for longer range varmint control and possibly bear medicine. He seems to be thinking more in terms of traditional hunting guns than "black" guns.
4) centerfire handgun: the constant sidearm used for defense again snakes, rogue livestock, and other threats. He mentions using a .357 or .45 himself.
To the best of my knowledge, grizzly/brown bear and poisonous snake habitats don't overlap much, so all the scenarios he mentions probably wouldn't apply to any one person, but regardless, I'm curious which four guns people would choose—either according to the criteria he describes or according to you own current situation... or both.
*the article is geared toward economical guns... if you want to go with economical, fine. If not, fine.
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