If you could only keep three guns, what would they be?

[franzfmdavis]

I have to admit I thought there would be a lot more overlap in the choices. It is fascinating to see all the unique combinations that members choose.

 

[WI-2021]

Not sure I could do it. IMO, everyone needs, at minimum, a shotgun, a .22 rifle, and a pistol in a suitable defensive caliber. If one hunts, the requirements increase a bit to add a versatile hunting rifle or two. Exactly what those are depends on the game in question. From what I currently own:

Shotgun: LH SBE2. Mine feeds everything I've ever fed it, but I haven't tried super light target loads. If that's a requirement, I'd choose my LH M2. In this case, the user should pick the shotgun that fits them best. This is my waterfowl gun and, if needed, could be pressed into service for big game hunting with a slug barrel. That said, I've never once considered choosing a slug gun over a rifle where rifles are allowed for hunting.

.22 rifle: LH Tikka T1x. It's a tough choice between this and the Remington 572 I received for my 12th birthday. The 572 has sentimental value far in excess of it's monetary value, but the .22 that always goes to the range with me is the suppressed T1x.

Pistol: G19 or G43x. Neither of these is my favorite, but they both work every time. Mags and parts are everywhere, and a chimpanzee could maintain them. If defense against 4-legged critters is needed, I'm going with my G20 or S&W 69 instead.

Now to expand on this for hunting big game....

To hunt anything locally, which is basically whitetail or smaller, I'd choose my Defiance .308 without a second thought.

For anything in North America, my Pure Precision .300 WM. Overkill of most things, but that's better than underkill. I might feel a little undergunned for the big bears, which brings us to:

For anything in the world, either my .375 Ruger Alaskan or the custom I'm working on, also in .375 Ruger.

An AR15 in 5.56 is also very nice to have for fun, target shooting, hunting, or defensive purposes.

For those keeping score, I guess that means I have, at least, a top five:

1. Benelli SBE2
2. Tikka T1x
3. Glock 43x
4. .375 Ruger Alaskan
5. AR-15

All except 1 and 3 are suppressed, as it should be. If we want to cheat a little more, I'd also add a slug barrel for the Benelli and multiple uppers in different chamberings for the AR15. If I owned an R8 it would probably replace #4 and have a few additional barrels.