# One weapon, what's it going to be?



## braggscowboy (Jan 6, 2004)

I have thought of that quiet a bit and come to the conclusion, or at least I think I have. Shotgun, as to make, I think I would like an Remington 870 in twelve guage, with vent rib. Now, I know 3", 3 1/2", doubles, auto, etc. Not considering the cost of ammo and availability, a shotgun would do for most things. If cost and avilability of ammo was a factor, then a .22. I like the older .22's like maybe a Remington 513. I have several others in more modern and a couple of mags. but don't think mags. are that much better in most cases. What would be your choice with just one?


----------



## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

The Savage over&under. .22 on top, 20 guage on bottom. I've owned one since Christmas of 1973 and have killed squirrels, rabbits, quail, raccoons, possums, snakes, deer, and no telling what all else with it. In my opinion, it's the best survival rifle you can find.


----------



## braggscowboy (Jan 6, 2004)

Oldcountryboy said:


> The Savage over&under. .22 on top, 20 guage on bottom. I've owned one since Christmas of 1973 and have killed squirrels, rabbits, quail, raccoons, possums, snakes, deer, and no telling what all else with it. In my opinion, it's the best survival rifle you can find.


That is a good one, had one once, would like to have another. Good choice!


----------



## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

I'd go with the savage combination but with a .22mag. on top.


----------



## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

I'd pick a .22 if I only had one gun. The O/U idea is great indeed. But a .22 can kill anything that walks if need be, and at a decent range. But with a shotgun you can use slugs as well for moose, bear, etc.. 

HMMMMM, I am no longer sure. I think I'll not worry, and keep all my guns! lol


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

The Savage Model 24 would be hard to beat for a "just one gun" pick:

http://www.savage24.com/


----------



## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

DITTO to what farmerDale said............. 
I'd add that o/u does sound great, but right at the moment I don't think the wife would think highly of me bringing a new gun into the house.......... so of the guns I own the .22 (Rem mod 572) would be the choice.


----------



## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

Remington 870 in 12 ga. without a doubt.


----------



## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

braggscowboy said:


> One weapon, what's it going to be?


My brain.....


----------



## CCCC (Nov 21, 2011)

Dang...That is like asking me to pick one flavor at Baskin Robins???

I now have another gun I would like to have a Savage Model 24. Dang!


----------



## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

If a SHTF situation came up and everyone bugged out some where with just what they could grab, I think more of the house's would a least have 22's or 12ga shells left behind. So either one of those would be a good choice I would think.


----------



## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

.38 lever action winchester rifle....James


----------



## dirtman (Sep 15, 2011)

What do they shoot in M-16's and what civilian rifle would use the same cartridge?


----------



## klickitat (Dec 26, 2008)

My choice is a 20g. Double barrel shotgun with double triggers. Carry #4 shot in left barrel and slugs in the right. Will take anything that jumps up.


----------



## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

i'm kind a liking the TC Encore & the Rossi matched set on the cheaper side. w/ the encore you can build your package to fit your area. if say 7 mag is popular in your area you can get a barrel in that caliber. plus w/ a muzzle loading barrel you can make your own propellant & bullets.


----------



## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

dirtman said:


> What do they shoot in M-16's and what civilian rifle would use the same cartridge?


5.56 mm NATO (the 223 rem is interchangeable w/ the military round in 99.99% of weapons) lots of rifles & some big handguns for the 223, including several semiauto only versions of the M-16 & other military rifles.


----------



## Murray in ME (May 10, 2002)

Cabin Fever said:


> My brain.....


That's the best answer yet.

Choosing 1 firearm would be tough because as we all know, no one platform will do it all. Shotguns are very versatile at close range but not much use at long range or for concealed carry. Rifles are great at close, medium and long range. But aren't much good for concealed carry use. Handguns are the best option for concealed carry needs and agruably the best choice for use inside the home. But, they are less powerful than either a rifle or shotgun and suffer from the same type of range limitations as a shotgun.

That being said, if I were forced to choose only 1 to use for everything I'd have to chose from one of the following two.

The first would be an AR-15 with a .22 conversion kit. The reason, versatility. You can get upper receivers for the AR in chamberings from .22lr all the way up to short range powerhouses like the .458 SOCOM or .50 Beowulf. Or even the mighty.50BMG in a single shot upper. 

The second would be a handgun. Chambered in 10mm. Either a Kimber 1911 or Glock 20 or 29 with a .22 conversion kit. The 10mm is powerful enough for hunting, certainly for hogs and deer. It's easier to shoot at longer range than my favorite handgun round, the .45acp. And it is available in handguns that are easier to conceal than more powerful handgun rounds. 

If I were forced to choose 1 of the 2 it would probably be the 10mm handgun with a .22 conversion kit. Simply because it allows for a concealed carry option which I think is important if we only get 1 weapon to cover all jobs.

If I were allowed to choose 2 firearms, a long gun and a hand gun to cover all uses, my choices would be far different.


----------



## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

would the Savage 24 in .223 over and 20 Ga under, with a set of .22LR and or .22 Mag inserts for the upper. Had the gun, never got around to getting the inserts. Also had the .357 upper and 20 ga lower. The upper was custom re-chambered to .357 MAX which loaded right is just short of a .35 Rem. So you could shoot .38 Spl wadcutters with about 4 grains of Bullseye, or full house bear buster loads with the .357 MAX, arguably, In my mind, two really versatile guns. Again, take your choice. As well, you could mate the .357 Over Under 20 Ga with a .38 or .357 or 9mm pistol ( 9mm insert available as well) and that would be more or less it. A bit of a decision with a lot of variables.



Murray in ME said:


> That's the best answer yet.
> 
> Choosing 1 firearm would be tough because as we all know, no one platform will do it all. Shotguns are very versatile at close range but not much use at long range or for concealed carry. Rifles are great at close, medium and long range. But aren't much good for concealed carry use. Handguns are the best option for concealed carry needs and agruably the best choice for use inside the home. But, they are less powerful than either a rifle or shotgun and suffer from the same type of range limitations as a shotgun.
> 
> ...


----------



## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

A friend has one in 223 over 12 ga. I have hunted coyotes with him in the morning and chukar in the afternoon, and he never switched guns. And it will hit a fox at 200 yards, he has a scope with quick detach rings for it. When he needs to, he can wingshoot by looking around the scope.


----------



## braggscowboy (Jan 6, 2004)

jwal10 said:


> .38 lever action winchester rifle....James


Don't think I have seen a .38 Winchester before. I have a 38-40 and 44-40.


----------



## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

It is a Winchester model 94 Ranger compact .357 magnum. I shoot .38 specials....James

http://www.gunblast.com/images/Winchester-Ranger357/MVC-001F.jpg


----------



## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

One gun?
whichever one I think it's going to take, to take out the sucker that got the rest of mine.... so I can get em back... Right now, that'd probably be the 300winmag... as it can really reach out there and touch someone... a long ways away. At more than a buck a round, it'd be worthless for most uses.... killing a rabbit with one? Sure, but you'd starve to death looking for the rabbit pieces...

Heck, half the time, I don't leave the house without two weapons... 

I do use the Ruger mkii pistol several times a day... carried outside just in the last half hour. There's hardly any animal in North America you can't kill with it.... Inuits kill polar bears with them...

Love my shotguns, but ammo is pricey, can only carry so much at a time, and I find it hard to shoot with just one hand.... don't yet have a pistol grip shotgun...


----------



## DYngbld (Jun 16, 2009)

Whatever you are comfortable shooting.... 

I like the AR-15 (M-16/M-4) I can get you BEFORE you can see me. Good for hunting larger game as well.


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Shotgun with Screw in Chokes.Can kill anything and Easy to Reload Shells.

Hunted with Shotgun for years.

big rockpile


----------



## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

I can see that. Inspite of what the movies and so called "experts" say the gun that won the west was a double barreled shotgun.


----------



## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

JJ Grandits said:


> I can see that. Inspite of what the movies and so called "experts" say the gun that won the west was a double barreled shotgun.


actually it was single barrel shotgun that most people had. doubles were too expensive for the average person.


----------



## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

I can see that. The bottom line is that the shotgun fills every roll.


----------



## gunseller (Feb 20, 2010)

The first thing I would I need to know is what is the reason I have to grab and go? If short turm,30 days or less, I would need it to add game to my food supply. A 24 Savage in 22/20 or a Springfield M6 in 22/410. If it because of lots of bad guys an AR15 or L1A1. If it is a general take over by our government of another government. My first thought is a Browning HP. Then I thought some more and decided on a 22 revolver. Maybe a M18 S&W or a North American Arms 22. With the 22 revolvers I can get any firearm you have that I want.
Steve


----------



## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

I think people over think this. Lets not have a specific purpose. If you had to have one gun, from birth, for the rest of your life, and no others, what would it be? For myself it would be the savage 24 .22 mag on top on a 20ga., unless they also made one on top of a 12ga. It would fulfill my needs.


----------



## gunseller (Feb 20, 2010)

OK then let me go a different route. I will take a 99 Savage in 308. With cast bullets I can take small game and birds. With full loads it will take the rest of what I may want or need to shoot two or four legged. 7.62 ammo is still used in M60 and M240 machine guns so ammo will be around for a long time.
Steve


----------



## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

I don't own a Savage24 but I do have an Ithica 37. That is pretty much my go to gun. If I ever have to beat it out the backdoor that is the one gun I want in my hand. Been shooting it for 40 years. We seem to work well together.


----------



## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

gunseller said:


> OK then let me go a different route. I will take a 99 Savage in 308. With cast bullets I can take small game and birds. With full loads it will take the rest of what I may want or need to shoot two or four legged. 7.62 ammo is still used in M60 and M240 machine guns so ammo will be around for a long time.
> Steve


DO you have a 99?
I have one in 308. My goal is to get one in each calibre it was chambered for. A sweet weapon, and a 308 is to me, the best all rounder in a short action. The derived calibres are also excellent.

Had a buddy ask what he should get a 300 mag. or what? I told him get a 308 winchester! An awesome calibre. Almost identical to a 30 06 in lighter bullets, yet is in a small, short action package. And the model 99? The exdcellent quality goes without saying.. 

:buds:


----------



## braggscowboy (Jan 6, 2004)

JJ Grandits said:


> I think people over think this. Lets not have a specific purpose. If you had to have one gun, from birth, for the rest of your life, and no others, what would it be? For myself it would be the savage 24 .22 mag on top on a 20ga., unless they also made one on top of a 12ga. It would fulfill my needs.


I had in mind, just one and my thinking at the time of post was one cal., but as most americans, we are hard to satisfy. We want more, so I like some of the ideas, I really like the O/U gun idea in .22 and 20. I know we have likes, but if only one gun in one gauge or one cal. what is it going to be?


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> if only one gun in one gauge or one cal. what is it going to be?


Ruger 10/22


----------



## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

12ga. For man or beast it's a major problem solver. True, it does not have great range but for the kind of stuff I hang out in it has twice what is needed.


----------



## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

but my experience with Savage 99's is that to reload them, you need SMALL BASE DIES in .308. I like the Sav 99, but due to it's lack of extraction power, vs say the Mauser Action, I'd avoid it as a Single Weapon. IF I had to have something like that I'd consider a pump Remington 760, or even a 740 Auto. I have no problem with .308, and if you had to, find a 12 GA over under with say a .30/'30 on top or a .308. With a Sub-Caliber insert, you can use .32 ACP as your small round and that would substitute in place of .22LR, however essentially to get the greater power of the 12 Ga and 30 Cal, you sacrifice the availability of .22LR's.





gunseller said:


> OK then let me go a different route. I will take a 99 Savage in 308. With cast bullets I can take small game and birds. With full loads it will take the rest of what I may want or need to shoot two or four legged. 7.62 ammo is still used in M60 and M240 machine guns so ammo will be around for a long time.
> Steve


----------



## gunseller (Feb 20, 2010)

Yes I do have a 99 Savage in 308. You must not have a lot of experience with 99s as you do NOT need small based dies to reload fo them. The only rifles, in over 40 years of reloading, that I have seen that needed small based dies were two standard production bolt rifles. They have as much or more extractor power as a 760 or a 740. They are as fast to reload as a mauser unless you are using stripper clips. The only drawback that I can see is parts can require hand fitting.
Steve


----------



## unregistered168043 (Sep 9, 2011)

klickitat said:


> My choice is a 20g. Double barrel shotgun with double triggers. Carry #4 shot in left barrel and slugs in the right. Will take anything that jumps up.


Thats my choice as well. The 20 is great for small game, much better than the 12 IMO. With slugs you can take deer and etc.


----------



## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

I collected Sav 99's in the 70's & 80's, and had the unpleasant experience of having HL .308's that chambered in other stuff, refuse to chamber in the one Sav 99 I had, and that was the diagnosis, so hence my conclusion, but I will add this, neither do they have the chambering power of say, a Mauser. My experiences with the 760 and the 740 series were far different than with .308 Sav 99. To be fair, the only one of the series of Sav 99's (.243's, .250/3000, .308 and .250/300TD) that I had this issue with was the .308, and it was on the basis of a commercial reloader's advice and gunsmith's advice that I switched to SB .308 dies for ammo I used in the .308, which I used for and killed black bear and whitetail with, and subsequently never experienced that problem again.
It was NOT for that reason that I sold my collection of '99's but it was for _those_ reasons that I did not acquire anymore, even as much as I like the concept of the gun. I have had a lot of Savage guns since then, but given the limited ammo capacity I decided there were better self defense guns as well as game guns I have killed more with.
Those are my experiences, and I don't think attempting to draw any valid conclusions about posters (i.e. "You must not........yadda, yadda, yadda), is helpful. IMO, everyone's mileage will vary.......I accept what you say about your experience as valid, so I might expect the same from you even if my conclusion does not support yours.
I never had a parts issue from the Sav 99's as I thought they were strong and well made, but since they are a rear locking bolt instead of a front locking bolt, as I understand it, that also allowed as well for more cartridge stretch upon firing. 



gunseller said:


> Yes I do have a 99 Savage in 308. You must not have a lot of experience with 99s as you do NOT need small based dies to reload fo them. The only rifles, in over 40 years of reloading, that I have seen that needed small based dies were two standard production bolt rifles. They have as much or more extractor power as a 760 or a 740. They are as fast to reload as a mauser unless you are using stripper clips. The only drawback that I can see is parts can require hand fitting.
> Steve


----------



## braggscowboy (Jan 6, 2004)

jwal10 said:


> It is a Winchester model 94 Ranger compact .357 magnum. I shoot .38 specials....James
> 
> http://www.gunblast.com/images/Winchester-Ranger357/MVC-001F.jpg


Am familiar with that weapon, had forgotten about it. I also know the Ranger is hard to find in my area, as well as the Trapper. About any Winchester in the older models Pre and post 64's in lever are quiet expensive. I have several of the Winchesters, the only one I have that I am not crazy about is the 94XTR in .22 mag. Not a big mag fan anyway but when it comes to shooting straight I like the Marlin in .22 mag.


----------



## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Bearfootfarm said:


> The Savage Model 24 would be hard to beat for a "just one gun" pick:
> 
> http://www.savage24.com/


That is the same model and exactly what mine looks like. Except that I have woodburned a dog treeing a squirrel on one side of the butt stock and a beagle chasing a rabbit on the other side. 

That case is amazing. Mine came with a case also and I still have it. But mine didn't have the .22 ammo belt inside. It does have the pockets so you can slide each half of the rifle inside before you fold it up and tie it off. 

No matter what everyone else chooses for that one rifle. This one will always be my first pick.


----------



## gunseller (Feb 20, 2010)

denaliguide I mistook your statement about sb dies as all 99s needed then. My bad. I have had people try to tell me that all lever guns, semi autos and pump guns need sb dies so I do brissel when I hear the statement. I have owned several 99s and just use RCBS FL dies with no problems. It must have been your rifle that needed sb dies. It happens.
Steve


----------



## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

so it might have been odd just to that gun. Long story behind it I will share with you in a bit, you will get a laff out of it. 

Best.



gunseller said:


> denaliguide I mistook your statement about sb dies as all 99s needed then. My bad. I have had people try to tell me that all lever guns, semi autos and pump guns need sb dies so I do brissel when I hear the statement. I have owned several 99s and just use RCBS FL dies with no problems. It must have been your rifle that needed sb dies. It happens.
> Steve


----------



## birdman1 (Oct 3, 2011)

my high standard 22lr 9 shot revolver 6 inch barrel ,super acurate never a mis fire tried and true tuff as they come


----------



## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

Well it started innocent enuf. A guy who I met became a bud, we hunted, fished and trapped together a lot. 
Guy comes into his shop, about 1975, and talks about running black bear hunts in N.Ontario during the Spring Season, before he starts up his other biz there. OK, we figure that works. His fee for a week of his tent camp is $300 including the drop off service, but we have to pay our own fly-in, about 30 min. We do it. Six of us get 3 bears. One of them mine, a 2 yr old sow, perfect hide and coat.
To prepare, I run around, get some reload components for my New-To-Me Sav 99 in .308. My buds are carrying .30/'06's in Rem 700's.
I can get NO primers but Winchesters, reputed to be a "hard" primer. I can find no appropriate .308 slugs but Hornady 165 SP's, spires. OK, I load them with XX gr of IMR 4320, and they target OK back here at home.

Sitting on stand waiting for the bear to come to the bait in the late evening low lite of N.Ontario, a nice bear comes in, and drops to the ground, hidden by the low brushy willows. I raise the gun, find where the bear dropped into the brush in the scope ( full of water), and wait.
Bear pops up 35 yds away for a milisecond and i slooooowwwllly squeeeeze the trigger for what seems an eternity. "Snick, click" goes the firing pin on the primer, hardly a dent, ---- !! So I carefully, stealthily, slowly extract the cartridge and jack another one ever so quietly into the chamber, and mount up the gun, watching where the bear disappeared into the bush again, thru the waves of water bobbing up and down in my scope. Up pops bear. I bead it on spine as he drops head down to grab some chow and squeeze it off. "Snick, Click" goes the firing pin on another "hard" Winchester primer. OH boy, is this crazy or what. Same deal, quiet and slow we get round #3 into chamber, and I can see the dimple in the primer. oh man. I put the gun up AGAIN and bear stands facing me. I squeeze the trigger and it booms like it should. Bear runs off. I trail bear, small short blood trail as I crawl thru alders(bent over and rooted). No dice, no trail, no bear.

Almost dark I sit there. Bear comes back on all fours a shadowy but shootable target. I take the shot, the bear runs off, and my buds show up and we trail it about 45 yrds over knoll, very dead. That Sav 99 had a very hard trigger and as a result I pulled the shot off the spine and went in and that 165 Hornady "dimed" itself out on the first thing it hit, a rib, and then tore its way traversing the aorta and lungs, and exited leaving the wound plugged with guts and no blood trail. I should have had the trigger done as is my S.O.P. with new-to-me guns but there was no time before this trip.

This had NOTHING to do with the Small Base dies, but was one many good trips I had with that 99 before I swapped it out for a Zabala 20 ga double.

The trip was a good one but a comedy of errors most of which are not covered in this story, so I could write it in reasonable time and space.



denaliguide said:


> so it might have been odd just to that gun. Long story behind it I will share with you in a bit, you will get a laff out of it.
> 
> Best.


----------

