Gun Appreciation Thread

When people ask me, I recommend a basic 9mm semi-auto over .357 - it's just harder to learn to shoot a revolver accurately - the grip is more difficult, the trigger pull is longer and heavier, .357 kicks a lot more than even 9mm +P defensive ammo.

Anyone who can screw up a Glock or M&P probably shouldn't have access to a gun at all.

Originally Posted by fairholme_wannabe

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Fabulous! Thanks for the advice. What $$ would be necessary to procure the option that you would wish to recommend?

Oh my, the sky's the limit. You can easily drop $2,500 or more on a high-end AR-15 and a like amount for some high-end 1911 package gun. In my opinion, they would not render you appreciably safer in almost any defensive encounter you are realistically likely to encounter than you will be with an inexpensive but serviceable pump-action shotgun and a good revolver.

Some people have recommended the Glock pistols. Although less costly than many service-style auto pistols, one would still eat up most of your budget. I'll have to say I have never cozied up to the Glocks. I don't like their looks. More to the point, carrying one good to go is identical to carrying a 1911 pistol with a firing-pin-blocking safety device cocked with a loaded chamber, the manual safety off and the grip safety pinned. No thanks!

If you live in an isolated homestead and are attacked by a large criminal gang, an AR-15 or functionally similar fighting rifle will unquestionably be superior to a shotgun. If this is not likely in your future, I'm not sure it offers more than the shotgun in most realistic urban or home-defense scenarios. I never saw fit to buy such a rifle back in the good old days when I could legally do so in California.

If you don't have much to spend, and want a do almost everything well gun.


Get a shotgun.....

$300-350 get a Mossberg 590 with ghost ring sights.... Or the Remington equivalent (Prefer the Mossberg safety)

You have birdshot, buckshot, slugs, and most can take 3 inch magnum slugs. It's a good in close quarters and you can hunt with it if you have to.






Long range, your gonna need luck or some type of rifle.

Most engagements are at close range though.

Originally Posted by TylerDurden

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If you don't have much to spend, and want a do almost everything well gun.


Get a shotgun.....

$300-350 get a Mossberg 590 with ghost ring sights.... Or the Remington equivalent (Prefer the Mossberg safety)

You have birdshot, buckshot, slugs, and most can take 3 inch magnum slugs. It's a good in close quarters and you can hunt with it if you have to.

Long range, your gonna need luck or some type of rifle.

Most engagements are at close range though.

two thumbs up! We have the Mossberg at home and my wife has been on the range with it several times. This is the go to weapon for my wife at home.

Originally Posted by Ace Rimmer

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No. From what I've seen, the Saiga 12 is not a reliable gun. At the last shotgun class I attended, a local cop brought a Saiga shotgun. Yes he reloaded faster than the rest of us (who did not have magazine-fed shotguns) but he experienced quite a few misfeeds. A fighting gun needs to be dead-to-rights reliable -- and IMO the Saiga fails to meet this criteria.


Ditto this.

One of my best friends has had several Saiga shotguns. They are fun for 3-gun competitions when you get them 'tuned' and feeding a particular shell/load well, but that took a lot of trial and error, and then you've got a gun that only feeds one type of load consistently

That might be fine for a low-level SHTF scenario (post-Katrina New Orleans or L.A. during the Rodney King riots), because you're unlikely to use up your stash of specific ammo that the gun works with in that one week or so of civil disorder. But in a real End-Of-The-World-As-We-Know-It (financial collapse, Red Dawn event, UN takeover, etc), you're going to want to be able to scavenge or trade and use any 12 guage ammo you can find

Originally Posted by Ataturk

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Go with the classic AR-15.

And don't worry about food and the like; there will be plenty of Ace Rimmers to rip off.

....he's limiting this kit to $600. I have to second the shotgun/pistol.

Gotta go with the Moss. 5 or a Remington 870 (NOT the express, they are "refurbished" guns)

No they're not. Remington's Express is just their standard/budget line.

The only manufacturer putting out refurbed guns that I know of is Sig, with their CPO program.

An exposed hammer coach gun (18" double barrel shotgun) is a pretty good start, too. Simple to operate and learn and inexpensive. Not as tacticool as some pump guns, but very practical.

EDIT: If you are considering a firearm solely for "home defense" and not as a hobby/sport/enthusiast, $600 towards home defense might be better spent on upgrading the locks and getting a monitored security system.

Originally Posted by JustinW

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An exposed hammer coach gun (18" double barrel shotgun) is a pretty good start, too. Simple to operate and learn and inexpensive. Not as tacticool as some pump guns, but very practical.

EDIT: If you are considering a firearm solely for "home defense" and not as a hobby/sport/enthusiast, $600 towards home defense might be better spent on upgrading the locks and getting a monitored security system.

I'd say that the first money spent on home defense should be on alarms and locks. when those are perfect start thinking about guns.

Originally Posted by milosz

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No they're not. Remington's Express is just their standard/budget line.

The only manufacturer putting out refurbed guns that I know of is Sig, with their CPO program.

I've only seen (in stores mind you) refurb. 870 Expresses

This is what I'm going to order to protect my apartment, the Swiss Army gun

Originally Posted by milosz

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When people ask me, I recommend a basic 9mm semi-auto over .357 - it's just harder to learn to shoot a revolver accurately - the grip is more difficult, the trigger pull is longer and heavier, .357 kicks a lot more than even 9mm +P defensive ammo. Anyone who can screw up a Glock or M&P probably shouldn't have access to a gun at all.
Not to mention you'll be dead before you can reload a revolver

Originally Posted by KitAkira

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Not to mention you'll be dead before you can reload a revolver

By the time I've killed six men, I should have time enough to reload the revolver.

Seriously, if you have to reload anything, you better the hell have gotten behind cover and preferably have supporting fire.

Back when many police departments were seguing from revolvers to auto pistols, various training officers would call me--I was editing Handguns magazine at the time--to discuss aspects of the matter. I would always ask them if their department had ever had a shootout where the extra firepower and quick reloading capabilities of the automatic would have been advantageous. Without fail, the answer was, "No, we haven't."

Originally Posted by milosz

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No they're not. Remington's Express is just their standard/budget line.


Yeah, my dad has one (purchased new). I don't like the crinkle finish on the receiver. It looks too low-budget for me, but it doesn't really affect the gun's operation.