Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A complete battery in five weapons or less . . . .

Only 5 guns? You sure know how to depress a person. I can do this easy for my hunting needs, but not for my obsession with guns needs. Here is my hunting gun needs:

Are these guns I presently own or do I have a blank and signed check to take to the gun store?

Guns I own now:
300 Weatherby (Good Idaho rifle)
m700 Classic 243 (good Idaho rifle)
Ruger SBH Linebaugh 4 3/4" custom 45 Colt (good Idaho sixgun for personal pretection against man or beast)
Winchester 9422 22lr (words cannot describe this guns qualifications)
Beretta Pintail 12 ga 3" (has been the best hitting shotgun I've ever owned)

Guns I don't own:

Wouldn't change a thing. If I ever got to Africa, I would take my shotgun and my Camera.

For Alaska, my 300 Weatherby would handle it all but I would likely take a camera for most shooting needs and a fishing pole to catch dinner.

For Idaho, what I listed will do fine as it has.

I am not trying to be self rightious here. I just love to shoot things with cameras more than bullets. If I need meat, I shoot a fat Whitetail or cow elk.

CM

As usual, did not thorougly read the question.

An all around battery for the third rock from the sun, in 5 weapons or less?

I can name that battery in 3 weapons...

Single shot bolt action .22 - no magazines, no tubes to lose. I knew a poacher who killed everything Florida had to offer with one. He finally got a 7mm Mag because "sometimes you can't get no closer than about 120 yards to the deer in those clearings, and this open sighted .22 is kind of hard to make head shots with at that range" (true story, unfortunately).

Bolt action .308 Winchester - no, it won't stop a charging elephant but you can kill one with it if'n you had to. Subsistence or sport hunting, target practice, long range tactical sniping for the Red October boys - while the .30-06 is the one that brung me to the dance, there ain't nothing in the world you can't kill with a .308 and a good set of running shoes to get out of the way while it dies. Plus you can find ammo just about anywhere.

A 12 gauge shotgun for anything else that flies, hops, slithers or enters my abode without permission.

My battery would depend on the situation, I'm afraid.

If I have to stay legal, then (since centerfire rifles are illegal for any sort of game in my state) I'd probably go with a shotgun (one with a box mag, if I could get it) with a smooth barrel and a rifled barrel with a scope mount. That'd be two guns under your rules, but a smoothbore and a centerfire rifle wouldn't allow me to legally hunt anything I couldn't shoot with the smoothbore.

Similarly, if we include organized government forces among the possible threats, you're right: running and hiding is the best option; and if that's the case, I am not going to be lugging any five guns around, plus ammunition to feed them. I'll have a battle rifle (not a carbine), a major-caliber handgun, and either a take-down 22LR rifle (if I can find one) or a scoped 22LR pistol (if it's accurate enough and I can get good enough with it).

Further, if I'm limited to five guns, I'm not particularly interested in riling up any dangerous game. If it breaks into wherever I am, I'd prefer to run until I'm somewhere else. Once the immediate threat is over, I'd have no problem using my superior intellect to either convince it to go away, or to trap it somewhere safe while I masticate it to hamburger with my battle rifle. Giving it a fair shot at me and then deliberately pissing it off doesn't interest me. That's right: I'm not much of a sportsman. When I hunt, I hunt for meat. So...when we put together this battery, what if we're not interested in doing absolutely everything that can possibly be done with guns? Do we have to have a gun that can do it anyway?

As to semiauto vs bolt-action...you're right in that at long range against unsuspecting targets, the semiauto's benefits don't really come into play. But if I found myself in the woods, being chased in and out of the trees by five or six guys at ranges of 50-200yd, I wouldn't want a blind-magazine bolt-action scoped hunting rifle with a five-round capacity that takes a good fifteen to twenty seconds of concentrated effort to load even if you're sitting indoors, have the individual rounds sitting on the table in front of you, and are not wearing gloves. How long is that going to take me when I'm running and fumbling individual cartridges out of a swinging pouch somewhere with gloves and trying to plan a safe route through the terrain ahead? No thanks: give me a nice large-capacity box magazine that I can grab and slap into a big ol' hole in the bottom of the rifle. And no scope.

So...before I can specify five guns, I need a little clarification.

But provisionally, I guess my battery would be:

The aforementioned 22LR gun, scoped pistol or takedown rifle: I haven't done enough research yet to know exactly what I'd choose. None of the 22LRs I have now would suit; that's why I have several.

A four-inch 44Mag. I'm not particularly brand-loyal, so I don't care that much whether it's a (used) S&W, a Colt, or a Ruger. Right now, it's a Ruger Redhawk.

A 12ga pump shotgun, 5-shot magazine, 22" smoothbore barrel. Remington 870, Mossberg 500, or Ithaca 37. Right now, it's a Moss 5.

A scoped bolt-action hunting rifle in 308. Right now, it's a Sucks 700 with a heavy varmint barrel and a Shepherd Scope. It's comfortably sub-MOA even with military-surplus ammunition, but it's a bit heavy for my taste; I'd prefer a thinner barrel.

An iron-sighted semiauto battle rifle in 308. Right now, it's an M14.

That's five; but it precludes me from legally hunting medium-sized game in my state.

Barak:

Go with a "screw-in choke tube" barrel on the 12 gauge and get a rifled slug tube. The accuracy is suposed to be minute of deer out to 125 yards.

So, you have:

22 LR (take down rifle or handgun--undecided)

44 Mag hangun, 4 " barrel

308 Bolt (Sniper)

308 Semi-Auto (M1A)

12 Gauge.

That works for me.

BMT

The 375 is just for tall and toothy stuff that won't leave peacefully- If I left the sports and game laws out of it, I'd be able to feed myself with just a roll of copper wire

I'll have a .22 LR, 12 ga shotgun, .308 win, 338 Lapua and hmmm... it's a toss up between a 1911 and a Glock 17.

well let's see
ithaca mod 37 16ga
ruger redhawk 44mag
marlin mod 60 22lr
pre 64 winmod 70 308
mrc 308 norma magnum

i think i can cover everthing i need to with these but thank the lord i already have others to help me through life

If it were 5 long guns:

.22 lr, pump...would have ot be accurate.
.257 Roberts for the smaller stuff
7mm for the med stuff
375 H&H for the bigger stuff
16 guage, 2 bls, 2 triggers, mod & full

5 short guns would be:
.22 High Standard 7"
.357 S&W 19 4"
.357 FA 83, 7.5"
.454 FA 83, 7.5"
16 guage, 2 bls, 2 triggers, mod & full

I have to squirm some getting it to five total:

.22 High Standard 7"
.357 S&W 19, 4"
300 Win Mag
.454 FA 83, 7.5"
16 guage, 2 bls, 2 triggers, mod & full

Phew...that was tough, glad its over. dvnv

Interesting to note that most of the 'heavy artillery' rifles were Winchesters. There's hope for this Campfire yet... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Peacetime hunting
357 sig - Sig P229
10-22 Stainless
25-06 Stainless
338 Stainless
12 GA Stainless With Chokes 3"

Wartime everything
357 Sig
1022 Stainless
Mini 30 Stainless
308 Auto
12 GA 3" Stainless chokes

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />

As several have noted, the answer would seem to depend on whether you're assumning you'd be using these weapons in a regime of ordered liberty, i.e. the current legal government in place (I know, Barak, but that's not the issue today), or whether you'd pick five to survive in a lawless, post apocalypse kind of environment. It may be cheating, but I'd pick;

Gov't still in place:

M29 .44 mag 6 in.
Accurized Ruger 10/22
Pre-64 M70 Featherweight .30-06, 2x8 Leup
Pre-64 M70 ,375 H&H, 1x5 Leup
Belgian A5 12 ga with Jap barrel and screw in chokes.


Really on your own:

Colt 1911 .45
Bushmaster AR15 shortie with holographic sight and a s-load of batteries for same
M1A 7.62
M70 .375
A5

.22 rimfire 10/22, Cooper if ya want a bolt
.300 mag either Win or Wby (if your going to Africa, I'm not, make it a .375 H&H)
12 gauge in 870
.223 in AR platform
big revolver in 44, 480, 454 or 500....make mine the 500.

If really on your own, probably the best thing to do would be choose guns chambered for military cartridges, because those would be the most common to find after you'd run through your initial supply. Does the military do much with 45ACP anymore? My impression is no, in which case I'd probably grit my teeth and go with something in 9mm.

If you're on your own, it's also going to be tough to find loads for your 375. Maybe you just stick it in the safe with fifty rounds of ammo and shoot maybe three a year to stay marginally proficient; but I think I'd rather find a dupe to trade it to.

Aside from that, I think that's great, except (of course) for the shorty AR-15. First, of course, batteries have a shelf life, and after that you're screwed. Also, the 223 isn't the best manstopper in the best of circumstances, and a short barrel is far from the best of circumstances. I say use your A5 for close-range social situations, and replace the 223 with a nice quiet (even suppressed!) 22LR.

But that's just my opinion: I could be wrong.

Barak:

Ammunition availability is an excellent point. Agreed that 9mm would more likely be around. In a "True Road Warrior World" I would have a 223, 308, 7.62x39, 12 ga and 9mm.

223 and 7.62x39 would be in the battery ONLY because of their status as universal military chamberings. I also think a 22LR would be mandatory becuase you can store 10,000 in a large box in the garage (that's a LOT of squirrels for dinner).

But, I purposely avoided drafting the question in as a Road Warrior manner.

The idea is today, present conditions, however, you view them, to do evrything you need to do, everywhere in the world.

Good Shooting,

BMT

It's that time of year again.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Here's my pick (to cover anything I'd care to shoot <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />)

22lr - Ruger SS Mark II 5 1/2"
223 Rem - Bushmaster 16" HBAR A4
270 Win - Win SS Classic
338 WM - Win SS Classic
12ga - Rem 870 SPS 21" (or Benelli SBE 24")

S&W J frame in 357. Fits in anything a t shirt can cover, not like the 1911. Love them, but they are a cold weather piece here, or at least concealed.

Bushy AR with trigicon dot sight for whatever needs killed.

10-22 nuff said

Rem shotgun. hard to decide 870 or 1187.

M7 rem or Mtn. Rifle in something 7mm

That should cover people defensive and more offensive when things turn bad. Birds and small game are done easily, and anything that can take a 7mm boolit to the head will have it's eggs thoroughly scrambled, Dangrous or not <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I guess I'd dance with what I brung...
Colt 1911, .45ACP
Mauser, 7x57
Siamese Mauser, .45-70
Winchester Model 1897 12ga
Remington Model 582 .22LR bolt action (or a newly aquired Marlin .17HMR- if it works good)

1. 22 LR (Cooper or Kimber) small game
2. Heavy barreled in 223 (Remington) prarie dog hunting
3. Lightweight 260 Rem (short action Rem) varmint, coyote, deer
4. 338 Win or 338-06 (elk, African plains game)
5. 375 H&H (everything that fights/bites back)

I've used up my allotment but I would still add:
6. 45 ACP 1911 for plinking/personal defense
7. Rem 870 Shotgun (12 gauge) (turkey, clay, basically anything that flies)
8. 45 cal Muzzleloader to take advantage of the extra seasons offered

221 Remington, Probably a single shot like my Ruger #3.
30-06, Based on a 1903 Springfield action.
375 H&H, Either a Montana or Model 70 Winchester.
12 Gauge pump, probably a Remington 870.
S&W model 57 41 Mag with 4" barrel.

Since I have aquired the 221 I find I don't shoot the 22 LR much anymore. This also gives me a true varmint rifle rather than compromising in a limited battery. To me the 30-06 and the 375 H&H are pretty much a no-brainer as is the pump 12 gauge. The 41 Mag is a personal preference perhaps not shared by many others. All these would be blued steel with wood stocks or grips.

Now, what do I do with all the others in the safe? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

One of my original choices was a Kimber 1911-style pistol in .45 ACP. After tossing and turning all last night with nary a clue as to why, it struck me this morning that I *must* have a 5-inch pinned and recessed Model 27, of Smith & Wesson persuasion, of course.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />