Scatter gun would be my choice for the same reasons Jerry said - pretty much does everything well.

Disappointing, how any real shooter could settle for a shotgun for the rest of his life, only indicates a lack of dimension…

Ha! This coming from a notorious ground shooter....

Good discussion.
He's picking his choice not for self defense only, but for versatility of game, etc.

Many a deer and pheasant have been taken in the midwest with a 20 or 12 gauge shotgun. With slugs or shot the shotgun has kept many folks fed for a very long time along with home protection. They don't have to be pretty, just functionable.

kwg

Only thing is neither of those weapons are concealable. His 357 could be concealed under certain conditions like winter, etc

If I had to give up all my guns except two I'd choose my Winchester 1300 12 gauge turkey gun with 24" barrel with interchangeable chokes. I have, in addition, a rifled barrel for it and reciever mounted peep and post front.

For a handgun it would be my 4" Security Six for the same reasons he stated above but it also conceals fairly well with the right rig and outerwear.

No shìt huh?


You've never even held a firearm.

He has too! Haysus gave it to him when he prayed.......

What's so hard about concealing a .357?

I conceal a full size 1911 every single day including summer when I wear nothing but shorts and a wife beater.

Miculek knows his stuff, not because he's the best...but because he agrees with me (big grin). One gun, the rest of my life? Not a twinge of hesitation....62 cal smoothbore, flint ignition, shot, buck, or ball or rocks if times are hard. I can make the powder, I stub my toe on the primers which are laying on the ground.
Prepper...circa 1810.

Yeah, Jerry is good people.

Cant ground swat a covey of huns with a 1911. Jim

thank god I don't have to choose just one

That might work. Pretty, too.
Bob

I’ve shot hundreds of elk and deer, and not one was flying…

Probably a 10/22.

A 12 gauge pump would be my choice. Most likely an Ithaca 37.

Have to agree.

Look at explorers back in the day who had to pick one gun because there was no room and keeping the kit as light as possible was paramount because either they or dogs/pack animals were carrying the load. Pretty much centerfire rifles across the board.

And to add, shot shells are about the most inefficient means of collecting meat, ie. ounce of protein per ounce of shell.

aint it a hoot?
Jerry has probably shot 10 times as many rounds, different weapons, matches,tin cans and grasshoppers than anyone on the site and there are people here thinkin' they iz smarter?

The dumbfuckery never quits at this site.

Last time I talked to Jerry, he asked me "Have you seen Shraps reloading room???!!!???"

Your analysis is corrupt as well. Jerry picked something for his discipline and nothing more. If shotguns were so versatile, the United States Armed forces would be arming themselves with shotguns instead of M4’s.

The ability to shoot, hunt, defend or survive will always be best suited to a centerfire rifle.

Jerry is indisputable as a competitor in a very narrow shooting discipline, no one will probably ever eclipse what he has done on a shooting course, but the armed forces have shot millions more than Jerry and there is more than one reason for a center fire rifle…

Back in the days when I was getting started hunting I killed everything I hunted with my Remington 1100 12 gauge. I had a raised rib barrel with a rem choke system. Hogs, deer, turkey, quail , doves, woodcock, snipe , squirrels , ducks, bobcats and rabbits.

I reject the notion of only one gun and will not entertain the thought of such a stupid choice.

I did the same with a Mossberg 500 in 12 gauge. A shotgun for the easy win IMHO.

I’d agree. Although you had the fancy model with a ribbed barrel, mine was plain.
Jerry makes sense to me, for staying alive in life a shotgun will take about anything on the wing.

I can’t think of any big game in North America that haven’t been taken by archers so a shotgun slug at those ranges is every bit as lethal and effective.

Works for me if I had to choose one.

Osky

thanks for posting.

i agree with Jerry Miculek i have always been a revolver man in a 357 Magnum ,i do own a few Remington 870`s which i do feel is a very good pump shotgun and was used in Viet Nam also. i have killed my my share of deer and elk with a bow and arrow some with a recurve bow , so a shotgun would work just fine for me too. a good hunter could do well with a 12 gauge shotgun always . a skilled bowhunter with a 12 gauge would be deadly on big game , youth that grew up as a bowhunter hunting whitetail deer have a huge advantage so these youths as they got older and using a shotgun with slugs would have no problem with a 12 gauge shotgun killing any animal. the Indians in Canada shoot alot of moose with a 12 gauge shotgun too i know i stayed in their camps . thanks for posting the video was great ! Pete53

LOL. There were no “Centerfire” rifles when the Trappers and Explorers hit America.
Only Flintlocks. Some were rifled, some were not.
They could load them with either birdshot or a round ball if they chose.

Jerry and his wife Kay were some of my customers back when I was in the Wholesale Firearms Industry.
Both are good folks.

Obviously there are few people that understand the value of a long arm. All the shotgun support is still lacking real world use of a firearm. If you live in a city and are scared of your neighbors, a shotgun would be a good choice.

Out if an urban setting and where you might want, not only need serious capabilities, the centerfire rifle will still suit your needs to a much greater extent.

Arrows, knives and shotguns are only of any value in close quarters. Remember, Jerry is a competitor in targets and little real world shooting. If you compare how he shoots vs what the majority of shooting really is, you will see just how limiting a shotgun is.

Forget the celebrity of a competitive shooter, look at what you have done and what most everyone on this site does and discusses and you will see how little a shotgun is used.

It isn’t about popularity or competition when it comes to that one gun choice, it is about how well a particular firearm will cover multiple shooting practices, and the centerfire rifle wins hands down…

I think I've only shot about 2% of my deer at over 100 yards and 0% over 150. I would not starve if all I had was a shotgun.

Lately I've been wishing I could get down to one gun....damn..... I've got guns I haven't fired in 20 years, but you think I can let them go? It's a sickness.

"Trappers and Explorers" aren't relegated to the 18th century. If those "explorers" you mentioned had a choice they would've been all over a 98 Mauser in 7x57/8x57 or 30.06, stuffing the old blunderbuss above the fire place for posterity.

I'm talking about people like Charles Sheldon, Vilhjamur Stefansson, the Boers and all the others of that era and to the present. They could have settled for scatter guns since they had the choice at the time but bolt actions in centerfire cartridges were their go to weapons to feed themselves, their families and protect their property.

Who needs a gun for deer, I’ve killed dozens with a truck…

Gonehuntin: One gun - WTF!
Blasphemy at best.
I refuse to even watch a video that "may" contain such an appalling contention.
THE more guns THE better.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

And tikkanut's Lexus?

It is a waste of time. I'd never be left with just one gun.

Wife's grandfather fed his big family in central Pennsy with a 20 gauge Model 12 and #6. Mostly deer and ground hog. I learned respect for the 22 magnum if it's just about meat mostly.