if you could only choose one!

Well, that's actually a ridiculous question akin to asking, "If you could only choose one tool from Home Depot, what would you take?" Doesn't make any sense because the variety of functions is as diverse as the tools, and one would limit your usefulness so narrowly that you'd be useless in almost every capacity. I use the analogy of hardware stores because hold the same fascination for me as gunshops and my wife won't let me go into one alone as an entire day could pass before I re-emerge. It's not that I overspend, it's that I become utterly engrossed in the mechanical ingenuity and potential of everything that time becomes a vacuum and I become a lost boy in Neverland.  And finding a poor soul in the catacombs of a modern-day DIY store like Home Depot is nigh on impossible without a dog and a scent trail. As a stone mason the tools of the trade obsess me: the hammers alone offer such a range of capabilities in shaping and cleaving every different type of material from granite to sandstone and basalt to limestone and all variants of each inbetween that it would take a tome the size of War and Peace to explain it all. As it is with firearms.

So because there's no such thing as one stone hammer, there can be no such thing as one gun. I believe the absolute minimum is three. If I needed to build a small stone house or a good retaining wall I'd want three hammers, or two and a chisel. If I had to flee a burning building or a pack of marauding zombies, I'd want three guns, notwithstanding three good guns is about all I could carry and still be mobile (mindful of ammo and it's inherent weight) and/or effectively use anyway so I'd want those three to be perfect for every potential scenario and range. And I'd want to be so rehearsed with those firearms that a fast and natural transition from one to the other would be smooth, because that adeptness would be necessary for my survival and the protection of loved ones who'd be on the trail with me.

So what would those three guns be? Over the next three articles I'm going to look at some options, and those options will depend on the scenario, terrain and environment in which one might find oneself at the time of a catalytic event, the short-term and subsequent long-term demands on those guns and the all-important question of ammo, because, just as a cigarette is un-smokable without a light, a gun is a mere club without it's relevant bullet or shell. Similarly with vehicles, the power to weight ratio is critical to duration; a heavy gun with a few giant rounds won't get you very far. So, there's a lot to consider and by no means am I an authority on this, nor can I know your personal preferences of circumstances so there's no need for vitriol if you can't agree - just know your 2 cents is as valid as mine and we'd be happy to hear yours especially if it's rooted in experiential knowhow. Ed.