The best all around three gun battery

[bryjcom]

One other gun all of us have forgot to mention is the mighty .22LR. I'm changing my answer........

2nd Gun any accurate .22LR with a scope. This will take care of small game out farther than a shotgun can take.

the shotty and pistol get moved down to 3rd and 4th positions respectively......

[Birddog1911]

As much as I love my M1A, this thread got me to thinking that it would be a good idea to have an inexpensive .308 bolt gun as a backup. You never know when Murphy is going to rear his ugly head.

One thing that should be kept in mind is that you should have a spare parts kit for each of your guns. Springs, firing pins, bolt parts, etc. Atleast if it does break, you can probably be able to fix it.

Also, for those of us who love our service rifles, consider the adjustable gas systems. That way if you run out of surplus powered ammo, you can pick up anything off of a shelf, so to speak.

[GreenScoutII]

Hmmm...

Just three guns huh? That makes it a bit tough. I'll take a stab at it though. Since I live out in the country on very flat terrain, the area is largely irrigated fields and pasture, I have very little in the way of cover/concealment. I may have to engage targets out to much farther distances than my urban friends will. As such, this has influenced my decision.

1. Scoped/sporterized P17 Enfield in .30-06. I have shot this rifle at distances out to 600 yds. If I work up a 1000 yd zero, I can cover the irrigation ditch and defend the western approach to my property.

2. Rem 870. 12 Gauge with 00 Buck is a whole lot of ugly bad news out to about 50 yards or so. Also, it can be loaded with other shells for different purposes.

3. Sig P 220. .45 acp. Enough said.

[SSChameleon]

Some of the posts here got me thinking about swapping the shotgun for a 22lr. But then I was looking at photos from Hati and all the locals and local police had shotguns. If I were stuck in an urban setting I might choose a 22lr, 12ga, and pistol in a popular caliber (357, 9mm, 40, 45). It really depends on how bad things are and it there was a real chance of getting into a shootout.

In the country I'm not sure what I would choose.

[Tora]

#1 AR15
#2 870
#3 Pistol of choice

[Pancho Villa]

I think all of these threads have a fundamental flaw in them, namely the idea that there any "3 best" guns.

Guns are tools. Certain guns are better for certain things than others. What is the best set of tools for my situation may or may not be the best one for your's. And you shouldn't just think of "Whats the best gun?" in a vacuume. You should put some serious thought into what you have, why, and what is best FOR YOUR PLAN.

Take me for example. I have two major plans should things get so bad that I need to evacuate the area and get to my safe place.

Plan A: Roads are open and/or I get enough advanced warning to move supplies over to my safe place. This means I don't have to make any tough choices - all my guns, ammo, food, etc, come with me.

Pln B: OSHI- essentially, am forced to foot it over to where I need to get to. I am lucky in that I have a second set of hands/legs (the wife) to carry stuff. Food, medical supplies, etc aplenty are already at the safe place, but which guns to take now becomes a serious issue.

If you need to foot it 100 miles (or more if you count having to avoid major intersections, possible trouble spots, etc,) whats your main consideration? WEIGHT followed directly by COMPACTNESS. So here is the weapons-related loadout for the wife and I.

Me: Glock 17, concealed underneath weather-appropriate clothing. Spare ammo & mags.

"Sweetheart" (a savage model 10 "scout" rifle with a custom ultralight barrel, weighing in with scope and sling at about 6.5lbs) & spare ammo for Sweetheart

Wife: Taurus PT1911, spare mags
Custom built AR15 w/Cav Arms MkII lower, pencil barrel, iron sights (weighs only 5.8lbs) + pmags

The AR15 and Sweetheart are both concealed in our bags. The pistols will do for surprise encounters (of which there will ideally be none) with the longarms used only at last resort, when trouble just cannot be gone around or avoided. The point here is that, other than the pistols, both of our longarms + ammo and other kit weigh less than 10lbs, allowing us to load up our packs with other important stuff such as food, basic medical supplies, and other stuff.

This is a good balance for what I'd be doing, worst-case. I expect never to really need to execute the plan (the woman loves her AR15 and I hunt up in the mountains with Sweetheart, and believe me the weight is a great thing, so its not wasted investments.) Your situation is probably different.

Remember that a weapon has no intrinsic merit; it has merit based on the situation it is used in. For most situations this isn't a big consideration because you should have supplies and a solid plan for getting most of your stuff to your safe place in one trip. In the case in which you CAN'T, lightness and handiness take prime consideration. Who here thinks he can hike 100 miles with an M1A, Rem 870, pistol, ammo for all and supplies (food, water purification, medical supplies, etc.,) needed to make the trip? Even a fantastically fit human will be slowed down considerably by the extra weight, and most people will simply just start dumping ammo/weapons by day 3.

[BigBear]

Kind of hard to pick a best of anything without known criterion or limits...

In what conditions will these best guns be used, etc?...

However, to answer the question, I'll stick with standard practice:
Handgun
Shotty
Longrifle

[TFOGGER]

10/22, .357 lever action (good for hunting pretty much anything 2 or 4 legged out to 200 yards or so, use .38s for small game at shorter ranges. Probably wouldn't try for elk with this one.), .357 4 inch revolver. Commonality of ammo helps with overall weight.

[wyzardd]

I got talked into buying a 12 gauge pump. When I noticed that no one fell down dead at the sound of the thing, I decided to see how useful a Winchester 1300 would be around the house (shotty? Gotz youse a Deagle wit dat?). Totally inappropriate for the layout of my house, doors all open the wrong way, halls are too narrow, etc.

So my 3-gun loadout would be:
(just to be contrary) Lever action .30-30. Old reliable.
.22lr rifle. Pump/lever/bolt.
I like to say 1911 but I think a .357 revolver would work better.
Yeah, higher round capacity and quick, easy reloads with an auto. I carry a 1911, but if SHTF I'm either keeping track of magazines or worrying about damage to the 3 or 4 I can carry easily.

I gave that almost 5 minutes of deep thought, so I'm sure it'll be picked apart pretty quick

[Tora]

I think all of these threads have a fundamental flaw in them, namely the idea that there any "3 best" guns.

Guns are tools. Certain guns are better for certain things than others.

Your a 100% right, that's why the weapons chosen need to work in more then one role. It may not be the best weapon for the job at hand, but it need's to work, and you need to have all of your potential needs covered. You can only pack so much.