For the person who is interested in prepping or who is already on the lookout for a number of emergencies or potential disasters, safety must be one of your main concerns. It is no less important whether you are alone or with your family. The simple fact that in life, as soon as people are frightened, hurt or assaulted and under duress, the kindness of society quickly disappears in favor of “it will be you or me”. Someone who used to be your best friend will kill you if you stand between your food supply and his starving baby.
It should be fairly easy to see if you are in an area, an area where disasters, looting are frequent or may become frequent in case of FHTS. So you and your family should plan for your safety wherever you are. Firearms are most often (and for good reason) associated with safety. Are there other options? Sure, but I would rather have my trusty shotgun as opposed to a baseball bat that will make it easier to silence the leader of a group of people who want to knock down my front door in order to rob us.
So, in that spirit, here is my list of the five best firearms you need right now. Of course, this assumes that you don’t have firearms for personal protection and that you are not philosophically opposed to defending your family’s life with deadly force if this happens during an emergency situation where there would be no law or law.
Shotgun
If you only have the time or money to buy a firearm to defend yourself and your family, it should be a shotgun. Shotguns are everywhere and are relatively inexpensive to purchase. Where is the best place to buy a shotgun? You can go to any hunting and sporting goods store. Shotguns are fairly simple to use, hold an average of 5-6 shots and come with a variety of ammunition options. For home or proximity defense, a shotgun is very forgiving with regard to nervous aiming. By this I mean that you don’t have to be very precise with a shotgun to do damage. Even the sound of going up and down the slide can be an effective deterrent, although many will disagree with this statement. The two most common calibers are .12 and .20.
In addition to home defense, a shotgun is perfectly suited for hunting both small game and large animals with the right type of ammunition. Another advantage is that shotguns are numerous. You can always pick up a lot of ammunition and a nice new rifle quite easily. For the tactical trainer you can even customize your shotgun with many accessories similar to your pistol or AR-15.
AR-15
Speaking of AR-15 … It would be my second choice if you already have a shotgun. There are many reasons to put an AR-15 on your shopping list. The first is that it is the weapon you want to use in a variety of other force scenarios. The .556 chambered AR-15 (will also fire a .223) gives you a very flexible weapon platform. The AR-15 has a larger ammo capacity, so you will need to reload less often. When will you need 30 rounds of ammunition? What would happen if your house was invaded by 50 people with the lethal intention of taking your home and your stockpile? Or at the other end of the spectrum, what would happen if a whole bunch of zombies came across the parking lot towards you? Wouldn’t you rather be able to get 30 of the closest zombies out of your way before you have to reload? The AR-15, unlike a shotgun, is a mid-range hero. Where the shotgun is good for close quarters, you can’t rely on it if you want to use a shotgun for precision or long distance shooting. The AR-15, in the hand of a competent shooter is excellent up to 300 meters. I prefer to “take care” of the bad guys when they are far away from me and my family.
Since AR-15 ammunition is widely available, the chance that you will be able to acquire ammunition compatible with your AR-15 is very high under certain conditions.
Full size semi-automatic pistol – .45 or .40
Pistols are usually the first firearms chosen for several reasons. They are easier to handle, easier to hide. They are the weapon most used by the good guys in the movies, so if you want to look like a good guy like Bruce Willis in Die Hard, this is the gun for you. Pistols certainly have their place on your list, but they would come after an AR-15 and a shotgun in my opinion. Why would you want to do that? A wise man once said that “a pistol is the weapon you need to use to get back to your rifle”. Pistols are for close combat, short range and you want to use it as a last resort. You don’t want to get that close to the bad guys. However, it does happen and guns are an important part of your survival battery. At some point, you’re going to run out of ammunition in your shotgun or AR-15, and then you’re going to realize it’s time to pick up the gun. If a burglar breaks in through the front door while you sleep, you will barely have time to reach your pistol in your bedside table.
Why do I recommend .45 or .40 and not .9mm? I have all three calibers, but if I could only buy one and I bought it for home defense, it would be a .40 caliber. Why not a .45? Well, for the simple fact that you can hold more shots in the magazine of most .40 calibers because the bullets are a little smaller. That’s also why I recommend a full size and not a sub-compact if you only have one. My 1911 in .45 has 8 shots and my .40 has 14 shots. What about .9mm will you ask me? It can hold up to 17 shots. Yes, and like I said, I have a .9mm too.
Where is the best place to buy a home defense gun? You can go to the shooting ranges. Sometimes the salespeople there get their guns tried out. That way you get a better feel for the weight, grip and feel when you shoot it. It gives us a good chance to get an idea. Then the hunting and sport stores are able to order it if they don’t have it in stock. Beyond the “physical” stores, you can always buy your weapon on online platforms which are often the same stores that simply have a website for online sales. This allows you to compare prices and broaden your buying range.
For ammunition, make sure you have at least 4 magazines for each weapon.
Long distance rifle
When it comes to a long-range rifle, I am currently talking about 300 to 600 meters, mainly for hunting. They can also be used to take over your AR-15 which is starting to fail for long distance. If you start to go beyond 300 meters, your AR-15 will need a little help. Can you still hit targets at this distance? Of course, but I would prefer to have a caliber that is comfortable at that distance. My personal recommendation is for a .30-06 long range rifle.
The .30-06 is capable of knocking down any big game in North America. You will not encounter an animal that cannot be successfully hunted with a .30-06. Are there other calibers that can do the job? Sure, but in addition to being a great hunting weapon, the .30-06 is also a common sniper caliber for police forces.
Where can you buy a good shotgun? In the usual stores mentioned above. You usually don’t need a license to buy a long rifle and they have a lot of use. Ammunition will cost more, but if you hunt with this rifle, you will need less; unless you’re a terrible shot!
Pistol and rifle .22 LR
The .22 is great for two things in my opinion. A .22 rifle is perfect for small game or vermin. A pistol is ideal for practice or for use by smaller children. A .22 is a great addition because you can use it to practice your accuracy and not spend a fortune on ammunition. Although it is even more expensive than before, you can buy hundreds of .22 ammunition for a fraction of the most common calibers.
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