OK - could you cover ALL 'gun needs' with 42 firearms...???

[AJMD429]

...or how about 24....?

...or less...?????

If we didn't have any existing cartridges, any existing firearms 'platforms', and just had primers, powders, and the technology to make whatever cartridge cases, and bullets, we wanted, what would it take to cover 'all needs'...???

Here's a template of 'needs'....

42 guns to cover ALL NEEDS.png

Now, one could say that you don't REALLY need a 25 or 35 or 45 caliber family of cartridge, because having just the 20, 30, 40, and 50 calibers would provide everything needed.

Indeed, in terms of 'leverguns', I think that for hunting and farm/ranch use, I could do with only three cartridges....

At the lower end, 22 LR (Ruger 96/22 or Henry 22 would be my choice), and the higher end, 500 S&W (BHA 89). The 'middle ground' would be either a 32-20 (for the 'nostalgic' me), or 357 Mag (for the 'practical' me). With those three cartridges, I could cover everything from chipmunks to grizzly bear, and would not feel ill-equipped.

For two-legged predators and the rifle-class of firearms, of course one could need a semiautomatic, and the cartridge choices would differ due to design considerations, but there are 22 LR semiautos (Ruger 10/22) and 50 Beowulf semi autos (AR-15), that clearly would equal the ballistics of the 22 LR and 500 S&W. For the mid-range stuff covered by a 357 Mag levergun, semi autos in any number of other rounds would suffice.

Now we are up to SIX rifles to cover all needs - so we have to add handguns, of course....

There are 'pocket pistols', 'holster pistols', and 'hunting (non-concealable) pistols'....

Maybe 22 LR, 9mm, and 10mm, or something similar...???

Anyway, just some food for thought when it is raining outside and the range is closed, or the ammo supply low, and it is fun to sip some tea, or bourbon, and speculate.....

[jnyork]

Might be a good start.

[Old Savage]

No, 42 ... not close.

[gcs]

probably 4....but I"m an under achiever...LOL

[COSteve]

Done

[marlinman93]

"Needs"?? I'm sure I could. But "Wants".....no way 42 would do it.

[gamekeeper]

I have to get by with a lot less but then it's a good job that Squirrels are not too demanding

[Jay Bird]

Absolute minimum....5.....22 rifle....32-20 rifle......308 rifle..........22 revolver........357 revolver

Maybe it's not a good thing to talk like this on a public forum...the libbies might be reading and use it for their propaganda.

Off hand, I don't know how many I have...got to look at notes and books I have stashed.....I might get within 25.----6

[jeepnik]

Well, obviously not as I have more and still don’t have everything covered.

[ChuteTheMall]

Beware the man with only 42 guns; he probably knows how to use them.

[jeepnik]

Beware of the man with more than 42 guns. He probably smells like gun oil.

[wm]

As I get older I find myself focusing more on just a handful of firearms. Partly this is satiated curiosity and partly the realities of getting old (Gosh I wish I had the eye sight of my 20 something year old self).

As a result I do find myself separating my firearms into three categories …… working collection (CCW, hunting, target), heirloom (firearms I want my sons to have and enjoy) and accumulation (firearms that hang around because i'm not particularly motivated to seek out the opportunity to sell or trade them).

The working collection has two 22 rifles, three CCW revolvers, two CCW semi autos, two hunting rifles, one muzzleloader and two shotguns. That's 12. I could easily cut that number in half. For example I have a S&W 60 357 mag with 3" barrel and S&W model 36 38 spl with 3" barrel that both represent my go to CCW options. Or in shotguns I have a hunting shotgun (Rem 870) and a bad times middle of the night shotgun (Baikal coach gun). I could live with just the 870.

Honestly at my age (52) I look at my accumulation (collections have a theme and purpose, what I have represents whims and opportunity) as legacy to hand to my sons. I still add (bought two used pistols just this month for no other reason then they were good quality, condition, and bargain at that price) but it is less about appetite & curiosity now and more about 'why the heck not'. After all I've got house & cars paid for, my boys are raised and on their own, all the tools i'm likely to need, clothes and shoes i might be set for the rest of my life, etc. Heck the wife makes more then me now a days. I'm practically a kept man!

I give away more money now a days then I spend on things around the house.

The only other thing I buy is books. Old books. No one seems to hold those in high value but i find them useful. Honestly when I have grandkids I hope they are more interested in my library then my guns or tools. I hope the intellectual stimulation of the books spurs their interest in the tools, skills and firearms.


Wm


P.S. Okay that was quite a ramble and I'm not sure I even fully addressed your point. Guess I'm in a weird introspective assessment mood this week.

[piller]

I think I could cover an incredibly wide variety of situations with 42 guns. I think I could! As far as proving it, well, that could be difficult. I am willing to try it.

[Mike Armstrong]

Depends on what you mean by "needs". After the recession of the early '80s wiped us out as far as "toys" were concerned, I made do with my grandfather's 1913 Colt DA .44-40, a Ruger Standard .22 auto, and a Winchester single shot .410 for two years and all the hunting seasons in Vermont. If you think you can't kill a whitetail with a .410 slug (and many, including some state game depts DO think that), you just aren't patient enough to be a deer hunter....

My father fed his grandmother, baby brother and himself thru the Depression with a Win 1890 pump ".22 Special" in the Black Hills, plus the back garden and root cellar. So I think nowadays we are mostly talkin' WANTS, not needs.

[4t5]

My first thought...that's a lot of guns to clean!

[Tactical Lever]

When I was a young, naïve teenager, I think that I probably had my needs at about 5 guns. Some kind of shotgun for ducks and geese most likely a 12 gauge. An intermediate size all around big game rifle capable of all game in NA that I was liable to take; somewhere from a 6.5x55 to 30-06. With probably the edge going to 30-06 for heavier bullets and having a lot of punch even out to 500 yards. Some kind of a .22 caliber centerfire rifle for coyotes, bigger small game, or longer range small game. I have a soft spot for .22 Hornet bolt actions, but could be a .218 Bee lever, or a .223 bolt, or semi auto, for when it all goes wrong. A .357 or .44 Spl. revolver for a do-it-all gun small enough to pack with a "big enough" punch, and a .22 LR rifle.

If I was to rethink it all these days it would look a bit different:

1. SxS 12 gauge coach gun with interchangeable chokes for general purpose, upland, and cowboy action
2. .44 Magnum or .45 Colt single action for cowboy action
3. The above to match, more or less
4. 20" pistol caliber lever action to match above revolvers. Probably a Henry.
5. DA revolver to match above, or else .480 Ruger, probably a Redhawk in stainless, long-ish 6" barrel.
6. .22 Hornet "walking" gun.
7. 22-250 heavy barreled varmint gun
8. .223 AR
9. 243 Winchester in an accurate bolt action; light weight, compact gun, like a Remington Model 7
10. Medium weight 30-06 bolt action
11. .35 Whelen
12. "Long range" gun with a little longer barrel, in 7mm Remington Mag, or .300 WM.
13. 35 Remington Marlin
14. 45-70 stainless Marlin
15. A nice Browning Buckmark pistol
16. Ruger 10/22
17. Marlin 39
18. Short barreled, full butt stock "Mare's Leg" like a Ranch Hand
19. Short break open 20 gauge, single.
20. Smallish polymer 9 mm pistol
21. Ruger Bearcat
22. "Navy sized" 1849(?) .36 caliber BP revolver
23. Some sort of tactical shotgun; presently really enjoying a .20 gauge box fed semi auto, haven't cleared the house with it yet, but it's hell on grouse!
24. Savage 1899 lever action
25. Remington 760 or 7600
26. High powered PCP air rifle. Not a really big one for deer, but a .22a for taking out pests.
27. A medium heavy game to BIG game gun from about .338 Winchester, preferably on up to a .358 Norma Mag, 9.3x62, 375 H&H, or 404 Rigby, or .458 WM. Maybe 2 guns with one being a smaller long range gun, and the second being a true big bore stopper.
28. Truck gun. Anything of medium power or higher that didn't cost too much, of reasonable ruggedness and reliability that will get you home, and possibly feed you if you need to leave your vehicle for unforeseen reasons. I lean towards old pump action 12 gauges that can live there, and get surface rust without affecting operation or functional accuracy.
29. Same as above, for another vehicle.
30. See above for a total of 3 JIC guns.
31. Some kind of serious waterfowl gun, pump or semi auto, meant to get wet, and bust high flying geese and ducks.
32. Full size DA semi auto pistol in .40 S&W
33. Full size 1911 possibly long barrel in 10 mm Mag, or .460 Rowland
34. Smaller frame revolver, like a GP 100 in .357 or .44 Special. One of the old Rossi guns would be nice. I'd take the .44 special.
35. Sharps rifle.
36. 1895 Winchester lever action octagon barrel, or Browning version. A good looking shooter with a tang sight.
37. 1886 Winchester rifle
38. Model 71 Winchester
39. A quality .22 bolt action. Like a Brno. Full size, decent wood.
40. A good .22 Magnum rifle. I believe mine is a model 25. It's a few years old, but just a real good solid example of a serious small game rifle.
41. A short barreled handy .22 bolt action like the Troy Landry edition Savage, or one of the even shorter Norinco, or Savages.
42. A nice older Beretta .22 pistol. Something like a Lynx. Small, slim, light. Suited to the .22 LR, but accurate enough head shoot grouse.

That really went quick. I didn't count inherited guns, or "novelty guns" or BUGs, like the Earl boot pistol, or Bond Arms Derringers. I kind of expected to hit about 25 before stalling out. Didn't even make any (hardly) concessions towards competition guns either. Could easily throw in a surplus gun or two, as well as some collectable type guns, or something bought just for prettiness like one of the millions of Winchester commemorative 1894 rifles.

[jeepnik]

Sorry Tac your list isn't near complete. For instance you don't have anything belt fed much less the three necessary calibers, 5.56, 7.62 and 50 BMG.

[Tactical Lever]

Sorry Tac your list isn't near complete. For instance you don't have anything belt fed much less the three necessary calibers, 5.56, 7.62 and 50 BMG.

Well you don't have to tell me that! Heck, that list could probably double, and I'm sure that I'd find a hole somewhere.. Kind of going off a minimum, I guess. If you look again you'll see the 5.56 in it's civilian clothes. I guess I could have said 5.56, like my Ruger is, and then it's capable of shooting both. Or a Wylde chamber.

Kind of considered the SKS, but I sure don't shoot mine very much. If it suits you, a brace or 3 could be put under the truck gun category. The CZ guns are decent, too, but didn't appeal enough to buy one for the kind of money they want. Part of the problem is the cheap surplus is corrosive, I gather some of the non corrosive shouldn't be trusted as such, and to buy good brass case softnose is more expensive than 30-30. Crude sights, and a pain to mount a scope on doesn't help much either. And the good cheap ammo isn't so good, but the good ammo isn't so cheap. And it really flings "brass". I won't argue, that it doesn't have a place though...

Should have a belt fed, but on my list, I probably wouldn't shoot it much. I would rather have a nice select fire sub machine.

Was really hot for a 50 a few years back. Then I realized at 30-50 lbs. of gun, and bullet prices, I wasn't going to hunt with it, don't have any big plans on shooting trucks, and would rather have a more mobile, and cost effective gun for either shooting paper or meat. Maybe I could be talked into something practical like a .408 CheyTac...

[bmtshooter]

How about some of those graceful old muzzleloading rifles?

[t.r.]

Because of my former US Air Force career, I had a chance travel quite a bit and hunt in many places. No matter if it is a heavy bodied South Dakota muley or much larger Spanish red stag, these animals can be felled easily with a double lung shot. I am not convinced that it takes an extraordinary amount of power or bullet weight to do the job well. Vast majority of my hunts were performed with my 30-30 carbine or .308 although the hunt in Spain was with a borrowed 7.9mm rifle. A big Saskatchewan moose was felled with two quick shots into the chest organs with my Savage .308 levergun and it died the same as if hit with a big booming magnum.

Every hunter makes his own choices about rifle, cartridge, and scope combinations. One person's choice is probably as good as the next if accurate placement of a good bullet into the chest organs is performed. As they say, "Variety is the spice of life."

TR

[AJMD429]

My 'start' if going from scratch, and having to deal with existing cartridges and 'platforms', would be:

1. Ruger Redhawk 45 ACP/Colt.

It covers CCW yet can reach out for home defense and hunting; compatable with 1911's and Marlin 1894's.

2. Marlin 1894 in 45 Colt.

Better range, easy to shoot and reload, inconspicuous. Could be using 44 Mag so far but no practical semiauto CCW in 44 Mag.

3. 1911 - Para Ordnance P-14 for high-capacity CCW.

Compatible with the Redhawk in a pinch, which is why I chose the harder-to-find 45 Colt in Redhawk and 1894 platforms. If a person were petite or had to share with family who were inexperienced and/or petite, I'd make the first gun a 357 Mag revolver (Ruger GP-100 or Speed-Six) and the second a MARLIN 1894 CS. The third would be a 9mm pistol like a Glock or similar. I doubt the similar-diameter bullets would be a practical benefit, but they are all easier to shoot, and ammo widely available and lighter to carry.

4. Time for an AR.... Some might say get one first, and in bad-times I'd agree. Anyway, an AR shorty of some sort would be next. I's get it in 223, even though 300 Blk has advantages; we're talking 'basic firearms for newbies' here and don't need hard-to-find ammo.

5. Now they have a basic CCW piece, 'hunting' rifle that can shoot lots of loads, reload cases forever, and is 'low-profile', a 'combat pistol', and a light fighting carbine. Next thing would be a more powerful rifle like a 308, 338 Lapua, 45-70, or whatever they can handle. Bolt or semiauto or whatever. For me it would be 375 Ruger; not 'common' but not a high volume shooter. Flat trajectory and power make it my choice. Many others here; it would be the first in the 'basic battery' that is picked with individuality versus standardization.

6. Time to look at shotguns, rimfires, and so on.....

Honestly I think a dozen firearms could complete a good battery; but I grew up reading Mel Tappan's "Survival Guns"...

[Griff]

No!

[Lastmohecken]

Well, I think about all of us could get by with a lot less then 42 guns. I remember over 40 yrs ago, when I was first married, I was at my father in laws and my sister in law asked me why I needed so many guns. She was a Democrat and still is.
Heck, I didn't own over 6 or 7 guns at the time, 10 at the most. I think I owned a Winchester single shot .22 bolt action, a Ruger 10/22, one shot gun, maybe two, and a Remington 700 in 270 win. Pistols; all I had was a Ruger Single Six, and a Smith and Wesson K22 Masterpiece, and maybe a Smith and Wesson Model 19, 357 mag, and I almost forgot, probably a Marlin 30/30, that was it. Ok, maybe about 9 guns all total, possibly 10 as I believe I also owned a J.C. Higgins 12ga Side by side at the time. Woops! I might have also owned a Savage 99 in .308 win, and a pump 760 Gamemaster in .270 win. But I don't think I owned all of those guns at the same time. Forgot, I also owned a TC Muzzleloader for the new special deer season, at the time.

In reality, I relied pretty much on my Remington 700 in .270, and Remington 1100 shotgun, Smith and Wesson K22 Masterpiece, and Ruger 10/22, and Smith 357 mag. for all of my gun needs and thought I had it pretty well covered, but I was poor and naive at the time. I didn't realize how poorly armed I was at the time. But I survived those early years all right.

As I am getting close to retirement, I have considered the need to sell back down to a more manageable number of guns, somewhere north of that that amount I had back then.
42 might be about the right number but even that number would feel painful to par down to. What's a man to do? Maybe buy another gun safe, so at least I might be able to
see and/or handle all of them without having to remove 10 or 12 guns just to get to something in the back.

No kidding, I am going to sell down to a smaller number as I get older. Some will go to kids (some already have), but they would never appreciate the old classics like I do.

In reality, I could get by with ???????????????????????????

[piller]

My son at 25 years old likes my Ruger GP100 6 inch in .357. He has a Glock, but he likes some of my old school stuff. There are enough choices that 42 firearms should easily cover any situation I would ever be in.