Recommendation? gun recommendations

One thing to keep in mind with the handgun, is familiarity. If it something that your family will only use in an emergency, or just the occasional range trip, I suggest a 4" 357 Magnum revolver. They can also shoot 38 Special, and can be loaded with light target loads, up to 180gr hunting loads. I suggest the revolver mainly due to immediate action drills. With a revolver, if it goes "Click" instead of "Bang", simply pulling the trigger again will introduce a fresh cartridge under the firing pin (provided it is fully loaded). With a semi-auto, there is a specific procedure that must be followed for it to be rendered operational again. If it isn't something that is practiced regularly, the outcome could potentially be devastating.

If you do choose to go semi-auto, I suggest going to a gun shop and handle as many different handguns as possible. Find what is comfortable, and go from there. S&W M&P, Glock, SIG, FN, HK, CZ...etc, there are many to choose from. One word of advice--before you decide, look at the price and availability of extra magazines. Some are far more expensive than others.

For the shotgun, a 12ga pump is the gold standard. If you have left handed family members, a Mossberg has a safety that is easily accessed by either hand.

For a centerfire hunting rifle, a bolt action 30-06 or 270 will do anything that needs to be hunted in North America. I chose those 2 calibers, as a few years ago when the big ammo crunch happened, they were consistently available at my local Walmart. 223, 5.56, 308, 7.62 were as scarce as duck teeth. Ruger American is a great low cost rifle, as is the Savage Axis. Top it with a quality 3-9x40 scope, and you have it covered.

A plus to going with the 357 Mag, is lever action rifles can be had in the same caliber. 44 Mag too, for that matter.

You can't go wrong with a 10-22.
 
Hello!

A lot of great info above.. like many I am a gun guy first and knife guy second. The best advice is going to a local indoor/outdoor range with the wife and rent as many as comfortable with. Request instruction for all and see what works best and Feels the most comfortable. Then taking entry level courses and level 1 and possibly 2 for each variant. Make sure you both understand the basics and always keep then away from persons unfamiliar with safe gun handling(young children, friends and family)... I would never recommend high powerrifle rounds for home/ self defense and never standard pistol calibers for rural/wild anamal defense. Good luck! Have some fun and always remember the tool will always do what it is intended to do.
 
There are so many quality handguns in the market today, we are truely spoiled. From Glock to Sig, Smith and Wesson, FN, Hk,Cz... the choices are amazing. People always want to debate which handgun is the best. Honestly, all of the above manufacturers and some I didn't mention make firearms that are reliable and more accurate than we could ever hope for. Go test them out and buy a handgun that feels good in hand and has the action/features that you desire. I am partial to Glocks and Sig Sauer pistols. The Glock 17 (I own 4 of them) is my favorite.

I only own one shotgun but I love it. A Benelli M2. Is operates so smoothly and cycles through shells like no ones business. It's also very adaptable with numerous after market parts. The only downside is that it's expensive.

There are a number of great M4 options on the market today. BCM and Colt are a great place to start. I own a couple Colts and a Daniel Defense v11. The DD is one sweet shooting Ar. Building one yourself is also a fun project.

The BEST advice I can give is to research on your own, talk to knowledgeable folks, shoot the firearms first (if possible) and take your time. Don't impulse buy. Good luck
 
Lots of good advice here, I will be short and sweet as some others have been...

Handgun-Glock 17 9mm
AR-15-Daniel Defense V9 5.56
Shotgun-Remington 870 12 ga
High Powered Rifle-Remington 700 .308
Low Powered Rifle-Ruger 10-22 .22LR

There isn't much outside of the continent of Africa that these five firearms can't handle for you.
 
thanks everyone for the all the great info the overall choices were more or less the same as what i came up with in my previous research. my only difficulty in testing out guns at a range are that I live far out in the mountians and very rarely come down to town because the ranch I run is all consuming and needs a constant caretaker. the good part is once I get some guns practicing daily out here is not going to bother anyone.
luckily I live in a county that is currently handing out concealed carry permits regularly. I do live in bear country as well as mountain lion and tweeker country so i do plan on getting a cc permit asap and will make custom holsters for myself and wife.
thanks again to all and keep the comments coming if you want it makes for some interesting and informative reading
 
AZTimT said:
If you ever find yourself near Missoula, Montana, look me up and you can take them all for a test run and you can throw some of my knives too.
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I will definitely look you up if I ever make it up that way I really want to see Montana again, i used to live there as a young child and my inlaws as well as some other family members are in Idaho.
As for the knife throwing and target practice Hell yeah can't go wrong with a day spent like that in good company
 
For a 9mm I can always wholeheartedly suggest the Beretta 92A1. Beautiful craftsmanship, and easy to shoot(full sized so it's easier to hold on to). 18 round capacity means it's a bit heavy when loaded, but again that helps with recoil. I forgot to add that it also has an external hammer and a legitimate safety switch. I trust them a lot more than a Glock's safety system(everyone knows how to pull a trigger, but people unfamiliar with guns wouldn't know how to switch the safety switch off).

It's an expensive pistol brand new, but if you're looking for a cheaper model you can look for an older M9. I've seen them sell for dirt cheap and they're reliable as all hell. The 92 is basically just an updated M9. And so far nothing has beat the buttery smooth action is on my 92(Sig came real close, haha).

For the shotgun question always go 12 gauge. I have one in both 20 and 12, and I hardly ever shoot my 20 anymore. The shells are more expensive. Hell, my 20 gauge kicks more than my 12 because it's super light so the recoil difference isn't huge either.
 
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Garths advice is great and zombie assasins list is the same as mine. What's your budget? That affects my advice. Imho the best ever teotwawki gun is the Phillips and Rogers medusa m-47 as ir can fire 25 or more calibers. They are rare and expensive. Uzi carbine is a great 97mm.

One but of advice is to explore 5.7x28 fn. It is as good as 5.56 NATO inside 200m and so compact you can carry many round like .22lr. Plus you can simplify by getting you pistol and rifle in the same caliber.

I would also suggest some form of civil disobedience in regards to California magazine size.
 
I couldn't agree more with Garth's post.

.357 Revolver (you can also shoot .38 special for milder recoil) Much easier to learn to shoot this than a semi-auto
Bolt action Rifle in .308
10-22 rifle
Pump 12G

AR15's are fun, but it is not a game rifle. It is under powered for deer and hogs. It will kill them, but recovering them is the goal and challenge. They will likely run a few hundred yards before dying with a heart/lung shot by the diminutive caliber .223/5.56. Good luck finding them in brush. I like bullets in the 130-150 grain range for mid sized game. Put that meat on the ground. .308 gets it done.
 
Have to disagree. I shot a deer this year with my ar15 and it was down for good within 10 yrds. 55 gr ball ammo.
 
taken many deer with a 64 grain and 77grain 5.56 from an AR15.

There seems to be some myth that they can barely kill a squirrel and if they get a speck of dust on them they jam up.
 
Srtr said:
taken many deer with a 64 grain and 77grain 5.56 from an AR15.

There seems to be some myth that they can barely kill a squirrel and if they get a speck of dust on them they jam up.
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Yeah. There are definitely more powerful calibers but of it was ineffective I don't think it would be a military mainstay for over 50 years.
 
honorearth said:
I will definitely look you up if I ever make it up that way I really want to see Montana again, i used to live there as a young child and my inlaws as well as some other family members are in Idaho.
As for the knife throwing and target practice Hell yeah can't go wrong with a day spent like that in good company
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Seems we live in similar environments, I just might be closer to town. Ranch living is fun albeit exhausting and frustrating at times.

My go to ranch rifle for bears, cougars, wolves or any other critter that isn't flying (where a shotgun does best) is an AK-74 in 5.45 x 39mm. It is my absolute favorite caliber of anything out there. It will penetrate a 10" thick fir tree and still have enough steam left to go an inch or two into damp clay beyond. It will punch through a 55 gallon drum at 500 yards. It makes a wound channel in all fleshy things that makes it really hard for them to keep going anywhere, if at all. It has taken black bear, coyote, deer and a few others I shall not specify online, but all have not made it more than 100 yards from the one shot they received.

This Arsenal SLR-104UR only weighs 8.3 lbs with the ACOG TA-50 on an RS Products AK-302/AKOG side mount and loaded 30 round magazine. The stock folds for tighter storage spaces and it is a krinkov style originally designed to have the barrel half as long as it actually is which is what lightens it up so well compared to a standard AK design. The iron sights are still usable with the ACOG mounted and the whole package is tough enough to withstand the rigorous adventures of the outdoors. There are no batteries or electric whiz-bang gadgets to fail, just a simple ACOG on an AK that works 24/7/365. The only downside to the caliber is it is pretty much mail order only since it never took off in the US due to the portrayal of AK's & similar "commie" rifles as bad guy guns for so long. That said, the designer of this caliber was not looking to have to shoot anything twice, something I can vouch for. It's not nice, it is just a seriously efficient dispatch tool you can count on when it matters most. My wife and I both use it often enough that I had to get a second after she claimed this one.
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First, you'll need to read this: https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/firearms/forms/hscsg.pdf, pay $25+, and take the Calif test for a certificate so you can buy a handgun.

Second you need to check your handgun selection is on the Calif Approved List:
http://certguns.doj.ca.gov/

You can forget about newer model semi auto handguns. Calif has a law saying all new semi auto handguns must support micro stamping ammunition. None do.
You cannot buy a Ruger Mark II, III, or IV .22LR pistol.

You cannot buy a Gen 4 Glock. You can buy Gen 3 Glocks. The Model 19 is real popular. If you don't think you can get a concealed carry permit locally, you might be better off with the Glock 34.

You can forget about buying a Colt pistol as they dropped out of the Approved List program just to tell Calif where to shove it.

Many older model handguns that were approved in the past are no longer approved because manufacturers declined to renew the listing which costs money.

I suggest you hurry and buy before more guns or manufacturers drop off the list. You can only buy one gun a month, so plan ahead.
 
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That's tempting. I hear Austin's nice.

But you never need air conditioning in San Francisco.
 
Glock 19 or 17 for 9mm pistols. Mags are cheap. Simple and easy to learn.

I love my Mossberg 930 combo. Comes with an 18.5" and 28" ported barrel. Soft shooting and reliable. The thumb safety is a plus for me.

10/22 is a no-brainer. They have some cool 16.4" take down options I have been looking at that seem handy
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/products/1022Takedown/models.html

There is a good 9mm rifle that will take those Glock mags you are getting

Ruger or Savage bolt gun in .308 for your preferences. I would go with 30-06 thought.

Good luck.
 
There is a lot of good and sound advise to listen to here. I won't talk calibers but systems to cover needs. I will leave out "fun" because this about needs. Shooting is my favorite past time but this is a different post.

A man can get buy in life with 3 guns.

1)large bore rife for hunting.
2) shotgun for hunting and home defense
3) rim fire for plinking and small game.

A handgun is good but does nothing better than the above. It sole advantage is its compact and light.

1) big bore: I'd recommend a bolt rife in a 30 caliber cartridge. Adjust (bigger smaller) based on the game and terrain in which you love.

2) shotgun (look at autos in 12). Less kick with auto. Definitely 12 guage.

3) rim fire: decide between bolt and auto. 10/22 or savage bolt will start off fine.

Further intigration of handgun would depend on intent. Hunting or learning a new skill. But based on your post; glock 17/19 or a revolver in .38/357 to pair with a marlin lever.

Best of luck
 
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