A theme that is seeing increased activity on many of our friends blogs is that of the 5-gun challenge. What does that mean? Well it’s a way of answering the common question of “What gun should I buy? ” Chances are you’re one of two types of readers at this point; either you are already familiar with firearms, and you will want to read this simply to debate the opinions. Or, you are to some degree unfamiliar with firearms and will hopefully find this post very informative. If you’ve ever been in a conversation with a firearms enthusiast, you’ll know that each person has their own strong opinions, so it’s always nice to get everybody’s input and reasoning behind their decisions. This being a multi-author blog, this post will allow several of our authors to explain their choices for 5 guns, and give their reasoning behind each. Please check out each page to get the full list of recommendations.

Jayce

Remington 870 12 gauge (Shotgun) - For people looking for a first firearm, usually under the “Home Defense” concept, I’ll normally suggest getting a shotgun. The general skill level needed to scare the beejebus out of an intruder is lowest with the shotgun. Even somebody with little experience, in the dark, can still do heavy damage with one, and minimize the risk of hitting the neighbors. The Remington 870 platform is a well tested, simple design that is very commonly available at a low entry level price point. You can get packages with extra features such as a home defense barrel, hunting barrel, etc if you want, or you can get them later quite easily. Also, for a more powerful weapon it can be relatively inexpensive to go shooting for practice with the family. My favorite has been giving examples to my children on how dangerous firearms are with watermelons and pumpkins.
Ruger 10/22 (Rifle) - The second weapon I suggest is usually a .22LR rifle. Something that you can easily practice with, cheaply. Even better, you can teach your kids with. The Ruger 10/22 is a very well known semi-auto .22 that is quite dependable.
Springfield XD-40 4” (Pistol) - My choice in pistols is one that is becoming increasingly popular. The XD platform combines many of the features people liked in the well known Glock style of pistols, but also ‘fixed’ some of my annoyances in them as well (such as the grip angle). The XD pistols are very rugged, affordable, and dependable which is often hard to find in a single pistol (for my definition of affordable). The .40S&W round was picked because it held a great balance of a heavy punch on the receiving end (much like a .45ACP), but a more manageable kick (closer towards a 9mm - My wife is able to shoot it rather easily). The .40 is also now a quite common round, so it is readily available. The 4” was chosen because it was the good middle ground for usage. It can be easily carried in my bag, but it doesn’t pretend to be a small concealable firearm. It’s also not so large as to get in my way.
Tikka T-3 Light (Long gun) - This is my current choice in the “Long gun” category. Growing up I learned to idolize my dad’s old .30-06 Springfield, which he used for hunting. And while I still love that rifle, and it’s amazing power, this past year I found good reason to move on. After being hounded for ages to finally switch over to the .308 round for a hunting rifle, I decided I’d try it in a new platform. I spent a long time researching many of the great rifles in my price range, and even spent many hours longing for those above it. I finally chose the Tikka for several reasons. First off, the bolt action is unlike any other that I have tried. Smooth as silk, perfect length. The rest of the rifle is well built, based off the technology of it’s more expensive cousin, the Sako, but coming in at a much more reasonable price. The accuracy has been better than expected, even with cheaper ammo.
SKS (Rifle) - If you want an inexpensive rifle that can fire in a semi-automatic fashion, the sks is a great way to start. If fires a stronger round than the AR rifles that are popular in the US, so it can still be used for hunting smaller deer and below. The ammunition is common and relatively inexpensive. It also is an easy to work on platform, allowing you to get familiar with the workings of the rifle as you play around with upgrading different pieces. As much as I enjoy the workings of a nice AR rifle, if you are looking at a cheaper way to get an ‘Assault Rifle’, then the SKS is hard to beat.

Runner-up: Mosin Nagant. This is the old Soviet/Tsarist Russia bolt action rifle. You can pick up leftovers from World War II that are in good condition for under one-hundred dollars. Heavy rifles, they shoot a powerful bullet along the lines of a .30-06, and you can get 440 of them in a can for around the same price as the rifle. It’s a cheap way to pick up a rifle that can take down anything you’d conceivably hunt in North America, and you can actually shoot it without causing screams of pain in the wallet (your shoulder however might make up for that).

Phil

At an absolute minimum, you should have 4 guns - a sidearm, a long gun, a shotgun and a battle rifle. Each one has their uses and purposes.

Sidearm - for me, this is a Springfield XD .45, for my wife it’s a 9mm. The sidearm is primarily for close quarters personal defense, it also has the benefit of being easy to conceal and carry with you. The caliber really depends on multiple factors, all of which are personal. Those factors include your ability to control the firearm, or whether you can consistently control the kick when you shoot it. It also depends on your ability to fire it accurately - meaning aiming - you need to be able to aim, fire, and immediately aim again. It can’t be a caliber that rocks your body too much.
Long Gun - for me this is a scoped 30.06 or a 30-30. This is your weapon to reach out and touch something. You should be capable of controlling the recoil on it and accurately using the scope to hit what you are aiming at.
Shotgun - for me this is a Mossberg 500 but that’s because I can’t afford a Benelli :) - also called a scatter gun, the shotgun is the perfect home defense and close quarter defense gun. In the home, it has less of a chance of penetrating walls and hitting things you didn’t intend to hit - this of course depends on the shot that you are using.
Battle Rifle - for me, this is an AK-47. This firearm allows you to defend yourself from multiple attackers with its high power rapid fire. I prefer the AK because it can take more abuse than an AR - but I love ARs too :)
Plinking Gun - the Ruger 10/22 is one of my favorite guns. It allows you to put tons of bullets down range for a very low cost. Most importantly, it’s a great firearm to train your kids on and let them get very comfortable and accurate with a rifle.

Mike

Shotgun – This is the most important gun. A shotgun can be inexpensive and has many uses from hunting to trap/skeet games, sporting clays to self defense. Speaking of self defense, the Cha-Chunk sound of a shotgun shell being chambered is well known and has a definite psychological effect. As a good all around shotgun you can’t beat the Remington 870 Express. These are pretty much the same as the more expensive Police model (all parts are interchangeable, the Police model receives some additional love in the manufacturing process and certain concessions for mounting in a car rack, etc), but the savings allow you to modify it for the kind of shooting you prefer or to leave it stock and buy a lot of extra ammo. Scoped Rifle – This is the most important gun. Almost any modern rifle produced by a reputable company is capable of out shooting its owner. This means that to me, a “good” rifle means the shooter is comfortable shooting it, can obtain and hold a good sight picture and can squeeze off round after round accurately without needing to ice their shoulder or bandage their “scope eye” after a day of shooting fun. Rather than brand or model I prefer to focus on caliber. When it comes to choosing a caliber, what you want to hit, the distance that type of target will be at when you want to hit it are the questions that will determine what caliber you should focus on. For me, the .308 Winchester round (Also known as the 7.62x51mm NATO round) meets my needs. The .308 round utilizes the same projectile found in a 30-06 with a shortened case which means it can hold less gun powder. This means the .308 has a lower muzzle velocity when exiting the barrel. This has the general effect of reducing the felt recoil when shooting a .308 over a 30-06, but it reduces the power delivered to the target at longer distances. The .308 is generally accepted as accurate to 800 yards and can be used to 1000 yards with a stable shooting platform and a composed shooter. As stated, pretty much an modern rifle will do the job. What can make or break a rifle is the glass you put on it. Some people say you should spend more on your scope than the rifle and I tend to agree with them. A good quality scope transfers more light with less distortion. This allows you to see what you are shooting at clearly. Remember, aim small, miss small. If you are seeing an amorphous blob, you probably won’t be able to pick where you are shooting (vital areas, the X ring are two examples.), call your shot, etc. There are many quality rifle scope makers. I can personally attest that the following all make excellent scopes.

Nightforce
US Optics
Leupold
Swarovski

I personally have chosen the Remington 700 .308 for my scoped rifle. They are made by a reputable company and have a huge number of aftermarket parts available for them, plus almost any gunsmith will be very familiar with them if you need assistance in making modifications or adding a new stock or other part to increase the fun factor or accuracy of your rifle. Pistol - This is the most important gun. A pistol is the gun you are most likely going to have available to you when you need it, whether on your person, in your car, under your bed (in a locked case of course), or any number of other locations. Pistols are tremendous fun to shoot and are generally much cheaper to shoot on a per round basis than a rifle or a shotgun. Much like my discussion on scoped rifles, I don’t think there is a magic pistol that everyone will love. Some people prefer “wheel guns” ie: revolvers. Other’s won’t touch a revolver with a ten foot pole and prefer a “bottom feeder” ie: a semi-auto pistol. So, what is the best? It depends on what you are comfortable shooting and what you plan on doing with it. For simple shooting at the range any gun will do as long as it is comfortable in YOUR hands and the caliber doesn’t hurt your hands or wrists after shooting a box or two of ammo. For self defense, if you don’t have the gun on you or immediately available it won’t do you any good. For self defense size and comfort are the most important factors. Size because it needs to be concealable and comfort because you need to be comfortable to carry it and shoot it. For extreme comfort and concealability, it is very hard to beat the Ruger LCP in .380. It is easily concealable in a pocket. Some might denigrate the .380 as too low powered, but the data shows it is comparable to or better than the 38 Special in one shot stopping power. Further, the mere presence of a firearm is often enough to end an encounter with no shots being fired. I also like my 1911 Kimber Tactical Carry pistol in .45 but am much less likely to carry it on a daily basis than my LCP as it is more difficult to conceal and isn’t as comfortable to wear while sitting, etc. Battle Rifle – Repeat after me, this is the most important gun. For me the AR platform is the best battle rifle out there. In all honesty it isn’t magnitudes better than the AK platform. In fact both platforms have their pluses and minuses, but for me the availability of the AR platform including spare parts, after market support and my familiarity with it make this the rifle I would recommend. Nowadays you can get an AR in a number of different calibers but I would recommend staying with the .223 (5.56 NATO) round as this makes getting replacement parts easier since you don’t need to remember what parts are different to support a different caliber, plus the .223 is usually much cheaper than the other options available. Due to the huge manufacturing support for the AR platform you can build one for most any purpose from close quarters combat to long distance varmint shooting. My personal AR is set up as a CQB rifle, but truth be told I prefer Ken’s AR set up as an accurate mid range shooter. .22 Rifle – Once again, this is the most important gun. No gun collection can be considered complete without a .22lr. These guns are cheap to shoot, great for teaching someone how to shoot, excellent for small game and usually cheap as an initial gun purchase. Like most everyone else, the venerable Ruger 10/22 is my choice for a 22lr due to their numbers, aftermarket support and their overall build quality. Summary As you can see, I said that each gun is the most important gun. Why? The gun you have with you when you need it is the most important gun. It doesn’t matter how many guns are back home in the safe when the you are out in the field and need it. There is also no substitute for practice. Whatever you have, get out and shoot it. Take a shooting course from a qualified trainer. You wont believe the benefit you’ll see after spending some time with a pro getting personal attention. You also wouldn’t believe how quickly your skills can deteriorate if you aren’t regularly shooting. You can build muscle memory but you can lose it as well without adequate practice time.

Ken

Remington 870 12 gauge - A couple of years back, Jayce and I were discussing what firearm an individual should purchase first. I was leaning towards some flavor of semi-auto surplus rifle. When Jayce mentioned that it should be a shotgun I was extremely skeptical (I’ve always been a rifle man myself). The reasons he gave me at the time included “Home Defense” as mentioned above. More importantly though he brought up the hunting versatility of a shotgun. With a shotgun you can hunt pretty much anything in North America - from smaller game such as quail and rabbit all the way up to larger game like elk and moose. The 870 is a time proven and reliable pump action. It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done.
Bolt/Lever tube fed .22 - Most of my proficiency with rifles was gained behind the trigger of a .22 rifle. I love a good quality tube fed bolt or lever action .22. For younger shooters especially, you get a rifle that can make multiple shots but requires a little break between each shot so you can concentrate on technique. I chose a tube fed rifle because most tube fed .22’s allow you to use shorts, long, long rifle, and subsonic rounds. I own a Marlin 983s. It has been an accurate and reliable rifle, but I have been tempted to trade it out for a Henry lever action in the future.
A top brand pistol you find comfortable - I have a hard time recommending a particular brand or caliber of pistol because pistol choice can be a very personal decision. Your pistol purchase should be all about reliability, comfort and ease of use. A lot of people will debate the merits of one caliber versus another - the truth is that all of the major calibers (9mm, .357, .40, and .45) are up to the job of stopping a would be assailant (Handgun ammo stopping power).The two most important features of a pistol are:
- You can pull the trigger and your pistol will go bang every time (choose a good quality pistol and ammo).
- You find your pistol comfortable to shoot during regular practice. Your goal is to be able to repeatedly aim at an 8 inch circle up to 15-20 yards away and hit your intended target. This requires practice. If your firearm is punishing to shoot, you will not practice like you should. Of all the different forms a firearm can take, a pistol is the most likely to save your life in every day usage. I own a Kahr MK9 Elite. It is a solid and accurate 9mm concealed carry pistol. I plan on purchasing an HK45 in the near future for a full size pistol. I have owned a nice quality Kimber 1911 that I frequently regret selling.
AR style rifle - Whether it’s an actual AR, or one of the many variants being produced on the market today, there is nothing quite as versatile in a rifle form factor. An AR provides all of the fun of a semi-automatic with a fairly affordable round. My children love shooting my AR and it is what I promote them to after they have learned gun safety and gained some proficiency with the .22. I currently own a Patriot Ordinance gas piston AR. It has served me well as an accurate and reliable rifle.
Hunting quality rifle (possibly even lightweight marksman rifle) - As I mentioned earlier I have always preferred rifles. There is nothing quite like being able to shoot a golf ball at a couple of hundred yards. At the very least your rifle can help you provide food for your family. At the other end of the spectrum, rifles provide great depth as a hobby. There is no end to the tweaking and experimenting you can do with your loads and your rifle to get tighter groups. I own a Kimber Montana chambered in .308. It can be a little finicky regarding what loads it likes. When I use the right load, though, it is very accurate and has a trigger that breaks like glass. Honorable mention: Good optics - I didn’t believe it when I first heard it, but you should spend as much on your optics as you do your rifles.

Neybar

I’m going to sound a bit like a broken record. So rather than explain why I have each gun, I’ll just list out the order that I purchased mine in.

Remington 870 Shotgun (stopping power, home defense). I also think that skeet/trap shooting is some of the most fun to be had with a firearm.
Ruger SR9 9mm handgun.
AR-15.
10/22 (future purchase). I want something my son can shoot.
.308 I’m leaning towards either a Rem 700 or the Tikka T3.