I recall reading a short but memorable essay by a person who watched as an entourage of Middle-Eastern royal family left a very large mall, maybe the Mall of America. If memory serves, there were at least thirty people if one counted all of the "staff" carrying items the family members had purchased. Three things were notable to the author: The actual members of the family seemed deeply unhappy, there was no theme or continuity in what they had purchased and...they had purchased multiples of most items.
It took the author some time to process those three, seemingly unrelated observations and integrate them into some kind of meaning.
Ultimately, he deduced that "wealth" isn't having vast resources at your command. Rather, "wealth" is about value. And if you cannot assign value to items, relationships, skills and so on, then you are poor.
The royal family had never been confronted with the exercise "You can only have one. Which one has the most value to YOU?"
Outdoorsmen play this game a lot. "If you had to sell all of your guns (or fishing equipment) except for one rig, which would be the one you would keep?"
The game is actually an exercise in refining our priorities and understanding our environment. My last and second-to-last choices* would be different than Pawpaw in central Louisiana and Old NFO in north Texas and Glen in Alberta or John in Philly.
The lie "You can have it all" robs the true-believer of having to get in touch with their personal priorities and of gaining intimate knowledge about their immediate surroundings. Like the Arabian Sea royalty, they will be profoundly unhappy even when it the midst of glorious times.
If happiness is the ability to quickly and efficiently comb through options and reconciling them with your priorities; then lacking a crisp, well-defined hierarchy of priorities dooms one to unhappiness.
* If I was to only find two firearms from my canoeing accident, I would want to find a pump shotgun in either 12 or 20 gauge with a polymer stock (water is hard on wood), removable choke-tubes and fiber-optic sights and I would want to have either a Ruger 10/22 or a bolt action .22 rifle with something like an Accutrigger, fixed 4X scope and iron-sights for back-up.
If I were reduced to ONE firearm, I would take the .22
For fishing gear I would pick a trot-line. My second choice would be a 6' long medium-heavy spinning rod, a Mitchell 300 reel with 15 or 20 lb line on it.
Please feel free to write in comments what one or two-gun battery or fishing-rig you would select if you were to find yourself in those straights. Actually, these kinds of discussions are useful to younger people who are thinking of purchasing their first firearm.
Since I am self defense focused, Ruger LC9S Pro (always in pocket) and generic 12 gauge pump loaded with #4 Buck under bed.
ReplyDeleteThe two I have owned the longest. They are least likely to be on anybody's list.
ReplyDeleteI encourage people to answer this anonymously. Maybe mention "why" like Anon 6:18 and Anon 6:24
DeleteIf ever I could retrieve two firearms, they would be the Ruger Security-9 and the AR. Paring down to one, it would be the AR.
ReplyDeleteFor fishing gear, it would be my KastKing 3pc 7' baitcaster with 15 pound line.
You made my day with the Mitchell 300 reference. Had one continously since 1972.
ReplyDelete18” 12 gauge double barrel with bead front sight, (preferably an exposed hammer Stevens) and an S&W m65 3” .357.
ReplyDeleteI think 3" barrels on revolvers are the cat's meow. 6" better for dedicated hunting handgun. 4" for dedicated open-carry. 2" better for deep-undercover. But 3" can kind-of do it all without totally screwing the pooch on any of them.
DeleteBoth are suitable for hunting and defense, with a vast variety of loads available for each. The m65 carries concealed well, and a double 12 breaks down for easy and discreet transport.
ReplyDeleteMost of my dedicated outdoor pursuit is whitetail deer hunting. Our rurals are thick vegetation with many opportunities less than 100 yards. So a rifle that would be suitable for that is the classic 30-30 Winchester.
ReplyDeleteBut I want SOME small game hunting. So my pick would be a.357 trapper or carbine lever action. Loaded with common .38 Spcl., small game can be on the menu.
The 2nd rescue - for me has to be a handgun. The which can be carried on your belt all the time. For home security - target shooting - plinking and home defense. Again, the .357 Magnum. One common round.
22 mag rifle known as the poacher's gun for good reasons.
ReplyDelete22 revolver with both 22lr and 22 mag cylinders (aka the trap line gun)
Misc fishing gear including bank line so I can make my own trot lines (not that hard) and jugging gear. I can catch fish well enough with a line on a cut pole. Fish traps.
My trapping gear and snares. Gotten a wild hog once and was glad to have the 22 mag. Ground up tasted pretty good. Slow cooker did ok, otherwise tough.
A couple of sharp knives, Mora is pretty nice along with my sharp finger (the trap line knife).
A good bicycle with solid tires (no flats) and a single wheel bicycle trailer (I prefer Burley) has been my trapping, fishing, hunting rig for years. If I can walk there, I can bicycle there better. Carried out dressed deer with it and hauled drinking water 10 gallons at a time.
I know boring, everybody else seems to want to talk about man killing gear in this thread. I prefer to be able to defend myself decently and eat well.
Humans are a perverse species. The easier it is to come by something the less we value it. Which is why children given everything they want growing up seldom amount to anything in life. Effort and work provides meaning to accomplishments. Elon Musk is the richest man alive....but he isn't really concerned with money. He's concerned with achievements. The money is just a pleasant side effect. And when you see him he is usually smiling.
ReplyDeleteOne Shotgun: pump action 20 gauge with interchangeable chokes; fiber optic rifle sights a bonus but not required. Rationale: Useful slug loads for medium game, 1 ounce bird shot loads will do everything but late season pheasant and goose, #2 buck is the largest shot but nothing to sneeze at for self defense.
ReplyDeleteOne Handgun. S&W 627. 5” barrel is ideal for woodswalking and not horrible for concealment. 4” would be a second choice. Other options would be Smith & Wesson K or L frame 357s or Ruger GP100/SecuritySix in 357; all are 6 shooter but smaller frames. Rationale: 8 shots of 357 magnum is big medicine for close in predators. 38 Special for small game. Handloads add flexibility, especially with home cast bullets. A pound of powder goes a long way with cast bullets. See Skeeter Skelton articles written during the cold war.
One rifle: 22WMR lever or bolt action with proper peep sights. Rationale. More energy at extended ranges. Not unreasonable for medium game at 75 yards. Easy to carry hundreds of rounds of the medium rimfire.
Fishing. Gill net and trot lines are the easy button. A medium action rod with basic Zebco reel serves very well.
Traps: Duke 220 body grips and dogproofs. Good for most critters other than yodel dogs and cats. For coyotes we like the Duke medium foot traps with laminated jaws. Foot traps are more resource intensive because they need waxing to prevent rust and freezing.
-john
There are no wrong answers here, it's a matter of circumstances as well as gear. For me, the firearms indicated are ones that I have had a significant amount of practice and training with. Dance with the one what brung ya. This goes double for me given my mediocre marksmanship.
ReplyDeleteIn my neck of the woods, the largest animals that I am most likely to see are feral pigs, black bear and deer. For that, the AR is on the lower end of effectiveness (same with the 9mm up close). Luckily that can mostly be fixed with the correct ammunition.
Blackhawk and 94win in 45LC. Modern powder or black powder, shotshells almost 410, hot loads to near 44mag performance, or soft kicking light loads. Any man or beast in N. America.... America's caliber.
ReplyDeleteI know the 1911 platform pretty well, but I'd probably opt for a Smith Model 10. I can do a lot with a 4" 38. Long arm would be a Springfield 22 bolt rifle (circa 1940ish). Second choice would be a Mossberg 700 in 12 ga. I can pretty much fix those last two with a hammer and a file.
ReplyDeleteEhhh hard one. Probably a 450 bushmaster simply because it's so effective for deer, legal all over the state and takes common parts for reloading. If I get a second one some kind of wondernine or a 1911.
ReplyDeleteSpartan
I'd go for a 12 gauge pump action with sights so I could do self defense and all types of hunting with it. Second would be a sturdy double stack 9, one with mostly metal parts and a good reputation.
ReplyDeleteAre we allowed conversion kits? If so I'd choose a 9 mm that has a 22 kit available. I'd get threaded barrels for both the 9 and 22.
J
.22 WMR would be my round of choice, CZ 457 with a Leupold on top and a Smith for a sidearm.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Alaska it would be a bit hard, i know the .44mag Marlin will do caribou and black bear. Probably moose if you do it right since one old timer told me about using the .22 on moose. Probably the bolt ..22 but if I could cheat and have the .22 pellet gun for squirrels and rabbits I’d probably take the 629 .44 on my belt medium weight spinning rod,
ReplyDeleteFishing pole? I’d go with a trammel or gill net.
ReplyDeleteIf it was just 2 I would argue one pistol and one long gun...
ReplyDeleteThat is largely b/c I would assume the world that I am in will not be peaceful. Whatever reason brought things to this point, competition for resources will be great. Being able to conceal a close-quarters handgun would be a significant advantage.
I thought about this for some time, dragged my feet on commenting, and I've actually read the comments instead of skimming them.
ReplyDeleteAge and symmetrical shoulder surgeries have removed all 12 gauge shotguns from consideration. The size and availability of other shotgun shells keep shotguns off the table.
I have not ever fished, nor wanted too. I will leave that answer blank.
I would try to salvage a .22 bolt rifle from the water, and a .22 revolver.
With those two guns I could trade up to whatever I thought I might need.
When I first watched the Matrix movie, I thought that Neo's statement of "Guns. Lots of guns." was correct in every way.
You reminded me of an old comment by Bill Jordan. Someone asked him what firearms would be best to bury for eventual use during a great unpleasantness. Bill responded by saying a revolver and a box of bullets. They asked about a rifle and he said something like, "with that 38 you could get a rifle and a uniform to go with it."
DeleteANON 8:23am, I’m kind of in the same boat, still recovering from a reverse shoulder replacement on right shoulder, doctor tells me I’ll never be able to shoot a rifle again. I cant shoot rifle left handed because the retina of my left eye was burned welding and a stroke limits use of left hand. Suspect my role in the apocalypse will be minimal, maybe a “leave behind” at the pass to hold up the pursuit a few minutes.
DeleteHmpfpfpffff.
ReplyDeleteAs in all things gun-related - there are specialists and experts, idiots and Einsteins ready and eager to comment! We heard from our Esteemed Blog Host... and now it is time for me to throw my underwear into the ring!
When it comes to gun stubfarttery where economy, reliability and versatility are the only considerations... I turn to the dirty, smelly Backwoodsmen - I think they still publish their magazine that is just chock full of lore and wisdom associated with subsistence living. The ones I read seem to favour the break-open single shot in 12 and 20... and I think I like their reasoning. The 22 is great: moderately capable for squirrels and upland game birds but extremely limited on larger game. Slugs in the 12 or 20 will drop deer and moose at moderate ranges and they are hell on wheels for waterfowl. Or... they SHOULD be. The last Backwoodsman I read did everything with a chopped 22" 20 that his grandad had bought in a pawnshop back in the 50's. Most of us have them somewhere in our plunder.
Last I read, The Back Woodsman was literally on the thinnest of ice, at the edge of bankruptcy. In today's modern world you can read similar content for free right here and at dozens of other sites. I think it is mostly geriatrics keeping them afloat with subscriptions now... and they are dying off. I buy the mag whenever I see it partly as an act of charity for the old timers. The content is great, and I even hand wrote some letters to the publishers and authors in cursive... and they usually responded too. They are literally experts on inexpensive clean, wholesome fun projects that are often kid or family friendly.
Happiness in adversity is an acquired skill and easily developed. We see this in the kids that do the Tiny House or Van Life lifestyles. The preppers can learn a LOT from all of them. They have some very creative and resourceful tricks up their sleeves.
:)
Probably my 870 in 12 gauge and a CZ 22 bolt gun. Remember you can use the firearm you have to get the firearm you need : (Liberator)
ReplyDelete