I'd like all the banter brothers to weigh in if you care to share your knowledge and experience. If you had to choose only one of each, one handgun, one rifle and one shotgun for one's personal safety and hunting which 3 would you choose, keeping in mind value/price, reliability, ease of use, maintainence & security. Of interest also would be a decent number of rounds that it can hold without reloading and shooting long guns off of left shoulder. (right handed but opposite eye dominant), or so I've been told.
You didn't specifically mention a SHTF type of global or national catastrophe, but given that I live in earthquake and volcano country I have to consider the possibility. So if I only get three:
Handgun: Glock 17 (9mm)
Rifle: Remington 700 in .308 NATO
Shotgun: Remington or Mossberg 12 gauge.
Simple reasoning: These are all at or near the top of the list of most popular weapons of all time, especially among law enforcement and military. So ammo, parts, and accessories would be easy to scrounge, steal, or seize. I don't include a military-style rifle (AR, AK, or the like) because:
A) They are not great hunting rifles, and the rounds for which they are most commonly chambered are not great hunting rounds
B) They are designed to be most effective in support of squad-based tactics, not individual self defense
C) They require careful maintenance to remain operable.
D) I don't believe that in a SHTF scenario the general populace will suddenly become battle-hardened and competent at squad tactics. So I can deal with the likely threat scenarios nearly as effectively with a .308 bolt-action and the shotgun as I could with a semi-auto military-style rifle, and still bring down about any size dinner-on-the-hoof.
But if you let me have four weapons instead of three, then I'd want to add an Armalite-style rifle in 5.56 NATO, just for dealing with the possibility of being surprised by a marauding group.
Of course, if Mt. Rainier goes up, it's an academic discussion for me, because I'd be vaporized in about 8 seconds.
If you believe the likeliest threat scenario is personal or property crime, then go for the Glock 22 (.40 S&W) for a handgun and make the shotgun a short-barrel.
If you believe you'll be stuck in an urban environment, make the rifle an Armalite-style rifle in 5.56 NATO.
Yes, I know you can get AR's in .308, but if it breaks and the power is out you'll have difficulty sourcing parts.
You'll notice I don't include any compact or sub-compact weapons. If I can only have one, it has to be full-sized. Compact weapons only have value in a relatively ordered society.
