This Should Be Your Baseline

This is a pretty solid, short article from American Partisan:

GUEST POST: THE 5 GUN THEORY, BY TX 2 GUNS

His short list, or baseline, is what you would expect:

Enter the “5 Gun” Theory:

1. Combat Handgun.

2. Combat Semi-Automatic Assault Type Rifle

3. Combat Shotgun

4. Scoped .30 Caliber Semi-Automatic or Bolt Action Rifle

5. .22 LR Rifle (Semi-Automatic preferred)

I would have liked him to flesh out number 4 a bit, a long-distance rifle should serve two purposes: one to lay down fire at two legged varmints at distance and two to serve as a way of putting meat on the table. For the vast majority of us, number 4 is likely to be a deer hunting rifle. While .44 and 30-30 are common around here, for these purposes something with a little more oomph is in order, like a .308 or 30-06. It is probably both the most common and the most in need of improvement item on the list. Shooting well at long distance is a skill that takes practice and unfortunately you also need a range with enough distance to practice. You can shoot a handgun or shotgun just about anywhere but if you are going to get good at shooting 500 yards, you need to practice….at 500 yards. Plus the ammo is a lot more expensive. You can get super cheap 9mm or .223 or 7.62×39 all day long but ammo for a .308 is more expensive and for long distance you want to use quality ammo.

I might add a sixth category, the everyday carry gun. The “combat handgun” he describes is dead-on for serious stuff, large capacity (at least 15+) and at least 9mm. The only “problem” is that a decent combat handgun is going to be larger. Handguns like the Beretta APX or 92, the Glock 19 or the CZ P-10 F all have at least a 4.5″ barrel. That makes them a challenge to carry around concealed, especially in warmer weather. Something smaller is in order. Sure, if things go sideways in a serious way that won’t be as much of an issue because you will be carrying or you’ll be dead. A super cool 2.5 pound 10mm with a flashlight and red dot and a can opener is nice but probably not practical to carry around in the Before Times.

The most important thing in his post is something I harp on. Get good at whatcha got.

There is an old west adage that goes something like “Beware of the man who owns one gun, because he will know how to use it!” There is a lot of logic in that. Sometimes necessity dictated you either got proficient with what you had, or you died. As time marched on and the Industrial Revolution happened, we saw the gradual increase in the weapons a man owned. Typically, he had his pistol, his rifle and a shotgun. Fast forward to today and you have people who own 25 guns and are proficient with none of them because every time they go to shoot, they grab a different gun. The reason for this is these folks have not grasped the concept, guns are tools, not “play pretty’s”.

I fear a guy who is a dead shot with his deer rifle more than some super tacticool wannabe operator with a safe full of exotic guns that he can’t shoot for shit.

The rules are pretty simple.

– Get what you need. 

– Get good at them. 

– Get enough supplies to keep them fed and functioning.

That is it. Buy your toys if you have that under control or you have lots of disposable income if you must but get the above in order first. If you have lots of disposable income, maybe financially support some of our people on the front line who are getting doxxed and deplatformed instead of buying the latest, greatest gun gadget.

Playtime is over. Get a hobby later. This is for real.