1. What's my budget because that will affect how much that can be spent.
2. What's my skill level: beginner, average, advanced.
3. What kind of action: Pistols — revolver or semi-auto; Shotgun — pump or semi-auto; Rifle — bolt action, lever action, pump action, or semi-auto.
4. Is this a gun I can shoot well and does it fit me? Does it work for my spouse or significant other? If not, what does?
5. Does it take easily found ammunition and not odd or hard to find calibers? [I recommend calibers that are loaded for both the military and civilian markets.]
6. What's the reputation of the firearm as a “go to war” gun? That is, how well has it stood up to abuse and neglect in the field and still kept functioning?
Short list of “go to war” guns:
Pistols: Revolvers — Any S&W or Colt .38 Special or .357 Mag [lots of ex-police guns to choose from]. Semi-autos — M1911-series, Browning P35 High Power, Walther P.1, Sig Sauer, Glock, or Springfield XD-series.
Shotguns: Pumps — Ithaca Model 37, Winchester 1300 Defender, Mossberg 500-series or Maverick 88-series, Remington Model 870. Semiauto — Saiga 12, Benelli M4.
Rifles: Bolt action — WW2 main battle rifle in .30-06, 7.62x54R, or 7.92x57; Savage Model 10 or 110; Remington Model 700. Semiauto: AK-clone; AR-clone; M1A/M14/M1; FN FAL-clone; HK G3/91-clone.
bflr
I'm still trying to figure out what make/model of rifle I want that handles 5.56 ammo. I don't need extreme accuracy, just something I can put an average scope on to reach past my 870 and Sig. Got cost effective suggestion? I'm thinking an AR-15 variant.
I live in CA and they require a bullet button to release the magazine. I've seen legal get arounds for the pin that can be installed, but still limited to 10 round mags (sigh). Is bolt better for defense or is that mostly sniper stuff, which I'm not?