Okay, this is a bit of a fun/frivolous exercise! If you're just gonna be a sourpuss then move along!:wink: Obviously it would suck to only have five guns but it's a classic campfire topic, plus I enjoy Mr.Guns'n'gear's channel. IMO he picks some really strange ones but hey, that's the point- it comes down to your personal thoughts. Here's the video, and afterward I will add mine.
I'm not sure if my only-five gun list includes guns I actually have. If I could only have five and never change them I would probably buy the "bucket list" guns now since I couldn't get any later. I thought at first to limit things to just guns I currently own but if I can't get any more I'll let it all hang out.
First off, my rationale. If I made this list 10 years ago it would certainly have a .22 LR on it. Now though .22 has been so scarce and expensive for so long that I no longer consider it useful. True, I have thousands of rounds but I can't replace them at reasonable cost, and if I'm gonna pay a dime per round it's more fun to shoot 9mm IMO. Second, with just five guns there are some niches that simply won't be served, sadly. So I will have to stick to thing I know I want to do at the expense of things I might want to do down the road.
Here we go! In no particular order, here's my five:
1) AR-15. This is kind of a tough one. In a perfect world it would probably be better to have a Bren 805, FN SCAR, etc. But I don't have enough direct experience with the newer platforms to make an informed decision so I will default to the AR. I feel it's a superb fighting gun but also a great plinker and a borderline hunting gun. I suppose that if we remove any legal restrictions and just assume you will have the stamps you need, etc I would probably make it an SBR. The 5.56 round is not perfect but if I could only have one fighting carbine I would opt for that caliber due to its ubiquity and low cost. My personal rifle is a CORE15 set up with an Aimpoint PRO, an Inforce WML and Bravo furniture but if I could never have another one I would get a BCM with the KMR rail or an HK MR556. Runner up: Bren 805.
2) HK P2000. This is a tough one! To be honest the P2000 isn't in my top 3 favorite HK sidearms, but if limited to five guns it would be on my list. It doesn't do everything perfectly but it does almost everything pretty darned well. It's about 90% as capable as my P30 while being almost as easy to conceal as my Beretta Nano. Since CCW is my single biggest priority the P2000 makes the cut. In a pinch I wouldn't feel undergunned if that was the only gun on the nighstand, either.
3) HK USPf9 Tactical, Jet Funnel kit. The USPf9 is, to me, one of the finest sidearms ever made. With the Match Trigger option it's very easy to shoot very well. Reliability is total and it can digest the hottest 9mm ammo around all day long. IMO it's as capable a sidearm as there is, and for times that I can easily carry a bigger gun (eg camping) then the USP if an awesome firearm. It's not as ergonomic as the P30/P30L/VP9 but it will do everything I need a sidearm to do.
4) Browning Stalker. Right now I don't really hunt or do much long range shooting. But if I could never buy anything but these five, I would need to add the capability now. To be honest there are some great bolt guns out there and lots of others would do the job (eg Howa, Tikka, etc). But I really like the Browning A- and X-bolt guns. I would opt for the 6.5 Creedmoor, with my second choice being the 6.5 Grendel (although I'd have to get a Howa in that caliber). To me a 6.5 is about perfect. Lower recoil and flatter trajectory than the (excellent) .308/7.62 NATO while still packing enough punch for deer sized game.
5) CZ Scorpion Carbine. This is maybe the strangest one on my list! If money wasn't a concern an MP5 would nicer, or maybe an MPX. But the Scorpion is a terrific gun. In some ways I like my Beretta CX4 Storm a bit better- it's shorter and much more maneuverable in tight spaces, by a wide margin. And Beretta 92 mags are cheap, plentiful and reliable. But if I had to live with it forever the Storm has a few things I hate; the crossbolt safety sucks, the trigger is beyond horrible and I'm not crazy about the mag release. If I could add $1000 of Sierra Papa parts and also assuming I couldn't SBR it, the Storm would win. But if I'm alllowed to trick it out however I want I would SBR the Scorpion. I'll readily admit that most would find a shotgun for more useful and I also went that route instead of going with a PCC. But ultimately when ever I have bought a shottie it never "sticks". I don't bird hunt and I'm not into clays, and for HD I would rather have a military-style carbine. For me the PCC fills the plinking and small game roles the the .22 rifle used to fill and overlaps the defensive roles as well.
There you go! Not five perfect guns but five firearms that would cover all the bases for me personally. Hopefully it will never come to just having five!:danceban:
I'm not sure if my only-five gun list includes guns I actually have. If I could only have five and never change them I would probably buy the "bucket list" guns now since I couldn't get any later. I thought at first to limit things to just guns I currently own but if I can't get any more I'll let it all hang out.
First off, my rationale. If I made this list 10 years ago it would certainly have a .22 LR on it. Now though .22 has been so scarce and expensive for so long that I no longer consider it useful. True, I have thousands of rounds but I can't replace them at reasonable cost, and if I'm gonna pay a dime per round it's more fun to shoot 9mm IMO. Second, with just five guns there are some niches that simply won't be served, sadly. So I will have to stick to thing I know I want to do at the expense of things I might want to do down the road.
Here we go! In no particular order, here's my five:
1) AR-15. This is kind of a tough one. In a perfect world it would probably be better to have a Bren 805, FN SCAR, etc. But I don't have enough direct experience with the newer platforms to make an informed decision so I will default to the AR. I feel it's a superb fighting gun but also a great plinker and a borderline hunting gun. I suppose that if we remove any legal restrictions and just assume you will have the stamps you need, etc I would probably make it an SBR. The 5.56 round is not perfect but if I could only have one fighting carbine I would opt for that caliber due to its ubiquity and low cost. My personal rifle is a CORE15 set up with an Aimpoint PRO, an Inforce WML and Bravo furniture but if I could never have another one I would get a BCM with the KMR rail or an HK MR556. Runner up: Bren 805.
2) HK P2000. This is a tough one! To be honest the P2000 isn't in my top 3 favorite HK sidearms, but if limited to five guns it would be on my list. It doesn't do everything perfectly but it does almost everything pretty darned well. It's about 90% as capable as my P30 while being almost as easy to conceal as my Beretta Nano. Since CCW is my single biggest priority the P2000 makes the cut. In a pinch I wouldn't feel undergunned if that was the only gun on the nighstand, either.
3) HK USPf9 Tactical, Jet Funnel kit. The USPf9 is, to me, one of the finest sidearms ever made. With the Match Trigger option it's very easy to shoot very well. Reliability is total and it can digest the hottest 9mm ammo around all day long. IMO it's as capable a sidearm as there is, and for times that I can easily carry a bigger gun (eg camping) then the USP if an awesome firearm. It's not as ergonomic as the P30/P30L/VP9 but it will do everything I need a sidearm to do.
4) Browning Stalker. Right now I don't really hunt or do much long range shooting. But if I could never buy anything but these five, I would need to add the capability now. To be honest there are some great bolt guns out there and lots of others would do the job (eg Howa, Tikka, etc). But I really like the Browning A- and X-bolt guns. I would opt for the 6.5 Creedmoor, with my second choice being the 6.5 Grendel (although I'd have to get a Howa in that caliber). To me a 6.5 is about perfect. Lower recoil and flatter trajectory than the (excellent) .308/7.62 NATO while still packing enough punch for deer sized game.
5) CZ Scorpion Carbine. This is maybe the strangest one on my list! If money wasn't a concern an MP5 would nicer, or maybe an MPX. But the Scorpion is a terrific gun. In some ways I like my Beretta CX4 Storm a bit better- it's shorter and much more maneuverable in tight spaces, by a wide margin. And Beretta 92 mags are cheap, plentiful and reliable. But if I had to live with it forever the Storm has a few things I hate; the crossbolt safety sucks, the trigger is beyond horrible and I'm not crazy about the mag release. If I could add $1000 of Sierra Papa parts and also assuming I couldn't SBR it, the Storm would win. But if I'm alllowed to trick it out however I want I would SBR the Scorpion. I'll readily admit that most would find a shotgun for more useful and I also went that route instead of going with a PCC. But ultimately when ever I have bought a shottie it never "sticks". I don't bird hunt and I'm not into clays, and for HD I would rather have a military-style carbine. For me the PCC fills the plinking and small game roles the the .22 rifle used to fill and overlaps the defensive roles as well.
There you go! Not five perfect guns but five firearms that would cover all the bases for me personally. Hopefully it will never come to just having five!:danceban: