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JSThane wrote:I'll play. Since we're saying "minimum," I'm going with fairly basic choices, no tacticoolness involved.

1. A .22 rimfire for plinking and small-game hunting. Handgun, since it's more easily stored and carried than a rifle. Revolver, for conservation of ammmunition. Choice?
Ruger Single Six.

2. A centerfire handgun for self-defense, small-to-medium-game hunting, and plinking. A revolver again, for conservation of ammunition. Choice?
Some flavor of .357 Magnum wheelgun, preferably either a used Ruger or a used Smith & Wessson.

3. A centerfire rifle for large-game hunting. Bolt-action, for simplicity and again, conservation of ammunition. Choice?
Pawn-shop .308 or .30-06, brand doesn't really matter. Usually, the store can be talked down quite a bit on the price. I chose those calibers because of the wide range of usefulness they have, plus the fairly readily available ammunition.

4. A shotgun.
Mossberg 500 in 12 gauge. 'Nuff said.


If one looks carefully, and takes one's time, you should be able to get all four for under a thousand dollars total. I'm figuring on ~$300 for each handgun, and >$200 for each long gun, on the used market. It will take some time and care to find decent firearms in each category, but it's doable.

You've got a good point there. Even though the Glock 19 uses 9mm which is slightly cheaper than 38 special, you're shooting less with a revolver than with a semi-auto, so you save more on ammo. Also, if this person doesn't hunt, then a .22lr revolver should be more useful for training with cheaper ammo than a .22lr rifle. I think I'll reccomend revolvers and bolt actions instead of the Glock and AR-15 for those on a budget.

I like the way you think,

simianangel wrote: firearm ignites a spark in their soul.

Semantics, semantics, semantics. I wanted to say minimum arsenal, but I didn't say it because liberal anti-gun people like to use that word in a negative manner. It is as charged a word as "assault rifle", which should be replaced with "modern sporting rifle", instead. That's why I said, "gun collection" instead. It sounds a lot more pro-gun.

I don't know of ANY gun that will "ignite a spark in my soul," LOL, but I DO know of plenty of guns that can release the soul of a BG into the land of 72 virgins, LOL.

What I mean is, if you are poor, what is the minimum gun(s) that you should buy to fulfill every need that might need a gun? (in Texas)
1. Hunting hogs, deer and BG's looking to have their souls released into the land of 72 virgins - AR-15
2. Hunting wabbits, squirrels, and tin cans - .22lr bolt action rifle.
3. CHL EDC - any reliable tupperware 9mm that police and/or military commonly use such as a Glock or S&W M&P 9
4. Hunting dove or BG's looking to liberate you from your dull life so that they could borrow some money to buy skittles & ice tea - reliable pump shotgun such as Remington or Mossberg in 12 gauge.

Why bolt action 22lr instead of semi-auto? It is cheaper and in these days of ammo shortage, we can't be picky about our .22lr ammo, which is rarer than hen's teeth, right now. Semi auto .22lr rifles require high velocity consistent ammo of high quality. My S&W 15-22 has a list of ammo that it cannot fire in the manual. Bolt action rifles can fire anything.

Ok,

So, a new college grad asked me what would be a minimum gun collection on a budget? I told him that it depends on what he's going to do with it. I also told him not to look at the price of a gun when buying the gun, but instead, he should look at the price of the ammo. During the lifetime of a gun, the price of the gun itself is only a very small fraction of the total cost of ownership. The majority of the cost of a firearm is going to be ammo, followed by range fees, then the price of the gun should be the last consideration. Therefore, he should find out what the least expensive nearby range allows you to shoot. Then, narrow his choice by what is the least expensive ammo. Also, he should buy what is common and try to buy used so if he is pinched for cash, he could easly and quickly sell the gun for equal to or more than what he paid for it. Finally, he should choose the gun he likes. Based on the ranges in the North Dallas area and ammo prices around here, this is what I recommend if he hunts;

1. Centerfire Rifle - Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport: buy new at Grabagun for $560.

2. Handgun - Glock 19 or Glock 26: buy used at a gun show for $430 or less. Many LGSs sell police trade ins for about $430.

3. Shotgun - Mossberg or Remington pump action 12 gauge shotgun. Buy used at gun show for $200 or less. Many LGSs sell them as police trade-ins for about $200.

4. Rimfire Rifle - Savage bolt action at Grabagun for $165.

Total: $1355.

If you do not hunt, then I would suggest #1 and 2 or #2 and 3.

Total: $990 to $630.

The rationale is, you do not want a slick semi-auto short barrelled shotgun because Elm Fork range doesn't allow them. Just buy a plain Jane pump action normal length barrel shotgun. 12 gauge ammo is cheapest and easiest to find for shotguns. The least expensive rifle ammo that is domestically manufactured is the AR-15's 5.56/.223 ammo. You don't want to buy a gun that depends on foreign ammo such as an AK-47 because importation of foreign ammo could be banned simply by executive order, theoretically. Also, most milsurp foreign ammo is FMJ ball that most DFW ranges don't allow. The caliber that offers the least expensive centerfire domestic rifle ammo that is soft point is 5.56/.223. The least expensive handgun ammo would be 9mm. A police trade-in would be the cheapest option for 9mm. Glock barrels last forever so used shouldn't be a concern. Besides, most cops barely shoot their guns, anyways. Rifles, depending on what you want to do with them, could lose their accuracy after as few as 1000 rounds. Therefore, unless the round count is known and low, I suggest buying new. If you are never going to hunt nor shoot competitively, then go ahead and buy a used rifle if it is a fantastic bargain. Most self defense uses of a gun is inside of 20 ft. Any gun, no matter how shot out the barrel, will be able to make 2 inch groups at 20 ft. You can buy a shotgun used, too, because you're not shooting accurate single shots with a shotgun, but a "pattern" of shot. The supplies of ammo have normalized somewhat, so that's a relief. Otherwise, I'd have to recommend 17HMR or an air rifle instead of a .22lr rifle.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents. Feel free to chime in your opinion.

Thanks,