There can be only one......

[VERT]

A recent firearms related venture has made me reevaluate some items in my safe. I find myself in a situation where I might need to thin the long gun herd just a bit more. Here is the hypothetical situation: From the following list pick one working gun. By this I mean the one long gun that you would keep to handle the widest variety of situations. Assume that I have other guns for small game hunting and target shooting. To make the discussion interesting please tell me why you made that choice. There are no wrong choices and all guns are in reliable working condition.

1) Armalite M15-A4 - Gun is stock. Iron sights, flat top upper, adjustable stock, carbine length. I do have a CMMG .22 conversion.

2) Marlin 1894c - .357 lever action carbine. Skinner peep sights.

3) Remington 870 Police - Older 870 with factory 18" cylinder choke barrel and +2 extension. I would consider adding an additional barrel.

 

[patience0830]

Add a slug bbl to the 870 and you can take any game on the continent provided that you're sneaky. An additional bbl with screw in chokes and some additional length might be handy if you had to hunt geese or turkeys.

 

[williamnewman1]

its possibly the underdog between the 3 , but i love the lever-actions. ..... 1894 model +1 .....357 +1 ,...... peep sights +1 ...... yep the lever gets my vote

 

[Bapak2ja]

Lever actions are dependable, proven accurate and durable.

 

[Fordtough25]

I like a good lever action and one in .357 is handy.

 

[gunman41mag]

The AR-15 is my pick, cause it the most accurate out of the three long guns, you can shoot at targets 500 yards away, you can get a 100 round C-MAG, you can change uppers, you can find parts anywhere, plus you have a 22 kit for it

 

[sgreen3]

Nate, you know which one Id pick

 

[Que]

The AR would be my choice.

 

[BlueEagle]

Shotgun; easily the most versatile out of the 3. With maybe a spare barrel and all of the various ammunition choices out there, you can take anything.

 

[N_K_1984]

Shotgun; easily the most versatile out of the 3. With maybe a spare barrel and all of the various ammunition choices out there, you can take anything.

I agree. I voted for the shotgun based on its versatility.

 

[VERT]

Interesting so far. Thanks. Keep it coming.

For the AR guys. What is it about the platform you like? To be honest I am not a fan. I own one and have even shot it in some training classes. I respect it for what it is, but they are hard to clean and not easy to maintain compared to the other guns. I do love plinking with the. 22 conversion! Not sure I would ever sell this rifle even if I wanted too. Market is flooded with cheap ARs right now.

Lever gun would be my choice. Small and light. Hits reasonably hard. I can keep it running indefinitely with some hoppes, a bore snake, a.pocket screwdriver and a couple spare parts. But this would probably be the easiest to sell fast and recover most of.my investment.

Remington 870. What great versatility if I buy another barrel. Only downside is the weight.

 

[sgreen3]

For me the AR is a fun platform to shoot from. I just like the look. Im not LEO or military so I dont have a real NEED for one. But I like the feel to them, the accuracy out of the platform and the versitility. They would be a nice SHTF weapon as well, with the lightweight but hard hitting round and the ability to carry multiple mags. As well being able to find ammo or more mags in a SHTF situation, if it came to be.

 

[Lock n Load]

AR= Allaround Rifle

Sounded better than it typed, like many others said the AR is very multifunctional and you stated you had other firearms for small game hunting etc....

 

[Bapak2ja]

Interesting so far. Thanks. Keep it coming.

For the AR guys. What is it about the platform you like? To be honest I am not a fan. I own one and have even shot it in some training classes. I respect it for what it is, but they are hard to clean and not easy to maintain compared to the other guns. I do love plinking with the. 22 conversion! Not sure I would ever sell this rifle even if I wanted too. Market is flooded with cheap ARs right now.

Lever gun would be my choice. Small and light. Hits reasonably hard. I can keep it running indefinitely with some hoppes, a bore snake, a.pocket screwdriver and a couple spare parts. But this would probably be the easiest to sell fast and recover most of.my investment.

Remington 870. What great versatility if I buy another barrel. Only downside is the weight.

Well said. I also found the AR hard to aim. I have not had military training, and the only time I fired an AR I could not even get it on the paper at 25 yds. I can get 3-4" groups with my 1894c at that distance. I am not a great marksman, I know that; but if I do not know the secret to shooting the AR it will be no value to me. So, I voted for the lever action because it is easier to master shooting it—at least in my experience.

I have an 870, but have yet to fire it. I am competent with my Mossberg 500, though, so I think I would prefer the 870 over the AR, too. Now, if I have the chance to train on the AR and master its secrets, I might change my mind; but at this point I find the AR too complicated for general use. Thus, I would take the lever action, then the 870. I would take the AR if it was the only option, but I sure would not want to carry it to a gunfight until I had a chance to train at length on it. There is a reason the Marines spend two full days training on it before the recruits are required to qualify on it.

 

[billcollector]

I would pick the Lever action 1894c. I am going off the path hear as it is a gun that will soon become hard to find. I am a collector kind of gun owner and that would be a nice addition to anyones gun safe/cabinet!

 

[VERT]

I would pick the Lever action 1894c. I am going off the path hear as it is a gun that will soon become hard to find. I am a collector kind of gun owner and that would be a nice addition to anyones gun safe/cabinet!

Couldn't agree more. Which unfortunately means that if I sell one of these firearms, the lever action would probably be first to go. It is the one that will be easiest to sell. Plenty of ARs on the market right now.

 

[jbombelli]

Assuming you have those other guns for small game and target shooting, I would probably keep the 870 and pick up an additional barrel or two in order to cover the widest variety of situations. You got birdshot, slugs, buckshot... all kinds of possibilities for ammo and barrel combinations to cover a huge variety of situations.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I would keep the AR. Once you get used to it, the AR is a great platform.

I am comfortable pushing my AR out to 400 yards. I would not give up that distance. You need to learn how to shoot your AR, they're awesome! (plus the .22 conversion for tons of ammo and much quieter).

 

[leftsock]

If you could only keep one gun, sell them all and get an AK. Of the three listed though, I voted for the shotgun for its versatility.

 

[VERT]

If this keeps up I am going to have to keep both the AR and the 870.