Gary Reeder
Jim Taylor had a good answer to one of the questions about
Monday, January 12, 2026, 21:34

"what gun would you have at hand and why that choice". Like he said if things go pear shape we aren't going to have time to look thru the safe and lay out 5 AR-15s, 6 or 7 shotguns, about that many handguns. Anyway, if things go (oh shit) what handgun, what rifle and what shotgun would you have handy?. Keep it simple. I would like to think some of our answers will help others when (if) the balloon goes up. Are we going to grab that battery eating thing or something a lot more simple. Are we going to grab an AR that we can't remember whether we sighted it in or not. Or did we change the battery on that red dot gizmo? Hell, do we remember the combo to our safe? In a hectic situation can your wife open the safe? Does she know the combo? Do we have an extra battery for that electronic safe combination?.

How about a shotgun. 12 Gauge or 20 gauge? The 12 gauge ammo would be easier to find than 20 but if you have a wife and kids in the household can they shoot the 12 gauge better than the 20 gauge? How many rounds does it hold. The Mossberg 590 is probably the best choice as it can hold 8 or 9 rounds. Is your shotgun a semi auto or pump. The pump makes the most sense as it can use a variety of ammo whereas some models of semi auto are like the question above about the high velocity ammo for your 22 rifle. Most good shotguns can function with just about any brand of shotshells. But some are really picky.

Now if you are a waterfowl hunter and have stocked up on the steel shot for ducks or geese. How about this, the next time you buy shotshells buy a box of standard lead shot too. Some shotguns don't like steel shot while they all will work with lead shot. Should things go wacky that standard 12 gauge might not work well with steel shot.

Most shooters think a box of 00 or 000 (double 00 or triple 000) is the way to go for home defense. Actually a box of #4 buck will do better. The box of 00 or 000 runs $10 to $15 for a box of 5 rounds. A box of #4 buck costs about the same but holds 25 rounds. Most cops have switched to #4 instead of 00 buck.

How many magazines do you have for that AR and while you are shooting the bad guys out the window can your wife or youngster reload that magazine? For that matter does your wife know which box of ammo goes with which gun? By the way do you have a LULA Loader for your AR? This little jewel will load an AR magazine as quick as you can count to 20. No more sore thumb. They are made for just about every 5.56 or 7.62 semi auto. They are a necessity for any one that has any kind of semi auto, including 22 LR auto. It is just called the LULA Loader.

Next time you are pulling your main shotgun out of the safe load it with the red plastic snap caps or dummy rounds. Most gun shops will have them or can get them for you. Most companies have them in boxes of 5 rounds. These are safe and you can try the action without having to actually shoot it. work the pump as fast as you can. See if it will run whatever type of shotshells you happen to have at home. If it jams running the dummy rounds thru it without firing it, then it might not function by pulling the trigger as fast as you can in a bad situation. A good pump shotgun will work the action as fast as you can work the pump fast too.

Do you have 4 or 5 good 22 LR rifles? They are probably semi auto, so do you have a good supply of high velocity 22 LR ammo. Remember most semi autos require the high velocity ammo to function. How about a 22 Magnum. Some 22 Magnum rifles are picky about ammo. I have 4 or 5 22 Magnum semi autos and every one of them require the Hornady Critical Defense Ammo to function. The 22 Magnum is a better choice but it would probably be a bit harder to find ammo for but it would be a bit better keeping the bad guys off your porch
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A lot of these questions refer to me, unfortunately.
If you have a dog, do you keep enough food around to keep him from eating the cat. It would be hard telling your wife that food is getting scarce and eating the cat is on the list of necessary things.
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