.40,

Remington 970 kitted with a 6-shot side saddle and a light. Double-aught buck.

Trouble is, I have to keep it in the closet because my wife does not like it exposed. So, a Glock 17 and a Glock 43 in an open drawer on the nightstand. And a gazillion watt flashlight. Also a pencil for doing the John Wick thing.

Haz,

Impressive!!

Pretty sure I would not have lasted the 4 days. Short attention span. 🙂

If you can afford multiple firearms, I have to believe that a semi-auto rifle in just about any centerfire caliber will be a superior choice for home defense. Nevertheless, a shotgun (especially chambered in 20 gauge) would be a close second. A handgun would be the least desirable choice because they are more difficult to shoot accurately and they are seriously lacking in true physical stopping power. (Handguns may do fairly well in terms of Psychological stopping power–unfortunately there is no way of knowing if any given home invader will respond Psychologically to your presentation of your handgun.)

If you have even a moderate interest in firearms–especially if you are interested in recreational target shooting, hunting, and self-defense–multiple firearms are the way to go. A rimfire rifle for plinking, dispatching pests, and small game hunting is super handy. A handgun for “everyday carry” is a fair choice for self-defense. A shotgun is great for dispatching pests, small game hunting, bird hunting, and even big game hunting at close ranges, not to mention recreational skeet and trap shooting. Finally, a centerfire caliber rifle is excellent for recreational target shooting, hunting out to a few hundred yards, and (with respect to semi-auto platforms with 16-inch barrels) home defense. Last but not least, if you are a serious recreational target shooter, a pistol-caliber carbine chambered in 9mm Luger is an outstanding choice. Note that a pistol caliber carbine is a decent choice for home defense as well.

Anyhoo, the main instructor (of the three total) was a Marine who had been in two tours in Iraq and was the breacher for a multi-soldier stack as they cleared houses. His primary weapon was a SBS equipped for punching through doors. In fact, one of the drills he taught us was how to blow the hinges off a door and quickly “slice the pie” of the room upon entry. Very enlightening and made us aware of small details we previously hadn’t considered that would make a life-or-death difference in a real situation. (In my first attempt at that drill, I quickly and successfully cleared 90% of the room but was “terminated” by the instructor who just happened to be standing in that 10% I didn’t check.)

He told us there are some very practical reasons for a CQB rifle depending upon the mission or loadout, but his favorite has always been the tactical shotgun, and he said if he had only a single long weapon, it would be the shottie.

After completing that course, I understand now why he said that. A long range rifle, a shottie, and a sidearm will do anything you need.