“Numerous people have asked me, ‘If you could only own one gun, which would that be?’ I say, ‘Well, first of all, I’d shoot the guy that told me I could only have one. Then, I’d continue to have the hundreds I own.'” Ladies and gentlemen, TED NUGENT! So let’s put that assassination thing to one side (for my own safety’s sake). And qualify the circumstances. Your current life. No SHTF or TEOTWAWKI stuff. No ammo restrictions. For me, it’d be my Glock 30. You?

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104 COMMENTS

  1. Really, a subcompact .45? hmmm…

    Tough question, without the qualifiers of WROL, etc… I find it harder to decide. Those qualifiers help make the decision – 9mm due to availability, 12g shotgun due to versatility, etc… A Glock seems reasonable due to its reliability and a .45 due to its higher probability of stopping power, and a subcompact due to its carry-ability.

    I would go with a G19 just because it carries more ammo and would be less expensive to practice with… And I am not a Glock fan…

  4. Man… I don’t even want to begin figuring this question. So many choices and variances.

  5. If I could only own one gun it would have to be a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ and since you can’t CCW a shotgun or rifle, it would be a handgun. I still think a .357 Magnum is the most versatile handgun you can have, so that would be my choice. It’s not the *best* choice for any particular role (CCW, wilderness survival, plinking, home protection, hunting) but it can do everything reasonably well and it’s an extremely effective cartridge.

  8. Severely tempted to claim my FNP-45 as sole firearm based purely on sentiment. But if I can only own one, it will have to be my FN Tactical Police Shotgun due in no small part to versatility.

    Be hard to give up 300gr hollwpoints or 12x9mm each shot.

    The iPhone of ammunition… “there’ a 12ga shell for that”

    • Great answer: one can use this gun to hunt upland game, waterfowl, and deer, then it can be used as a home defense weapon. True, it can’t be used as a ccw tool, but its versatility is un-surpassed compared to most every other gun.

  10. Glock 30 and as far as capacity I have a vector mag. If I could only have one it would have to be a handgun. Only having a long gun removes the option of concealed carry. So no to the shotguns and rifles.

  12. My S&W 41 (.22lr pistol for bullseye and ISSF shooting). I shoot it every day. In contrast a self defense weapon is almost certainly not going to be used for the intended purpose, and even with lead reloads it’s too spendy to shoot nearly as often as the .22.

  13. I would like to say a handgun but I would probably go with some sort of SBR’d .223 variant. Light, compact, and deadly at a wide variety of ranges. Oh and full auto of course with a couple of C-mags for those ruff and tuff times.

  14. My jack of all trades, the Mossberg 500. It may not do anything as well as my more specialist guns, but with a variety of stocks, barrels, and ammo it can do anything. Yes, even CCW, just add on a short barrel and a short stock with a very short loop sling on the end for a Clyde Barrow style ‘whippet’ that’ll disappear under a jacket and still be more accurate than anything that’s pistol grip only.

    • Awesome! I likes that kind of improvisation. Change it to an Ithaca Stakeout 12 ga pump and we have a partnership!

  15. I would have to go with a Remington 700 chambered in 243. I could use it for any thing from varmit to medium sized deer.

  16. A Hi Point .45. Ha! Really-Cujo The Dog Of War with only one firearm? I have 6 handguns just in the headboard cabinet in my bed! Ok, H&K MP 5 PDW. And a dufflebag full of hand grenades and claymores. And my Fred Perrin Military Street Bowie. And my Cold Steel San Mai Tai Pan dagger. And a jelly doughnut and a bottle of anything…to go.

    • Cujo, that sounds more like a check list of what you need to carry at night in Louisville…(My city.) :-0 My weapon? A SOFLAM with appropriate air standing by. Best way to kill the zombies is to “paint” them…

      • Ha! Killer idea! I forgot to add my Phill Hartsfield long tanto knife with the concealable shoulder harness.

        • Phill Hartsfield, deceased, put the Godd***it in to sharp. His blades are not cheap, but tough and well thought out with carry designs and sheaths. Mine cost $1500 and could easily go completely through a person or animal, or lop off a limb, but stays innocuous underneath either arm with its shoulder harness.

  17. Glock 30. Just like the one on my hip right now. And a 4-ship of F-16s sporting a mix of laser and GPS guided bombs. 500 and 2,000 pounders ought’a do it. Close air support is a must in any battle.

  18. Prolly a compact Glock.

    It would have to be carry-able, therefore a handgun. Would prefer one handgun and one long gun though…

    • Same one handgun and one long gun is more to my liking. As stated above a Glock 30 for my hand gun and throw in a 12 gauge for my long gun.

  21. My Glock 17. I can conceal it and can also jam 33 round mags in it to keep whatever away from me I need to keep away from me.

  22. Gonna have to go with a handgun due to my current location. It would be my G19; concealable, accurate and lightweight.

  24. It would have to be my Kel-Tec PLR-16. Its semi concealable, capable of long range performance, light weight rifle caliber pistol, with all kinds of stopping power.

    • Cool, my man! I love mine. It has a Brownell’s harmonic muzzle brake for short barrel 5.56mm weapons, a Beamshot green laser on bottom, a Blackhawk Gladius tactical light on top ( you can clearly see the sights underneath the tall mount ), and a back up red laser running off and to the side of the Gladius. It all fits easily and concealed inside a 5.11 Select Carry Sling Pack. The 5.11 pack is specially designed to look “civilian” and carry H & K MP 5 style submachineguns, with quick access. The sling has the optional small pack designed to go across your chest and conceals a handgun for quick access. It is available at LA POLICE GEAR.com for $129.95.

  26. My Ruger Blackhawk convertible in .357 / 9mm. Accurate, and plenty of loads to choose from.

  27. Wow, this is really tough. I’m going to have to agree with good ole Uncle Ted and shoot the fool who only wants me to have ONE gun. All my other guns would be pissed if I chose one over the other so I’ll be keeping them all. You guys gave in to quick chosing just one, because this is how the gun control fools think. They start to limit what and how many you can own, and then they take them all.

    • Brad, I have the Truglo TFO’s on my Kimbers and they rule. You get a great sight picture during the day and they light up at night, best sights I’ve ever owned.

  31. One gun? A medium-sized double action .357 magnum revolver, like a 686 or similar, with a 4″ barrel. Accurate and powerful enough for handgun hunting, flexible enough to shoot lightweight .38 loads to .357 giant killers, small enough to reasonably carry, reliable and good supply of available ammo.

  32. I’ll go with the Beretta M1934 that’s been in the family for over 60 years. Sentimental value outweighs its disadvantages as a CCW.

  33. Shotgun. Semi-auto. Probably a benelli(M2) with 2 barrels. Birdshot, buckshot, and slugs.

  34. One gun for what purpose? Just one for…everything? Sport? Hunting? Defense? Then it more or less has to be a 12ga shotgun. Probably an 870, or Moss 500. With a few extra barrels.

    But from a non-logical point of view…I would say my 4in S&W Model 19. Or one of my 1911s.

  35. Well, since the article says my current life, and not a SHTF situation, I would say an XDm compact 9mm. Easier for carrying concealed, but I can still use the larger magazines too.

    I need to stick with 9mm because I’m too poor to shoot anything else (except for .22).

  36. Full-size 9mm. Currently have a P226, but if I could only have one, it might be a lighter-polymer frame.

  37. Since you qualified it as everyday and not a teotwawki or shtf scenario, then my Kimber Ultra Carry II. I live in a small city in the midwest. I practice enough that I can hit what I’m shooting at. I have 4 magazines. And just about all my friends carry conceal, so I’m hardly ever without backup where ever I go. Even half the people at the church I attend carry concealed (to include the elderly).

  39. what ever i am set up to reload, and what ever i have the most powder, brass, primers and bullets for.

  43. Assuming we are talking about the complete break down of “Law and Order”. It would be a 12 gauge pump, max cap, twin rail, no bells or whistles.

  46. An 1876 Gatling gun in .45-70. I figure if I can only own one gun, I could afford it, because I wouldn’t be buying a lot of other guns.

    I think some people missed the, normal, everyday life, part of the question.

    • BTW, I’m concerned that there may be something wrong with me since my right one is larger than my other two.

    • I’ve been looking for your post Ralph, cuz I knew you’d have the best reply. If I had given in to this question I’d only have ONE gun and NO balls.

        • That does it! I’m starting a movement as a One Ball-American, we will not be left behind in society…

          • MikeB and Magoo, start inventing some facts to back me up here. I’m starting a “Support Your One-Ball Americans” movement here! It’ll shift into play in no time. We will not be crushed by these two ball fascists!

  50. I’d have a tough time deciding between an AR-15 and a Glock 27.

    The former, because it offers such a wide variety of possible configurations off of one receiver (I mean, with the right upper, you can set it up to shoot anything from .22 rimfire to .50BMG) . The latter because it’s small enough to be easily carried at all times, and can be easily converted to also shoot .22lr, 9mm, and .357 sig; which are all commonly available.

      • The Six line: Ruger’s Police Service Six, Speed Six and the Security Six is my favorite line of revolvers of all time. I wish they would come back out. I own two Police Service Six models, 4” barrels, .357 magnum, one stainless and one blued. Momma Cujo confiscated the blued one for her own use. I regret ever trading the stainless Security Six I had, and wish I had one of the Speed Sixes in 9mm for the collection. The best feature they have was the way they sit so low in the hand-especially with the original small wood grip panels.

  58. No kidding? A Thompson 1928A1. Good for short and medium range. 2 legged and 4 legged predators alike.

  59. Probably my m9, I shoot it better than anything else I own and I can conceal it if I really have to.

  60. Loaded question. My answer is a triple barrel drilling. SxS 12ga below a 30’06. 25 inch barrels, screw in chokes with 3 inch chambers for the 12ga and with good aperture sights for the rifle barrel. Picatinny rail for optics and another for light/laser. Two triggers and a manual saftey with barrel selector for the rifle barrel and left shotty barrel. If is said Merkel on it that would be even better.

  63. The 1934 Beretta that my grandfather got off a dead German officer in WW2. If that gun got to my grandfather before my grandfather got to that gun…I wouldn’t be here!

  65. That’s easy. M14 action on a Troy MCS stock, full size Krieger barrel, birdcage flash hider (with bayonet lug), Harris bipod, Leupold Mark IV 4.5-14×40 scope, backup iron sights (Troy), backup Trijicon Reflex, at least 2x Beta C-Mags and copious amounts of 20 rounders.

    -D

  66. Any high powered semi probably the PSL I already own…. If the S DOES HTF I’ll be able to use it to pick up more along the way…… Or punch holes in any engine block trying to invade my territory.

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