Gun Ownership...Q's & Worries, page 1

In most states you can acquire a rifle via FTF or private sale without any registration. If you have the time and $30 you can get yourself a type 03 FFL and horde all sorts of firearms with the only paper trail being a bill of sale and your own log book.

To protect against confiscation or banning just keep your mouth shut. You have what you have and it's nobody else business what you have. There are a few choice arms of mine that I may report stolen and hide away. If doing this I would do it sooner rather than later. Announcing something is stolen right after they knock on your neighbors door is more than a little suspicious.

Do I think they will go door to door? In most of the country, no. In urban areas where the registered and licensed owners number very few, yes. Cities will most certainly see door to door confiscation. They are very unlikely to resist because of the urban-dependent mentality and there are not nearly as many of them as there are in less urban areas. This is one of the reasons the tax system works so hard to force people into densely populated slave states like CT and MA and CA. The rule of the land does the confiscation job ahead of time when the law-abiding is concerned.

A gun isnt necessary until you need it. If I need a hammer and dont have one I can just go out and get one. If you need a gun and dont have one.... well, let's just say it's not like needing a hammer.

Your first gun(s) purchase(s) is a delicate subject. I know jackasses who went out bought some Dirty Harry-esque .44 magnum, shot it terribly and hurt their wrists/hands/elbows and now wont shoot anything. The expensive testicle replacement they bought just sits in a box unless I come by and borrow it for some range time.

Look around your area for a range that rents or better yet get some friends who shoot and use their guns and their ammo.

Bread and butter necessities for a solid collection foundation are common guns in common calibers. Depending on your geographic location these may vary. I hear all the time how 7.62x39mm is so common in a SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, event you'll be stumbling across the stuff left and right. Well, unless you live in Afganistan or Romania or happen to be surrounded by neighbors stockpiling the stuff this isnt exactly true. I suppose if were invaded Red Dawn style 7.62x39mm would be everywhere. In the U.S. the NATO rounds are the most common. A 5.56 NATO is a fast and accurate round but even though I shoot regularly and hunt I still wouldnt trust it to kill a deer clean. If you dont shoot and cant get close to game you have no business hunting with a 5.56/.223 or smaller. If you can track and it's all you've got go for it but it's far from ideal. A 7.62 NATO or .308Win would be a better option. Both are abundant in the U.S.. Two + ongoing wars have made this seem untrue but it all depends on where you are in the States, what you expect the TEOTWAWKI scenerio to be etc...

That said about the NATO rounds, something that is more common in my area is the cowboy ammo. We have a lot of .30-30, .357, .45 Long Colt etc... I like cowboy cartridges because you're going to overlap firearms. Within any of those you'll end up with a handgun, carbine and rifle all taking the same ammo. This has it's pluses and minuses in a SHTF scenario. Less ammo to carry. If a gun should become inoperable you dont have all this useless ammo on you. Less chance of Murphy jamming the wrong bullets in your gun. But, you may have a hard time finding the specific ammo you need making all of your guns useless. It's worth noting that the cowboy rounds arent the only ammunition with cross-firearm usage. There are plenty of pistol caliber carbines out there most of which are adequate for a multitude of game. The lever .30-30 is the most popular deer rifle in America for a reason.

Popular semi-auto pistol cartridges are 9mm, .380 and .45ACP. The 9 and 45 being more popular than the .380. Again, this may change depending on your location. For instance, there is a large gang in Chicago whos signature is the .25 ACP. I suppose if you're entrenched in that gang .25 ACP would be a good choice. With the exception of direct confrontation in a situation where concealment is key I cannot say that anything smaller than 9mm is worthwhile acquiring. Most arms firing such small calibers as .25ACP or .32 or .380 have barrels less than 5 inches long making them all but useless for hunting or anything outside of close personal defense actually. Not because of a lack of energy, these bullets wont be bouncing off your head trust me, but for a lack of sustained energy and accuracy over distance.

Not knowing where you live or any other specific details the collection foundation I'd suggest would be: shotgun 12 or 20 gauge, popular cartridge handgun 9mm or .45ACP, an accurate plinker .22 or .17HMR (action doesnt matter) good for small game coyote and smaller or if you can afford it a AR-15, something for big food either a .308 or .30-06 action doesnt matter. Of course your budget will alter this. If I were dirt broke I'd grab a used Mossberg 500 for $150, and a used Marlin 336 for $200 and call it a day. These two will fill just about any real world needs and a .357Mag you can fire .38's from if funds allow it. Three do-all guns you can easily carry and find abundant ammo for.

If you expect to be defending your property in a riot situation then by all means get a military arm like an AR-15 or M14 or FAL or AK.

It all depends on what you expect to go down and what your resources are in you area or the are to which you will flee.

I'm lucky in that I love any and all guns, so does the woman, and can on occasion afford to splurge. I'm unlucky because I'll probably hesitate grabbing a gun in a SHTF situation and most likely regret the choice I made.

There really is no single answer to any of these questions that can come without personal experience. The best advice I can give you is to shoot anything you can get your hands on and if possible take anything you can apart, clean it, understand it, build it. You can read about ballistics night and day but it doesnt mean anything unless you see it first hand.

It's all just my opinion of course.