Which should *I* pick?

[Seburiel]

Greetings fellows,

I write to you to ask a simple question, for which I seek honest opinion. I would like to pare down my somewhat lofty desires of firearms into my current dual-pistol CCW setup and one long arm. Now, I know that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to longarms, but I am curious if, if I could only have the one longarm, should it be a shotgun, rifle, carbine, PCC? I was edging toward a shotgun (12ga), but that's only because, in my opinion, it's the 'easy' answer. But what do YOU think? To help with the circumstances:
I am married, and my wife has a .223 SA rifle (an M4 clonet) and a pair of laser-equipped ruger lcps. We live outside of our local metropolis' city limits, in a mobile home (gawdawful, I know), and our nearest neighbors are at closest a 1/4 mile away, so what I'm looking for, more than anything, is an easily maintained longarm for interim self defense purposes. Now, caveat - I only have one eye that functions reliably (due to nerve damage from a sinus infection that I allowed to fester WAY TOO LONG), so, I'm not sure if that will make a whole helluva lot of difference (ha ha... riiiiight) but it doesn't seem to affect my pistol shooting at all.
Thanks, in advance.

[The Annoyed Man]

Greetings fellows,

I write to you to ask a simple question, for which I seek honest opinion. I would like to pare down my somewhat lofty desires of firearms into my current dual-pistol CCW setup and one long arm. Now, I know that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to longarms, but I am curious if, if I could only have the one longarm, should it be a shotgun, rifle, carbine, PCC? I was edging toward a shotgun (12ga), but that's only because, in my opinion, it's the 'easy' answer. But what do YOU think? To help with the circumstances:
I am married, and my wife has a .223 SA rifle (an M4 clonet) and a pair of laser-equipped ruger lcps. We live outside of our local metropolis' city limits, in a mobile home (gawdawful, I know), and our nearest neighbors are at closest a 1/4 mile away, so what I'm looking for, more than anything, is an easily maintained longarm for interim self defense purposes. Now, caveat - I only have one eye that functions reliably (due to nerve damage from a sinus infection that I allowed to fester WAY TOO LONG), so, I'm not sure if that will make a whole helluva lot of difference (ha ha... riiiiight) but it doesn't seem to affect my pistol shooting at all.
Thanks, in advance.

I would have almost reflexively answered "get an AR," but if your wife already has one, then maybe a shotgun might be a better choice..........if you can only have one long gun for yourself. OTH, if you get another AR platform rifle/carbine, you and your wife will have interchangeable magazines and other parts for your long guns, which is a logistical advantage.

I chose to build my wife an AR carbine rather than get her some other long gun. We own two shotguns, but they are sporting over/unders not as useful as a good tactical shotgun in a SD/HD application. The AR is a battlefield-simple weapon, usable at everything from CQB to fairly extended ranges. Since the AR was a more versatile choice for me, and since I was already familiar with them and their manual of arms, and they are light recoiling and ammo relatively cheap, building my wife a very light carbine (about 6.5 lb) seemed like the way to go.

But your situation is a bit different. You are not trying to provide for someone else who has little experience, but rather are trying to arrive at the best decision for you yourself. Since your wife is a shooter already, that's why I suggest that maybe a shotgun is a good choice for you. Then you can both become familiar with the manual of arms for both weapons and extend your capabilities a bit......

.....although I still want to reflexively say that another AR carbine would be an excellent choice.

BTW, the main reason I don't suggest an AK over an AR is simply the logistical compatibility piece. The shotgun is different enough and fills a different enough niche that it makes it a good choice. Although an AK by itself would be a good choice and fills essentially the same role as the AR, it lacks logistical compatibility with a weapon system that you already own.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. A little bit random this early in the morning.

[speedsix]

...12 or 20 ga pump...with slugs/buckshot it's for defense or deer...plenty of accuracy for most defense situations...with small shot it's for feeding the family should times get rough...as they will some time...

[The Annoyed Man]

On the farm, my mom was much more comfortable with her shotgun, for snakes, rabid skunks and such.

Yes, but this is for him, not his wife. She's already got an M4.......just to be clear.

[74novaman]

I agree with TAM here. Since your wife already has an AR variant, add another so you can share ammo/magazines/accessories/parts/etc.

I know some swear by their shotguns for home defense, but I can't think of a situation where a carbine with 30 rounds is the wrong choice in a home situation.

You mentioned living in a trailer home. Since your neighbors are far away, you can get away with a rifle just fine and not worry about hitting them. BUT, make sure to consider penetration inside the house. Even a handgun round will likely zip right through your inner (and possibly your outer) walls. Be very sure of what is behind that wall if you're going to use a rifle.

Edit: All that being said, plan on eventually adding an AK to the mix. Had to get that plug in there.

[MoJo]

Long guns - - - since you already have an AR why not a shotgun? There is a warm fuzzy feeling when you chamber up a 12 gauge 00 round or a slug. Either an 870 or Mossberg 500 is the way to go. Another choice that is often overlooked is a .30-30 lever gun. I wouldn't want to be in a prolonged fire fight with my Marlin but in most 3.5 round at XYZ distance shootouts it will do the job. I would really look into a shotgun they are supremely versatile.

[Seburiel]

Thanks for the input, y'all I appreciate it.
Looks like the AK clone will be the winner on this one, just for shared's sake.

[karder]

If I could only have one long gun (I hate the notion), I would go with 12 gauge. The ability to switch from birdshot to buckshot to slugs makes it very flexible and allows you to transition from doves to does to evil-doers.

[txjim42]

Some thoughts. For only one shotgun, I like the idea of a shotgun kit with a short and long barrel for versatility. Something like a defense/deer/field combo so you could use for small to large "game."

I differ from a lot of folks in that I'd look for a semi-auto instead of a pump. Here's why... I've taken my old pump to shoot clays just enough to know that I don't always reliably eject/reload the next round when I'm in a hurry. I've watched others do the same. I can get past that pretty quickly, but how many seconds did I just lose doing so? Inside my house that might be too long. In my home my guns are in good operating condition. Don't necessarily need "hard-use" gear in there for HD. Just reliable, reliably maintained and practiced with.

For "defense" rifles I've stuck with the AR. One is none, two is one, three's company... They share the same ammo, magazines, parts thus a bit more budget friendly. You're wife is already familiar with the platform. This is for defense, right?

Down the road, who knows? A nice accurate .22 doesn't have to be overly expensive and can provide tons of cheap entertainment or food. Same for a big-game/long-range hunter to reach-out... Dents/dings and little surface rust won't detract from functionality. Visit the scratch-n-dent section at your local pawn-shop, gun-show or maybe even the used guns at the local shop and you might be surprised every now and then.

[FishInTx]

If I could only have one long gun (I hate the notion), I would go with 12 gauge. The ability to switch from birdshot to buckshot to slugs makes it very flexible and allows you to transition from doves to does to evil-doers.

Get a used shotgun then start saving for the AR.

[bulletslap]

How about something in 7.62 NATO ?