What caliber would it be?

If I could only have one long gun hands down it would be my 22 mag. I trust it, and am more confident with it than any other gun 77/22 all weather, 3x9 VX2, with a trigger job. I think its capable and reasonably practical for most applications, with good shot placement 40 grain jacketed hollow points its deadly on anything out to 60 yards probably further. And at close range I'm always impressed with how devastating it is for such a small shell. Last but not least Ammo is still pretty cheap and you can carry a lot of shells without taking up space and weight.

If you needed one gun in a survival situation regardless of the circumstances this would be my pick.

Any .22 is seriously underpowered for defending against sasquatch. If a big squatch is throwing rocks at me, I want something in .30 cal. My 1st choice would probably be a .308. It'll work for any threats from gnomes up to bigfeets with manageable recoil for follow up shots.

AK-47. Big enough to take out any and all threats, and it won't quit on me
when it's most needed.

Interesting how the the question could interpreted at least two ways. To me, what long gun would cover all the hunting I want to do best. To others, it seems to be what is the self-protection.

I was thinking all purpose, protection and hunting.

although a scoped 22 mag rifle is not ideal at close quarters, it balances itself out if you have a bit of distance.

If I could only have one gun period, it would be a field model pump 12 gauge with an IC choke. It'll kill anything on this planet dead.

I have one of those. My Grandfather bought it more than a Century ago. It is now my upland bird/pheasant gun should I go after them. Probably doves, too. Anybody know if it is OK/wise to shoot steel through one?

It's probably not a wise idea to shoot steal. My gramps old Winny model 12 goose gun falls under the same boat. It's a lead gun only since steel was made mandatory and the extra long barrel w/ a fixed full choke makes it really tough to use for upland. Roosters gotta get way out there for it to be effective and not destroy the meat. It's a 00 buck deer slaying machine now.

My Dad put a Weaver Vari-Choke on it. Three tubes for Full, Modified, and IC.

When i hunted pheasant over Brittanies I used 7.5 low-base Dove loads for the first shot. The next two, if I missed, were our 6 reloads. I was using a Mossberg 500A with 30" FC.

300 Win Mag and my range finder.

I'm with Nick...12 gauge pump and a pocket full of shells. There are no animals or intruders that will survive the encounter. No permits, no licenses, no registration. I can teach my lady how to load it, unload it, operate the safety, and shoot it safely and well in about ten minutes.

Fish on...

Todd

Hard for me to think about only owning one gun. It's just not right. Sorry Rich but for me it would have to be which handgun, which rifle, or which shotgun.

Agree. Too many variables to consider. Like I said, 12g...but that's only if I didn't have to carry lots ammo on my back and because it will take quail to elephants and everything in between from one basic platform. 22lr if I had to carry lots of spare ammo under a mobile, long term survival situation. Human conflicts with re-supply possibilities would be a AR10 battle rifle like a Scar 17 or whatnot. No limitations whatsoever would be a GAU-8 inside of its A-10 wrapper. Etc....

It's all about ammo.

Once the SHTF and people are running around in MadMax World, it's all about the ammo.

A long gun is nothing more than a blunt object without ammo. Gotta find a long gun where you'll be able to scrounge up ammo along your journey in just about any location or country.

And to that, I'd pick a 12. ga double barel shotgun, suited to shoot 3.5" shells on down. You can shoot any 12 ga shell through that thing - slug, shot, steel, lead, whatever. Make and model would need to be researched a bit, as I'd want a scatter gun that was virtually indestructible and the fewest parts possible. Or, if parts (ejector springs) fail, it really doesn't matter a whole lot to the functioning of the gun. Doesn't have to be pretty...just reliable and damn near indestructible.

Shotgun ammo is probably going to be found in just about EVERY house in America and throughout the world. People have been using the 12 ga scatter gun across the world for ever!

Most, if not all, of your encounters will be at close range. Shotguns are well suited for close range destruction and mayhem.

Now, if I could take a 2nd gun, I'd probably grab an AK. No optics and just open sights. I hate AK's....But....they are used world wide and everyone has ammo for them. That is another rifle that you'd never have to clean, but easy to take apart and clean if had too, and will "just work" no matter what conditions.

Not to worry. It's like riding a bike. Once you get the first one under your belt, the rest is easy.

Oh wait, I thought this was the "Kill all the zombies" thread......

206ers and their urban warfare.

Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500...

AR pistol with side folding brace..5.56 will kill anything in North America. Ammo is light and you carry it in a back pack...11" barrel.Carry a second 30 round mag.

Who needs a gun????

I'm a gonna sue them fukkers.

.308