Mr. Kielma, what is your opinion as a FFL-Firearms Instructor- Gunsmith- and First Aid Fundamentals Instructor, what is the minimum number of guns a person should have for family defense and the possi

How Much Is To MUCH

• A handgun

• A shotgun

• An AR style rifle (meaning semi-automatic intermediate round)

• A battle rifle (full size round, think .308/7.62x51 NATO or some such)

• A .22LR, either handgun or rifle

In handgun, auto, revolver, whatever you can handle. I have 5 handguns of various types and calibers. Good for close in work, concealed, and daily carry.

Shotgun, autoloader or pump, minimum 5 round mag (4+1), keep bird, 00 buck, and slugs handy. Do not mix loads. Double or triple magazines may be an exception to that. I have KSG that has 2 magazines and I keep 2 different types of loads in it, one load in one mag, a different one in the other.

AR style. This is always a barrel of monkeys. Okay, so AR-15, probably at the top of many people’s lists and deservedly so. AK-47, also on many people’s lists and deservedly so. But, SKS, AK-74, Kel-Tec (argue with me on another thread), FN, PTR, there are OPTIONS, LOTS of options. Find the one that works for you. For the record, there’s a reason why AR-15 and AK-47 are so high on this list.

Battle rifle. These can be tricky. MANY battle rifles are chambered in .308/7.62x51 NATO. Mine is a PTR-102, an American built copy of an HK-91 (G3). M-14, or M1A, is another. FN-FAL if you can find one. M1 Garand if you can find one and feed it. Recently, there have been a plethora of AR-10 type and more modern battle rifles, St. Victor, SFAR, SCAR and the like. I would also remind folks that until the advent of the M1 Garand, the standard battle rifle was a bolt action 5 shot rifle. I have two, a Mosin-Nagant 91–30 and a 1903 Springfield. Mausers, Enfields, even Arisakas and Carcanos all fall into that.

Now, 22LR. As a self-defense round, it leaves a bit to be desired. However, as a useful round, it’d be hard to find one so hard working. Plinking, training, varmints, pest control, small game. The little .22LR’s biggest problem is that it’s so dangerous because people don’t realize how dangerous it can really be. However cute and tiny it may look, it is STILL a firearm. I have four of the little buggers and everyone is a kick to shoot AND cheap to feed. I didn’t use to put it in my 4-gun minimum, but its sheer utility, inexpensiveness, and ubiquity demanded otherwise.

My 5-gun minimum covers just about anything up to the largest game in North America. Hunting, self-defense, personal defense, pest control, all of that can be covered. With those five weapons you probably have almost everything you’d want or need to do involving a firearm.

With all of this, don’t forget your logistics train. How many calibers do you have, how many do you need, how much do you expect to feed them. I currently have four calibers of pistol, one size of shotgun, two intermediate calibers, and five rifle calibers. It’s a LOT of ammo to keep these things fed.

It’s a good question This is just my opinion.