Let’s have your nominations for best firearm according to category. Give a brief summary of your reasons for the nomination and what other firearm you considered it against.
The criteria are that we are limiting them to those available to the civilian shooter so where a commercial and military version exist of the same firearm, we shall consider only the commercial version. Also we are asking for opinion based upon your experience, so if you haven’t had any significant experience with a Daniel Defense carbine don’t nominate it because it gets good reviews. At the same time if the only carbine you have ever owned is a Daniel Defense you should mention that in your reasons why you are nominating it.
Unit cost can be a factor in your nomination of a given firearm, so one may prefer a given carbine to a Knights SR-15 as it provides excellent performance at half the price, but let’s not simply nominate a SKS because they are 1/5 the price of an AR-15. Basically we are asking what firearms you would recommend to a family member with an average budget who is serious about getting a defensive firearm.
The categories are:
Defensive Carbine
Defensive Handgun
Conceal Carry Handgun
Long Range (DMR) Rifle
Defensive Shotgun
Special Application Carbine (SBR / Suppressor combo)
A lot of the reasons speak form themselves. These are, for the most part, the least fussy of their type, and would be the first to look at in modern weaponry.
To what end are you looking at this thread going?
The Colt I favor over other AR’s but certainly wouldn’t feel compelled to argue against a number of other companies offerings. Most would be lower cost so that would be an advantage.
My HK45 and 45C have both been phenomenal performers. I wouldn’t hesitate to tell someone that could/would put the money out for one to do so. I wouldn’t feel the least bit self conscious about whether these guns would run right out of the box.
I was somewhat torn between going with the Glocks I did vs listing the HK45 for position 1 and 45C for position 2. Same caliber and partial magazine interchange would be a good foundation for two guns. But the Glocks are outstanding performers and the little 26 is a great CCW piece. Which can accept all larger 9mm Glock mags.
I would also have no problem suggesting a G19 for position 1 and a G 26 for position 2 if I were going the 9mm only route.
For the long range rifle I’m a Remington guy there. Most people could afford one and I’ve always been satisfied out of the performance I’ve seen out of my personally owned one and ones owned by other individuals and departments.
Shotguns. Years ago I was an 870 guy all the way. But the last six years I’ve seen several of them not feeding as they should. Older ones and newer ones. I still rate them as having less failures than the Mossbergs I’ve been issued and have seen in the armories of two different departments. Short version. I’ve just basically tended not to trust pump shotguns that much anymore.
On the SBR upper. I’ll admit I actually own a 10.5 But I don’t think it’s fair to recommend that when I know that an 11.5 will cause less wear on a suppressor. I’ve used multiple 11.5 guns from STAG, Bravo, etc and it’s hard for me to tag onto one. I went with the M4 2000 due to my being impressed with it’s sound quality and durability. I must admit. I would not argue against a direct thread on can. I do think the thread on’s cause less loss of accuracy. But since it’s an SBR I was considering closer in work.
I don’t believe handguns are effective for anything except last stands.
AR-15 16" lightweight profile barrel, DD Omega 9.0, white light, collapsible stock, flat top, Aimpoint M4 or a ACOG TA33, tango down grip, 5 30 mags and 2 20 rounders.
It’s not what I’d pick for myself. It would be suitable to a greater number of people though. Colt doesn’t make the exact model I have in mind and I’ve never purchased a complete AR-15 so.
and 3. Don’t feel comfortable answering. Handguns are fairly individual for ergonomics.
SR-25 with a 3.5-15 scope, Bi-Pid
DMR is not long range. I would pick something in .338 for true long range. Sako TRG-42 -.-
FN SLP (Winchester SX3) w/ Aimpoint
Defensive shotgun isnt the same as utility shotgun. You dont pick a bolt action rifle for self defense, why pick a pump shotgun?
Not qualified to comment on suppressor models/brands.
Colt 6920, Entry level price compared to other name brands…very good quality for your money…and it is the standard which all others are held to.
Glock 17, World Famous Pistol proven for it’s reliability and durability…Cheap and readily available parts…low maintenance
Glock 19, all the above plus a good all around size for conceal carry
Can’t comment due to lack of experience
Remington 870 Police/Wingmaster, Simple operation…more QC as oppose to the express line…tons of accessories…pump shotgun standard. Also a Mossberg 590 if safety and action lock lever location for Remington is not your cup of tea
Can’t comment due to no real experience with any other brands besides AAC and Surefire. Also the SBR would be more of an opinion on Form rather than Function
Defensive Carbine Colt 6920 or equivalent. No I don’t mean Bushmaster, Delton, Spike’s or other trash. They are fairly simple to use and operate with some training. Parts are plentiful and the 5.56 round can be found anywhere in the U.S. It’s also effective despite what the Xbox commandos think.
Defensive Handgun Glock 17. The Glock pistols are true workhorses and require very little maintenance. Simple to operate with minimum levers, switches, or doodads. The armorer course is 8 hours. That pretty much sums it up.
Conceal Carry Handgun Glock 19 See Above.
Long Range (DMR) Rifle No comment.
Defensive Shotgun Remington 870. It’s a mainstay shotgun and is for the most part simple to operate. Parts can be found and it’s fairly simple to work with.
Special Application Carbine (SBR / Suppressor combo) This one is tough. I really like my current set up. So I would say a quality 11.5" upper with a Surefire Mini or the AAC Mini 4. You still get sound reduction and keep the overall package short.
I’m not going to get into accessories, sights, lights, etc…that will just blow this thing out. Of course without training on any of the above you might as well just get a baseball bat.
And in all fairness, with the exception of the people who have been banned on TOS, nearly everyone here has an account there as well. But fortunately the reverse isn’t true!
Presumably from the title he’s making fun of the poor signal to noise ratio on other forum. I get a kick out of that because while TOS can be quite juvenile, if you do business with a lot of people on various sites, and pay close attention to the gun pic threads, you will notice they are generally the same people on most of the prominent forums. In particular 10-8, here and on TOS.
Sorry for derailing the post, lets get back to guns.
Nothing too exciting. I think most people will be on the same page
Colt 6920
Glock 17
Glock 19 or Glock 26
Remington 700
Remington 887 NITRO
Colt 6933 + Gemtech G5
Nothing too budget breaking. Easy access to training resources. Easy to get officers up to speed. Spare parts o’plenty.
Another thing to note, is given the size and reputation of the mentioned companies, it lowers the chances of me having to deal with their budget and supply chain woes
I started a thread years ago on ubiquitous firearms. That to me is a large part of the selection process from a compatibility and spare parts standpoint.
I’m with those that don’t understand the point of the thread through. Of course you’ll have some intentionally anachronistic or people simply nominating their own bad choices, but otherwise I expect the list(s) will be largely the same.
ETA:
To that end, allow me to simply suggest what I have already bought for myself (or would/will)
Defensive Carbine - Colt 6520 flattop conversion
Defensive Handgun - Glock 19
Conceal Carry Handgun - Glock 26
Long Range (DMR) Rifle - no use (Whinchester model 70 if pressed, “practical rifle” is way more useful than some DMR fantasy)
Defensive Shotgun - 870
Special Application Carbine (SBR / Suppressor combo) - Colt 6933 Ops 15th (or 12th, or 21st, or whatever I have no idea what model it is)
