My first gun was an AR15 my uncle and I assembled from on a SGW stop-sign lower with a gun-show A1 poly-bag parts kit. That was 1984, and I was 10 years old. Since then my collection and grown and then contracted many many times. I've owned outright JUNK and guns too pretty to touch without gloves on. Now I'm content having a pretty small battery of trusted guns with a couple of "range toys" thrown in. The range toys never stick around long, but I do enjoy trading them out for something different to experience.

People often ask me what they "need" in their "gun battery". I don't offer blanket statements often, but unless I know the person well I say this: A person who is concerned enough to ask about a "gun battery" not just a self defense or hunting gun should have the following:

1) Marlin 795 Stainless or Ruger 10/22 Stainless with Tech Sights

1) CZ452 or Marlin 880/881/980/981 22LR Bolt Action with a Leupold 3-9x40mm scope

1) Ruger Mk3 6" Stainless Model

1) Ultra Small CCW Handgun in 38Spl or 380Acp (I usually recommend a S&W 642 Airweight or Ruger LCP)

1) Glock 19 with Night Sights

1) 5.56x45mm Carbine (I usually recommend one of the following: Arsenal SLR-106FR, Colt 6520 or BCM MidLength Lightweight).

1) 7.62x51mm Rifle (I recommend an 18" or 21" barreled FAL from ARS, DSA, FN, or Springfield Armory with DSA being the least favorable due to not offering chrome lined bores). I recommend adding a DSA Extreme Duty scope mount even if they don't want to (currently) scope the rifle. It allows for the mounting of Leupold's excellent VX3 1.75-6 scope for medium range shooting and hunting.

1) Remington 870 Police (these have no MIM parts, metal trigger groups and are finished to higher standards than the Express line but still feature "durable" parkerized finishes) with two barrels: 18" IC Fixed Choke with Rifle Sights and a Special Purpose Model 26" Vent-Rib with (removable) Rem-Chokes and Bead Sight. A Wingmaster with an add-on 20" IC Rifle Sighted barrel is also an option, but the high polished blue finish and wood stock are more maintenance than parkerization and synthetic.

There really isn't anything a normal person in North America couldn't do with this battery of guns.

There are a few "special add-ons" depending on the person's location or interests. Some specialized hunting requires more specialized tools, and some locations require different defensive guns. For example, if I lived in Alaska I'd have a S&W 629-3 with a 6" barrel and a Winchester 70 Extreme Weather in 300 Win Mag with a Leupold VX3 scope on the list.

Most of this lists I read include a "long range bolt action". The fact is, most people cannot out-shoot their Ruger 10/22 let alone a 30 caliber centerfire with wind correction, etc. Its just another case of people vomiting up what they've read and think they need while sitting comfortably in Fort Living Room. The fact is, most people cannot out-shoot a FAL, G3 or M14...so why not go semi-auto.

ETA: let the bickering begin.