Can anyone make any recommendations for me? I've been reading online but the amount of information is insane.
Here's my situation:
I prefer to NOT own a gun: I really do NOT want one. But with the way the world is going I'd like to have something to defend my home/family if all of a sudden the economy came to a screeching halt (enough so that overnight US dollars became fancy toilet paper.)
I've read online of all the guns that are available and it seems to me my preference would swing towards a single shot rifle. The attributes that appeal to me are increased chances of reliability/durability, easy to clean, light weight (I don't care about this but if gasoline becomes hard to obtain I will probably change my mind), and for whatever reasons some owners seem to think they are more accurate - although I'm not sure why that would be.
Am I on the right track? If I am, what ammo would you recommend? I want something that when shot will not injury anyone who may be behind them. I've heard the terminology "bird shot" ... but I don't know if that is restricted to a specific caliber, etc. For that matter I'd ideally like to use the same ammo for home defense as for shooting squirrels/raccoons/maybe even deer for food.
As for why I don't think I'd like owning a gun - I'm not a fan of loud noise, especially the kind that can cause long term hearing damage.
I live in Illinois where silencers and suppressors are illegal - which if they weren't - would probably make me less hesitant in buying a gun.
i'm kind of glossing over your post and i'm not a gun expert, but if you really wanted something for a third-world scenario, or however you want to phrase that, then you'd be looking at something in the most commonly available calibers. so, 9mm or 40s&w. as far as handguns go, anyway.
i have relatively large hands and my sig p226 fits my hand perfectly. it's kind of ridiculous, actually; sometimes i pick it up just so i can say to myself "why the hell does this fit my hand perfectly, what the f-"
reading further, all guns will cause hearing damage -- that nonsense you see in the movies where someone fires a handgun next to someone else's ear and doesn't flinch is an outright lie, and a dangerous one at that. even in completely open area with optimal atmospheric conditions, or whatever, you will immediately regret firing a handgun without hearing protection. i actually own a suppressor (osprey 9) and even without hearing protection that is still not really something you want to fire without it, ideally. also, it introduces an additional point of failure in your "weapons system," and that thing gets hot as hell after even only a few rounds. do not touch a suppressor without some kind of glove, or whatever; you will regret it.
if you're digging really deep as far as hearing protection goes, get some of those "active" military-style hearing protection implements, however costly they may be.
22lr is good to have around too, since that's another common cartridge. depending on how far you're looking to go, there are all sorts of things to watch out for, i guess. personally i'm fine and mostly indifferent to the insanity of the outside world just having a 9mm sig p226 and a few boxes of ammunition, though. but that's just me, by myself; i can understand this may look different if you're in a family situation, but don't tread too far into the forbidden realm of paranoia.
