I'd rather bring the .22 and the shotgun. .22 for feeding myself carrying lots of ammo, and the shotgun for anti-socials. Slugs in your shotgun have all the range and way more power than your pistol caliber carbine.

 

Me thinks a .40 handgun would be in order.

I dont like Mossberg shotguns, they tend to rattle, Ive always used an 870 Remmy, just personal choice

 

I've actually read that the rattling in a Mossberg is due to more space in the components to make it harder to jam, or something along those lines. Anyway, i'm looking at the Mossberg for the same reason I have my Cx4 instead of a 96 (lack of pistol permit aside): I'm a fairly small guy. I'm in my twenties, fairly tall and about 140 lbs, so I can't handle kick very well. I'm quite good with both rifles, but I know from firing a 12 at the range that I wouldn't feel confident making several, fairly precise shots in rapid succession with a 12, hence the 20 gauge.

 

I would not trust the Beretta as a survival item if I had other choices. The .22 is your first and best choice.

If you plan on adding something keep in mind that you will be limited by the ammo you can carry and what it can do.

The .22 is to harvest meat. Not defense and not for anything else.

If you planned on carrying 2 long guns then your logic is going to different than most others. Not wrong at all, just different.

The Mossberg (590a1 if you can swing it) can be formed into a very formidable gun for your needs. Issue will be that based upon your frame and the fact that you want to carry 2 guns then you may only have room for a few rounds for the shotgun.

 

Absolutely true! Both the 12 and the 20 will do the job up close!


. . as for the unavailability of training. Obviously I have no idea where you are, so I can't really recommend appropriately.

However

Try and find - if you don't know the location of already - a police firearms training facility. It may surprise you to know that many of them do in fact offer some programs to the public. *Most especially* if they have a partnership with a local community college.

. . worth checking into anyway.

Through the local police academy here I have done several basic to advanced pistol programs, (shotgun) "home defense", and even a tactical carbine class.

. . getting in the door and letting them see you are a serious student of this form of martial arts is key to accessing the more advanced programs. A year ago, I was a . . pariah. Now I'm invited regularly to train with State and local LEOs.

 

+1 for the Mossy 500, we own three. I would also recommend an intermediate caliber semi-auto or lever action rifle. That way, in a SHTF scenario, you don't have to wait for the aggressor(s) to get too close before you can fire on them relatively accurately.

Also a large capacity handgun is a good thing to have as a backup. My personal is a Taurus PT92 with a couple 17 round mags.

 

If you were running 3 inch slugs it would be a pretty snappy kick in a 12 ga,I use 2 and 3/4 shells,they are easier on the shoulder.

 

There is also very few things, and I mean like 2-3 reasons, why you would choose slugs over 00 buck.

For the most part buck is going to be your friend much more than a slug against a variety of targets.

If you really want to bridge the gap and if your targets are going to be within 40 yards then you can cover just about everything with T shot.

The shotgun is going to be heavy, the ammo is going to be heavy and your options with it, although there are a lot available, will most likely be narrow in a true SHTF situation.

 

You have a pretty good setup already. The downside is that all of them are pretty close range guns. If your terrain is such that you won't need to make longer shots, I'd say you're pretty set, other than a little training would come in handy. If you need longer shots for defense, you might look into an SKS, AK, or if you have the money, perhaps an AR-15. There is no gentler kicking gun that uses a rifle cartridge than an AR-15.

 

The only drawback to the shotty is the weight of any decent amount of ammunition,way too heavy to lug around more than say - 50 rounds plus water and food.Ok so you can actually carry 200 rounds,imagine the same weight in 5.56 ammunition ?.

 

The biggest down fall I see with your game plan is like mentioned earlier...these are all fairly short range weapons as far as true effective range goes. I mean sure with a 22 rifle you can probably lob a bullet on target at 150 yards, but will it have enough gas in the tank once it gets there. The same can be said for the CX4. Now if its doubtful you will ever be shooting beyond 75 yards then you might have a workable system of fire arms then.

As for shotguns...they are awsome weapons. But from a survival stand point, I see them as a jack of all trades and master at very few. For pass shooting or confronting things that go bump in the night, I cant think of a lot of other fire arms I would much rather have. The ammo us extremely bulky and pretty heavy per a round.

If it were me, I would ditch the CX4 and get a pistol in the same caliber so I could still use the ammo you have stashed away. I would also put the Shotgun on the back burner and instead get a lever action 30-30 or SKS from the local pawnshop. Combine that with your 22 rifle and you got a lot of bases covered!

Just my Buck '0 Five....

 

I think you've got a better idea of your needs than anyone else. Everyone's situation is different. For me, I'm up to my eyes in deer, elk, and big horns. Not to mention cattle, horses, sheep. I wouldn't shoot any of them with a 22 unless I had nothing better. It will kill them eventually, but they may suffer greatly in the process. If I had to resort to prairie dogs, the 22 would win.

Also another +1 for Mossberg. Pick what appeals to you, but I will say don't be afraid of the 12ga. You don't need "professional" training. 200 rounds and you'll have worked it out. No more sore shoulder. It will come naturally if you put the time in.

 

I am roughly the same body build as you, 6'1 140 lbs and the first time i fired a shotgun it pushed me back a few steps (although it was my years ago.) Then i got pointers from buddys on stance and what i was doing wrong etc. They are nowhere near professional but a lot more seasoned then me. After all of these years firing friends 500's i bought one of my own, and having a buttpad to take some recoil away and using proper stance etc, the recoil felt like went away with practice and i was more comfortable shooting it.

I say go for the 12 ga, and make sure you grab one with a shorter barrel, i impulse bought a nib 500 just because it was really cheap and a 28" is great to shoot outside, but its really odd and large inside the home. -Jon