TEOTWAWKI, gun pairing

         A friend of mine who has been preparing for the collapse recently had his eyes opened as to the need for self-defense. He asked me what I thought he ought to get started with. After going over his situation (married with two young kids, living in a small house near Detroit but with acess to an old relative's farm in Michigan's thumb) and thinking about what folks did in the days when money was dear, life was cheap and the ability to travel light was important I recomended that he get a .357cal. revolver and a lever action rifle in the same caliber.

         I can hear some of you saying "too much pistol, not enough rifle". To a point you are right, but my thoughts are this; he is looking to get started being able to defend himself and his family as easily and simple as possible, a heavy revolver will handle close-in work well and a lever-action in .357 will work out to 200 yards or so. Both have the advantage of using the same ammo and being able to use .38cal as well. For a beginner this could be important as he only needs to stock (and perhaps reload) one type of ammo. Both guns are as foolproof as is reasonably possible and are mechanically simple in the event of failure (very unlikely with modern firearms). Practice ammo is inexpensive and the full-power loads are tolerably priced. Neither gun can jam in the way a semi-auto can and the clearing drill is the same for both; reload and squeeze the trigger. Both have plenty of knock-down power ar closer ranges and are adequate fr taking game in the area he will be heading for.

         This is the best gun pair that I could come up with, I am sure there are others out there but for beginners this seemed the best; two simple guns, one type of ammo.