For years, my friends and I have sent what must be thousands of emails to each other about a single issue: If you were going to be displaced or circumstances were altered to a degree that you would have to rely on only three weapons, which do you choose? Ultimately, the parameters of the conversation were constrained to choosing one rifle, one pistol and one shotgun.

There’s never enough information to make a completely informed decision. For example, growing up in Hurricane Alley, my prefered kit might be a little different from someone who is imagining a Red Dawn or WWZ scenario. The conversation usually gets bogged down in variables like gear, ammo availability, duration of need, etc. Those variables are crucial, but impossible to fully anticipate. However, it’s always a fun debate to have.

Out of curiosity, I’d like to have this discussion with as many people as possible. Also, I’d like to analyze any comments to see what the prevailing trends are. If enough people comment, I’ll post the results.

So, here it is: Using whatever scenario you’d like (natural disaster, zombies, Red Dawn, post-apocalyptic chaos, deployment, etc.), tell what three guns you’d want to have as a rifle, shotgun and pistol. Again, there is no way to account for all the variables, so your choices may differ. Include a knife if you’re so inclined.

Here are my current choices, which I already use and am familiar with: I would have an AR (preferably a LaRue or Noveske) in a dissipator setup with a compact optic. This is my preference as it is lightweight and reliable. I’ve certainly never had substantial issues with any of mine. I prefer the rifle-length handguard of the dissipator as well. I’d probably go with .300blk, but would make do with 5.56.

For a shotgun, I have to go with my Benelli. I have an m2 with an extended mag and slug barrel. I love it. I’m usually torn between this and an 870, but for now, I’ll go semi-auto.

For a pistol, I confess, I’m a lifelong Sig nut. Fanboy doesn’t come close to describing my obsession with Sig.I would most likely go with a 229, possibly a 226. Ideally, they would have Innovative Arms suppressors.

Finally, I have come to love and respect the Gerber Prodigy. It has fewer bells and whistles than the LMF, but it’s very rugged and comfortable. I used mine when clearing some property of brush and trees and was very impressed with it. The blade has kept its egde much longer than I thought. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if it had the juice to cut down a tree. It does, even though by the end my hands were pretty beat up.

So, there are my choices. I’m confident these would be effective in almost any situation I’d be in.

What are your choices?