I’l give it a go:
Ruger Security 9 (maybe two)
Ruger PC9 Shares ammo and magazines with the pistol.
M1A or Mini 14 in ,308
I’ve never owned a shotgun, haven’t fired on since I was a kid. Nothing against AR’s, either. If I did go with an AR, it might be the AR10 in 7.62mm, but I actually don’t know much about them from experience.
When I was looking for a shotgun to use in the worst conditions, I bought two 870 Express Super mags. I had heard stories that the new Remingtons were not as durable as the older ones. The plan was to swap between them as issues occured, well the second one is still NIB. All the things that were supposed to happen like the stock wood swelling and splitting, the ejector breaking, and 3 1/2 steel shot loads putting a ring in the barrel never occurred. Sand, mud, dirt… as long as the barrel is not obstructed the pump will work.
I have had similar good luck with Mossbergs. For me the top mounted safety on the Mossberg is more natural after decades of shooting side by sides. The trigger guard safety on the Remington is just not as natural for me.
I put tens of thousands of rounds through my original 870 without ever a problem and I’ve never seen an 870 with a broken extractor.
There could have been some for sure but I never even heard of one.
All the failures I’ve seen with 870’s had to do with the very worst kinds of abuse and neglect.
The only Moberg’s I ever handled were while in the service and even knew they had the feel of worn out junk to me.
Could that simply be to an inherent bias because I grew up with 870’s? Well, I’m still shooting my dad’s original steel butt plate 870 which is a first year of production 870.
While to some it might seem a small thing but I really hate the placement and working of the Moberg safety.
I’m with @Greg1 on the safety placement. I once asked about why even a new Mossberg feels so loose, and the answer I got made sense. It was designed like that. It is loose, so if dirt, or in the 590’s case, sand gets in it, it will still work. And the old Remingtons were great guns. Especially the old Wingmasters. The newer Remington anything(Remington, Marlin, etc) aren’t as refined. They’ve improved the last year or two, though.
My issue with the top safety is that it is way to easy to accidentally release the safety in the event you trip/fall etc or even when fighting your way through heavy foliage, or worse in the event you are fighting for it instead of fighting with it.
AR10 .308/7.62x51 with 25rd mags
RIA VR80 semiautomatic shotgun, current setup alternates 00-buck and slugs 9 and 19rd mags
Glock 34 (since I hear good things about them plus I have 33rd mags for it)
2 more I’ll add.
My pocket sized NAA Mini revolver .22 wmr
Kel-Tec sub 2000 with glock 33rd mags
@Orpackrat you’ve reminded us all of one of the most critical essential for civil unrest and mandatory first line of defense………snickers bars!!! People just aren’t themselves when they’re hungry…
Snickers bar is a traditional everytime I buy a new gun…
Gets rid of the Hangry so I can clearly remember what kind of accessories I need to buy as well…
Why do you say pump over a semi-auto shotgun, @Greg1? (I’m learning about long guns and am looking for different opinions)
Reliability…
more reliable than a SA and hold more shells than his choice.
Hi @Dawn as @WildRose mentioned the reliability of a pump is the big factor. Semi-auto guns can be fussy about light loads not cycling. You can hold the action open and insert a shell by hand with a pump. With some practice a person with a pump can shoot as fast as a lot of semi-autos. The older model '97’s can slam fire and you can’t hear the individual shots when you really want to put some lead down range fast. A pump will usually be lighter than a semi-auto. If cost is a factor the pump is going to be priced less than the semi-auto as well.
In the author’s scenario, he did say that the mob “crossed your property line,” so I’m not going to need a sniper rifle, like his high-recoil .308, and I would choose my proven Mossberg over his over-priced M4 Benelli (more than three times the cost of my shotgun). I would be armed with my custom AK47, with a 30-round magazine and my very reliable 590A1 (with nearly twice the capacity of the Benelli) and its fixed M9 bayonet.
My wife and I are retired, so we would be meeting the mob together. She would have her AK-47 as well and we would also have our 9mm and .45 Glocks with high-capacity magazines.
A lot of us here think long term. If things go sideways in ways the author suggested it is likely we’re going to have to fend for ourselves for awhile, and by that I mean food, water and alternative sources of power. If things go bad that way then a rifle that pulls double duty is a welcome addition. Hence why my middle choice is an AR pistol, lets be honest though, it’s not much different than a short barrel rifle. The capacity and smaller frame make it an excellent short range option. I will let the ole “sniper rifle” pull range duty which will likely be limited to hunting.
^^^^ 
I think my 3 go-to’s would be my AR-15 for long range, My 12 gauge Mossberg Scorpion Tactical for close range, and lastly it would be a toss up between my S&W 1911 .45 or my Glock 22 .40. I’m tossed between the two handguns because either one would be a good choice for protecting the home front, and if ■■■■ REALLY goes sideways, the ammo for both is readily available as the local PD carries both .45 and .40 so I’d just have to make contact with a buddy who controls the armory to gain access.
I didn’t know we could do that… now I want to change my answer to Claymores and a nice pitcher of lemonade 
If it’s long-term civil unrest, there has to be a .22LR rifle or pistol in the mix. It’s usefulness in taking small game is unrivaled. Ammo is way lighter and more compact, so you can carry more of it, or carry the same # of rounds and take up less room and weight. And while it’s no “fight-stopper” like an AR or shotty, no one wants to get peppered by a bunch of .22 rounds.
Yep, and the .22lr ammo can be bought for next to nothing in bulk.
The problem with rimfires though is that reloading just isn’t an option so I lean more towards the centerfires.
Solid point though. The average guy can afford to pickup a 500rds brick or thousand round bucket monthly without ever doing any harm to the family budget. Keep it stored in a cool, dry place and it will last longer than you’ll be around and your grandkids will still be shooting it.
22LR is all well and good, but a .177 air rifle will drop the same small game, ammo is even smaller and more plentiful. It’s been a bit but I do believe a 500 count bottle of bbs was like $5. It also has the advantage of being quieter. Slingshots work too. I guess my point here is that we have plenty of options for hunting lol
Not a bad idea it it really needs to be one of the high velocity modern type air rifles.
I bought a Gamo 1330 (1330fps advertised) because the squirrels were getting more of our pecans than we were on our properties in town. On a good year I can collect upwards of 500-750.00 worth of pecans on those properties as long as I can keep ahead of the squirrels.
While it’ll do the job on squirrels fairly well to about 30 yards it’s just not quite there for cotton tails or other similar small game.
If I had to do it again I’d probably look for a .22 air rifle with high accuracy and velocity of 1,500fps.
The pellets while the same diameter are usually considerably lighter than .22lr or .177 rimfire rounds and as such bleed energy very quickly.
I’d rather have “too much gun” than “too little”.
