Hi Guys...

This is primarily a firearms website.  And being a sub-forum of said website, its understandable that most posters here are "gun people".  Gun people like guns.  I'd bet most of us have a bunch of them...  And being the sort of gun cranks we are, I suspect most of us have a fair number of "not-cheap" firearms.   You know what I speak of:  Safe's full of various shotguns, handguns and rifles, many of which cost more than they should...

Earlier today the dog was going nuts, for the 13th time that hour, because a squirrel was in the feeder.  Fed up with marauding tree rats, I grabbed the little H&R 20 ga youth shotgun, the old break barrel type, dropped a shell in, and dispatched the squirrel.  And it occurred to me:  Of all the firearms I own, of all the truly obscene amounts of cash I'm spent on guns (SHHhhhhh!!!  don't tell Mrs Frozenny!), this cheap, used, $100 kids shotgun gets more use than anything I've got....

I guess this is pretty much the concept of the old "barn gun".  Some cheap but reliable beater firearm, stashed where it would be handy and quick to get into action, but not something with a ton of money invested.  Stuck where its quick to hand, but suffering the dings and scratches and assorted wear that such storage and use dictates.  I'm sure that there are lots of firearms that fit the bill, from cheap .22's to various shotguns.  I'm really quite fond of this break barrel.  No, I do NOT want to repel hordes of zombies with this thing.  However, I can store it completely unloaded yet get it into action incredibly fast (which is a bonus when said tree rat is blazing across the back yard with the dog chasing).

On that theme, there have been many, many times when I would have liked to use something like my AR.  Unfortunately, it was not at hand.  And I do not want to leave a $1000 firearm in a seasonal hunt camp, where it may 'disappear'.  However, in all honesty, the cheap, slightly rusty old shotgun standing in the corner 'got it done".  It was a case of "the best tool for the job was the tool currently in your hands"...

There are other variations.  At hunt camp there is a cheap Mossberg semi .22 that stands in the corner.  At the old island cottage the family had, it was a bolt action Cooey .22 that hung over the door.   At the inlaws farm, a Remington 77 .22 hung from a nail in the rafters in the back room.  And at my grandfathers place there was a battered bolt action Mossberg 12 gauge...  I'm sure there are a hundred different variations on the "camp gun/barn gun" theme..

Its occurred to me that despite the many high dollar, sophisticated firearms, the lowly cheap single shotgun or old.22 just may be the unsung hero, that one firearm that actually gets used more than any other.

It's often easy to be seduced by the siren song of yet another high dollar rifle (a Barrett Fieldcraft is currently calling my name).  But don't overlook that rack full of ugly, yet completely functional 'beaters' resting in the corner of the pawn shop.  There's something to be said for the cheap utilitarian tool.

Fro

I have a single shot 410 for a loaner to the workers for snakes and it lives in the barn.
A 410 with bird shot in it is all I trust them with incase they get drunk and turn on me.
I have a cheap pump by the back door as my coop gun. Loaded with 2 #6 that will kill a ringtail and not puncture the wall.
That's followed by buck in case it's a bear and not a cat.
I put up my 1911s and started carrying a Glock.
I love cheap disposable guns that work.

Mine is a .410 Winchester model 37A which I picked up 40 years ago for the princely sum of $40.
When I bought it, it didn't have a working ejector, since I wasn't comfortable opening the breech and blowing out the empty from the muzzle that was the first thing I fixed, next was the piece that holds the forehead on, quick weld and that was fixed.
The first time out it took seven rabbits with six shots.  Now with #4 3" cartridges, squirrels aren't safe within 40 yards.  I still love this old basically worthless shotgun.

All I have is cheap, reliable guns.

I'll go be poor someplace else I guess.

The wife recently inherited a 5mm rimfire rolling block that has killed hundreds if not thousands of squirrels, rabbits, birds, pigs, dogs, cats you name it.

My dad picked up  single shot 22 Rossi for the garage. Kept shooting black snakes that came in the garage.

Cheapest gun is....this one. $138 invested, works perfectly. Yes, it gets used a lot.

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A single shot 12 or 410 is supper versatile and if something happened to it no tears over it.  Simple and will handle 99% of the problems with the right ammo choice.  Just have a butt stock ammo holder on it

2 shotguns I inherited from grandpa fit the bill:  a Stevens single shot 16 gauge and a Sears 20 gauge bolt action.

"Barn guns" like this are worth next-to-nothing used.  And I agree with OP: they can be very useful!

I always referred to them as “utility guns” and yes, I love them!

Need a few more cheap single shots myself...

I also have a few single action break 20G...

My Rossi 20G is my go to bed side option, which mostly consists of taking out a racoon by the chicken coop.

I keep several 20G spares in my safe as well, along with a few ammo cans filled to the top with "utility loads."

I like the break barrel shotguns for teaching children how to use firearms safely, and have given each of my children one once they were old enough to understand the responsibility that comes with a firearm.

They are extremely easy to verify that they are not loaded, and the one shot teaches patience and to be sure of the shot.  While I really like 22 LR, the truth is that the little 22 will travel a lot further than #6 or 71/2 shot, and I believe the shotgun to be the safer choice for a child.

I don't care about cost, I buy guns to shoot and use them. Fancy or not they should expect to have worn bluing, dings in the wood stock and possibly even cosmetic damage to the metal.

I recently came into a good deal on 22mag rimfire ammo.  I put the word out, I could use some 22mag firearms.

I concur what you use most is what you know.  I use my 12 gauge for trash varmints.  Think about ar for other stuff, but 12 gauge is what I tend to have in hand going out the door.

My barn gun is a savage 410 bolt action with a 3 round mag. Traded into it ages ago and it has taken everything that's been shot on my property except 2 dogs taken with a 9mm and 380 respectively. The little 410 get shot the most. I will never part with it!

Since I've posted this originally not all that long ago, the worn looking compact 'kids version" 20 gauge New England Partner with the slight flash rust (thought it was an H&R!) has taken five big gray squirrels and four loudmouthed little red tree rats.  And I have had the opportunity to take deer on two occasions (definitely NOT doing that, but thinking in terms of SHTF application), as well as a dozen or so doves (again, opportunity didn't take the doves.  No season).  The $8.99 elastic shotshell holder on the buttstock, with 3 x #7.5 promo shells and 2x 3 buck is definitely very handy....

Seriously, despite the truly obscene amount of money tied up in everything from high end wildcat hunting rifles with nice scopes through to tactical rifles and everything in between, these old beater barn guns really get a workout.  I really do think this thing is actually in my hands, taking care of a problem, on a daily basis....

I understand you have many more than this one gun.  But this is somewhat where the concept of a man with one gun knows how to use it comes into play.

So very true. The little 410 is the only long gun my wife shoots often...and she is a beast with it. Saw her take a fox at a paced 40 yards. Bead sight at dawn with 000. It didnt even twitch. DRT. She has many critters with it.

These days the rifle I use (I said use...not shoot) the most is the PSA 10.5" AR pistol that I paid $269 plus a virgin receiver and iron sight.
I keep it loaded with 20 rounds of Speer 64gr Gold Dot plus 2 spare 30 round mags with M193.
This gun and spare mags sits in my truck all the time in a duffle bag and it's the gun I pull out when I need to shoot something.

I'm thinking a cheap .410 could be a good addition. Any suggestions on brand/model?

H&R, NEF, Rossi, etc. I'm looking a Mossberg Shockwave with a brace for my wife's new farm gun. The Savage we have now has what feels like a 6' barrel haha.
A little single shot .410 can be had for right at $100. Personally, I don't even bother with anything other than 2.5" 000 and bird shot. You CAN take something like deer with slugs - power wise, think of it as a .40S&W at subsonic loads - but it would have to be extremely close range shots.
The 000 shells have proven deadly on absolutely everything up to about 60lbs that I've had to shoot. Oh and a 300lbs pig, but it was point blank and head shot.

Another vote for a. 410
Picked up a Mossberg 183 bolt action for $0.
I just had to help a neighbor cleaning up after a flood.
I wasn't expecting anything, but he insisted I take it.
Cleaned it up,  and it now sits in the skinning/brooder house.

I have been looking at the Chiappa 9 MM rimfire to go along with it.

So very true.  If I had to settle on only one long gun, and one pistol to take with me, never to return home it may very well be one of my single shots with various accessories.

If I was limited to just a single long gun I am not sure what it would be.

I just got done with this one and its already earning its keep around the farm.
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I have three barn/shop guns:

Colt HBAR on my tractor as my tractor gun
Marlin .44 mag lever action 1894 as my RTV gun
Ruger 10-22 with a very old 4x scope; stays in the shop

Tractor gun:



RTV gun



Shop gun (temporarily on my tractor):

Snagged another New England 12 ga break open for $90. Has some surface rust and the stock is a little rough, but they are getting tough to find! I’ll chop the barrel down to about 19 inches and install a FO front bead.

One of the funniest things I have seen involved a barn shotgun.  We had a fire call at a farm in the barn nothing major but it did have great potential for a huge fire.   We were cleaning up and a new deputy shows up to see what's going on.  As he is leaving he looks up and sees a shotgun white washed hanging over the door.  He stops and starts reaching for his side arm.  He goes theres a gun! farmer looks up and say Yep.  Why goes the deputy?  Rats was the answer.  That was all that was said.   A little latter an older deputy had to explain to the young one that guns are common in the country and you do not need to worry about them.   It took the younger deputy a couple of years not to have a reaction when he saw a Barn gun.
Running on rural Fire dept and ems there were a lot of Barn guns around.