Hi Everyone,
I've been lurking for a few weeks, and have gotten some good info from the boards. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge. I thought I'd give it a whirl and post to introduce myself.

My husband & I live in southern California. We?re avid campers who (unfortunately) don?t get to go as much as we would like. I spend a decent amount of time on the ocean (kayaking & outrigger canoe paddling) and hiking in the foothills/mountains around the area. I made a point of learning the basics of using a map & compass, and recently completed an online Wilderness Survival course. We?re planning to do more backcountry camping & backpacking this fall/winter, and we?re looking forward to improving upon our skills. It?s very likely that I?m the only woman in Orange County with no plastic parts and no desire to hang out at the mall. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> (Well, unless there?s an REI at the mall).

We?re working on our emergency supplies, although we do have a ways to go. As apartment dwellers with a one-car garage, we are limited in space. (Kayaks and 2 tons of camping gear live in the garage.) So far, we have a decent sized Rubbermaid tote with food for the two of us (and our two cats), that would last us at least 7 days after everything else in the kitchen is gone, given a ?shelter in home? emergency. I have a full 5-gallon water jug in the garage (which, needs to be moved up into the apartment), 3 additional gallon bottles of water, and three 2-liter Platypus bottles that I keep in the freezer. [If you aren?t familiar with Platypus bottles, they are excellent! We freeze them and use them in our coolers for car camping ? and they will help keep the refrigerator/freezer cool in the event of an electricity loss. Then, afterwards, cold drinking water is ready and waiting.]

I'm betting that in any sort of "shelter in place" order, my husband & I are likely to be among the only people in a 5-10 square block area that even have any sort of plan at all, much less food/water supplies. But I'm CERTAIN that there are others in the area that are well armed.

QUESTION: What seems like a reasonable firearm choice in our situation? We are in a four-unit apartment building, facing the street. The neighbors that we know are decent people, but you never know what other people will do in a crisis. I?ve been hesitant to own a gun, although my brothers and father have had them for quite some time. A friend of my husband is getting a 9mm to keep at home in case the SHTF. He and his fianc? are going to the shooting range for lessons/practice. Would a 9mm be the way to go? Would a small caliber shotgun be better/safer? Reasons either way?

Thanks in advance for your advice!