Firearms are an important survival tool! A gun isn't always the right tool for the job, but when it is no other option is as good. Hopefully you have a bit of ammo salted away; it might be pretty hard to find defensive ammo in any of the most popular rounds (eg 9mm, 5.56, & 12 ga). I don't have very much reduced recoil stuff on hand, mostly just full-power 00 Buckshot.
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“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman