There are no dumb questions, but there are dumb answers. In the spirit of celebrating Male Answer Syndrome, I offer the following in the hope it's not considered dumb. <br><br>Many emergency situations actually preclude the use of firearms, and as such they become yet another valuable and potentially dangerous item left behind. Consider storing your firearm in a pushbutton combination lock safe, and recording the serial number for insurance and other records. <br><br>All that said, I would not consider a self-loading rifle to be an optimum choice for an emergency firearm. As mentioned before by others, rifle ammunition is just too dangerous to use for defense in dense living environments. Also, practice with a bolt action rifle is very necessary before mastering a semi-auto. <br><br>I also personally would not choose a shotgun, as shot patterns become wider over distance and this increases the chances of your hitting things you are not aiming at. People who prefer shotguns try to get around this by loading birdshot in a home defense shotgun. However, birdshot may not incapacitate a potential attacker.<br><br>Hence I recommend a handgun for home and camp/trail defense. If you choose a revolver, you're pretty much limited to types that chamber .38 Special+P, .357Magnum, or .44 Special caliber ammunition, and to 5" or shorter barrel lengths. The previously mentioned Ruger SP101 is anexcellent choice. <br><br>For a self-loading handgun, your choices are limited to 9mm Luger, .357 Sig, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP. Virtually all pistols in this class have barrel lengths of between 3" and 4", and that's just fine. The Sigarms P239 is an excellent choice, available in the first three calibers mentioned above.<br><br>I some longterm outdoor scenarios, I can see the need for a rifle, in which case a bolt action or lever action model will do fine. To save on logistics, consider a .357 magnum revolver paired with a lever action rifle in the same caliber, such as the Marlin 1894 Carbine. <br><br>If weight is a factor, a longer barreled revolver in .45 Long Colt can be used for defense against bears and hostile people in the field as well as for hunting, but makes a poor choice for home defense. Modern .45 LC loads are essentially magnum cartridges. The .44 Magnum also falls in this category. <br><br>Above all, learn not only how to handle a gun safely, but to shoot accurately. <br><br>Hope this helps.