Bolt action 308
Ar 15 223
Bolt action 22-250
Bolt action cz 22
870 shot gun,(hopefully an old special purpose)
Ruger single six
1911 45
DA 357 revolver
9mm carry gun

Just for comparison I have my all the guns my Great Uncle ever had
Remington 22 pump
Riverside 12 gauge shotgun
Winchester 351 self loading

Marlin 855 22 mag
Ruger mkii 25-06
Tikka t3x 7mm mag
Browning maxxus
Ruger Blackhawk 357
Sig 226
Aero precision 223 wyld ar faxon 20" barrel

Who said your core guns can't be expensive?

Browning maxxus is a spendy weapon. Ruger m77 mkii isn't cheap either.

I have a pile of gun cores laying out in the yard. Nothing but rusted steel now. Lost everything in a fire 2 years ago. Many very nice and expensive guns, only good for scrap metal now.

you can have as many as you want and this isn't about having a set number or minimum number or anything.

so something like a fire happens and you have lost all your guns , this is totally hypothetical just a fresh start

insurance check comes and like all insurance checks never what it needs to really be what are you replacing first?

based on most used and handiest not necessarily collection , collectable ect. no rules about is it still made ect.. you want to get back to shooting what you like at the game you want to chase , we can pretend your life isn't completely up-ended by the fire and it will take years to get back to normal, we are pretending , the house was just replaced presto.


since I am thinking all new
I guess first thing would be pick up a new carry gun probably a G19MOS gen5
then a 10/22 with an lpvo
then a short shotgun 20 inch barrel 12 ga
a dispatch pistol , probably another wrangler they are really handy to have a couple of for trapping don't feel bad if it gets dropped.
build out an AR good components good lpvo
a bolt action 308 with a decent scope.

that's 6 there would be game/competition specific guns later and a spare or two but that would be the core of getting me back to the things I want to do and enjoy.

what order exactly would depend on what season was coming although bird , trapping and deer sure run very close to each other in dates.

what would be your core , it doesn't have to be what you have today , just if you were starting over what would you choose as the core.

Since this did just happen to me, but no, insurance did not cover any of it, long story.

The first thing I bought was a 12 gauge shotgun and a 7 mag. Then I replaced my marlin 855 with another marlin 855. That gun has served me well since I was a young kid, and I wanted that gun back. Next was 357 revolver 7" barrel. It's nice to have a rifle on your hip and that fits the bill far better than any auto loader.
Luckily I still have my ar and two carry pistols because I had them with me when the fire happened.