If I fell and hit my head sometime after 9/12/94 but before 9/12/04 and went into a coma and woke up today to find all my guns and family gone, knowing what I know now, I would choose one brand and one caliber. Two of the three guns minimum would use the same mags. I would probably choose 9mm because most anyone can shoot a 9. I would probably buy three G19's and a bag full of mags.
Mags are the weakness and what has and will be attacked again. You need to accumulate mags, holsters and spare parts. Standardization makes it easier, then you can branch out and buy more "stuff" to suit your style.
My nightstand gun is, like seedubs1, my gun that I carried that day.
My 3 would be:
Glock 34. 17 rounds of 9mm, only slightly longer than a Glock 17 but has a lighter slide and much better trigger. Can be carried since it is the same size as a full-size 1911 but at half the weight with twice the ammo. Also one of the most predominant competition pistols out there. All around, if I could only have 1 pistol it would be the G34.
Glock 42. A small and concealable pistol that is an absolute blast to shoot! Not a lot of bullets but it functions like it's full-size brothers and would make a great learning tool for a new shooter, a recoil sensitive shooter or a shooter looking to have a lot of fun! Easily the most fun gun I've ever shot.
Glock 19 would be my 3rd. Not perfect but as close to a 'perfect pistol' as you can get. 15 rounds of 9mm, big enough to shoot in any competition or self-defense/pistol training class but still concealable if you wear the right clothes/belt/holster. All larger Glock 9mm magazines will work in it along with any holster as well.
I don't leave a gun locked up in the car, for obvious reasons.
If I were to limit myself to only 3 handguns, I would probably choose 1 in .22 LR or WM, 1 in a 'defensive' caliber (9mm, .357 Sig, .40, .45? You choose), and 1 for hunting (.44 Mag., .454 Casull, .460 or .500 S&W, .50AE? Again, lots of options).
JMO, but see no reason to have 3 'similar' (i.e., 'self-defense') calibers. Pretty easy to take that EDC and carry it in the vehicle, or set it on the nightstand. Makes more sense to me to have 3 disparate calibers for different uses: small game / plinking, self-defense / plinking, larger game / plinking.
If I fell and hit my head sometime after 9/12/94 but before 9/12/04 and went into a coma and woke up today to find all my guns and family gone, knowing what I know now, I would choose one brand and one caliber. Two of the three guns minimum would use the same mags. I would probably choose 9mm because most anyone can shoot a 9. I would probably buy three G19's and a bag full of mags.
Mags are the weakness and what has and will be attacked again. You need to accumulate mags, holsters and spare parts. Standardization makes it easier, then you can branch out and buy more "stuff" to suit your style.