You Have To Do It All Not Just Firearms
Those that believe that stockpiling weapons and ammunition is the only preparations they need may very well become a burden to others once a disaster does strike. People will spend thousands of dollars on firearms and then begin to cut corners on water and food storage. Medical supplies become less of a priority and other common sense preparations take a backseat. Those that prepare this way are not prepared at all.
This is not to say that you should not focus on firearms but defense is only a part of your preparedness posture. Too much focus on one area may mean you are negligent in other areas.
Of course, you need firearms for home defense, but the reality is you cannot repel a well-armed group of marauders, or an invading army regardless of the number of firearms you have. The only way you can reasonably expect to win a firefight of this nature is if you are leading a well-armed group of trained shooters yourself, anything short of this and you are in trouble.
The typical family or even Prepper group would not have the training or personnel to maintain a sustained fight. Therefore, instead of building an arsenal develop a plan for avoiding such encounters.
Keep in mind it will probably be only you, your spouse/partner, your children and maybe some extended family members in the short term. The need for food, energy, water, medical care and a safe shelter will be your priorities in the beginning.
Even those intent on using their weapons to take what you have will be contending with the crisis themselves in the beginning. Those that focused only on firearms will be short of food, water and other supplies and many will perish quickly because of their negligence in their preparations.
Once the extent of the crisis is known is when you and others in the community could come together and collectively develop a security plan. You would likely have to band together with others to provide security to the community as a whole instead of trying to defend each individual home or structure. In years past families came inside forts from outlying homes for security. Those cut off from the fort often times failed to survive during a crisis.
Each person in the family should have a firearm assigned to them if they are old enough and have had the proper training. You should have ample ammunition, and have carefully selected the home defense firearms that suit your needs and training. Beyond this, you are probably spending money that could be well spent elsewhere for your preparations.
You need firearms to run off opportunists, desperate and violent neighbors, and common looters and for hunting and to defend yourself against displaced wildlife. However, you cannot go into a disaster planning to fight off large groups of individuals, this is just not reasonable or practical thinking. Your home would be burned down with you in it, or you would simply be overwhelmed with superior firepower if it ever came to that.
You have to be well informed about what is happening in your area before it happens to you and your family. Part of your preparations would have to include a way of gathering intelligence once disaster does strike. Knowing ahead of time that gangs are armed and invading homes will give you choices as to how to deal with it.
If it can be predicated, then you can prepare for it, in other words, some of the suffering that accompanies a disaster can be prevented. Know what is coming so you can plan for it.
Striking a Balance
You want to be able to provide first aid to your family yourself and possibly others, for example, but you would not likely become a doctor to do so. You strike a balance then, you learn what you can, you learn the important things about rendering first aid and you move on.
You want to protect your family and like rendering first aid, you need to strike a balance when it comes to firearms. What are you really planning to do with your guns? Think long and hard about this one, because what looks good on paper is never the same in reality.
Even during a crisis, you will be responsible for every round that leaves the muzzle of your weapon. The crisis will end unless it is a nation-ending crisis and all can, and will be called to account for their actions during the crisis.
The courts are still sorting out some of the shootings during hurricane Katrina all these years later, many were justified shootings but everyone must have their day in court regardless.