I'm looking for a good rifle


TexasGun

New member
This will be my first long gun. Not for any specific purpose just expanding my collection. I own to many pistols and a shotgun(Winchester W/ red dot).
Time for a rifle. I do not hunt but it must be able to. I' live in the city so I'd like a short barrel. Lets call it a all purpose defense gun. I've always wanted a Springfield socom 16, but need advice on accuracy issues with the 16" barrel? I relally like the Idea of a semi auto and was also looking at a Ruger mini 14 but think the .223 might be to small of a round. What do you guys think? M.
 

First of all, a rifle is deffinetly a bad choice for defense. A pistol caliber rifle might be OK, but a handgun or shotgun is ideal. For one, rifle rounds have the potential to fully penetrate a target and into the neighbors house, or miss all together, then you have a big problem when you have to explain why you accidentally shot your neighbor through your wall.
A .223 is a good round for varmint and small game hunting. Even deer hunting, but if you are into big game, then I recommend a 30-30 or .30-06. Somewhere in that range. I like 7mm for elk. Savage makes a good hunting rifle for a good price, try the model 110. Ruger Mini 14 is a decent firearm, but if you really want a good .223, go with an AR. I've heard there isn't a significant accuracy difference in a 16" AR as opposed to 20". But I couldn't tell you from personal experience, I only own a 16". Also, with ammo prices the way they are, sadly, that should be taken into consideration. .223 ammo goes from around $8 to $18 for 20 rnds. While higher caliber hunting rounds can go for much more. A decent .22LR will provide cheap shooting, and small game hunting as well. Ruger 10/22 is the most well known semi-auto .22, and many upgrades are available. Rifles are great for hunting and target practice, but again, don't use it for home defense.
 
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Sorry forgot to say ,

It's not for home defense just if society melts down, or just to go have fun in the woods. I use my Kahr cw45 for my HD>
 
AIM Surplus has WASR AKs with folding stock for $350 (as of 04/20/08) I just got one, haven't had the chance to shoot it. Kind of cheesy, but worth what I paid for it. At the price I wasn't expecting a Robinson Armament VEPR. I'm figuring you don't want to drop the money for a Krebs Custom Kalashnikov. You say it's not for HD but for SHTF and outdoor fun. SKS is another good choice when beauty and elegance aren't part of the equation. 7.62X39 will work for deer with hunting ammo- not much different from .30-30. I'm looking at the WASR as a boudoir and trunk gun.
 
I think the Springfield would be a good choice if you feel the need for the larger 308 cal. In an urban environment for the shorter distance that it would most be used for 223 might be a better choice. If I had the money and wanted a 223 I would go with the Sig rifle but they are quite expensive.
 
i suggest

Mak-90 7.62x39mm It Is A Varient Of The Ak-47. And It Is A Tough Rifle To Boot. You Can Do Nearly Anything To It And It Will Fire Perfectly. Just My .02 Worth...
 
Had a mini 14 slod it for money for my Ar-15(should have never sold it. Shouldn't EVER sell firearms period). Also have a 30-06 If I had to chose one I'd choose the AR. had decent long range with excelent round capacity. I have half a dozen 30 roung mags. If you go with the AR I recommend the Mag-Pull pollymer mags. They're indestructable.
 
I love my AR. One nice thing to think about is once you buy one you can always get another upper and with a push of 2 pins have a completely different rifle. You could always buy a complete 16" .223 for practice and small game. Then buy a 20" 6.5 grendel or 6.8 Remington SPC upper for larger game. My buddy even has an upper in .22 lr for practice.

I have a 16" lightweight .223 with an eotech and can hit bowling pins at 100 yd without a problem.
 
+1 on the Magpuls. I have a couple, they are wonderful. Should be standard issue to GI's, IMO.
 
+1 on the Magpuls. I have a couple, they are wonderful. Should be standard issue to GI's, IMO.

I agree they should be too. They're the same price as GI anyway. KimberPB do you have to change the mag well or do you just have different mags?
 
I agree they should be too. They're the same price as GI anyway. KimberPB do you have to change the mag well or do you just have different mags?

For the .22 lr, 9mm, .223/5.56, 7.62, 6.5 grendel, 6.8 SPC, and a few others you only have to change the upper and mags. If you want to go up to .308 you have to have an AR10 lower. Which has a larger mag well.
 
Rifle is a great tool

Take a look at the PTR91. The mags are dirt cheap. It is .308 Win (good to hunt with). .308 Win is a the same dimensionally as 7.62 NATO (easy to feed)...But most importantly it is a civilian variant of the HK91 used by Seals during Grenada and up to but not during Desert Storm. Accuracy is about 2 MOA with Ball ammo and Horandy TAP 155's will bring her inside of an inch. Don't worry about putting a bunch of fuss gadgets on her. Mine wears a Bushnell 10X tactical because I'm lazy and don't like to walk downrange and check targets.:hilarious:
 
Try a levergun in pistol cartridge

I own a henry in .357 w/20" octagon brl. I would not be afraid to use this as a home defense choice, BUT I agree with the shotgun being the best choice followed by a handgun.

look around on google for lervergun forums and read what they have to say.

Jim
 
Thanks guys......

looks like i will have to wait and do my home work, due to the endless choices of the role I expect to fill. It's more like a multi role I guess, My ideas include with out being set in stone, an AR platform with ether a mark-12 upper for heavy grn .223's in a 18"-20" med to heavy barrel. or a 6.5 Grendel upper, with a .223 in a 16"-18" as a popular cal. backup, or cheaper range practice. The perks of that platform can wield to about any mission. Though I do like the .308 NATO round and don't know of any uppers that pin in place to change cal.on the .308 lower. As easily as the .223 lower being able to accept several uppers, etc. i still have my eye on that Springfield M1-a socom 16 the price is the only problem here, though if i want a good AR I will probably be spending around 1300 plus for all the options and 2000 if I want the redesigned gas system such as the POF long guns or Barrett's 468, etc.

If you are still reading, the main buying factor in this search is round availability due to riots, meltdown of government etc.So no 300mag no .260 , .270, ect. Strength of round to hunt, defend, and survive, spare parts are in the plans of coarse. I do want a accuate gun, so maybe not a mini 14-0, nor an AK or veriant, even though they will most likely out last most and require less maintenance.I have found a Rem. 700 series tactical sps in .308 with a 16" heavy barrel, for 699. and do a detachable 10rnd drop mag conversing for 269. But like I said research and hands on will help the hunt>M.
 
This will be my first long gun. Not for any specific purpose just expanding my collection. I own to many pistols and a shotgun(Winchester W/ red dot).
Time for a rifle. I do not hunt but it must be able to. I' live in the city so I'd like a short barrel. Lets call it a all purpose defense gun. I've always wanted a Springfield socom 16, but need advice on accuracy issues with the 16" barrel? I relally like the Idea of a semi auto and was also looking at a Ruger mini 14 but think the .223 might be to small of a round. What do you guys think? M.

The bullet is not to small, the speed of the 223 is what can make a difference, check out this link on 223 hydrostatic shock.

.223 Remington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
I'll stick with my old Model 70 Winchester (pre '64) in .30-06 and keep the bad folks at a long range from me. It may be slow with the bolt action, but it only takes one shot to stop most living things. In close I have the 9mm and 45 acp, and there is always the 12 ga semi.

K
 
This will be my first long gun. Not for any specific purpose just expanding my collection. I own to many pistols and a shotgun(Winchester W/ red dot).
Time for a rifle. I do not hunt but it must be able to. I' live in the city so I'd like a short barrel. Lets call it a all purpose defense gun. I've always wanted a Springfield socom 16, but need advice on accuracy issues with the 16" barrel? I relally like the Idea of a semi auto and was also looking at a Ruger mini 14 but think the .223 might be to small of a round. What do you guys think? M.

Short barrel .308 is like kissing a hooker.
If you can't 'Reach' with it, there is no use having a .30 cal. rifle.

If you want short barrel, stay with the AR-15/Ruger Mini-14/Ruger Mini-30 or SKS/AK clones.
AR will be the most accurate, followed by the Rugers.
They will bring down any thin skinned game in north America,
And the AR is VERY easy to convert to .22 LR for small game hunting and cheap practice.

Sort barrel means low velocity in a .30 cal rifle,
But if you want accuracy and cheap ammo, consider a Ruger Mini-30.
It's chambered in 7.62x39mm Russian so all that cheap import ammo will cycle through it just fine,
And you don't have to worry about the barrel separating from the receiver like you do with the AK clones.
Resale is good, accuracy is pretty good, and the Mini-30 is a VERY strong rifle action, so you don't have to worry about the thing blowing up or coming apart like the 'Import' AK clones do on a regular basis...
Nothing like the pinned barrel sheering it's self away from a stamped steel receiver in the Import AK Clones!

If you insist on a .30 cal. lead slinger, the SKS/AK clones are cheap and so is the ammo.
They aren't very accurate, failure prone, and made of cheap materials.
So if you want to hunt large, thin skinned game, keep within 200 yards or less.

I would NOT try to hunt dangerous game with an SKS/AK clone, they don't have enough knock down power and are failure prone, and I don't want to bet my life on the workmanship of some Chinese inmate labor working with inferior materials!

An actual SKS combat surplus rifle can still be had fairly cheaply, and they are a much better choice for this class of rifle.
There are no more surplus actual combat AK's on the market, and haven't been in quite a while.
Everything on the market is the cheap clones, and I don't trust them for a second.
I don't even like to be next to them at the gun ranges when someone else shows up with them!

I suggest you get one of the older military surplus bolt guns to learn on.
They can be had for $100-$200 and are fairly accurate, and will let you knock it around pretty good while you are learning about longer range ballistics, gun cleaning, ect. with a rifle.

It's a VERY cheap way to enter rifle shooting, and they are as reliable as an anvil.
Since they are nothing special, you really get to knock them around and not have to worry about resale value or loosing money if something really bad happens to them.

Everybody makes stocks & add ons for them pretty cheaply if you want to try your hand at customization or accurizing one before you step off into the world of $1,000 rifles.
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There is no 'Defense Gun' like a 12 Ga. pump gun!

There is no bad guy in the world that doesn't know the sound of the slide racking a round into a 12 Ga.
And he'll jump out a third story window with crap in his pants to keep from facing that boomer!
 
You definitely can't go wrong with the Rem 700 in 308. It will take down any critter in North America (except maybe the big bears) two legged or four. And gives you the ability to reach out and touch them before they know they are being touched.
Enjoy the research and hope you enjoy your first rifle.

Semper Fi
 

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