This is just like the story I read about buying hammers. A guy was hired by a contractor to work building house, and was told to go to a hardware store with a voucher and buy tools. He told the clerk he had gotten a job as a carpenter and needed a good hammer. The clerk brought a whole box of hammers and dumped the on the counter and told the new man to take his pick. The newbie insisted he just needed a good hammer to be a carpenter. The clerk told him you can go from a tack hammer, used to drive tacks and finishing nails, through finish hammers, framing hammers, and even sledge hammers, then explained no one hammer will do all jobs well. In the same vein, no one rifle will do all jobs equally well. What do you intend to hunt? You can hunt rabbits and squirrels with a .22, but a .22 won't hardly touch a deer or elk, and if you get caught trying to take a large animal with a .22 I think the game warden has something to say about that. Now, i saw what I would consider a good defense gun, which would also be capable of takiinga wide variety of game. It would be considered a carbine, I guess, because it is just a shade over three feet lontg, which would make it a great home defense gun. It fires the .40 S&W round, which is good for home defense, and capable of taking most small game I believe it runs just under $300, so it is easy on the wallet. Pick a hammer, or hammers, to do the jobs you need to do, Not many can do a whole lot, but a few can do more than one job.