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A little background. I'm a mid 50s male civilian, no military or law enforcement experience. I have a lot of handgun experience. I've had a lot of training, I compete regularly, and I'm comfortable with a variety of handguns of various calibers and configurations.
I'm looking for a home defense rifle. I have minimal rifle experience.
-Caliber isn't important so .556, .762, .308, pistol calibers are fine. I'm not going to be doing any hunting.
-The weight of the rifle is a consideration. I'm tall, thin, not very strong
-No shotguns. I had a Mossberg 590 and I didn't enjoy shooting it. If I don't enjoy shooting a gun, then I won't practice with it. I've learned that over the years.
-Recoil is a factor.
-Easy to clean and maintain is a must. I'm not mechanically inclined, to put it mildly. I literally had to have a gunsmith reassemble my shotgun for me because I couldn't figure the bolt out. I can follow YouTube videos (I'm a software engineer) but diagrams don't help. I have some dyslexia that makes them hard to follow.
Any ideas for the perfect old man gun? I'd like it to keep it under $1000 and I live in Colorado so I'm limited to 15 round magazines.
Well the easiest to clean and maintain would be a single shot or a double rifle. I would think the next easiest would be a bolt action, followed by a pump action, followed by a lever or AR/gas operated semi auto. To me- being an Army guy, the AR platform poses no technical cleaning or servicing issues. I can do it blindfolded. However if you can't grasp the breakdown- I would mark that off your list.
If you want light weight AND low recoil, the .223 or 6mm variant calibers would work well.
For home defense I would not recommend a single shot. At least two would be good. I would also not use a bolt action for home defense. Maybe look at a lever? Henry makes a Long Ranger model in .223, .308, .243 (6mm) and a 6.5 Creedmoor for right around $1,000.
Do you have close neighbors? If you do, you want to stay away from the .308 or probably anything larger than a .223. Be aware that an AR-15 weighs more than it looks. Mine weighs in at about 8 lbs with a red dot scope on it. What i use for a home defense rifle is an M1 carbine. It weighs 5 1/2 lbs, has very light recoil, a 15-round magazine and about the same power at a .357 pistol. If you can't find one in good shape and in a price range you can afford, you might want to look at the Rossi M92 lever action carbine in .357. Very light weight and .357 hits with authority out of a rifle length barrel.
Seems you just need to stick with your pistols, you're comfortable with them.
I agree. A rifle is advantageous if you are shooting at a distance but for home defense, you will likely be inside your home or in your yard. Unless you foresee a scenario where you will need to shoot over 50 yards a handgun should be fine.
Seems you just need to stick with your pistols, you're comfortable with them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wartrace
I agree. A rifle is advantageous if you are shooting at a distance but for home defense, you will likely be inside your home or in your yard. Unless you foresee a scenario where you will need to shoot over 50 yards a handgun should be fine.
You guys are violating the unwritten code to never dissuade someone from buying another gun!
I agree. A rifle is advantageous if you are shooting at a distance but for home defense, you will likely be inside your home or in your yard. Unless you foresee a scenario where you will need to shoot over 50 yards a handgun should be fine.
I have a Marlin 1894CB .44mag with a 20" barrel. It would be my second choice for home defense, right behind my 12 or 20autoloader. However I am more at ease with scatterguns and rifles than pistol.
That Marlin recoils quite hard, but I can load down the .44mag to a level where I can squeeze off rounds pretty quickly, accurately and they hit with authority.
I have no kids at home anymore so over penetration not an issue. I have clocked a yote with that .44- he was cruising past my shop and I tagged him at about 60 yards. Accurate little lever gun.
You'll need to be concerned with over penetration when using a rifle for home defense. unless you're concerned about intruders wearing body armor.
How close are your neighbors and whats in possible lines of fire on the outside of your walls? If your in a forested area, trees are not a backstop. I'd suggest a pistol caliber carbine. Either an SBR AR in .45acp or a Mechtech carbine conversion for a 1911.
It is very hard to get for under $1000, but an M1 Carbine would fit perfectly. 15 rounds of .30 Carbine, which is equivalent to power with a .357 Magnum, in a short light package. You are CO compliant with the standard 15 round magazines.
While you will have to spend $1500 to $2000 for a surplus military M1 Carbine from the collector circuit, it will always hold its value. There are tons of them and always on sale so the selection is large A beater my squeak by close to your budget.
Inland sells a brand new M1 Carbine for under $1,500.
You have to do some homework. They made 30 round magazines for the M1 Carbine, which I assume are illegal in CO. I do not know if this means the M1 Carbine is not allowed, or that you can own one as long as you stick with the CO compliant 15 round mags.
For $700, you can get a Ruger PC 9mm pistol caliber carbine, but you can't use the standard 17-round mags. You would have to buy the California compliant 10-round mags.
Another choice is the Beretta CX4 storm pistol caliber carbine in 9mm. Choice of 10 or 15 round mags.
Rifle calibers pentrate walls, so be careful in that regard.
Maybe someone here knows whether or not AR15 round tumble after hitting sheetrock, reducing penetration. I don't know.
If you live in the rural area outside Monument CO with no neighbors and overpenetration is not an issue, then you can buy any AR15 or AK 47 and use 10 round mags. Those are not available for $1000 unless you can find someone dumping an old thumb hole stocked "assault weapon ban" version. They are very unpopular and sell for cheap.
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