Defensive Rifle For Strict Locales?

First pick would have been a pump action shotgun, after that, we have ruger mini 14/mini 30 rifles (questionable according to that list of restrictions because I believe it can accept after market high cap mags) lever action rifles in several cartridge options, the circuit judge revolver rifle, and pump action rifles would all be feasible. Depending on what you wanna spend, there are Marlin and Henry and browning on the lever guns. I wouldn't pick high power for defense, I don't care to risk innocents with pass throughs of walls/ aggressors. For given restrictions, a lever gun in .357 magnum might work out just fine......

The SKS is never a bad choice. Stripper clips take a little bit of familiarity, but they work just fine.

.357 Magnum out of a rifle length barrel is nothing to sneeze at.

If we're talking city block ranges, a 12 gauge is hard to beat. Lots of versatility, but keeping one stoked up without running dry takes practice.

Easy call, and high on my short list. 357 mag lever carbine. Definately carbine length, and if you can get a youth model stock then even better. A tube fed .357 will hold its own against a whole lot of other options. My first choice would be Marlin, but they are hard to come by. Second choice would be a recent Winchester/Miroku, then there are several Winchester copies to pick from. With the 357 in a lever carbine you have enough ammo, are very quick to target, and the round is well above marginal for that purpose.

Jeff Cooper: .30-30 = Brooklyn Carbine; .357 = Manhattan Carbine

1911 guy said:

The SKS is never a bad choice. Stripper clips take a little bit of familiarity, but they work just fine.

.357 Magnum out of a rifle length barrel is nothing to sneeze at.
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Yeah - this! Don't underestimate the firepower of a SKS. The .357 is more compact, and PC-looking, if you think that will be a factor. Check out Buffalo Bore or Doubletap .357 ammo - approaching 7.62x39 in power out of the barrel.

"Shotgun Joe", the former (I still enjoy dwelling on that) VP said that all you need is a double barrel shotgun!

Leaving aside the defensive firearm advice of a man with a very small brain and a very large Secret Service protective detail, a shotgun, preferably a repeater, is a very fine defensive firearm, especially in the Communist jurisdictions that you reference. While a pistol caliber lever gun is also a good choice, there are several shotgun options in pump and semi auto (Mossberg and Remington spring to mind) that offer a 28" barrel with screw in chokes for clays and birds and a 20" cyl barrel for home defense. In an urban environment, buckshot is less likely to travel through a couple of sets of sheet rock into the neighbor's apartment than a bullet from a magnum pistol cartridge.

If it must be a rifle, the Rossi R92 carbine (with a little work) in 45 LC is good value for money, extremely handy, and most definitely lethal.

Jim Watson said:

Jeff Cooper: .30-30 = Brooklyn Carbine; .357 = Manhattan Carbine

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If you don't want a pump shotgun, I would choose a lever action rifle. I'd probably go with the 44 magnum caliber.

hard to beat a pump gun shotgun with the correct defensive ammo, while a double with a way to carry extra shells (stock sleve most likely) would work as well, as would a semi if so inclined. Just remember your defensive gun has to be something you WANT to practice with, not something youll take out once in a blue moon but otherwise sits around, reliability is paramount. I find the motion of pumping a shotgun more natural than cycling a lever, probably because i own pump shotguns but no lever actions (need to remedy that).

My wife finds the ease of a simple semi more appealing because she refuses to practice, and i can only get her to come out and shoot at fun stuff every few months.

End result we have a AR (soon to possibly swaped for a hi-point 9mm after i change some parts and proof it), and a 12ga pump in the hall closet. I keep my 9mm pistol in the room where we sleep.

I didn't see the M1 Carbine on the list of "No No" firearms. 10rd mags are available.

.357mag, .44mag and .45LC carbines will be great choices if you wanted a lever. Henry is going to release a .32 cal lever that looks very interesting.

Good luck in your search.

Ruger GSR in either 762/556.
Winchester M94 30-30
Marlin 336 30-30
Lee Enfield MKIII/ No. 4 Mk I

learn how to run the gun.

I think the REM. 7615 would be high on my list, 5, 10, 20 & 30 Rd mag capable.

If you are going for a defensive firearm that will be legal in every state, it is best to stay away from detachable box magazines altogether. Lever action rifles or pump action shotguns are generally sold even in the most unfree states such as NY and NJ.

For home defense rifle, I'd recommend a semi-auto in .223. More effective than a pistol-caliber carbine, and -- with proper HD ammo like hollow-points -- it will limit penetration through walls compared to a pistol round or buckshot.

If I lived in a ban state I'd probably buy a plain-Jane Mini-14 with none of the scary-looking banned features. I believe those are still legal in most ban states, even with the detachable magazine.

I see a lot of people recommending a shotgun. Notice that the OP asked for advice on a rifle, not a shotgun. I've found that a good semi-auto. 223 rifle is a better HD choice than a shotgun for most people, especially under-trained people and people who are worried about over-penetration in a domestic setting.

X-Rap said:

I think the REM. 7615 would be high on my list, 5, 10, 20 & 30 Rd mag capable.

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That or a FN FNAR.

An 870 would be my first pick, but first, my main requirement would be that I can mount a light to the gun, followed by it not be cost-prohibitive to train with. Preference goes to anything that's not a full-power rifle cartridge as well.

Just pick something reliable that's not on their absolutely ridiculous list, and train with it.

Theohazard said:

If I lived in a ban state I'd probably buy a plain-Jane Mini-14 with none of the scary-looking banned features. I believe those are still legal in most ban states, even with the detachable magazine.

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It says in the link that the Mini-14 isn't allowed.

Inebriated said:

It says in the link that the Mini-14 isn't allowed.

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Thank you for that. My tablet is super-slow so I generally ignore links like that. I figure if a link contains information that's crucial to understanding the OP's first post, the OP would have included that information in the post itself instead of making us visit an external link.

LoonWulf said:

hard to beat a pump gun shotgun with the correct defensive ammo, while a double with a way to carry extra shells (stock sleeve most likely) would work as well, as would a semi if so inclined. Just remember your defensive gun has to be something you WANT to practice with, not something youll take out once in a blue moon but otherwise sits around, reliability is paramount. I find the motion of pumping a shotgun more natural than cycling a lever, probably because i own pump shotguns but no lever actions (need to remedy that).

My wife finds the ease of a simple semi more appealing because she refuses to practice, and i can only get her to come out and shoot at fun stuff every few months.

End result we have a AR (soon to possibly swapped for a hi-point 9mm after i change some parts and proof it), and a 12ga pump in the hall closet. I keep my 9mm pistol in the room where we sleep.

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What he said, but a lever rifle will work fine too. 45LC out of a Rossi should do just fine. I suspect that lever rifles will be a long way from the mindset of the "banners" ...

And speaking of lever rifles, LoonWolf needs to get a Savage 99 in 308 Definitely rectify that gap in the battery ...

According to that link for Cook County, all semi auto's are banned - rifle or shotgun. Pumps allowed. And the following are specifically excluded from the ban ...
(2) A 22-caliber tube ammunition feeding device.
(3) A tubular magazine that is contained in a lever-action firearm.

That means they are actually OK with tube feeders. So I'd buy a lever rifle ASAP. Actually I'd buy two rifles. I'd buy a Rossi 92 in 45LC (lever) and I'd buy a 22WMR semi-auto.

Never underestimate the 22WMR. They are lethal inside of 30 yds and that's all in-home ranges. https://www.shopdunns.com/products/5296/marlin_xt_22mtsl_22wmr_tube_lam_ss_70855/ And load it with 50 grainers

Once you get the Rossi, get it tuned by a competent gunsmith. A wee bit of smoothing and trigger work will make it a fine shooter and very slick

IMO, the best thing about a lever-action carbine, that surprisingly no one has mentioned, is that your long gun and CCW can potentially share the same ammo, if you have/buy a revolver in the same caliber.

I actually don't own one, but that class of firearms seems like a great choice if one was wanting to avoid pretty much all of the "evil" features that usually get guns banned in those states.

I love revolver caliber leverguns myself and have one in .44 mag. But I'm thinking about adding a .30-30 for improved ability to defeat body armor. For whatever reason, in my city home invaders are increasingly wearing armor.

Ruger Mini 14/Mini 30 rifles are classed as assault rifles according to that Chicago rules link. Oddly the SKS is not.
As much as I love the M1 Rifle, it's big and heavy(way too much penetration too. Mind you, so does any rifle cartridge.). I'd go with an M1 Carbine if accuracy is an issue. An SKS, if it's not.

Jason_W said:

I love revolver caliber leverguns myself and have one in .44 mag. But I'm thinking about adding a .30-30 for improved ability to defeat body armor. For whatever reason, in my city home invaders are increasingly wearing armor.

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While I would never want to risk one in the interior of my house, and there's nothing wrong with the .30-30, for more firepower, there's also the .308 Marlin express, .35 Remington, and .454 casull, some armor would stop them anyway, but the .35 rem has taken a few grizzly bears in her heyday and even if you don't penetrate, it should definitely persuade folks not to get shot again. I would worry about innocents here, and don't encourage engaging armored assailants anyway, but if you can't avoid it, then doing the best one can is all you can hope for. I know there's plenty of armor that would stop my .300 wm but it still wouldn't be my first choice anyway.....if I were in your shoes, I'd go with the .35 for low recoil hard hitting and pray I never have to use it for that purpose and that if I did, all my shots would stay away from the wife and kids.

I would first determine where I could practice and what calibers were allowed. There are few firing ranges in many cities and those are indoor. Typically, indoor ranges frown upon firing shotguns (and some will also not permit rifles). Outdoor ranges may be a bit more flexible. I would also consider whether I was the sole user or others such as older children, spouses, significant others, etc. would be employing it as well. Living in apartments or condos with thin walls also may affect which firearm you choose because of the potential to shoot through walls harming others.

Firing a pump action shotgun takes acclimation and practice--it is a fine defensive weapon but slow to reload outside of its magazine. Rifles, depending on the caliber, often will have less recoil and perhaps larger magazines. Operating something like a lever action, pump action, or semi-auto, takes some practice as well. Depending on your jurisdiction, M1 Carbines and SKS's are fine defensive weapons. The M1 uses magazines while the SKS's generally use stripper clips to fill a fixed magazine. Some jurisdictions alllow the Mini-14 series which is also good. A M1 Garand is an excellent battle rifle firing a very potent cartridge but as a home defense weapons has some drawbacks, namely recoil, blast, big and heavy, and overpenetration if you live in a crowded area. You may also not be able to find an indoor range that allows you to fire .30-06 or .308 rounds. Pistol caliber firearms such as the late PC 9 and 40 by Ruger, Keltec subs, Hi-Point carbines such as their 9mm and 45 ACP, Marlin's 9mm carbine, pistol caliber lever actions, etc. are also pretty good self defense weapons and may be able to share ammo with a handgun which could be an advantage under California's new ammo rules. They are also light, light recoiling, available in semi-automatic, and reduce the risk of overpenetration in urban areas.

Good luck. John Farnam has a pretty good writeup in his book on shooting rifles and shotguns with a considered approach to either of them if you want a noted firearm's trainer's perspective.

First thing I would do is to get a 22 LR tube magazine rifle and a case of ammo (after first determining which brand the gun likes).