Which of these 3 home defense carbines for girlfriend?

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AR15?

They can be awfully light if you leave off the tacti-crap. 5.56 will put people down better than any pistol caliber and is the very definition of 'light recoil'.

If 90lb ARVN liked them your girlfriend ought to too.

BSW
 
As an addition I like the m1, but I have found them to be sensitive to bullet profiles and magazines when it comes to feeding. Not to mention that other rifles were not part of his original question.
 
I like the m1, but I have found them to be sensitive to bullet profiles and magazines when it comes to feeding.
I have been using Speer HPs, and they feed well in my USGI carbine...in others I can't say. I have also had good luck with USGI magazines (but 30rnd ones will cost you, fortunately I like 15s for all but range use) as well as the Korean magazines that are very reasonably priced (bought a 15rnd for about $10, and a couple 30rnd ones for $12.50/ea).

:)
 
You might want to check out Keltec sub2k's . I have a .40/Glock 22 version and my wife really enjoys shooting it. It's very easy on the shoulder and when loaded with doubletap 155gr gold dots it puts out ~1500fps/775ft/lbs.

My wife does not like to shoot my LSI Puma .44 mag even with .44 specials. She complains that the stock "diggs" into her shoulder. Maybe your .454 with rubber butt pad will make it a better choice.
 
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I have a sneaking suspicion that the Dr. started this thread just to see how many guns people would recommend OTHER than the ones he listed....

:D
 
I have a sneaking suspicion that the Dr. started this thread just to see how many guns people would recommend OTHER than the ones he listed....
I picked one of each...one that wasn't on the list for his viewing pleasure, one that was that he doesn't own...the "right answer" ;), and one that he already has...for no other reason than he already owns it...so I guess I am covered (covered in what I don't know :uhoh:).
 
I.M.I. Timberwolf in 38/357. This is currently my wife's rifle of choice.
I had an M1 Carbine that my wife did not care for.
Best to let your wife shoot and choose.
 

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ill go with the M1 carbine. its girl friendly & a piece of AMERICAN HISTORY cant beat that
 
M1 carbine...little recoil, easy to use relatively inexpensive to buy and shoot, extremly deadly and/or intimidating!
 
Pumps have slide releases & safetys that have to be operated to load an empty gun and shoot it..

M-1 Carbines have bolt handles, safetys, and mag releases that all have to be mastered & remembered. And a couple of them are placed almost on top of each other!

For the simplest manual of arms for an inexperianced shooter, I'd say it has to be the lever-action carbine.
All you have to know is stuff the ammo in the side, rack the lever, and pull the trigger.

So simple a caveman can do it under stress!

rc
 
Maybe you should have written it like this:
Which of these 3 home defense carbines for girlfriend?
Probably wouldn't have helped. You'd still get SHOTGUN recommendations of all things :rolleyes:

I'd start by taking her to the range and letting her shoot all three. I don't think any one of them would be a bad choice. However, the Marlin is clearly the way to go as it would give you an excuse to get a new gun :evil:
 
M-1 Carbines have bolt handles, safetys, and mag releases that all have to be mastered & remembered. And a couple of them are placed almost on top of each other!

Keep an M1 carbine with a loaded magazine, the chamber empty, and the safety off. Pick it up, pull the slide back and let it go, and you're ready to rock. How hard is that? My carbine is the easiest gun to charge that I have. I would absolutely go to it for HD use.
 
I'd load up some really light loads for her

Is that necessary? How hard would any of those rifles kick with full house loads?

I've never shot a carbine chambered in a handgun's cartridge, but always heard/read that the recoil is very light.
 
I've never shot a carbine chambered in a handgun's cartridge, but always heard/read that the recoil is very light.
If "very light" is relative to full house .454 loads, then they're probably an excellent idea :D
 
That's my question; how much recoil energy would a rifle produce when shooting that round? More than a .357mag rifle? More than a 30-30? More than a .25-06?

The ChuckHawks recoil table, FWIW, lacks the info on a Casull chambered rifle anyway.

.30 carbine -- 3.5 ft. lbs.
.223 Rem ---- 3.0 to 3.9 ft. lbs.
.45 Colt ----- 4.0 ft. lbs.
.357mag ----- 4.7 ft. lbs.
7.62x39 ----- 6.9 ft. lbs.
.30-30 Win -- 11 ft. lbs.
.25-06 ------ 12.5 ft. lbs.

Anyone know where a hot .454 Casull load would rank in a rifle's recoil?
 
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I have one, a really, really, really good one.

I have one since we are so far away from what the good doctor asked. Get a RPG or or or a double rifle in .458 Lott. They don't have much recoil and they are great for those elephants that break loose from the zoo. :neener:

Recommending an M1 carbine or AR is just as goofy. Stay within the guidelines of the post. It seems the thread has been hyjacked by M1 carbine enthusiast. Try and over come your ADHD and READ THE GUIDELINES!!!

There must be a reason he asked to stay within a few specific firearms. I vote for the Marlin 1894. I really like the Marlin.
 
Of the three rifles Tad wrote about, I have the Marlin 1894 in .357. I like lever actions, but one had better practice with them quite a bit if expecting to handle one in a stress (self defense) situation. It's pretty easy to short stroke a lever action (and Marlins like to be chambered aggressively).
One of the pump guns would probably be more intuitive in that type of scenario, if it fits the shooter!.
Best bet, as others have suggested, is to take her to a range and let her determine the best rifle.

All that said, I use a semi-auto (AR-15) for my SD long gun. I'd prefer a shotgun, but since I had a pacemaker installed recoil is an issue.
 
I would go with the Puma. Back in August you posted pics of one w/ a 16" barrel ( I googled the Puma to find out what it was & stumbled on your earlier post); that would be a good house gun for anyone with smaller reach IMO. My wife is 5.0' even, and cannot work a pump properly with her shorter arms. The lever would fix that; I am sure the 20" would be nearly as handy.

A lever gun w/ hot .45 LC's would be nearly ideal from an OP / fast handling / pointability standpoint.
 
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I'd let her shoot different rifles until she finds something she likes. If she's a beginner shooter, I'd go with a Marlin Cowboy in 38 Special. If she's a bit more experienced, the Marlin Cowboy in 45 Colt is also good. As for sights, Ghost rings are simple and don't require rails. Rails, Optics and Lever Action Rifles don't belong in the same sentence
 
Pistol cartridge carbine?

Kel-tec Sub2000. Buy 2 for the price of an M-1 Carbine and you can both practice together with the same gun.

9mm ammo is a lot cheaper and more readily available too.

Oh, and did I mention it folds? And can use Glock mags available everywhere? And can hold 33 rounds?

And all you have to do is pull the trigger, which is a lot simpler than working a lever action in a high stress situation.
 
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