Rifle for home protection?

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I would say a WASR, they are cheap, easy to maintain and as a HD gun any accuracy concerns the WASR may have are meaningless. One thing that is important with a HD rifle is size, the WASR is compact and much easier the move around with inside then a SKS of Saiga would be. My HD rifle is an Arsenal arms SLR and it is longer then the WASR and a little cumbersome while moving about.
 
I think it would depend a lot on where you live. If you're living in an urban enviroment the best all around defensive weapon would be a shotgun. Even pistol caliber carbines, tho a nice choice for urban situations, will still punch holes through several homes if you miss your target. A shotgun with #6 shot is one of the best defensive rounds you can have when used in your home, with little danger of overpenetration through the structure. And, if need be, you can load buckshot or slugs.
 
Ill give you the ame answer I did on the pistol question

The best home defense firearm is an 870 Remmy 12 gauge pump

Point and click
 
Rifles for HD that won't break the bank. Marlin 336, Marlin 1894 or 1894c
Fit form and function the are the simplest to maintain and easy to find ammo for. As for a Shotgun the Remberg or the Mossington in 12 or 20 will do just fine.
I spelled them that way as in my mind they are interchangeable.
 
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SKS. Or a Saiga, Kalashni-clone of some sort. The last two are available in 7.62x39 and other calibers. The 7.62x39 is a better choice if you may be dealing with medium-ish critters, I expect. The 5.56 or 5.45 ought to be plenty for smaller critters and bipeds.
 
I wouldn't want to use a rifle for home defense. A shotgun or handgun would be my first choice. That said, an sks, ak, or other semiauto would be a great choice. The Russian rifles can withstand neglect and still not miss a beat.
If not, consider a pistol caliber carbine or lever gun. You get a rifle with the benefit of less recoil and more than sufficent power for home defense. Full and mid-powered rifles tend to overpenetrate more than pistol calibers and shotguns (not slugs)
 
Is the Hi-Point carbine 9mm or .45 considered a handgun or a rifle? I ask because I turn 18 in a few months and won't be able to legally purchase a handgun until I am 21.
 
Dynasty,
depending on where you live getting pistol ammo for the hi-point carbine will be a pain. Many stores (especially chain stores) will not understand that you have a rifle that shoots pistol caliber ammo. From what I've heard the hi-point carbines (not the handguns) are a good gun for plinking and home defense.
 
I have never heard anyone give me a convincing reason why an M-1 carbine isn't the ideal HD rifle. However, the one I have is an heirloom, and I really should get another if I want to use it and not worry about it being in evidence indefinitely.

A good used Inland might be a bit beyond the price range, but he/you could get lucky.
 
Since this young man is shopping for cost, I am surprised that no one has suggested military surplus rifles such as Mausers or Mosin-Nagants. These rifles, while affordable, do possess some drawbacks. Some would say bolt-action rifles are slower for repeat shots than semi-automatics or lever actions. Also, these former battle rifles fire rounds that can overpenetrate a target. This is why some rifle proponents recommend the use of hollow point or other frangible rounds for self-defense. Still, the designs I have mentioned have a proven track record of reliability and should merit consideration at least.


Timthinker
 
Another vote for the Marlin 1894C .357 Magnum. It's short, light, no recoil to speak of, not as likely to overpenetrate as a real rifle caliber, and is extremely versatile as an all-round rifle. Plus, ammunition is cheaper allowing for more practice. Gunwriter John Taffin has written that if he could own but one rifle for all purposes, The 1894C would be it.
 
Pistol Calibre Carbines

In your original question, you asked about rifles so my answer was mostly in terms of rifle calibres (excepting the Marlin 1894C).

I have a Marlin Camp Carbine in 9mm (the "Camp 9"), and it is quite simply the sweetest shooting rifle I have for work inside of 100 yards. It has what I call "ballistic intuition" and knows what I want to hit without my having to do any real aiming work.

I would certainly love to have their .45 ACP offering (the Camp .45), as I would imagine it's very much the same thing only larger.

If you ever get the opportunity to buy one of these, I say jump on it. They're a bit scarce, but a truly sweet gun.

There are a number of pistol calibre carbines suitable for home defense. Some of them are even within your stated price range.

Kel-tec makes the Sub-2000 series (already mentioned), which folds down into a briefcase-sized package, but which handles well.

Hi-Point makes the 995 carbine which, as already mentioned, fits in your wallet very nicely. One of the guys I work with bought one (under $200) and changed out the stock for the ATI "faux CX4" stock (under $80) and stuck a cheap red dot on it. He was hitting anything he wanted out to 150 yards. He said it "made it completely unfair" and "unsporting" 'cuz he could nail anything in a two-inch circle well past 100 yards. Ugly gun. Went bang every single time -- never had a malfunction.

Ruger makes a couple of PCxx pistol calibre carbines in 9mm and .40 S&W, but I believe they're over your price limit. They also do a .44 mag carbine (the 96/44 I believe), and that's a lever gun.

Beretta makes the CX4 carbine series -- but at $650+ you're well over the $500 line.

Now, back to the Marlins . . .

I don't actually think of the 1894 series (in either .357 mag or .44 mag) as pistol calibre carbines, even though they shoot ammo clearly intended for revolvers. The thing is, these same rounds, when fired from the longer barrel, pick up quite a bit of velocity, which turns them into serious rifle-quality performers.

(By the way, recent testing has shown that the .223 cartridge is quite suitable for home defense using hollow points or other frangible rounds.)
 
What else will you use it for?

Dynasty,

There are a lot of good suggestions to date (except for the ones clearly out of your price range) but my 2 bits...

If you end up liking rifles you'll find yourself looking for reasons to use the piece. And what will those be?

1. Plinking or blasting away. It's fun to blow beer cans 15 ft in the air with an AK-47
2. Varmint removal
3. Hunting game - small or large. Or the unlikely scenario of having to kill a bear or lion (don't feed the bears!)
4. Hunting birds

Another factor to take into account is the neighbors, how far away they are & how well sound carries. And whether they care if you're shooting. I got the cops called on me a couple weekends ago because we were shooting half sticks of dynamite. A cool thing about a rural setting is that the cops blew it off and never showed.

If you want real accuracy, don't go for the Russian weapons. If you don't mind shooting a 2 - 3 rounds instead of 1-2 to blow up the beer can, you can't beat them. A good AK-47 is plenty accurate within 100 yds, that Wolf Military Classic ammo is good & will last forever. Good for feral hog.

I don't like the mini-14 for plinking. Accuracy suffers after the first round as the barrel heats up. But that first round should be on the money and a mini-m will get lots of varmints & small game.

For birds, get a shotgun. Good for (lower 48) bear / lion, too. Can't beat a short barreled shotgun for home defense & you can swap the barrel if you want bird.

I only have a Marlin 39A but that's such a nice piece that I think you should seriously consider the .357 1894C. There's new one on Gunsamerica right now for $469, $30 shipping + say $20 - $25 bucks for your FFL - pretty close to your budget & used would be under it. "an extremely quick-handling little carbine" - dude, the Marlin carbines are sweet to handle, quick to mount. It's less than a rifle, more than a handgun. .38 special is pretty cheap, .357 packs a wallop. Marlins are very accurate, rugged and lever actions are way fun. This is a weapon your grandchildren will inherit.
 
Make sure its a very rural area because over penetration with a rifle is a real concern. Assuming your neighbors are nowhere close, I would recommend a Saiga. 10 round mags are the only downside I see to the gun.
 
I've got a Marlin Model 1894 lever action in .44 Magnum that also shoots .44 Special Silvertips. The rifle doesn't even move (recoil) when shooting the Silvertips, and that is 11 shots of 240 grains of lead moving with some authority out of an 18" barrel. Load it it with Magnums for walking around in the country and you've got a bear/cougar/hog/wolf/coyote gun. Mount a red dot scope and you've got a 75 yard deer gun.

I've got a shotgun and an AR clone too, but that's a little loud for inside work.
 
I have a mini 14 and I have put a accu-strut on it to help with the barrel whip and the cold barrel problem and I can easily put 5 shots in 2" at 50 yards with semi-rapid fire. It is an old one though 181 series so it was made when the tooling was new, but the 580's are made with new tooling too so they will be decently accurate.

I love the rifle and wouldn't trade it. They are damn reliable too, and will eat anything.
 
The OP mentioned Dad is new to firearms. That's OK but he should practice, practice, practice and learn how to break down and clean whatever he decides to get.

Reliability is a factor too. Used SKS rifles need to be broken down and inspected carefully, fitted with new springs and test fire a couple hundred rounds to ensure reliability. They are heavy and IMO not a great choice for HD.

The Hi Point is a good HD rifle. Never mind they are cheap, they are reliable and have a large following singing their praises. They can be a PITA to break down to do a thorough cleaning but it is a solid firearm. I own one and the only failure I've seen is when my kid shoots it and he doesn't pull the bolt back far enough to strip a round out of the mag. Again, practice is key with any firearm.

The M1 Carbine is also an excellent HD rifle but again, they are 50 years old and getting a good one for under 500 is unlikely. Again, it would need to be checked over, have the springs changed out and test fired with each and every magazine you have.

Even a new WASR needs to shaked out with all the mags to make sure they are going to function when need be. Try different ammo and make sure you use what works good in your rifle.

For someone who doesn't have a lot of experience right now. A pistol caliber carbine with a lever action would be hard to beat. No mags to screw up, no high-power rounds getting away and fairly easy to operate and maintain. I'd get a brand new one, put a couple hundred rounds through it and he'd be good to go. A good lever-rifle, along with a pistol and shot gun should take care of anything.
 
I have a mini 14 and I have put a accu-strut on it to help with the barrel whip and the cold barrel problem and I can easily put 5 shots in 2" at 50 yards with semi-rapid fire. It is an old one though 181 series so it was made when the tooling was new, but the 580's are made with new tooling too so they will be decently accurate.

I love the rifle and wouldn't trade it. They are damn reliable too, and will eat anything.
Click to expand...

I love my mini too but it is wildly inaccurate when the barrel heats up. I just bought a Black Warrior muzzle brake with a front sight on it and I'm going to trim down the barrel to 16" and see what happens then. I was planning to cut it further but I'll see if 16" works first before having to weld on the brake.

The mini is an enigma. :)
 
How about a Steyr M95/34 in 8X56? Sure ammo is a little hard to come by and you only get 5 rounds per load but working the bolt is quick and as the rifle is short it handles very nicely. Plus they are inexpensive.

I ask, because it is goning to be awhile before I get a shotgun again and the M95/34 will be the shortest longgun I own.
 
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