Rifle recomendations

[Mustanger1]

I am out of touch with new modern day rifles and since I feel that the time is such that I should move up to new and better firepower, self protection and defense, I would like some opinions as to what would fill my needs and requirements or expectations.
I realize the Army carbine is outdated and thats about the most firepower I am familiar with, 2 banana magazines taped together pretty fair in its day, I shoot mostly BP and common 30/30, 22 etc.
First I am looking for reliability, availability of ammunition and parts, firepower and last but not least a weapon the wife could learn to use also. Not really concerned about cost..you get what you pay for.....

 

[LAK]

I am happy with a good bolt gun be it one of the better vintage european items from Steyr, Sako, Husqvarna, Voere, FN, Parker-Hale, J.P. Sauer, etc - or a mil-surp such as a Short Magazine Lee-Enfield.

If I had the wallet though I would hunt down a SIG AMT or a Valmet (Finland) AK-47 copy and buy all the mags, ammo and spares I could find for it.

 

[Sam1911]

Mustanger,

What are you looking for this rifle to do for you? The simplest answer is that a .30-30 lever-action rifle that you are very familiar with and shoot well is a mighty fine home defense weapon, especially if you don't live in an apartment or other densely populated area. A Marlin 336 or Win 94 are probably the first "big-boy" rifles that most of us shot. So, with good instruction on proper stance and technique, there shouldn't be too much difficulty in teaching your wife to shoot that, either.

So, I'd say don't by into the hype that says you "need" a high-capacity military style autoloading rifle to fulfil your defensive requirements.

But, it sounds like you want to buy a new rifle. That's great! You mention "firepower" and availability of parts. That sounds like you are looking for a military style semi-auto. The AR-15 and AK series rifles are the two most common military type weapons in the world specifically because they hold a lot of rounds, are compact and don't recoil much, and are therefore easy to teach lots of different people to shoot well.

If you want to teach your wife to shoot a military style gun, an AR-15 is hard to beat. It's light, doesn't recoil almost at all, and with a 6-position "M-4" type butt-stock it could be adjusted easily to fit her stature or yours with the click of a button.

But you said the "Army carbine is outdated." Not sure what you meant by that. If you're referring to the M-16/M-4 family, outdated is a funny word, considering how many millions of them we're still fielding today and how there is no replacement for them yet.

-Sam

 

[rtn]

Consider a well-built AR-15.

They have sufficient firepower to take down small game (smaller than a deer), are highly flexible (Service Rifle, varmint rifle, match rifle, etc), don't produce significant recoil, and are very reliable.

Take a look at White Oak for top of the line upper receivers.
http://www.whiteoakarmament.com/