Suggestions for a SHTF rifle for a nonshooter

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epijunkie67

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I'm looking for feedback and suggestions for a rifle purchase. My fiance is not a shooter. Up until a few years ago she disliked guns but living with me has made her more accepting of them and she has even gone to the range a few times. Heck, she has even ASKED to go to the range a few times. But she really hates recoil. I've tried her out on a variety of pistols and she found even a .38 too unpleasent to shoot so for now she just uses my .22 buckmark. The arguments for why I need to get her to upgrade to a better defensive gun are for another time.

I have been trying to decide what to get her as a SHTF rifle. She agrees that if something were to ever happen she would want something she could use to defend herself. And we aren't talking a home invasion. We are talking general purpose SHTF/Utility/Bugout rifle.

She'll practice ocassionally but probably not more than a few times a year. On the up side she is pretty accurate with a pistol so hopefully she will be with a rifle also. I expect her to be fairly recoil shy. So my requirements are;
low recoil
simple manual of arms
not heavy
magazine fed

I've considered an AR but worry about the "finiky"factor. It does seem to be the best overall choice. I also thought about a keltec SU16 for the same reason. Other options are an M1 carbine or other carbine rifle. I even considered the upcoming P90 rifle from FN since it is supposed to have no recoil and more range than the average carbine.

Suggestions?
 
Marlin Camp Carbine in 9MM would be good for a neophyte who isn't practiced and can't tolerate recoil. Not the answer for 300 yard shooting but if she plans on shooting beyond 25 feet she will need to practice more, anyway.
 
Based on the SHTF criteria and dislike for recoil - I'd go with the AR. A requirement often overlooked for a SHTF rifle is parts, there are lots of AR's around and parts are likely to be available for awhile.
 
Take her shopping and see what she likes.
If she gets to choose something that she likes, she'll probably be willing to practice with it more.
I always bought what I liked. My wife and I would go to the range and she wouldn't have the best time. On one trip a gentleman sitting next to us offerd to let my wife shoot his Winchester 94 .30-30. She fell in love with it. Had to have one. We now own his-and-hers 94's and she really enjoys getting them out.
If your fiance takes a liking to a lever gun so be it. Get her a Marlin in .357mag and let her shoot .38s to her hearts content. If it'll get her to shoot more then let her choose.

That being said, Saiga in .223 or 7.62X39 sounds like an economical choice.
 
If shes comfortable with pistols and not rifles, you might want to consider getting her a pistol for a SHTF weapon instead. For HD they're way more practical and manuverable. My SO didnt like a .380, but LOVED a 9mm. (It was a glock)

If your set on a rifle, i'll throw out the Beretta Cx4 Storm. I've only gotten to fire one once, but it handled very nicely, was accurate, simple to use, easy recoil. She should be able to handle the .45, but if the recoil still bothers her they also have them chambered for .40S&W and 9MM.

Good luck! :)
 
Does a tube magazine count?

A lever action in .357 magnum fits your criteria with that one exception. Accurate, hard hitting (.357 gains a lot from that extra barrel length) and minimal recoil. For practice/fun she can shoot .38's out of it that will recoil like a .22.

A Marlin 1894C is a sweet little shooter.

Another good choice would be a low(er) end AK such as a WASR-10.
 
Since you didn't say anything about price, I'd definately relook at an AR. Check out the "service grade" equivalent from any of the big makers. They should all be plenty reliable for your purpose. Also, you can by a .22lr conversion kit to go with it and work her up to centerfires after she is familiar with the rifle.

That being said, I think all the choices you mentioned would work. I like the idea of the Kel-Tec, but have no personal experience.

Also, you may want to consider the mini-14. They are inexpensive, robust and very reliable. On the negative, you have to be picky about magazines and good ones are expensive. Accuracy is also somewhat suspect, but usually plenty good enough for people sized targets at 150 yards or so.

I love the M1 carbines. It would work well as long as you keep in mind what the cartridge can and can't do. It is not for long ranges.
 
BryanP beat me to the punch. I was just going to suggest a Marlin lever action.

You said your fiance didn't like shooting the .38 revolver; what kind of revolver was it? Several female friends/realtives of mine have found light .38 special loads quite fun to shoot out of a 4" Ruger GP100. It's not a great CCW piece, but it's a heck of a lot more comfortable to shoot than a snubby.

I'm not a fan of "magazine fed" arms for non-shooters. My recommendation would be a GP100 revolver and a Marlin 1894 carbine. Manual of arms on both is easy, they both use the same ammo (.38spl/.357mag), and while .38/.357 may not be as readily available as milsurp .223 or 9mm, it's still easy to come by and not overly expensive. Both are very solid and reliable guns.

Add a good cartridge belt and keep it loaded up and you're good to go.

If you must go with semi-autos, consider a Ruger PC-9GR carbine and Ruger P series 9mm pistol. Again, the Ruger pistols are not great for CCW ... they are big. But that extra size helps dampen recoil. And again, you have both a pistol and carbine that use the same cartridge ... and 9mm is one of the low-cost readily available cartridges.
 
Just to be contrarian I'll suggest that there is nothing wrong with a .22LR or .22WMR rifle. A bolt action would be simple, ammo is cheap and easy to carry, and will fill the pot as needed. It also gives you a diversity of choices assuming you have a centerfire rifle.

CZ452 is a good cheap choice. Plus, as she gets comfortable shooting a rifle (and realizes recoil is a very different game in rifles) she may later wish to move up to a center fire rifle. Then it would be her desire, not yours, which will make it happen a lot faster if your fiancee is anything like my wife... :)

Another thought, give her foam plugs and muffs to use. My wife is much more sensitive to muzzle blast than recoil and I found this helped her feel less "jumpy."

Good luck
 
Definitely think a pistol caliber carbine is what you are looking for in this case.

The Storm might be good. A Ruger PC9 is very good, uses pistol magazines available in 15 round mags at least. This rifle is a bit shorter making it great for women of slightly smaller stature. Recoil is very minimal. Manual of arms is simple. The 9mm out of this makes relatively little noise due to the longer barrel, but the performance especially with the heavier 9mm rounds is excellent. Furthermore it was designed for use in police squad cars and is therefore ruggedly made.
 
I take it you want a close range defencive weapon? What`s wrong with a 20 ga auto? Accuracy isn`t usually a problem, it recoils fairly lightly, drops BGs fast, and won`t shoot through walls when loaded with bird shot and threaten the neighborhood. The army thought they were the ultimate trench gun in WW1.
 
Well I'm not much of a recoil expert, as I mostly either ignore it or dont feel it (Though my left shoulder is callous[sp]) so I might reccomend the traditional SHTF rifle, the SKS. Cheap to buy, cheap to shoot, easy to learn since she wont be training too often, recoil isn't bad IMO, simple and easy to maintain and parts are pretty abundant. I'm picking one up tomorrow at a gun show.
 
For one who does not consider themself to be a shooter yet wishes a firearm for defense I am going to suggest a Ruger 10/22 .22 semiautomatic rifle with a 30 round magazine and a good dot optic sight.
Easy to learn to operate, easy to shoot, easy on the ears, easy to put on target and keep on target even if you don't think you can shoot and these things are as reliable as most peoples bathroom schedule.

A bread basket full of mini-mags will thwart all but the most determined and a non-shooter doesn't need to get themself into a protracted gunfight anyway.
 
I would agree that a lever action seems the best for somone who doesn't shoot much. To me, it is reliability akin to a revolver without the seeming complication of a mag fed auto rifle.
 
I'd also have to go with Kalashnikov's suggestion--the SKS. It rocks, the recoil isn't bad, and you can make it fit whatever capacity you want (I like the factory 10-round mag, but that's because I bench-rest the thing). If you didn't like that, what about an M1 Carbine? People always say how it's a weak round; maybe she's looking for just that round, just that amount of recoil (haven't fired one myself, so i can't give any input on it :( ). They have box mags, they're small, why not? Just MHO.
 
Since this is a requirement:
She agrees that if something were to ever happen she would want something she could use to defend herself.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use this:
Just to be contrarian I'll suggest that there is nothing wrong with a .22LR or .22WMR rifle. A bolt action would be simple, ammo is cheap and easy to carry, and will fill the pot as needed.
Click to expand...

My vote goes to either an SKS, or a 20 ga autoloader. Neither is all that bad on recoil. The only requirement that doesn't fit them is that they don't have removeable magazines, if that was what you meant by magazine fed.
 
Straight out-of-the box SHTF utility?

Ruger 10/22: Reliable, Simple, Accurate, Magazine Fed.
.22LR can still reach out and touch someone nicely. Add high-viz sights and good mags/ammo, and you are good to go.
 
I've got a SU16A and Sub 2000 (9mm Glock mag well)from Kel-Tec, either one of them would fit the bill. I also like the Beretta Storm but don't own one (yet). Either one of them can be shot by just about anyone with almost no recoil. Even with it's standard sights the little sub gun will stay ont he target at 100 yards, although for my eyes it's a much better 50-75 yard gun.
 
I'll get hammered for this

but how about Hi-Point carbine...light, manueverable, potent enough when loaded w/ good ammo and minimal recoil...And did I mention they're only $165, which might be a factor for someone who isn't gonna shoot alot....Might not wanna spend alot of money
 
Does she need a rifle? I would suggest a good youth model 20 gauge shotgun. If she is really recoil sensitive, you could get her a good semi-auto 20 gauge. More of a light push than a kick in the semi-auto.

A 20 gauge shotgun hits harder (from the naughty end) than anything sugested here at realistic SHTF distances (aka across the room distances).
 
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