Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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Greetings!

Great to find this forum. I would love some advice on directions for me to investigate on getting a new rifle. I currently have a Savage Axis 243 which I like just fine, but in today's climate I would like a gun that would be good for hunting deer but also for protection if needed, so a semi-auto vs a bolt action I think would be best. I have at times had my eye on a Ruger mini-14, but I would love to hear what others might suggest? The world is awash in calibers! I'm not sure whether I will keep the Savage or not. I don't need to have a bunch of guns around, but a shotgun or two, a good rifle, a .22, and maybe a pistol would likely do it for me.

What I currently have:

Remington 870 12 ga
Stevens single shot 12
Savage Axis .243

What I had in the past and should never have sold:

Marlin 39A .22 Lever rifle.
Ruger Single Six 22/22mg single action revolver.

Thanks!

Peter.

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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o/

Don't hunt, but if deer is on your radar and you're a fan of the lever, you'll find we have some fans here of the ol' .357 Magnum and .45 Colt lever guns. Harder to find ammo under current circumstances, sadly, but pair nicely with handguns and excellent rounds in general.

New inventory is drying up for almost everything, but you may be able to find interesting deals in the used market.

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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Hi and welcome.
I'm not a hunter but I would think the ideal rifle would be an AR-10 in .308 Winchester or 6.5 Creedmoor with a 16" to 18" barrel.
.308 is definitely a hunting round and the AR-10 operates and looks very the same as the AR-15. I believe in most states you cannot hunt dear with the .223 cartridge.

Again, I'm not a hunter but I would think that cartridges capable of taking down a deer would have the issue of over-penetration for home defense.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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I agree with Yankee for the most part though I would never talk anyone out of getting a mini 14, I find them fun. But there are caveats with that rifle. Once the barrel heats up it tends to string shots. There is a stabilizing thingy you can get after market that I am told helps with that. If defense is a key buying factor I prefer rounds less likely to annoy my neighbors by going through my walls into their's. Rust has the right of it about about buck shot and about deer hunting with 223. Big game in WA is .24 (6mm) minimum.
Never smile too big, the gods may mistake it for hubris.

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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Howdy Peter, :welcome:

Mini-30... 7.62x39

Keep it under 200 yards. Problem solved.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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Rust wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2020 11:04 pm Keep the 243 and the 870. Get some buckshot, and maybe put a short barrel on the 870. You're all set, and you can add from there.
223 is not legal for deer in Washington.
Excellent advice.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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flintlock wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2020 9:58 pm What I had in the past and should never have sold:

Marlin 39A .22 Lever rifle.
Ruger Single Six 22/22mg single action revolver.

Thanks!

Peter.
Read what you already wrote.

Marlin 39A.
Ruger Single Six.

Both readily available even these days.
To be vintage it must be older than me!
The next gun I buy will be the next to last gun I ever buy. PROMISE!
jim

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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Rust wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2020 11:04 pm Keep the 243 and the 870. Get some buckshot, and maybe put a short barrel on the 870. You're all set, and you can add from there.
223 is not legal for deer in Washington.
It does pose a problem--a round that's legal for deer may have over-penetration issues. Buckshot may be the answer.

OTOH, it seems to me that you need a fairly long shotgun for deer (hunters: Correct me) and a shorter shotgun would be far better for home defense. Yet my friends down in the Bahamas where shotguns must be over 20" (or maybe 24"? Kronk--help!) do fine with them for both...but they shoot the wild hogs--no deer there.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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I don't need to have "one gun for everything". If I need to keep the 243 for deer hunting that's fine. Barrels for my 870 seem easy enough to come by, so I could have a second shorter one. My Stevens single shot was sawn to 18" at some point in it's past, but currently the trigger is way too quick to pull. I have torn it all apart in an effort to fix it, but then got down to the receiver which seems to have a pressure pin holding everything together. Wasn't sure if I could go further myself, and haven't been able to find a gunsmith who is willing to, but think now I will give it a try. I have taken many things apart and put them back together with success on the farm for years. I think buckshot is good idea, but I also think a semi-auto rifle is a good idea, and I still may consider a 223. You can hunt deer with them in many states, you just need to know your ammo and your limitations, but a Mini 30 is a possibility as well, along with the other suggestions you all have offered. A .22 to get something in my wife and daughter's hands needs to happen as well I think. Right now I live on a farm with 2 other families and there's a 30-30 and a .22 I can use, but we won't be here much longer.

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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The reason I suggested the AR-10 (I have a Windham Weaponry "Hunter" even though I don't hunt) is that you said, initially, you wanted a gun for hunting deer and self-defense. Since you're moving to Washington State, where you cannot hunt deer with .223 rounds, I thought the AR-10 was a good alternative. Mine is only 8.5 # even with wood "furniture" (so it doesn't look like a "scary, black gun") and an 18" barrel. 7.62 x 51 NATO rounds and .308 Win do equally well in it. Some Windhams in .308 are as light as 7.5 #

Then there's always the buckshot route.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2020 3:39 pm The reason I suggested the AR-10 (I have a Windham Weaponry "Hunter" even though I don't hunt) is that you said, initially, you wanted a gun for hunting deer and self-defense. Since you're moving to Washington State, where you cannot hunt deer with .223 rounds, I thought the AR-10 was a good alternative. Mine is only 8.5 # even with wood "furniture" (so it doesn't look like a "scary, black gun") and an 18" barrel. 7.62 x 51 NATO rounds and .308 Win do equally well in it. Some Windhams in .308 are as light as 7.5 #

Then there's always the buckshot route.
Very good thoughts. I love the wood "furniture", so it doesn't look like a scary black gun! I love wood, and I'm old school I guess you could say about firearms in that way.

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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flintlock wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2020 11:14 pm
YankeeTarheel wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2020 3:39 pm The reason I suggested the AR-10 (I have a Windham Weaponry "Hunter" even though I don't hunt) is that you said, initially, you wanted a gun for hunting deer and self-defense. Since you're moving to Washington State, where you cannot hunt deer with .223 rounds, I thought the AR-10 was a good alternative. Mine is only 8.5 # even with wood "furniture" (so it doesn't look like a "scary, black gun") and an 18" barrel. 7.62 x 51 NATO rounds and .308 Win do equally well in it. Some Windhams in .308 are as light as 7.5 #

Then there's always the buckshot route.
Very good thoughts. I love the wood "furniture", so it doesn't look like a scary black gun! I love wood, and I'm old school I guess you could say about firearms in that way.
The only thing it needed to be made NJ compliant was the A2 flash arrestor had to be replaced with a pinned and welded muzzle break. I hate that because if you have to remove the gas block, WTF do you do, except replace the barrel or cut off the end?

I'd like to see more manufacturers offer semi-auto rifles with an optional non-threaded barrel.
20190727_Windham.jpg
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Help Choosing a New Rifle.

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CDFingers wrote: Sat Aug 29, 2020 10:51 am Oooh, wood.

CDFingers
Thanks, while it is a very nice Boyd laminated wood stock and fore end, there are some makers of solid wood stocks and fore ends that are stunning. I must admit to being tempted to replace the pistol grip with a matching wood one to complete the look, but the rubber one works really well.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

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