JWR,
I am a 50-something urban homesteader, selling my house to move to a rural area.
I currently own a handgun (S&W 459 9mm) and a shotgun (Mossberg 12 gauge pump) and am researching what kind of rifle would be good for my new urban homestead.
I am a good shot, not pro and not wild, just get within the target lines. I have hunted in the past with a 30-06 but feel with my age and all this would be too much for me now. Not to mention that I am a petite female at only 5’1″ tall and 120Lbs.
The areas I am looking to move to are all what I call “big snow country”. The wildlife ranges from Moose to pronghorn, Grizzly to badger, with the usual cougar, bobcat, wolf, coyote and rabbits, etc.
So basically my criteria is a leaver action, short barrel (no longer than 20″), accurate rifle with the stopping power for the animals I may run across or have to hunt if the SHTF.
In short the basic functions that I would like the rifle to be good at are: animal defense, food hunting, home defense (in that order). Then tack on – readily available and inexpensive ammo.
My “friends” have many suggestions from ARs, AKs to Savage, Winchester and Marlin ranging from .22 to 30-06. Somehow I just don’t picture the. 22 being good unless I was a sharp shooter and could make a brain shot without thinking, as I stated previously I think the .30-06 would be “too much” for me to be accurate enough with and the “assault” rifles just don’t come across or look like hunting & animal defense rifles to me.
I have followed your blog and purchased a book or two, so I value your opinion greatly and figure that some kind of lever action 30-30 would be my best choice.
That said, what type of rifle do you (or your blog readers) suggest for me? Am I way off base, or thinking with reality? – Criss K.
JWR Replies: If moose and grizzly are commonplace where you’ll be living, then you have a few conflicting criteria.
First, any ammunition that will be a stopper for moose and large bears will not be “inexpensive”. For example, .45-70 ammo is current around $2 per cartridge!
Second, given your small stature, you are better off with a semi-auto chambered in something with lighter recoil, rather than a “whomper” bear-stopper such as a .45-70. Unless you are a seasoned shooter, you are likely to develop a flinch if you buy a gun that is near your tolerance for recoil.
Third, lever actions are fairly fast to shoot, but you must practice the operation of the lever while the gun is at your shoulder. Many shooters–especially smaller ones–have a tendency to lower the butt to their hip when working the action. Don’t get into this bad habit! But their greatest detractor is that they are very slow to reload, once the magazine has been emptied. This makes them second-rate guns for self defense. If you are on a budget, then you are better off with a bolt action that can accept stripper clips for reloading, such as a Mauser, a Lee-Enfield, or perhaps a Schmidt-Rubin. (The latter employs a unique and quite fast “straight-pull” action. You might find a Swiss K-31 Schmidt-Rubin carbine at your local Big 5 Sporting Goods store, for under $220.)
My recommendation is that if you are on a tight budget, then buy either a Yugoslavian detachable magazine SKS, or US-made AK-47 clone. Those have fairly short stocks, which will benefit you, given your stature. If your budget is more substantial, then buy a semi-auto .308. Some options include the Saiga .308, the Winchester Model 100 (long out of production, but often found used), or the Browning BAR (not to be confused with much larger military issue full-autos with the same name!). If you have a big budget, then consider an AR-10 or a Valmet Hunter .308. OBTW, I do not recommend the often-mentioned Remington 7400 (or the older Model 742). These were aptly described by a gent over at THR as “difficult to properly clean, sensitive to ammo [variations], and d**n hard to clear when you hit a feed jam.” If you opt for any .308, then be sure to have the stock shortened (or in the case of the AR-10, get a 6-position collapsible stock), and have a recoil pad installed. For many years, my late wife used a Valmet .308 with a short stock and a soft Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad. She also had the barrel shortened, and a muzzle brake installed. She considered this the best “compromise” hunting/self-defense rifle for someone of small stature. (She was 5’2″, and weighed around 100 pounds.) The Valmet Hunter doesn’t look like a battle rifle, but it uses the unstoppable AK action. Extra magazines are available in 5, 9, and 20 round capacity. The big drawback is that these rifles now cost around $1,100, and spare 20 round magazines cost around $250 each!