+++++UPDATE: After hearing you all out, I discovered once again that I was being too narrow minded. I will get a 22 because training my girls is the top priority. I will eventually convince my wife of the need for a rifle for me to reach lucky number 4.+++++
I have this idea of my ideal three guns, which I call the trifecta. One in each category I care most about, these being handgun, shotgun, and rifle. Handgun was most important to get right for me, because it is with me almost everywhere I go outside my house and is the gun I have on me most by far. I got a Smith & Wesson 686-1 a few years back, experimented with other guns, and was lucky enough to have it boomerang back to me when I foolishly traded it. Shotgun was next most important because of the versatility it brings, my Mossberg 500 All-Purpose Field serves as my home defense gun, duck gun, and I may start shooting trap/skeet for fun with it. That leaves the rifle, which in my personal situation is the least important due to the nature of where I live and I do not hunt deer (currently). Even so, I am getting the itch to buy one to serve as a training tool/range gun/historical gun/possible deer rifle. Some might think it is foolish to limit myself to one in each category, and they are probably correct, but that is my personal rule as I am pouring most of my expendable income into my wife/daughters, especially in building a college fund for our girls, so my collection MUST end at 3.
The top reasons for a rifle for me would be:
1. A training tool for my daughters: My 686 and 12 gauge pump sounds like a terrible idea for a learning gun. Rifles are typically easier to shoot than handguns due to the stock, and if I got a reasonable caliber it should be easier on them than a 12 gauge pump.
2. Own a piece of history: I am a historian and while not a requirement, a historical gun would be cool to own and hand down to one of the girls.
3. Range gun: I view my rifle as mainly a range gun for training and entertainment purposes. I have no plans to fight in potential cataclysmic events with it, if it can, great, but this is not a priority for me. My 686 combat magnum and 12 gauge should be enough to live off my land and stay out of it if a cataclysmic event does occur.
4. Potential Deer Rifle: While extremely unlikely, IF I did decide to hunt deer, it would be a bonus that this rifle could do the job, legally.
The requirements for this rifle are...
1. Safe I plan on using this as a training tool for my daughters so it MUST be safe for their use
2. Reliable: In terms of function, reliability is king in my World. I want a gun that fires every time.
3. Accurate: While it does not need to winning any competitions I want this gun to be accurate enough to hit things easily within 100 yards consistently with little effort.
4. Ease-of-use: As a training tool, I do not want something complex with many controls. I want something simple that the girls can use easily and focus on safety over something that teaches how to master complex controls.
5. Ergonomics: I want something that a girl could easily use, but that is still easy enough for me to use and demonstrate with.
6. Weight: Just heavy enough to dampen the recoil without being too heavy for a young girl to hold.
7. Ammo availability/price: The ammo for this gun must be readily available and reasonably affordable (less than 1$ per round)
After countless hours of thought, research, and tons of videos on each, I have narrowed this down to 5 guns. I know there are many others you might suggest as better and that is your prerogative, but these are the only guns I am considering.
1. Henry AR-7: I have owned one already and really enjoyed it. While the rim-fire cartridge does occasionally fail, I found the reliability to be acceptable. It is light weight, easily stored, low recoil, excellent ergonomics, and surprisingly accurate for what it is. 22 LR is also incredibly affordable/available which is a huge bonus for training. The downsides here are that it cannot be used for deer hunting, although it could be used for rabbit or other small game I suppose. It also would probably be my last choice for defending my home, considering I have a shotgun. My first one was black, if I got another I would be the camo one to differentiate from the one I gifted and because I enjoy the aesthetics of it. It is also far and away the least expensive of the options on this list.
2. Norinco SKS: Some people think these are ugly but I really like them. Maybe because I was a paintball fanatic in my teenage years and they remind me of my beloved 98 Custom, maybe its just because it looks like a slightly longer AK. I hear these things are nearly indestructible, albeit crude, but I have never really cared about having a perfect trigger. I also hear they are functionally accurate, even if you would never match shoot with one (I never intend to anyways). I have been told you cannot deer hunt in Ohio with them, but this sounds wrong and every other resource I checked seemed to debunk this notion. Perhaps the biggest reason is my daughters are half-Chinese and it would be cool to see them shoot a Chinese made gun that was made well by Norinco. The downsides would be weight and ergonomics, as even the paratrooper model is long.
3. Henry All-weather Big Boy in 357 magnum: The biggest plus for this rifle would be that it could share ammo with my 686. I also like that it has a corrosion resistant finish, and who doesn't like a lever action rifle? The downsides would be weight and price. The gun itself runs about 1,200$ where I have seen it and 357 ammo is only getting more expensive.
4. Springfield M1903: As a WWI historian, this being the American infantryman rifle is just a special part of American History that I have always coveted. I will admit the weight and ergonomics would probably be a challenge for my girls, this one is honestly just here because of the history and potential of the 30-06 round.
If you made it through this dissertation of a post, I thank you for your time and input
I have this idea of my ideal three guns, which I call the trifecta. One in each category I care most about, these being handgun, shotgun, and rifle. Handgun was most important to get right for me, because it is with me almost everywhere I go outside my house and is the gun I have on me most by far. I got a Smith & Wesson 686-1 a few years back, experimented with other guns, and was lucky enough to have it boomerang back to me when I foolishly traded it. Shotgun was next most important because of the versatility it brings, my Mossberg 500 All-Purpose Field serves as my home defense gun, duck gun, and I may start shooting trap/skeet for fun with it. That leaves the rifle, which in my personal situation is the least important due to the nature of where I live and I do not hunt deer (currently). Even so, I am getting the itch to buy one to serve as a training tool/range gun/historical gun/possible deer rifle. Some might think it is foolish to limit myself to one in each category, and they are probably correct, but that is my personal rule as I am pouring most of my expendable income into my wife/daughters, especially in building a college fund for our girls, so my collection MUST end at 3.
The top reasons for a rifle for me would be:
1. A training tool for my daughters: My 686 and 12 gauge pump sounds like a terrible idea for a learning gun. Rifles are typically easier to shoot than handguns due to the stock, and if I got a reasonable caliber it should be easier on them than a 12 gauge pump.
2. Own a piece of history: I am a historian and while not a requirement, a historical gun would be cool to own and hand down to one of the girls.
3. Range gun: I view my rifle as mainly a range gun for training and entertainment purposes. I have no plans to fight in potential cataclysmic events with it, if it can, great, but this is not a priority for me. My 686 combat magnum and 12 gauge should be enough to live off my land and stay out of it if a cataclysmic event does occur.
4. Potential Deer Rifle: While extremely unlikely, IF I did decide to hunt deer, it would be a bonus that this rifle could do the job, legally.
The requirements for this rifle are...
1. Safe I plan on using this as a training tool for my daughters so it MUST be safe for their use
2. Reliable: In terms of function, reliability is king in my World. I want a gun that fires every time.
3. Accurate: While it does not need to winning any competitions I want this gun to be accurate enough to hit things easily within 100 yards consistently with little effort.
4. Ease-of-use: As a training tool, I do not want something complex with many controls. I want something simple that the girls can use easily and focus on safety over something that teaches how to master complex controls.
5. Ergonomics: I want something that a girl could easily use, but that is still easy enough for me to use and demonstrate with.
6. Weight: Just heavy enough to dampen the recoil without being too heavy for a young girl to hold.
7. Ammo availability/price: The ammo for this gun must be readily available and reasonably affordable (less than 1$ per round)
After countless hours of thought, research, and tons of videos on each, I have narrowed this down to 5 guns. I know there are many others you might suggest as better and that is your prerogative, but these are the only guns I am considering.
1. Henry AR-7: I have owned one already and really enjoyed it. While the rim-fire cartridge does occasionally fail, I found the reliability to be acceptable. It is light weight, easily stored, low recoil, excellent ergonomics, and surprisingly accurate for what it is. 22 LR is also incredibly affordable/available which is a huge bonus for training. The downsides here are that it cannot be used for deer hunting, although it could be used for rabbit or other small game I suppose. It also would probably be my last choice for defending my home, considering I have a shotgun. My first one was black, if I got another I would be the camo one to differentiate from the one I gifted and because I enjoy the aesthetics of it. It is also far and away the least expensive of the options on this list.
2. Norinco SKS: Some people think these are ugly but I really like them. Maybe because I was a paintball fanatic in my teenage years and they remind me of my beloved 98 Custom, maybe its just because it looks like a slightly longer AK. I hear these things are nearly indestructible, albeit crude, but I have never really cared about having a perfect trigger. I also hear they are functionally accurate, even if you would never match shoot with one (I never intend to anyways). I have been told you cannot deer hunt in Ohio with them, but this sounds wrong and every other resource I checked seemed to debunk this notion. Perhaps the biggest reason is my daughters are half-Chinese and it would be cool to see them shoot a Chinese made gun that was made well by Norinco. The downsides would be weight and ergonomics, as even the paratrooper model is long.
3. Henry All-weather Big Boy in 357 magnum: The biggest plus for this rifle would be that it could share ammo with my 686. I also like that it has a corrosion resistant finish, and who doesn't like a lever action rifle? The downsides would be weight and price. The gun itself runs about 1,200$ where I have seen it and 357 ammo is only getting more expensive.
4. Springfield M1903: As a WWI historian, this being the American infantryman rifle is just a special part of American History that I have always coveted. I will admit the weight and ergonomics would probably be a challenge for my girls, this one is honestly just here because of the history and potential of the 30-06 round.
If you made it through this dissertation of a post, I thank you for your time and input
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