TL;DR: what are some rifles that are good for hunting first, and home defense second?
With the prospect of unbounded inflation, expensive food (e.g., meat), and getting late into the game of saving for retirement (spent a long time in grad school), I want to hunt. If I bring home enough wild game for food, I'll have saved a lot of money (especially if the price of meat skyrockets).
Suggestions?
If I had only one gun it would be an AR-15
For hunting first and home defense second as OP wrote I'd go with AR10 in .308
Agree. Pretty damn affordable. Extremely customizable. Buy the best you can afford and then sights/optics too. Be aware that 5.56 is probably the most popular AR round. This can work for and against you because ammo is scarce. However, if things go south, I’d gladly hand you a mag to cover my 6. Others would too.
If you’re on a shoestring budget, a Ruger 10/22 would be awesome. You can do a lot with a .22LR if you really need to.
Depends on where you live, what knowledge base you have. But right now I'd be trying to get a pump shotgun and a 22LR. If you can find a AR that's not doubled in MSRP get one. Or get a simple mass produced pistol in 9MM or 45acp. Think Glock or Sig or Springfield Armory. You can do everything with a 12GA shotgun including deer hunting and bird hunting and home defense. Birdshot is just as deadly at 25 feet as buckshot too. Anyway I'd go to local gun stores and see what's available and if you can find 500 rounds of ammo for the weapon I'd get the weapon. Right now you can't find 5.56/9mm/45acp under a $1.00 a round when its usually .18c-.24c per round. Everything is extremely expensive. .
This^
Apologies if this is a complete noob question, but don't shotguns spray scatter-shot that would be difficult to clean out of game? It'd be nice to have to clean out only one bullet.
Shotguns are good all arounders. A bolt rifle for home defense is not good unless you live on a farm. Remington 700 is one of the best rifles ever made for long distance shooting.
Barrett MRAD 338 lapua
This guy fucks.
You are too late. If you can even get a gun you will not get ammo for it unless you want to get ass raped for it.
An AR-15 in 5.56. While not optimal for hunting you can take a deer with a 5.56, and in a survival situation the concept of “ethically killing” a deer goes out the window.
A .22lr would be a good rifle to have for small critters as well
If you want one gun to do just about everything you need a 12 gauge pump shotgun. It will do just about anything except long distance shooting.
I too feel that a shotgun is the best all rounder. You can get a shotgun in semi-auto for $500 and a pump for $200. It is the preferred hunting method of fowl, and can take rabbit all the way up to deer as well. A big thing with shotguns is choke tubes.
Pump Shotgun. You can still find some ammo. Birdshot is lethal in a house.
Do you really think there will be anything left to shoot in this case?
Farrel cats outnumber Americans three to one as of 10 years ago. Now probably worse. There will be food for those with strong stomachs.
Until you've eaten cats you'll realize dogs taste better unfortunately
Pretty sure I had cat once. At least the sweet and sour "chicken" tasted like a wet cat smells......so.....
Had cat in Japan. Not so bad if you marinate & cook it kabob style... just saying
Back in time they said: Remove head, remove tail: rabbit 🤣
Lmfao
For areas with lots of brush, a twig can make you miss your shot with a light fast bullet. So before looking at a gun specific for hunting and HD, know what area you will be hunting in, and use a caliber for that area. Shot placement is key. Some states have restrictions on what you can use to hunt with. My state will not allow big game hunting (deer) with 5.56Nato / .223 Rem, the standard AR-15 round. Some states require shotguns to hunt, and don't allow rifles. In some places you must use straight walled cartages. Also know what you plan on hunting. You wouldn't use the same caliber on an elk as a rabbit. The jack of all trades is the shotgun, it can do most things, as long as it isn't far away. You need one to go bird hunting, you can hunt rabbits and squirrels with bird shot, cayotes an similar with smaller buck shot, and deer with a slug or big buck shot. Slugs are often rifled now, so they are pretty accurate.
If you want one that doesn’t look like. AR15 I recommend the Ruger mini 14. Shoots a .556/.223 and that will do most everything you need.
AR-15! I shit you not. Wait...when you mean hunt, are you talking about Alex Jones "Eat My Neighbor" hunt?
Kek
Grad school? How about a squirt gun?
Ruger American in 308
AR15 and get some decent 69+ grain ballistic tip or HP ammo. Should be able to drop a deer just fine assuming you shoot it in a vital area. Rifles are still available online and ammo can be found but it ain’t cheap. 70 cents each for basic 55gr, probably 1.25$ each for hunting ammo