Hello - first post here... My wife and I just moved to CO and live in an area where there's lots of wildlife (fox, raccoons, coyotes, mountain lions). We are on a wooded lot but also have neighbors rather close (<100 yds).
We're interested in getting a rifle for target shooting and some defense against the above if needed. It would need to be something that she could yield with relative ease and hopefully with cheap ammo for practice! My first thought was a .22 magnum but would like the experts' opinion - also not sure about the price of ammo.
Came from Upstate NY and never owned a gun before - would love some suggestions.
MooseMan WELCOME to GUN and GAME feller delighted you joined.
We now have 2 Moosemans aboard you and MooseMan684...A.H
I would suggest a Marlin's 336 model 30-30 leveraction rifle BUT! They have other handy combination leveractions. The model 1894 that shoots 38spl./357....44 S&Wspl/44mag....41magnum calibers would prolly be best for your location.
The 1894's shoot pistol cartridges and would make a ultra home defence firearms and they hold an average of 9 to10 rounds your wife can even shoot these with no pain.
Please give these 1894 leverguns some serious thought...A.H
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Last edited by ArkansasHunter; 10-17-2007 at 10:39 AM.
From long observation I know for a fact the .22 lr,mag. and such will fly far enough to get a careless shooter in trouble with his neighbors.What you are speaking of possibly guarding against especially mountain lions and coyotes really requires a little more than a rim fire produces.I would recommend a centerfire in either .223Rem. which is as cheap on ammo as you can get in that class,or better yet a .243Win. which really isnt that much higher on ammo and is about 1/4 more gun.Both are very light recoil and female friendly.These can be purchased,scope and all for around $400. or less.I would recommend getting a .22lr also because they are very handy,can be purchased for around $100 and have the cheapest ammo to target practice with.And no man should be without a good ol,.22lr. No gun is dangerous and no shooter is safe unless he practices safe firearms procedures.The first thing I would sugest is getting on the web and reading about gun safety.The first purchase I would make is eye and ear protection,even before a firearm. sam.
Wow guys - that's a lot to think about already - thanks! Checking out ammo prices I can see the economy of the .22 - I'd be counting the $$ for each shot out of the centerfire rounds!
Whereabouts are you in Colorado? I live in Parker, just SE of Denver, and I also lived in the Syracuse area for several years (Clay, Fayetteville, & Pennellville). Pretty area, but I'm sure glad I don't live there anymore.
I'd have to vote for a levergun too for an around-the-property gun, hard to beat a Marlin 30-30 carbine. Be careful about shooting the mountain lions, the DOW frowns on that here unless one actually has a human by the throat, and you'll get a spanking for that too. They'll prosecute you for shooting one that's killing your dog. We're the invaders in THEIR world, according to the liberal tree-huggers.
The .223rem would be perfect for the critters that you listed in your first post. It has all the range needed, very small recoil, and lots of cheap ammo available. It also won't shake the ground like a 30-06 and bigger calibers would. If you want to protect your house, you may want to look into a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun, but to rid of pests, the .223 should do fine.
Get a .22 bolt action first. They are a lot of fun and will take any of the .22 ammo available without feeding or jamming problems. The wildlife that you mention will not really bother you. It will avoid you. If you get jumped by a mountain lion...kiss it goodbye!
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We old dogs can learn new tricks. We just may not like performng them. TJ
Whereabouts are you in Colorado? I live in Parker, just SE of Denver, and I also lived in the Syracuse area for several years (Clay, Fayetteville, & Pennellville). Pretty area, but I'm sure glad I don't live there anymore.
I'd have to vote for a levergun too for an around-the-property gun, hard to beat a Marlin 30-30 carbine. Be careful about shooting the mountain lions, the DOW frowns on that here unless one actually has a human by the throat, and you'll get a spanking for that too. They'll prosecute you for shooting one that's killing your dog. We're the invaders in THEIR world, according to the liberal tree-huggers.
Hey - we live in Evergreen now - and I also lived in Fayetteville, NY. Funny - your description of it is exactly how I would put it too.
Thanks for the recommendations - I honestly doubt I will ever have to deal with a Mountain Lion but if I do - I want to be armed. I will deal with DOW later! (Shoot first and beg for forgiveness later, right?)
Isn't a 30-30 a little big for around the property?
You might also want to look into a (Lord, forgive me-Please!), Hi-Point 9mm or .40 S&W carbine. I'm not a Hi-Point fan, but the 9mm would be cheap to shoot, not overly offensive to the neighbors, and would have enough power to make close range shots pretty effective on med.-size game with +P ammo. A .223 w\ballistic tip or hollow point ammo would be a good choice as well as they would reduce the ricochet factor better than a heavier cal. centerfire.
