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From: ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Long gun for rural property advice request
Message-ID: <35377@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: 7 Jun 91 17:13:31 GMT
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In article <35290@mimsy.umd.edu> uunet!cfctech.cfc.com!alexb@cs.UMD.EDU (Alex Beylin) writes:
#Up to now my wife and I lived in suburbia.  Becouse any confrontation
#would probably take place in tight quarters, our self defence 
#arcenal consists of a Glock 19 and a Colt .38 Special.
#Now, we are about to move a bit further out of town (classified 
#suburban/rural by the bank).  The house is located on 15 acres.
#About 60% of property is lightly wooded, with the 
#rest (closest to the house) a horse pasture (we'll have 3-4 horses).
#What kind of guns am I likely to need?  I have two .22LR rifles,
#but they are only good for small vermin.  I would like to 
#have sufficient fire power to deal with a wild animal as bif as a 
#large dog plus any two-legged threat.  While the Glock is
#most accurate, I am just an avarage shot with it and would not want to
#count on long distance hits when under preasure.

If you expect to need something more than the Glock for self-defense, you 
shouldn't move, let the Army handle the situation. Your .22s are adequate
for pests up to and including dogs. Your handguns should be up to
the job of dealing with any life threatening situations. Getting into
a long range firefight just isn't likely and would certainly have
legal ramifications since you would be far enough away to flee rather
than take another person's life.

#I would like to buy an AR-15, but available cash will be short, at least 
#initially, so inexpensive or stagered approaches are prefered. (Surplus?).
#My very limited knowledge of shotgun capabilities suggests that may be
#a good alternative, but I have been lead to belive the recoil is quite
#strong, which would prevent my wife (96lb) from practicing sufficiently 
#to become proficient enough.

I shotgun is a fine ranch weapon with sporting uses as well as pest
control, but it is really a short range weapon for defense. I wouldn't
count on it to reliably stop a man sized target beyond 40 yards and
your pistol should be usable to that range. If you really want to
purchase a rifle, I would recommend one that would serve you as a
sporting weapon primarily and as a defensive weapon only peripherally.
A fine choice would be a 30-06 bolt action rifle with scope. You can
use this for hunting, putting down the occasional rampaging Pekinese
at 300 yards, and engaging in long range sniper contests with your
neighbors.

If you really want to be a rock and roll Rambo, get one of the cheap
AK varients. You can spit harder than these things shoot, but they
will make a lot of noise.

#One of the sides of the property ends in a hill where I intend to build
#a small shooting range to practice whatever we get.

This is the most important thing you can do. Practice, practice, practice.
Any weapon is only as good as it's wielder. It's fun too.

Gary

[MODERATOR:  Note that the original poster mentioned 15 acres.  Not a 
lot of elbow room for a .30-'06, hmm?  Also, they mentioned recoil from
a shotgun as a consideration.  For what its worth, my original response
to them was to consider a surplus .30 carbine -- cheap, light, plentiful
ammo, etc.  Maybe not the fight-stopper that a .375 H&H would represent,
but then again it should be adequate for most of the criteria originally
mentioned.  If not used for defensive purposes, then some kindly local
could also make up some handloads with nice jacketted hollow points, instead
of hardball, to get better stopping power for hunting. ....]