Pistol or Rifle

[pwoller]

Since you want to put food in the fridge and you live in Indiana that means Deer and waterfowl for the most part. My suggestion would be a inexpensive shotgun for the deer and birds and a 22 for the varmites.

 

[XDLover]

Marlin model60 can be had for 100 bucks and its very accurate.
A nice H&R 20 gauge shot gun
A nice 9mm or 38 revolver for home protection

 

[Sniper 79]

357 mag lever gun, you can shoot 38 special and practice and it is legal for deer in IN, great all around gun for whatever your needs and it kicks a lot less than the 20ga others have sugested. When you get good with it you can take squirels in the head too. Coyotes would be no problem. A short carbine version would also make a great home defense. If you are not concerned about hunting all that much go with a Ruger mini 14 in .223.

 

[bm12171]

Thanks SGTONORY, would love to try to get with you on shooting some of what you have!! It won't let me PM you because I guess I don't have enough posts yet since new to the site. Thank you soooo much!! And that thank you all for the great info; I have a lot of great advice and lots to think about. It so nice to be apart of a forum where everyone is eager to help and teach the old gal some things. Happy New Year everyone - this year is going to bring lots of changes for me!

 

[Jeremy1066]

A Marlin Model 60 .22 rifle is perfect for field utility use. I've had mine for 27 years and just bought my 13 yr old son one. Great for rabbits , squirrels, fox, etc.

 

[Paul30]

I had a marlin model 60 as my first rifle, it is a fine rifle for a little money. Reliable and accurate. I don't know what the original post has for a budget or how large game she wants to shoot. As mentioned, a 357 lever action would be great because you can shoot 38 special for practice and small game and shoot 357 mag as a legal deer round for Indiana. It is however more expensive to shoot than a .22 caliber. If you have the budget, or can find one used, I like the 1022 because of the detachable magazines that can be instantly loaded or unloaded. Also gives you more rounds if you have to protect yourself or livestock if you put a larger capacity magazine in it. I also like the fact you can do lots of customizing later on if you want to. A Ruger 1022 is hard to beat, but I will not put down a Marlin model 60 because it is a great gun for the price.

 

[Colt556]

Where are you located? If you can make it to MGFG I can bring an assortment of 22s, 38s and 357s. No centerfire rifle there but I have 22LR, 22Mag and 17HMR to shoot. I'm sure others could bring more options as well.

btw; Is your Avatar Ralphie with a Red Ryder AR?

 

[churchmouse]

Where are you located? If you can make it to MGFG I can bring an assortment of 22s, 38s and 357s. No centerfire rifle there but I have 22LR, 22Mag and 17HMR to shoot. I'm sure others could bring more options as well.

btw; Is your Avatar Ralphie with a Red Ryder AR?

Sounds like you have it all covered.

OP, this is a golden opportunity to get a feel for the different options from a person with the knowledge to share.
For game up to coyote the .17 HMR is my favorite.

It is Ralpie with the new Red Ryder AR platform

 

[Jneal]

Get a 20 guage first for the home defense and hunting. Then get a Marlin 60 for the small varmints.

 

[SSGSAD]

What would be the best 'first' purchase for me (a woman) who has no shooting experience in over 30+ years. Would like one for protection, but do not want to carry this with me; also want one to protect my many animals on my new found love a animal caretaking of mini donkeys, chickens and meat rabbits. Being over 40, married, daughter off and recently married, want to make changes in my life and one is to be able to start hunting and provide food for myself in this economy which is dwindling. any insights are very helpful. Thanks

Depending on where in In., you are, I have BOTH, Ruger 10-/22, and a tube-fed rifle, that I wlii let you shoot... I also have .22 Ruger handgun, .38, .357, and 9mm that you can try, if you like .....

 

[bm12171]

Why yes, it's Ralphie with Red Ryder - thought it was appropriate for me right now, since if I'm not careful I might shoot my eye out! Colt 556, I'm from Vincennes, IN - little over 2 hrs from Broad Ripple (where I see you are from).

 

[kludge]

A .22 rifle is great for hunting small game and shooting small pests and varmints out to about 50 yards. It will also take care of racoons, possums, foxes, coyotes that might be bothering your livestock at short range (25 to 50 yards). If they don't go down on the first shot, keep shooting.

A .22 Mag (WMR, Winchest Magnum Rimfire) or .17 HMR (Hornady Magnum Rimfire) will do the job on those critters out to 100 yards or so.

But neither is really well suited to personal defense. And for ONE gun for your situation, I'd lean toward a rifle.

For personal defense I will always take a reliable semi auto over any other type of action. For this job I really like the .30 Carbine (US Carbine Caliber .30 M1). But it's not legal for deer hunting.

At 100 yards it has roughly the same power that .357 Magnum handgun does at the muzzle. It's fun to shoot, light, short, easy to handle, mild recoil and report, and will do double duty for home defense and livestock defense. The downside is that it isn't cheap. A GI model can run $600-$800 and up (and up) depending on condition. "Universal" brand carbines run some hundreds of dollars less, but I don't care for them.

Recently the company Auto-Ordnance started making commercial versions that run in the $800 range. Most reviews are very positive.

Next in line would be a 9mm, .40S&W or .45 ACP semi-auto rifle. But these are a little harder to find. Why? I don't exactly know. They are also useful for predators at short range, at least 50 yards, and possible to 100 yards. Later on you could get a matching hangun. One more option is to get a Glock or a 1911 handgun and buy a Mech Tech carbine conversion; then you can swap back and forth between handgun and rifle - whatever you need at the time.

A lever action rifle in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, or .45 Colt would also do the trick - for everything except bird hunting. Personally I would choose a 16" barrel for your purposes over a 20" or longer barrel. Again these are harder find, but again, I don't know why. All three cartridges are legal for deer hunting and will work for that out to at least 100 yards. And dispatch varmints and predators with ease. For home defense, substitute .38 Special+P for .357 Magnums and .44 Specials for .44 Magnums. Out of a rifle, the Specials will have plenty of oomph for home defense and it lets you get a couple more rounds in the magazine. one advantage of the .357 is that there are a lot of great revolvers in .357 Magnum and you have the advantage of being able to share ammunition if you get one later on down the road... who knows, you may want to to keep it on your hip as you're out and about working on your property. You can also get .44 Magnum and .45 Colt revolvers.

A "youth model" 20 Gauge pump shotgun also makes my list. With a few different barrels it could be used for home defense, critter getter, rabbit and squirrel gun, bird hunting gun, and deer slug gun.

 

[bm12171]

Thank you so very much Kludge; this was GREAT info and gave me a lot to think about and also a lot to research in order to figure out the lingo that I'm still learning!! lol. I will get there, just take me some time. For now sounds like I may lean toward the .22 with the option of maybe even a shotgun; then in the future start figuring out a handgun. Think it's time to start buying, cause I would hate to think I couldn't buy one once I made the decision to. Thanks again all of you - what great advice and what a great group of people you all are!!

 

[Lawn Racer]

I have a ruger 10/22 and love it. It is a great gun and very reliable. A good option if you do not need a bigger bullet than a .22

 

[jbell_64]

I would go with a 20 gauge shotgun. Smooth bore for small game hunting and home defense and a rifled barrel for deer hunting. She can even go blast some clays for fun as an added bonus.