SHTF Long Gun for Petite Girl?

[Darguth]

Shameless bump for Appleseed. If you both own rifles and expect to be able to use them, I cannot recommend highly enough something as cheap and thorough as an Appleseed clinic one weekend. I can guarantee you, most Americans are not prepared to take shots at 400 yards and actually hit their target. Not saying you will pick up on all the info in one weekend, but you will most certainly walk away with the fundamentals and the knowledge of how to make the shot and how to practice correctly. Bad form is hard to break, so if either of you are still novices(or "experts), I highly recommend you make it to a shoot asap. www.appleseedinfo.org

I'm definitely looking to do an Appleseed weekend already We're both novice marksman. Mostly waiting for the weather to break come Springtime. We tried heading to a DNR range a few weekends ago with some friends and on Saturday it was in the 50's and then the next day when we scheduled to meet-up it had fallen to sub-zero when factoring for windchill. That was not fun (but typical of Michigan)

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Yeah, the availability is a larger issue to me than the cost. If I thought the Kel-Tec was the best tool to protect her, it'd be funded. However, I'm definitely coming around to the merits of having a .22LR rifle with us so I think my options are shifting more towards the AR-7, a 10/22 Takedown, or possibly a MP-15/22. The last one would have some interchangeable parts/accessories with my own rifle and she'd also be training with something the functions almost exactly like mine, so she'd be better at using mine in a pinch (and me hers).

You can also get a regular 5.56mm AR carbine with a collapsing stock and a lightened barrel etc, and then drop a .22lr conversion bolt similar to:

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/stag-arms-ar-15-22lr-conversion-kit/

(Trying to remember the name of the really really good one and can't...begins with an "L" I am sure...)

best of BOTH worlds. An AR small enough and light enough to carry, fires accurate .22 when you want it, and fires accurate 5.56 when you need it.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

I'm definitely looking to do an Appleseed weekend already We're both novice marksman. Mostly waiting for the weather to break come Springtime. We tried heading to a DNR range a few weekends ago with some friends and on Saturday it was in the 50's and then the next day when we scheduled to meet-up it had fallen to sub-zero when factoring for windchill. That was not fun (but typical of Michigan)

Good plan. Appleseed helped me improve significantly (mostly in technical knowledge like inches-minutes-clicks), and I am a certified Marine Corps Rifle Expert. Everyone from people who have never touched a firearm to world class experts can benefit from Appleseed. For me, I can now effectively zero a rifle in only 1-2 shots (providing neither of those two are flyers )

 

[XNavyNuke]

Shameless bump for Appleseed. If you both own rifles and expect to be able to use them, I cannot recommend highly enough something as cheap and thorough as an Appleseed clinic one weekend. I can guarantee you, most Americans are not prepared to take shots at 400 yards and actually hit their target. Not saying you will pick up on all the info in one weekend, but you will most certainly walk away with the fundamentals and the knowledge of how to make the shot and how to practice correctly. Bad form is hard to break, so if either of you are still novices(or "experts), I highly recommend you make it to a shoot asap. www.appleseedinfo.org

Ditto. If you are bringing a centerfire, try to attend one that does known distance on day two. I've seen many people come to the latter and not believe that the lessons learned on day one at 25 m will translate on day two to known distance. Many of those came convinced in their own mind (or by others) that to hit reliably out to 300+ you need a bench or a bipod.

XNN

 

[oyarde]

So, I'm looking for some advice. My girlfriend and I have begun to take emergency preparations more seriously in the last year or so. Included in that has been the acquisition and training of several firearms as well as "bug out" bags, as you might call them. Ideally I want to have 2 weapons for each of us that are "ready to go" in an emergency situation along with our supply bags. One being a handgun as a secondary fallback weapon for self-defense, and the other being a general purpose long-gun for hunting and longer-range combat.

She already has her handgun and I already have my long-gun and know what I want for my handgun (once the funds are available), so what I'm angling for is to determine what would be the most appropriate SHTF long-gun for my girlfriend. She's a 5'3" Asian girl that weighs barely 100-105 lbs. This make size and weight of a long-gun for such a purpose pretty restricted. She took my AR-15 out for the first time at the range a few weeks ago and complained about the weight after only a short period. It only weighs about 7.5 lbs or so.

Aside from that we have two other long-guns, both shotguns. One is my home defense Mossberg 500 and the other is her Beretta sporting shotgun. The former doesn't seem to make a great SHTF weapon because I want to keep it configured for close-quarters/home defense. Which makes it ill-suited to be "ready to go in an emergency" as some kind of all-purpose gun for emergency situations. Similarly her Beretta doesn't fit the bill because the thing is huge, heavy, and has a plug in it's mag tube to make it legal for sporting competitions that only allow 2 rounds at a time.

The criteria I'd like the weapon to fit would be:
- Lightweight: Close to 5.5 lbs or so, if possible. Preferably after including a scope's weight.
- Hunting Capable: As a SHTF gun it needs to be dual-purpose for hunting and self-defense. I live in Michigan, so if it can hunt any kind of game from bird to buck is fine with me.
- Midrange Lethality: It needs to be able to--with the proper ammunition--be plenty lethal to humans at up to 200 yards at least.

Thoughts? Any advice is appreciated.

I would get her a recurve bow and a Ruger.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Ditto. If you are bringing a centerfire, try to attend one that does known distance on day two. I've seen many people come to the latter and not believe that the lessons learned on day one at 25 m will translate on day two to known distance. Many of those came convinced in their own mind (or by others) that to hit reliably out to 300+ you need a bench or a bipod.

XNN

300 isn't even that hard unsupported on irons if you understand the mechanics of markmanship. 500 unsupported on irons gets pretty tough though. But for me it's a vision thing not a mechanics thing. 500 unsupported with glass is pretty easy for me, but my irons are starting to fall apart as I get older lol. I'm left eye dominant and right handed though. Chances are if I forced myself to become skilled at shooting lefty my irons will pick up at 400-500 because I see twice as good through my left eye as I do my right.

Or, I can just use glass and not care.

 

[XNavyNuke]

Or, I can just use glass and not care.

Touche'

Which brings up another point. If you are going to buy optics, don't SKIMP! Also, take the time to learn how to adjust them quickly in the field. Glass is not nearly as accommodating to rough handling as iron sights are, so you might be adjusting frequently.

XNN

 

[Darguth]

Yes, optics are certainly on the list not only for her rifle but my own. I unfortunately know little about them, so I've been doing some research on what I may want/need before pulling the trigger (no pun intended) on getting them.

I wouldn't think a survival rifle would need to have much more than a fixed 3x or 4x scope right? My AR I might be looking at something more like a 3-9x40 or something.

 

[chudrockz]

Try out a Marlin 795 if she doesn't care for the Ruger 10/22. I dunno what my wife's 10/22 (stock) weighs, but I'm quite sure it's way more than my go-to training rifle that comes in at 4.5 pounds.

 

[Darguth]

Try out a Marlin 795 if she doesn't care for the Ruger 10/22. I dunno what my wife's 10/22 (stock) weighs, but I'm quite sure it's way more than my go-to training rifle that comes in at 4.5 pounds.

I believe my father has both a Marlin 60 and a 795, I'll make sure she shoots both

 

[ClydeCoulter]

I believe my father has both a Marlin 60 and a 795, I'll make sure she shoots both

The marlin XT22 is what my son has (.22 magnum), but it is bolt action. Problem is, only 4 or 7 round magazines. I like it's accuracy.
edit: I bought a CenterPoint 3-9x32 that seems really clear, for the Marlin XT, can't wait to install and zero it.

Since I went with a .22TCM 1911 handgun, I'm waiting for the .22TCM bolt gun, will be out late 2nd quarter and takes the same 17 round magazine as the 1911.

 

[chudrockz]

The marlin XT22 is what my son has (.22 magnum), but it is bolt action. Problem is, only 4 or 7 round magazines. I like it's accuracy.
edit: I bought a CenterPoint 3-9x32 that seems really clear, for the Marlin XT, can't wait to install and zero it.

Since I went with a .22TCM 1911 handgun, I'm waiting for the .22TCM bolt gun, will be out late 2nd quarter and takes the same 17 round magazine as the 1911.

We have both the Marlin model 60 & 795, as well as the Ruger 10/22. All great rifles. Blame my wife for that last one. She got "into" target shooting last year and of course needs her "own" guns since mine aren't good enough!

Next she wants her own shotguns, since my Mossberg Maverick 88 and Wichester 1300 slug hunter aren't adequate. The search is on. Who would have thought that with a six week safety course she would go from afraid of any gun to LOVING a twelve gauge? Lol

 

[osan]

Try out a Marlin 795 if she doesn't care for the Ruger 10/22. I dunno what my wife's 10/22 (stock) weighs, but I'm quite sure it's way more than my go-to training rifle that comes in at 4.5 pounds.

The Remington 597 seems to be an excellent .22 semi. I spent an afternoon shooting a friend's and I put several hundred rounds (at least 200) on a 2" steel disk @ 100 yards with not enough misses to use the fingers on one hand. I was very surprised at how precisely that rifle put lead on target. I also recall it as having had a rather good trigger.