Beware the man with only one gun - but which one?

[CMF]

I'm a resident alien with a permit for a low capacity long gun only (like a FID). I want to buy one gun, because if the CRaPS act is passed in close to its current form my options will expand dramatically to include handguns and ARs. The question is, which gun to buy? Ideally it will be good for home defense (as society melts down due to economic stress and swine flu), target shooting, plinking and perhaps some small game hunting. My current shortlist is:

(1) Marlin Model 60 22LR. Semi-auto with a 14 round tubular mag.

(2) Bushmaster Top-Loader AR-15. Just like a pre-ban AR with the major exception that it is not magazine fed. Good training for when I can get a real AR but I'm not sure about the break-open reloading.

(3) Bolt action rifle, possibly in .308.

(4) Pump shotgun. Since it's only one gun, I may splurge on a Wilson Combat Remington 870.

Please help me decide.

 

[lord1234]

CRAPS act?

 

[yanici]

deleted

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[strangenh]

Put a .357mag lever action on that shortlist. If you can have only one gun, it's close to the most versatile given the range of ammo.

Also a heap of fun.

 

[jar]

I think the top loader ARs are silly. There are non-large cap semi-auto rifles out there. Maybe an SKS or an M1 Garand?

If I were in your situation, I'd try to stretch to two guns and get a Ruger 10/22 and a pump action 12 gauge. I like the Mossberg 500 personally, but the Remington 870 is another good choice. This gives you a wide range of shooting activities for short money. The 10/22 is great for plinking, target shooting, and small game hunting. The shotgun is great for home defense, clay target games, and hunting anything that's too big for the 22. If I had to pare my collection down for some reason those are two I'd definitely keep, plus a pistol for carry and IDPA (not an option for you at this point).

 

[depicts]

What about something like a Hindi-rifle, with the choice of multiple barrels with choice of calibers and shotgun barrels.

 

[hminsky]

Get something fun to shoot. The lever action .357 would fit the bill quite well.


Or a 9mm rifle, like the Kel-Tec Sub 2000. Well, its sort of fun to shoot, but the sights are kind of annoying really, too low to the stock.

My favorite rifle is the m1 carbine, fun to shoot, no recoil, ammo is a little hard to find at a good price though, but I have some sources.

 

[jar]

The Sub2000 and the m1 carbine are no gos for him, since they're high capacity and require an LTC in MA.

 

[kevin9]

The Sub2000 and the m1 carbine are no gos for him, since they're high capacity and require an LTC in MA.

Not quite true. The M1 Carbine is on the large capacity roster, but the Kel-Tec Sub2000 is not. That means someone with an FID can own a Sub2000 as long as they have only low-capacity magazines for it (from GOAL site). There are low capacity magazines available for at least the Glock versions of the Sub2000.

If I were the OP I'd probably get a lever-action carbine, maybe in 357 or 30-30. Second choice would be a pistol caliber carbine (Beretta Storm, Kel-Tec Sub2000 or Sub9, or a Hi-Point).

 

[CMF]

Thanks, everyone, for the great suggestions. Lever actions seem very popular and I had not considered them much. Also, I was completely unaware of this wrinkle in the high-cap law:

The M1 Carbine is on the large capacity roster, but the Kel-Tec Sub2000 is not. That means someone with an FID can own a Sub2000 as long as they have only low-capacity magazines for it (from GOAL site).

I wonder if this can be stretched to include ARs that are not on the roster (owning 10 round mags only). Or perhaps a Kel-tec SU-16. I know there are other threads about what a FID allows, so I will check there.

*

"CRaPS act": Massachusetts Civil Rights and Public Safety act H2259. See www.massgunlawreform.com or postings elsewhere on NES. I should avoid this abbreviation...

 

[hminsky]

I had a Marlin 1894C .357 with a peep sight from http://www.skinnersights.com. The rifle was very well balanced and ergonomic. I've also got a .44 magnum Winchester trapper, which is a little less gentle to shoot, because it is lighter and because the .44 factory loads are a little heavier I think. You can shoot .38 special from the .357, and .44 special from the .44 magnum rifle, so it's versatile.

 

[Beansie_Time]

get the Remington 870 pump shotgun. You can do the following with that one gun.

Hunt birds, hunt deer, hunt wild boar, hunt waterfowl, hunt turkey, shoot trap/skeet/sporting clays, shoot tactical competitions, target shoot with slugs, defend your home and family, smash pumpkins.
Did I miss any?

Name me one other gun you could do all that with other than a pump 12ga.

 

[ShadeWPI]

Can you do a magazine feed weapon weapon if it's not a semi-automatic?

The Crossfire MK-1 is expensive, but it combines a 12ga pump action shotgun with a 5.56x45mm pump action rifle into a single firearm.

http://www.weaponspecialists.com/insiteTemplate.php?includeWhat=propView&id=149

if you're allowed to do a magazine fed pump-action, that will give you most of the utility of both a 12ga and an AR (though it's pump-action) and I believe it uses standard AR magazines, so you could pick up 10rd mags for now and expand if the rules change and you're allowed to use higher capacity magazines.

 

[crak]

Saiga 12.

If you think the 870 does it all, the Saiga does it all faster and more badass.

And it's not on any high cap list I can see.

But if somehow it's legal for you to get a non-colt, non-bushmaster AR with 10 round mags (My "jailhouse" lawyering only goes so far as my own license and possessions) then run, don't walk, to your nearest dealer and get that. It probably is the default "one gun" until you've found a different one. Hell, you can even have a 50BMG upper in your closet for it and you still technically have only one gun.

 

[Jose]

Saiga 12.

If you think the 870 does it all, the Saiga does it all faster and more badass.
.

I'm not well versed on Saigas, so I would like to know how easy it is to change barrels on them and how available are those barrels.

I don't know about bad assness, but a good shooter with a pump can come very close to matching semi auto speed, and any Remington 1100 or 11-87 will more than keep up with a Saiga speedwise.

And you can find barrels and parts for Remington shotguns ANYWHERE.