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Fawkes wrote:I'm going to take a different spin than the usual AR suggestion. Check out the Springfield SOCOM for a big gun. I had the opportunity to fire one recently, and I have to tell you, I'm thinking of trading in the AR for a SOCOM II. All the bells and whistles for 3-gun, but able to reach out as a hunting rifle if I so desire.

I'm going to disagree here.

Don't get me wrong, my son and I have two M1A Loaded rifles in the safe (the SOCOM being an M1A with a cut down barrel and a top rail for a scout type optic), and I love me some M1A. Mine is probably my favorite rifle. But the OP specified these things:

1. Should be fun to plink with, yet still usable for home defense if that need should ever arise. If the lady of the house is going to plink with it too, then recoil needs to be pretty well-managed and not beat her up when she fires it.

First, an M1A is fun to plink with, no doubt, but the .308 cartridge can run up a pretty big ammo bill. It is fun, but it ain't cheap. I wouldn't really call it a plinking caliber.

Second, it will also carry a long, long way without something to backstop it. I wouldn't dream of using a .308 caliber battle rifle for inside the home defense. It will go through plate steel. Your walls won't be enough to stop it, after it has over-penetrated your target... assuming you hit the target. If you miss, all bets are off.

Third, although the M1A's recoil is not as stiff as on a .308 bolt rifle, it is considerably more pronounced than on an AR15, and it is not a good choice for a lady who does not have previous rifle experience, any more than starting her off with a .44 magnum would be a good choice for pistols.

Lastly, a .308 is loud; louder than an AR15. A .308 with a 16" barrel is really loud; noticeably louder than with the standard 22" barrel. In my humble opinion, an M1A in any of its iterations is not a good choice of rifle for the beginning shooter.

That said, they are superb rifles. I bought mine for hog hunting and for Something Arises situations. I like it so much I bought one for my son last Christmas.

Mine:


My son's, in a Sage M1A/M14 EBR stock:

newTexan wrote:1. Should be fun to plink with, yet still usable for home defense if that need should ever arise. If the lady of the house is going to plink with it too, then recoil needs to be pretty well-managed and not beat her up when she fires it.

AR15

newTexan wrote:2. Should be relatively easy to take apart, clean, and put back together.

AR15

newTexan wrote:3. Should be reliable.

AR15

newTexan wrote:4. At the ranges I'm going to probably be shooting (probably 100yards max), I'd like to avoid having to do/worry too much about separate optics. Decent iron sights are probably fine. I know some of the FN's come with optics which are also probably fine if they're any good at all.

AR15, with an inexpensive scope or a red dot/holographic sight

newTexan wrote:Any thoughts or suggestions?

AR15

newTexan wrote:Things to avoid or definitely look at?

Thanks!

Look at an AR15.

I hope I wasn't being too confusing.