Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Advice Please

We are finally moving permanently to our mountain house. It sits on 5 acres a quarter mile off the paved road with between 30 and 150 yards of open space around the house depending on which direction. The longest is down the driveway and the house is in an elevated position. For home defense there is no question in my mind that a semi-auto rifle is the best choice for this property.

The entire mountain behind me is uninhabited. Two legged varmints are very rare, but there are plenty of the usual four legged ones – bears, coyotes, bobcats, etc.. My wife’s current go-to is a Ruger 44 mag tube mag carbine which we keep with an empty chamber. This only leaves her 4 rounds with a cumbersome reload. She is deadly with it, and four rounds of well-placed 44 mag is no joke, but there are better options.

I’ve been looking the options and I’m on the fence between a Ruger ranch rifle or an AR. Springfield SAINT catches my eye. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Colt is never a bad choice in ARs.

My first one was a Colt, still have it. Probably my nicest AR.

Colt 6920 is a solid choice and can be had cheaper than some lesser brands.

Buy quality, whatever you choose

Ditto on the colt 6920.

Colt, FN, BCM are all excellent choices.

Put a decent low powered scope on it & you're all set.

Use a heavier bullet like a 75/77gr or a Barnes in a 62 gr.

MM

If battle “quality” was a consideration, nowadays I’d go with an FN.

For plinking and home protection, I’d be fine with a Ruger, S&W, Stag Arms, Rock River, etc. I haven’t read the reviews on the new Springfield Saint yet, but I’d bet it’s a shooter on the basis that every other Springfield Armory product I’ve owned has worked flawlessly.

+1

I'll also recommend the Colt 6920 and upgrade anything you don't like about it.

For close to 20 years my family defense gun when camping was a Browning B92 in .44 Mag. 12 +1 rounds of close range mayhem provides a lot of confidence and lethality.

Ruger Mini 30 in 762x39. That should handle everything but grizzlies.

kwg

+1 +1

Another top quality choice is LMT.

AR prices are in the toilet currently. I would recommend an AR currently. I have no reservations recommending buying or assembling a cheap AR and buying a case of ammo. I have assembled plenty that are cost efficient and use the ammo to test reliability.

I would recommend looking at the RUGER AR556 MPR. Mainly because it has a very nice 2-stage trigger (so much nicer than mil-spec) and is nicely balanced. The rifles length gas system makes it less Sproingy to shoot and the furniture gives you all sorts options. Ruger builds a nice rifle at a great price.

https://www.brownells.com/firearms/rifles/semi-auto/m249s-20-5in-5-56x45mm-nato-matte-black-30-1rd-prod90115.aspx?avs%7cManufacturer_1=fn