Get an AK pattern rifle then. You can still use reliable 30 round magazines and it’s small enough for women and youth to enjoy too!
Another option is a Ruger mini 14. Even the hoplophobic anti gun politicians don’t seem to be afraid of it for some reason. It usually gets exempted from most of the proposed assault weapon bans.
Maybe she would prefer an AK? If she is a 9mm fan there is also the Sub2K.
Does Remington still make the pump action 223 that uses stanag magazines?
I haven’t seen any of those in quite some time. Maybe they will make a comeback if the anti gunners succeed with their ban plan.
My first hunting rifle was a remington 7600 in 308. Handy little pump rifle. Unfortunately only had a 4 round mag option from the factory and the aftermarket 10 rnd mags were not the most reliable. With a reliable 10rnd mag it could make a viable self defense tool.
I doubt we’ll see them again now that the general public has been conditioned to seeing LE with the rifles they [general public] are being told only belong in war zones.
Which is to say that, as i recall, the main reason tgsoe pump rifles existed was to give 223 ammo and ballistics to cops without the overt rifle appearance
We have a smaller house. For tight spaces, Mossberg 510 Youth Mini Super Bantam. 20gauge, 18.5 in. barrel. 3+1. Inexpensive, still makes a good “deterrent” sound, still makes big enough holes, in a large enough pattern, with a good bit less recoil. 9mm as backup.
But if they pass a law saying only police can carry “war zone” weapons then the pump rifle becomes a likely next best option. Their obvious goal is to eventually declare all semi auto weapons as only being acceptable for government enforcers to carry.
The rest of us will eventually have to settle for sticks and stones. Unless we go the England route where defending yourself from an attacker is a potential crime.
Another option may be a lever action rifle, if you are interested in a rifle for home defense. However a pump or semi auto shotgun is a great defensive firearm. Without knowing more about why she doesn’t like the idea of an AR 15, there is no way to really suggest alternatives. I think my wife would be okay with a minigun for home defense if we could afford one, however I would be the one wielding it due to the shear weight.
Consider a .22 WMR Kel-Tec CMR. Lots of energy close in, ammo available in HP, very light weight. And very fun to shoot - training/practice friendly.
Just looked it up. Wow! Leave it to Kel-Tec to come up with something else unique and yet practical. Now I want one.
Might as well grab a Sub2K in 9mm while you are at it. Order it from Kel-Tec with all the performance mods installed. I guarantee it will become you favorite carbine. I also recommend the scope flip-mount. For the CMR a red/green dot with an etched reticle is a real winner. You can also pair the CMR with a PMR and get an extremely light .22 WMR handgun w/ a 30 round mag. I am a big fan of pairing carbine w/ handgun in same caliber.
Her reasoning is she doesn’t want an “Assault Rifle” in the house.
Just one of those odd things, as anything else is a green light LoL.
I am good with what we have now though. Just at some point I would like to get a rifle of some sort.
Sorry that is the case! That may change though as she becomes more familiar with firearms.
I currently keep a Remington 870, 12 gauge, with 18-inch barrel and 00 buck for home defense with a Glock 35 as back up. To be honest after reading through this thread I am reconsidering options. I still like the 12 gauge for room clearing but think in many cases the pistol or even an AR might be better due to the more precise shots.
@BlackHawk This is what I made up for “grab and go”.
 Bump in the night belt, do you have one? - #29 by BRUCE26
Bump in the night belt, do you have one? - #29 by BRUCE26
Everything fits into one sling pouch and hangs in my closet.

This was previously posted in. Bump in the night belt, do you have one? - #29 by BRUCE26
.300AAC subsonic 240gr. Ar pistol. Does not over penetrate and will absolutely put down anything hit with it.
What do you consider to be over penetration?
That has ballistics similar to a handgun doesn’t it?
The round will create a major wound channel but nit exit the body. It has excellent ballistics for hunting. Some 9mm will pass through a target where as subsonic .300aac usually won’t.
Would you mind sharing the ballistics/gel tests of the subsonic 300 blk in question?
Sure, some 9mm could pass through, some 300 blk could also. With all, proper cartridge/bullet selection is important. For example, probably don’t want FMJ in either one.
Nothing at all against sub sonic 300 blk, it’s just, when I looked into it, ballistics didn’t seem far off from a .45 ACP Handgun…in the subs it seems 300 is much closer to behaving like a pistol than a rifle. The “will absolutely put down anything hit with it” seems like a bit of a over-statement is what I’m getting at