OK, the man wants a general purpose rifle for hunting, plinking and self defense. The problem here is the conflict between the three catagories.
The 30.06, .270, .308 etc are all excellent hunting rounds. But in anything less than a ten pound semi-auto, I sure wouldn't plink much with them. And for self defense, any one of them would whistle straight through a BG plus several walls and probably exit the house.
The .22RF is the all time champ for plinking and small game, but comes up short for larger game and self defense.
For self defense you want something powerful enough to get the job done, but it needs to be easy to handle, reasonble fast and adaquate to the job.
The only rifle I can see to fill all three roles would be a lever action, preferable in Trapper length, chambered in either .357 or .44 Magnum. You can pick up reloaded ammo at many gunshops at good prices for practice plus use either .38 spl or .44 spl for plinking. The heavy loads will work for deer sized game out 75-100 yards. And mid-range loads out of 16" barrel would work very well in the self defense role. Also consider the wide range of loads avalible for whatever you want to do. Especially for the .38/357.
While it does have some limitations, the Pistol Caliber Carbine is the only rifle that can fill all three roles.
JMHO.
The 30.06, .270, .308 etc are all excellent hunting rounds. But in anything less than a ten pound semi-auto, I sure wouldn't plink much with them. And for self defense, any one of them would whistle straight through a BG plus several walls and probably exit the house.
The .22RF is the all time champ for plinking and small game, but comes up short for larger game and self defense.
For self defense you want something powerful enough to get the job done, but it needs to be easy to handle, reasonble fast and adaquate to the job.
The only rifle I can see to fill all three roles would be a lever action, preferable in Trapper length, chambered in either .357 or .44 Magnum. You can pick up reloaded ammo at many gunshops at good prices for practice plus use either .38 spl or .44 spl for plinking. The heavy loads will work for deer sized game out 75-100 yards. And mid-range loads out of 16" barrel would work very well in the self defense role. Also consider the wide range of loads avalible for whatever you want to do. Especially for the .38/357.
While it does have some limitations, the Pistol Caliber Carbine is the only rifle that can fill all three roles.
JMHO.