Help and Advice! Please. Which to buy?

[Aleous]

First thank you to everyone who stopped by to give this a look, your thoughts and input are greatly appreciated.

I have recently ordered my first pair of firearms an S&W SD9VE in 9mm and a Marlin 795 in 22lr!

I have funds to purchase a couple more and have made a short list of 4 more firearms but have recently realized it is probably in my best interest to omit one of them due to financial constraints. This is where I would love to have everyone's opinion on what they would personally choose if they were in my shoes.

List is:

Savage Axis II XP in .308
Palmetto State Armory Ar-15 .223/5.56
Ruger Gp100 6in Blued in .38/.357
A 1911 in 45acp(Rock Island Tact, Auto Ordinance, Springfield GI, Colt 1991)



A little background on myself. A few years ago I was extremely interested in buying myself a firearm, did immense amounts of research, was just about to purchase my first handgun which would have been a Beretta Px4 Storm in 9mm (even bought accessories and hundreds of rounds of ammo beforehand) when disaster struck. I became very ill and ended up becoming fully deaf on my right side. Things went downhill from there and took a while for me to recover fully from it. When I even thought about guns again I found myself actually scared, being as firearms themselves can cause hearing loss I distanced myself from something I was wholly excited to get into and pushed it to the back of my mind and shoved my box of ammo in the back of my closet. But the longing never left and recently I told myself to get over it, overcome my irrational fear and attempt to engage in something I knew I would love...with double hearing protection at all times of course.

More background. I am in my late twenties, okay shape, relatively small build at five foot five inches. I work in the medical field, live in San Bernardino County in a single story on a fenced 2 acres in a rural area but work in a city, commute is about 45 minutes one way. Have been an avid weapons collector in my youth, mostly blades, swords and knives and such, also have many dogs.

I mainly want firearms as tools of defense and recreation. I believe every firearm should have a definitive purpose and should not be purchased lightly.

I have never really handled, fired, or owned a firearm before and that is why I purchased a 9mm handgun and 22lr rifle respectively to start me off since they are relatively small calibers to learn off of.

Reasons why the four made it on my short list.

Savage Axis: A great introductory hunting rifle in a respectable and common caliber

PSA Ar-15: Mid tier'ish Self Defense Sporting rifle that can also be used in hunting

Gp100: A home defense gun, Built like a tank, can fire 2 common calibers, and can be used in hunting successfully

1911: A home defense handgun, beautiful, legendary, it kind of speaks for itself


And that's all I have for now, just want to again thank everyone for their comments/advice.

[humble servant]

Based on your your info and since you already purchased a hand gun I would buy the savage and an AR. Have you considered an AR in a larger caliber? Could double as a hunter and HD. If it were me I'd mix in a shotgun.

[desertjosh]

Ya the savage(i love mine) and the AR. Or a 12g mossberg combo might be a cool addition too. Welcome to calguns, and being a gun owner.

[Divernhunter]

Savage and a 223/5.56 rifle. AR if you want.

[baih777]

Next a 1911.
I see no shotgun on your list. Gotta have one of those.
Instead of the savage, save up a little more and get a Howa heavy barrel or Remington 700 SPS tactical.

[Calif Hunter]

I would go with the AR as a good starter centerfire rifle. I also agree that a shotgun should be on your list. It's hard to go wrong with a Remington 870 - easily changed from a hunting gun to a home defense gun with 2 different barrels. I would suggest upgrading to a Savage 12 or 16 over the Axis, but that's just me. A Rem 700, a Howa or Vanguard, a Tikka T-3, Ruger M-77 or Win Model 70 are also good choices for a .308.

[Aleous]

I concede, a 12g is now on the shortlist. A 1911 is more of a want than a need so I guess that's out.. A 308 rifle and Ar-15 are pretty much solidified now. Just need to decide between a 12g and a Ruger gp100 now.

The reason I did not consider an AR in a higher caliber was to be able to work my way up the calibers since I have not shot before. Start with the 22lr rifle, then 223 AR, then the 308 rifle. Also I know their are tons of better quality firearms but since these are my first ones I decided to be frugal and get the best quality I could get for a low price since all of these are my introductory guns.

[creepyoldgamer]

This is not the most fun answer, but it might not be a bad idea to buy more after you do some shooting with what you already have. You may find you like shooting handguns more than rifles, or vice versa. As you shoot more, you will start to develop your preferences. It is not terrible to have to sell/trade what you have to get what you end up wanting, but having the money already available is nice.

That said, I would get a shotgun and an AR and save some money for accessories. If you want to learn how to hunt there may be more practical calibers for a bolt action for the animals in CA, but an actual hunter may offer better advice in that area. Honestly, all your choices are good, so you can't really go wrong.

[dsltech]

I would recommend getting an AR. Fairly cheap to buy new, used or even to make your own. I get the feeling that out of all the guns for sale in the market place, AR seem to have the best price/value in general.

Unless you go hunting on a regular basis already, I would skip on the .308. Good scopes can cost as much as the rifle if not more. That is a lot of money tied into hunting only. Sure there is target, but you kinda have it covered with the .22.

Revolver/1911, I would also say skip for now. You have a 9mm which can be used for home defense. Either one down the road would be fine.

I would recommend reloading. You are obviously open to using multiple calibers. Perfect for making your own ammo. The reloading equipment can equal the cost of a new handgun, depending on what setup you go with. And to clarify, you don't save money making your own rounds. You just spend the same amount or a bit more BUT you shoot a lot more.

Shotguns......I have no idea because I don't have one.