Good all-around rifle for adults?

308 Win is a great all around cartridge for hunting most non-dangerous game,can be loaded like the old Rem Accelerator with .224/sabot for varmint and has a lot of match grade ammo available too. Most makers have 308s and you can specify a barrel with a varmint/target profile or hunting (difference from one shot to group shooting). I personally use 30-06 but I handload so that influences some aspects a little. I grew up shooting 30-06 and like the heavier bullet options I could explore,but in reality I use the same 165 grain bullets in 30-06 and 300 WSM as I would recommend for 308 too. 308 gives you about 17 pounds of felt recoil so you won't get a shredded shoulder but with a quality bullet you can drop elk.

I would go with 223 if you wanted to keep your cost down a little and you aren't going after deer. There is a lot of ammo out there for it,you just have to match bullet weight with barrel twist. Difference to consider is you can drop the performance of 308 down some,you can't bring up performance of a 223 all that much.

We have a 243 I reload for too,it was my son's first deer rifle,but we limited range and presentation for shots because a 95 grain bullet doesn't carry a lot of extra margin. 243 is the minimum performance threshold in many states for deer hunting and I think you would be better served with a 223 as a varmint/range cartridge and 308 for bigger game hunting. So,our 243 is a coyote/practice rifle now that my son moved to 30-06.

Never been a huge fan of 30-30,mostly because I hunt in areas that open up to 300 yards real quick and I don't think 30-30 is an advantage even at short ranges in a lever rifle. Why handicap your shooting envelope to 100 yards,maybe 150 on a good day?

As for rifles: bolt actions will give you best cost/benefit and normally good accuracy and you can start at $300 and work up.

For 30-30 you are looking at Rossi,old Winchesters,Marlin 336 lever rifles,and you don't need to worry about a scope because the cartridge performance matches what normal eye sight can handle.

Lever rifle I do like is the Browning BLR,I have a friend with a couple and they come in high performance cartridges like 308,30-06,7mm RM,and others. They have near bolt action accuracy but still come in the lever action profile.

Semi-auto is mostly AR platforms in 223 and 308,maybe some other supported uppers,but you are looking at a decent initial cost but can be seen as a modular system.

You can get an AK/SKS to just put bullets downrange,but don't expect accuracy or performance past 100 yards either. There are a couple semi rifles like the BAR and Benelli R-1 but not something I suggest often.

If you want a defense weapon your looking for a 12 gauge shotgun;can use for birds and can get a rifled barrel for slugs,but your range is going to be pretty close to 30-30 at best.

I would be really reluctant to recommend any rifle caliber for a defensive round. While there are special purpose rounds available to use for defense, they are expensive and practicing with them would be cost prohibitive in most cases. Any rifle cartridge with standard factory ammo will easily shoot through the walls of a typical residence after passing completely through your assailant. A good choice for your purposes might be a .38 Special/ .357 Magnum lever action. It will definitely have limits on its effective range, but with practice 125 - 150 yard shots are feasible. For defensive use though, careful selection of ammo would be critical.

If you live far away from civilization and there's no danger of a round hitting an innocent bystander a semi-auto, lever, or pump action rifle would be good choices, but unless you are very proficient with a bolt action, I wouldn't recommend one for home defense. My personal favorite target round is the .308 Winchester, but the .223 is accurate and inexpensive. There are a lot of choices available in either caliber and can range from just under $300 to well over $1000 for a new one. A good AR can be purchased for $800 - $1000, with much more expensive models on the market, but shop wisely it's not always a situation where you get what you pay for. The AR-10 will probably start at around $1600 for a very basic rifle, but unless you want to shoot long range matches you can spend a lot more money without getting a rifle that's better for you.

There's no such thing as an all-around rifle. A 22 LR will be best for plinking and small game. No rifle is a really good choice for self defense, where shotguns and handguns rule the roost. And if you decide to hunt something other than small game, you need even more rifles. I'd have trouble just trimming down to three rifles for whitetail deer, depending on the area and style of hunting for the day!

If you want a fun recreational rifle, something in .223 is usually a good bet. There are tons of different types of ammo available. You can get fast, light varmint bullets that can vaporize cans of soda and impress your friends. There are cheap steel cased plinking ammo that makes a day at the range something you don't have to save up for. There are also incredibly accurate match ammo, and hunting bullets that will reliably take game up to white tail deer at 100 yards or so.

I really like an AR for a good mix of fun and versatility. You can get into one for $750 including basic optics like a DPMS Oracle and Nikon 3x BDC combo.

A basic bolt gun is another good option. There are so many out there right now, it's amazing. Many are close to 1" guns at 100 yards right out of the box for under $500.

No rifle round is ideally suited for interior home defense, but for defending your property, it would be a good choice. Hornady TAP ammo is marketed for home defense. When you really look at it though, there are very few guns that won't go through 6 layers of sheetrock and kill someone on the other side. Caution and being sure of your target are the key issues, no matter what cartridge you choose.

Think about a shotgun. you can get a short bbl for defense. You can get bbls for hunting. There are not many big game animals in this country that a slug will not give you a clean kill at 75 yrds. small game, just change bbls, home defense there are not many that nwill stick around and stare down a shotgun bbl Look for a pump shotgun. I like a 20 Ga. mossberg 500 because 20 Ga. will not recoil like a 12 Ga. but 25 feet or less you will not see the difference. It is a little harder to hi a bird or rabbit, but will be almost as good on deer. good resale price

Your best bet for recreational shooting is a .22LR. I would recommend against you purchasing a gun with the expectation that you'll be able to hunt with it in the future, though, because if you purchase, say, a rifle chambered for.308 Winchester and are asked to go rabbit hunting, you're going to be out of luck. That rifle would be vastly overpowered for rabbit.

So for now, just buy a rifle with the intention of enjoying it at the range. A .22LR is a fine small game rifle, and it's still the cheapest thing you can shoot.

As for the action (lever, bolt, semi-auto, break action, pump, etc.) I wouldn't worry too much about that. Go take a firearm safety course at a local indoor shooting range and gun shop, and while you're doing so, look at some of the different guns they sell. Ask questions, both in the course and of the salespeople.

Don't worry in the beginning about the differences in action type with a .22LR rifle; for all intents and purposes, a .22LR is a .22LR and they'll all do the same basic thing.

And no rifle is really ideal for home defense, but then again, nobody is going to be lining up to be shot with even a "weak" gun like a .22LR. A shotgun is really better for home defense, but if you can only afford one gun right now, a .22LR will work for home defense if that's all you've got.

The .22 long rifle is a good first rifle. Ammunition is less expensive and you can get much more shooting practice for fewer dollars. Most of us learned on a .22. When my daughter was growing up, her first gun was a .22 rifle. Her second was a .38 Special revolver.

August gave you good advice, pay attention.

SINCE you don't apparently plan to get trained into a high state of capability needed to shoot almost ANY high power rifle, obviously the 243 Winchester is for you. It has all the power and range you can use in ANY kind of deer hunting, at almost NO felt recoil. Self defense? That's a handgun, try several and see what you like.

If you want something other than a 22, go to Cabelas site and look at the Savage Axis / scope combo for $350.....in 308.

These are probably one of the best 'do everything' rifles there are:

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/centerfire/...

http://www.ruger.com/products/gunsiteScoutRifle/mo...

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerf...

In bolt, lever, and semi-auto configuration. Which you should get depends on your budget and regulations.

The 30-30 is light, packs a good punch, but doesn't have tons of range. The Scout is light, packs even more punch, and has good range. The AR-10 is medium weight, packs the same punch as the Scout, and has really good range.

All are accurate enough for the ranges they are used at, and reliable enough that they will function as long as you take care of them.