The .223 may be too small for hunting, it depends on what you want to hunt. It really isn't a good hunting caliber unless you want to shoot varmints. What are you wanting to hunt?

Shotguns. Rem 870 is fine, but I like the Mossberg 500 better just because of the better (in my opinion) safety design. I am left handed and the cross bolt safety on the Remington's is awkward for me. With either model, barrels, stocks, etc are very customizable. I would get 2 shotguns, one for general use, and then customize one for home defense.

Feel free to answer any of these newbie questions. I did shoot guns as a kid on the farm, but you can pretty much count me as a newbie.

I plan to start getting some guns in the near future and it seems like a lot of you have experience which is probably as good as posting in a gun forum.

10 22 LR
I'm not interested in any hand guns for now. Maybe later, but I am thinking of intially getting a ruger 10 22 for target practice and perhaps some hunting later. I am looking to retire in the country in about 10 years. Question, which style 10 22 would you get for target practice and small game hunting (rabbit, squirrel)?

10/22 is a great first gun. Accurate, reliable, ammo is cheap, virtually no recoil. Good for hunting varmints and tiny game to 100 yds or so.

Shotgun
I'm thinking my second purchase might be a 12 ga shotgun. I know there are lot of different types, different barrels, and chokes. I am leaning toward the Remington 870 Wingmaster. What barrel / choke would you get to shoot trap/skeet? I know preferred is an over/under double barrel, but have seen people shooting these with a pump action. Would you use this same barrel /choke for any hunting? I was thinking a home defense barrel might be useful, but that would come latter, or maybe i would buy a second shotgun.

Any thoughts on the 870 or other multi pupose shot guns, which barrels/chokes?

I'm partial to Winchesters over Remington shotguns, but both are fine. I also like pumps...just because...well...I just like them. Different barrels and chokes can be bought after the fact. They pretty much just screw on.

Third, I was thinking about a .223, but not an AR15. Perhaps a bolt action or lever action. Something that would use the same ammo as AR15, but be cheaper and better for hunting. A lever action would be about as acurate as a straight bolt action from what i have been reading, but could shoot multiple rounds faster. And I think they would accept a larger capacity magazine. Any thoughts/recommendations for a specific gun? Is there much difference in maintenance on a lever vs bolt action?

You can't get .223 lever guns...at least not with a tubular magazine as the pointy bullets can theoretically start a chain-reaction detonation in the magazine when the gun recoils. That said, somebody (Browning?) might make a non-tubular lever gun in .223. Hornady also makes their "Leverevolution" ammo with pointy-but-soft tips that allow better ballistics performance than traditional lever ammo, but doesn't make it in .223. A .223 bolt action is a fine gun for varmints and long-range target practice, but won't really allow you to hunt much larger animals than your .22LR 10-22.

My brother and I were talking and he doesn't have any semi autos anymore. He sold his and gotten a couple lever actions, though not .223. I would think if they outlaw semiautos, lever actions would still be OK. I'm not sure if he that is what he is thinking, but he does live in Illinois with its stricter laws.

Firearm Safety classes
What do you think of the NRA classes. It seems most of the other nearby training is pistols only. NRA appears to offer (though not sure how often) a beginner firearm class, a rifle class, and a shotgun class, and several pistol classes.

My wife is somewhat freaked about getting firearms, as she has never had any, or shot any, but she has agreed to take the classes with me.

Gun cabinet
I am looking at this http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...3993.4414427.4414433
Perhaps later I would get a better fire safe, and use this for ammo. Any thoughts on this cabinet?

Thanks if you have read this far.

10 22 takedown. I think this is the best variant of the 10 22 out there for practical purposes since you can break it down and stow it more easily.

Remington 870 is about as solid a pump action as you can get.

I prefer the AR myself so I don't have any other thoughts on other 223's.

You can't go wrong with a 10/22. For general use/plinking/hunting/informal target shooting, I'd just by the least expensive one at your local dealer. Mine has a synthetic stock, and came with a scope mount- but I've always just used the iron sights, which are pretty good.

As far as the .223 is concerned, I think it has pretty limited use as a hunting round. About the only type of hunting I think it's suitable for is coyote hunting, if you're into that. It's too small for deer and overkill for most anything smaller, like rabbit. If you still want one, though, and don't want the AR, a less expensive alternative is Ruger's Mini-14.

Lever actions do not come in .223. Lever action ammo can only be round nosed since pointed ammo would act as a firing pin in the mag tube. 30-30 is most common. But you can find them in common pistol calibers like .357. I have a mossberg 500 pump. Excellent quality at half the remmy price. The 10/22 comes in a stainless model. Get that. With mine I can hit 1.5 inch targets at 50 yards all day. All are easy to maintain.

Yes. Lever actions are tube fed magazines like a shotgun. That is the tube under the barrel so bullets are aligned tip to back. Recoil can cause enough sudden movement for the tip of one bullet in the magazine to pierce the primer in the back of another bullet. A box magazine is usually an internal but permenant magazine that you top feed. A common feature in bolt action rifles. A detachable is like the ones in an AR-15.

If you keep the metal wiped down and dry you shouldn't need stainless. I have rifles that I have had for 20 years and they have no rust because I wipe them down and keep them oiled.

You will always be able to find a wide range of .308 rounds. You can kill just about any sized game in North America with it; except for bear. The 30-30 is a popular round but has a short range, I would not want it as a primary rifle.

You will always be able to find a wide range of .308 rounds. You can kill just about any sized game in North America with it; except for bear. The 30-30 is a popular round but has a short range, I would not want it as a primary rifle.