Gun Question

[offroadrolls]

I've never owned a gun but my wife has had one in the closet as long as I've know her, I never paid much attention to it. The other day she decided to take it to the local gun shop for evaluation. After talking to the guy at the shop, she decided to put it up for sale on consignment. 1st question: The guy says its a Browning Sweet Sixteen and feels it'll bring 700.00 because it's a useful classic someone may want to keep in their truck. 2nd question: The reason she wants to sell it is because she doesn't feel it's well suited for a Zombie Apocalypse. So she has her eye on a pink assault rifle that's on sale for 700.00. Her logic is that it would be more versatile and easy to use with less expensive ammo. I think she's intimidated by the shot gun and wants something that does more than blow up pumpkins and such.
I'm just looking for some feedback.........about the guns that is.... I know I have an awesome gal.

 

[21willys]

Please define "Assault rifle" for me.

 

[offroadrolls]

She say's 700 to 1000 dollars. Smallish not big and long like a hunting rifle.
I showed her this one and she say's yes kind of like that.
I may need to go down to the shop to get the details.

 

[Old Iron]

I would be interested in seeing picks of the shotgun also the serial number, under where you load the shells and the markings on the left side of the barrel close to the receiver.
They look like this:
* = Full Choke (F)
*- = Improved Modified (IM)
** = Modified (M)
**- = Improved Cylinder (IC)
**$ = Skeet (SK)
*** = Cylinder bore (CYL)

 

[smallfoot]

Depending on the condition, that Sweet Sixteen may be worth more than that. If you find the serial number, just post the number of digits and the beginning number and it will be able to be dated. I wouldn't post the complete serial number on an open forum. It would be personal opinion on the one that would be more usefull in an "end game" situation. When the caca hits the fan around here, I'll grab a scatter gun any day...
Ammunition is another thing. 16 Guage shells might be hard to find at a reasonable price nowadays. I'm not sure if it would be any cheaper thsn assualt rifle ammo. I haven't tried to find any 16 guage lately.

 

[Snake Farm]

The sight of that rifle might "scare someone off your porch" but a shotgun blast will "clean everything off your porch". For home protection I'd keep the shotgun.

 

[RPM]

When the Do Do hits the fan, who cares what the ammo cost. You're fighting for your life and a few pennies per round won't make much difference.

I like a Siaga 12 with a 20 round drum and a AK with a bunch of 30 round magazines. Then there is the tried and true 1911s.

 

[21willys]

She say's 700 to 1000 dollars. Smallish not big and long like a hunting rifle.
I showed her this one and she say's yes kind of like that.
I may need to go down to the shop to get the details.

So she is making a decision on appearance and not facts?

 

[offroadrolls]

Ofcourse

She's a woman. Besides, how do you think I landed her? lol
I appreciate all the input and all points made have validity for sure. I agree that the shotgun would be a better choice for protecting the homestead. But like I said in the beginning, I'm not much of a gun person so it's hard to have an opinion based on experience or knowledge.
So my experience and knowledge tell me it would be best to let her do what ever makes her feel safe, and if that's a pretty pink assault rifle, so be it.
Perhaps the best solution would be to keep the sweet sixteen and have her get the pretty pink one too.
I also think it would be a good idea for us to take a hunters safety course and some lessons to learn how to properly handle weapons if we're going to have them around the house. Who knows, I might acquire and interest.

 

[Old Iron]

I honestly wouldn't sell that shotgun for less than $1,000 to $1500 no matter what the serial number is.

 

[endicott_jb]

It comes down to what is your wife comfortable with. If she's a small built woman, an assault rifle might be her thing. Just make sure that it's the correct caliber to do what she wants. The 22lr is only good for squirrel and gopher shooting. A .223 is good especially if you can swap to the NATO 5.56 I know that cheaper than dirt used to sell boxes of it. A 16 gauge is a bit hard hitting depending on the stock and I've seen lots of people badly bruise they're shoulders, throw shoulders outta socket, and break collar bones even with shotguns just cause they didn't know what they were doing. For the most part, a shotgun will have quite a bit more backlash than an assault rifle but it all depends on what you like. Trained on an assault rifle but a shotgun is no different to me. Just gotta make sure you hold it tight to your shoulder.

 

[dmw56]

That's a 22LR. If you want one for home defense get a 5.56 NATO.

 

[billy]

id keep the shotgun
if they are willing to give a $700 trade in value on it
it is worth at least twice that.

 

[I-R-POPS]

That's the best way to go!!! But be VERY careful, that "interest" get very expensive in a hurry. Just like the rat/hot rod interest. Have fun with it and her.

 

[smallfoot]

I honestly wouldn't sell that shotgun for less than $1,000 to $1500 no matter what the serial number is.

I agree! They are pretty scarce and an absolutely sweet piece! + Browning...

 

[dmw56]

A Browning Sweet Sixteen in good condition is worth about $1000-$1500 however I've seen them sell for less. One in mint condition with a really nice wood grained stock and fancy engraving can go $2000-$3000. $700 for a trade in is a fair price from a dealer who has to sell it and make a profit. Personally I'd keep it but I'm kind of a gun nut.

For a good home defense weapon a short barreled shotgun, AR, AK platform or Ruger Mini-14 or 30 would be good choices. All can be had for less than a $1000 and a little shopping will get you a good one for $700.

My Benelli Nova cost me about $400 dollars but it now has a few add-ons.


Don't discount the AK's reliable and indestructible and ammo is still cheap compared to 5.56




Ruger Mini-14 and Mini-30s can't be beat for price or reliability. Mine has an ATI folding stock and few other goodies.


Don't for get a good old reliable revolver.

 

[Willowbilly3]

If there ever is such a thing as zombie apocalypse, a single gun isn't going to be the answer to much. Personally, scatter gun is #1 in home defense. With a rifle you kind of need to aim. With a scatter gun and some good buckshot, you can take a zombie in half shooting from the hip. Mossberg makes a 410 home defender that has no choke, patterns out real fast and is quite manageable. In a panic, you would have to have some very well honed conditioned response to hit anything with a handgun and the only advantage to a small caliber semi auto is you can spray enough lead that you might luck out and hit something. Whatever you decide on, she needs to shoot it a lot and be very comfortable with it to even think of it as self protection. Without training, she could very well die from her own gun.
Now if I was a zombie, I wouldn't be too skeered of a pink gun.

 

[endicott_jb]

If it comes down to it, I'm getting a Mod deuce and mounting it to my rat. That's a 50cal machine gun. Also an AR with an M203 grenade launcher. The 203 shoots 40mm grenades, has zero kick, and makes a sorta cool sound when it fires. Plus with some HE rounds, you could blow the crap outta things. Or even one of these.

 

[Tripper]

I have a wide variety of weapons & think a shotgun is the perfect tool for zombies or any other bad guys. Using a rifle or handgun under pressure isn't a sure thing as you see a lot of intense police shootouts where officers who are highly trained & practice a lot still miss suspects. That rarely happens with a shotgun although they are for closer ranges & when people are confronted with a shotgun... they usually just wanna get outta there! I'd consider getting an assault rifle type weapon & keeping the shotgun for awhile & if she's comfortable with the rifle... then sell the other gun. Might even try shooting a friend's rifle first! Just my .02!

BoB

 

[billy]

If there ever is such a thing as zombie apocalypse, a single gun isn't going to be the answer to much. Personally, scatter gun is #1 in home defense. With a rifle you kind of need to aim. With a scatter gun and some good buckshot, you can take a zombie in half shooting from the hip. Mossberg makes a 410 home defender that has no choke, patterns out real fast and is quite manageable. In a panic, you would have to have some very well honed conditioned response to hit anything with a handgun and the only advantage to a small caliber semi auto is you can spray enough lead that you might luck out and hit something. Whatever you decide on, she needs to shoot it a lot and be very comfortable with it to even think of it as self protection. Without training, she could very well die from her own gun.
Now if I was a zombie, I wouldn't be too skeered of a pink gun.

i could not agree more.
my gal is a good shot but she doesnt have the hours into handguns i do.
and that is exactly why i got that 12 ga mossberg six shot pump
and while a shotgun isnt the magic cone-o-death some people seem to think it is
for the shooter it is much more forgiving of a shaky hand than any other weapon i can think of.
i want to mount a very tight beamed ultra bright flashlight to this.
we have no friends that would just walk in our house around here
and if someone DOES enter our camper
they will be met in a narrow hallway with this.