Given the legalities you are faced with, I would second the Garand. They are one of the finest rifles ever produced in my opinion. I really think lever guns are underrated. The real hillbilly's I shoot with who live "off the grid" have all sorts of rifles to choose from but they carry lever action rifles when they are "out on the land" 95% of the time. Shooting with them has really made me look much more positively at lever guns.

I'll second the .22 cal. I know it's not the biggest baddest round available, but if you plan on doing very much shooting, a .22 is the way to go. I should have listened to people when I got my first gun. I was over anxious to get a handgun so I got a cheap .380 acp. Bigger than a .22? Yes, but it's expensive to shoot. I later got a Savage .17 hmr, which I love, but still find myself wanting a .22 rifle. A recommendation from my mistake: get a .22 rifle if you don't have one already.

1) $500 max, higher if I can get this job I've been after.

2) I mainly want a reliable rifle for SHTF scenario (zombie outbreak <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ). I haven't been hunting before, but having the ability to do so would be a big bonus.

3) No rifles at this point, only one 9mm pistol I recently picked up.

4) No, but I plan to pick up the equipment once I find what suits me.

5) I'm pretty open to anything as long as ammo is easy to get locally (big 5, walmart, gun stores). So far, I'm leaning towards .308, 7.62x39, and .223. I'm trying to keep the rifle compact, around the size of mini-14/saiga (~37" overall).

I'm definitely picking up a .22lr rifle, just wanted to get a battle rifle before they pass more ridiculous laws (hopefully not). <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crossfingers.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for all the inputs everyone, a lot of things to consider, so little money. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

that makes perfect sense.

i have to ask, if money wasn't that big a concern, what would your first choice be?

As you guys know I'm pretty new to firearms and haven't handled to many so that's a hard question for me to answer, but right now I'd have to say my first choice would be a Springfield M1A.

With that in mind, a mini-14 would be the ideal rifle for me because I wanted a more compact M1A, but I'm learning about different calibers and haven't completely settled on .223 yet. I've been reading with the mini-30 (7.62x39), it hard to get good magazines and it doesn't shoot the real cheap wolf/surplus stuff as well as the saiga.

Everything keeps pointing back to the Saiga for me, affordable and reliable. The 7.62x39 and .223 are both under $350, whereas the .308 is $510. I do plan to pick up M1A eventually so with the .308 saiga I'll have ammo ready to go, but can't really afford .308 after shipping + ammo right now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Well, as far as ridiculous laws here an CA, I'd be more concerned about handguns than rifles. They've already instituted an assault weapons ban here. If you can get enough money, I'd say go for some .223 AR 15 variant that would be banned were it not for the "bullet button." From what I've read, the bullet button has not actually been approved by the DOJ here, but it hasn't been deemed illegal either. I was at a gun shop out where silverbullets and I live and they have a few AR type rifles with bullet buttons. If you don't know what the bullet button is, you can look at this:

http://www.goldenstatetactical.com/bullet-button.html

i say save, sell some steel, or borrow and go all the way for the M1A. you shouldn't settle.

Yeah, settling will always leave you going after what you really want.

AR would be sweet, but for some reason, I don't have the big urge pick one up. I'd like a AR pistol for fun sometime though.

Here's a picture of somebody's saiga, pretty awesome imo.

of course, if the S hits the F before he gathers the funds, he can hopefully still grab the saiga and plenty of ammo with what he's saved!

Been thinking about selling my motorcycle, haven't been riding it much as I used too (plan to pick up a supermoto so I can do adventure rides).. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

can the bike fund both? i wouldn't sell my bike for a rifle.

knives, maybe one of my guitars if i really thought the law was gonna change.