In fact, for new shooters, the best self-defense firearm may well be a shotgun. My daughter-in-law is a very slight person and not from a shooting background. She uses a youth model pump shotgun with shot, not slugs, to limit penetration inside the house. Okay, you have read all this and are thinking that you really


Pictured at top is a Ruger Scout Rifle — .223 or .308 — with removable spacers to change the stock length to accommodate different shooters. At bottom, the Remington 700 is available in .223 through magnum calibers.


interference of your hand. I tried shooting a .25 auto and found that with my normal grip the slide would bind on the web of my hand, making it a one shot deal. Too large a gun can be hard to handle even with two hands, making it awkward to aim and fire. The handgun fit is more critical than on long guns in no small part due to recoil. Some of the worst are small frame revolvers and semiautos, especially with heavy loads. The recoil can be painful and may injure the shooters hand. If you doubt this, shoot a J-frame S&W with .357 Magnum loads. It is a quick way to turn off a new shooter.


can’t afford to do all this shopping and testing. I have been there, too. In school and later in the Army and still later during some of the oil field busts, I didn’t have much money, either. The solution to the problem may be a firearm that you can share. How? In a rifle, the AR-15 platform, the Ruger Scout Rifle and others are available with an adjustable stock, with the varying length of pull able to fit almost anyone. A fellow hunter has a Remington AR, which he and his wife, who uses a youth model shotgun, can both shoot. If archery is more your game, my daughter and son-in-law found a Mathews bow that is adjustable from 20- to 70-pound draw weight and suits both of them.


Remember, the first step in selecting a firearm is to make sure it is suitable for the task, whether hunting, target shooting, or self-defense. Second, most important is that the firearm must fit the shooter. The shooter needs to be directly involved in the selection and comfortable with the firearm. This is not like the Army or Marines where one size fits all.


Good luck with your selection, and good hunting. And...don’t forget to practice.


Bob Boswell serves as TSRA Director of Hunting & Outdoors.


January/February 2017 | 33


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