It’s an unfortunate fact that there are some people who hate guns. That hatred usually comes from one of two places: prior negative experiences with firearms and political ideology. There’s no way to get everyone converted over to the pro-gun side, but I can think of three rifles that might go a long way towards bridging the gap and showing gun haters how fun and challenging firearms can be.
Ruger 10/22 Takedown (Review)
Generation after generation of Americans have learned to shoot on Ruger 10/22 rifles, and for good reason. First and foremost, there’s nearly zero recoil and minimal levels of noise. A lot of what keeps people away from guns is the fear of recoil and noise, and with a rimfire cartridge like this one that’s a negligible concern. The design is also a huge benefit, since it looks much more like a “traditional” rifle and less like a scary evil “assault rifle.”
I recommend the takedown version specifically because it fits in a much smaller and more discrete package. Breaking out a huge rifle case might be a touch intimidating, but a MOLLE-free backpack would be much less frightening for a newbie.
MP5 SBR
Sometimes going tactical-free is the right approach. Other times it may simply be too boring. There’s a good number of people who would turn up their noses at a “traditional” firearm, but the opportunity to shoot something as cool as an MP5 (or whatever else tactical at hand) might entice them to step onto the range. Once there, actually handling the firearm and coming to understand that it won’t start mass murdering people on its own might get them to change their minds about firearms in general.
My choice here is a Brethren Armament BA-5 pistol that has been SBR’ed (review). Preferably with a silencer on the end. Everything is better with silencers. Pistol caliber firearms are ideal, with the soft recoil and cheap ammunition.
CZ455 Varmint (review)
Some people respond well to just pulling the trigger and feeling the joy of hitting a metal target at close range. Others enjoy the challenge of long range and precision shooting. For the second group of people the CZ455 Varmint is an ideal rifle. Accurate as all heck with a beautiful stock and great trigger, the rifle is a solid choice for teaching marksmanship to new shooters. It doesn’t hurt that the gun is relatively cheap to buy and feed.