First semi-auto rifle
 

I am thinking about adding a rifle to my collection and I am looking for some help to point me in the right direction. I am looking for something big enough to take down what I point it at ( read bad guy ), easy to maintain, easy and affordable to get ammo, something the wife and daughter can shoot well also.

The choices out there are mind boggling for me at least, so I am looking for some solid pointers on this as I am not sure what I want or need. Initial cost is secondary to me, the wife will disagree I'm sure. It must be 100% reliable and not so fancy that it confuses the wife and daughter because they will have to learn with me how to clean it and make repairs on it if needed, in case I'm no longer able. They are competent with all of the pistols that I own so this is the next step for all of us.

all i own is a shotgun...but my uncle has a wasr10 (romanian ak) and a yugoslavian SKS. the sks is a longer heavier gun, but cheaper.. about 350$ in most areas or less. ak will run you about 550$ usually, u probly already know all this... but just thought id tell you..both are AWESOME semi auto rifles, and 7.62 ammo is the same price as 9mm. about 20cents a bullet. unless u want high grade ammo...wich is pointless. 7.62 target ammo will go through a grizzly's skull... wich is good enough for me :)

I recently acquired a norinco sks for a shtf situation myself. The cartridge is quite potent and maintenance is only slightly more vital than on an AK... great guns and they have a very short length of pull which could be great for the girls ... my only gripe is mine is limited to 10 rounds but I have 20 stripper clips for quick reloading... I had an sks as a kid and I am very proud to once again have one under my roof...

buy a hunting rifle
 

buy a pratical hunting rifle in a decent Ctg.....Remington model 7400 in 6mm Rem, .243Win,.280 Rem, .308 Win, 30-06, .35 Whelen
The Remington model 740 and 742 come in .243Win, .280Rem, 30-06, .308Win, 7mm Express
http://www.wisnersinc.com/additional_info/Remington_7407427400.htm

Browning Bar comes in a whole host of modern and up to date hunting ctg's..243win, 7mm-08, .308, .22-250, .270Win, 30-06, 7mm Rem Mag all the way to the .338 Win Mag, also .300WSM

http://www.gunsamerica.com/Search/Category/100/2/Guns/Rifles/Browning-Rifles/Semi-Auto.htm

i got my wife a AR15 with a 16" barrel and 6 position collapsable stock. there is going to be a learning curve no matter what ya pick. the 556/223 is an excellent SD round especially when you have access to civilian ammunition.

LC
I'm a big ar fan but the ruger minis are hard to beat 223 or 7.62x39
Will certainly work for your purposes

Wow haven't been in the market for a SKS since I bought mine 9 years ago, they have come up quite a bit in price. I paid 119 for mine in 02. As far as a rifle I agree on the AR comment. Its a great rifle for SD, its reliable, there are numerous configurations you can set it up for, easy to take apart, lots of ammo for it at a decent price, low recoil (which women like), and it can be used for hunting if you really wanted to use it for that and it has a broad price range.