Fwiw, am a really thrifty/frugal broke near hermit
Depression's improved to the point I'm not concerned with it being a risk to myself and am currently nogunz except for varmint air guns
Considering dropping like two grand on a nice rifle 
and equipment and training with it alongside my gym routine
Debating getting either a KUSA KR-101X or a Keltec RFB and an optic and chest rig/plates and pouches, spare mags, etc for either
The KR-101X is a 5.56 AKM/74 clone that takes AR mags and looks pretty good from what I've seen, the RFB is a .308 bullpup DMR (I'm kinda a tankie and a big Halo dork, so both have their appeals)
Live in a state with a 10 round mag restriction, so that's leaning me towards the RFB.
Thoughts?
Dunno if there's a loophole for larger mags or a SBR "pistol" 
that might be a better option
Am I being a dumbass?
Should I get a pistol or a .22LR plinker first? Should I not drop a used car price on a rifle I might never have to actually use aside from playing at the range and running drills as a hobby?
@Tervell@hexbear.net pls lend me your wisdom and recs
I'd look into a pistol first, the stuff your talking about is for a shooting war which I think is a bit far from happening at the moment. Gonna be cheaper of course but also much more useful in self-defense. You can buy a Glock clone for $350 to $400. I have a Turkish SAR 9mm that's given me no issues and is quite affordable.
Is getting a used Makarov (or clone) or a Beretta Neos .22LR as a starter a dumb idea? A pistol is probably the most practical rn but I'm kinda yearning for a nice rifle and doing tacticool shit as part of my fitness routine
Either way I'm make myself get so fuckin' good at point shooting cqc drills and fast mag changes
Probably am gonna get a laser and a target gizmo to fidget with and drill with in the house regardless of what I get
Yes, it's a very poor idea. Makarovs are horrible guns. Get a glock, and if you don't want a glock get a cz, and if you don't want a cz get anything but some goofball museum piece.
See if any ranges in your area let you rent pistols to use on their range.
Also, i would recommend, if you're going to do tacticool, balance your cqc stuff with infantry stuff like shooting at range, bounding, travelling over rough terrain, outdoors stuff. Cqc in a real pitched fight is mostly terrifying bullshit where everyone dies. It's less "pie the corner" and more "blow a hole in the floor/wall/ceiling and drop grenades where you think the bad guys are until everyone is dead". Tacticool cqc is for us army soldiers terrorizing unarmed civvies and larping cops kicking doors down for petty weed charges. Learning how to shoot at range and coordinate with a fire team will see you a lot further.
It's important to decide: do you want a weapon or a toy? If you want a weapon get the most common, reliable thing you can. Ar15 for a rifle, and then a glock or another very common pistol for a side arm. A weapon needs to be easy to service and repair, it needs to eat the most common ammo around, and being able to share parts, ammo, and mags with your buddies isn't bad.
Thank you, very helpful
A 22 anything is a good idea for shooting practice because any AR pattern and especially AK pattern cartridges are so expensive. You can get a 22 revolver for less than $200 if you want real budget.
I would strongly advise against wheel guns for any reason. They're beyond archaic now. If you just want a target gun get a ruger mk4 in .22
Or just get a cz or a glock, looks like you can get czs or used glocks for under 500 right now.
If I ever were to carry it'd would be a wheel gun, they are unfuckupable.
That's the perception of them but they have more moving parts, more ways to break, and less reliability than a modern auto. And you're also carrying six rounds with no magazine instead of the 19+1 modern full frame 9mm autos use. They're great for cowboy action shooting and as range toys but there is absolutely no reason to carry them in to combat and lots of reasons not to.
I agree automatics are just as if not more reliable than a revolver but for personal protection I personally don't wanna be carrying around such a big gun. A 5 shot hammerless 38 is my choice. I was raised by boomer gun nuts so I keep a lot of those sensibilities lol.
I will say in their defense, they make failures to fire a non-issue. The couple of times I got dud rounds in a wheelgun, I just pulled the trigger again and problem solved
Great, but you're trading an advantage in a 1 in 100+ incident for all the advantages of an automatic. I'm not going to budge on this. Guns are tools for killing human beings rapidly and reliably. If you're not carrying the most efficient weapon you can get access to you're playing games with your life and the life of people around you.
imo the only reason to get a wheel gun is if there's magazine capacity laws, it defeats the main semi advantage
Hey! "For any reason" is taking it a bit too far, Frank.
Some of us want to feel like a cowboy
(There is no other valid reason to get a wheel gun)
Cowboy action shooting is very cool and i love watching the most normal looking dad bod people twitch and then there's six holes in a target and it's like how do people move that fast?
I mean, I have like two grand squirreled away and was pining for a fancy rifle which is why I made the post lol
A 10/22 wouldn't be a bad idea though, or a .22LR AR
I see I was leaning to much into the budget thing I guess. An AR despite being IMO the ugliest rifle God ever allowed to be made is prolly the best bet due to ammo and parts availability. As for the high capacity magazine ban I saw this wild stripper clip fed AR with an undetachable magazine used to get around those state bans.
They're less ugly when spraypainted imo but yeah it's true
True, I talked to a gunsmith at a gun store a while ago and he showed me his AR-15 with wood furniture and a carry handle meant to look like the Service Rifle from Fallout New Vegas, that was pretty dope.
I've seen a few people make service rifles. They look really nice.
If I could find any excuse at all mine would be cerakoted in barbie pink and bedazzled. : (
Eh, the L86 is uglier imo
(so is the Groza, rare Soviet L imho)
The L86 is Britain's latent guilt over the crimes of empire manifested as something that is technically a weapon.
You are correct bullpups are actually worse, with the L86 being a specifically uggo one.
You're not super likely to find a great deal on a Neos, I've been watching for years. A 22LR (target) pistol is a great thing to have and practice with though. Browning Buckmark & Ruger Mark-whatever they're on now are kinda the gold standard. SW victory is fine. Taurus TX 22 works well after some fiddling. Dunno about the Keltec P17. Not a fan of Ruger's SR22.