Ruger Mini-14(.223 remington cartridge) in matte stainless, with black poly stock. Solid design (garand style, like the M-14 and M-1 military rendition), utilitarian in nature, carbine so it's light, lots of available options, but just fine as is, with a solid mfr warranty. Good used ones at less than $500 if you shop, new maybe as low as $650. Get a couple 30 round aftermarket magazines. I can field strip mine with just an allen wrench if need be and the Otis pocket gun cleaning kit makes the whole job a snap.

I've run mine through the ringer chasing the coyote-cong, vorpal bunnies, and the elusive cow-pie at 200 meters. I prefer an aimpoint red dot scope on mine (no magnification), but currently I've got a pronghorn in 3-9x power. About the only quirk with this fine firearm is that the gas port can allow too much energy on hot rounds, jacking the action hard and spewing the brass 30 feet or more. You can change out the bushing easy enough (aftermarket for $20 or so) or reload your own and tailor the powder charge for the recoil you need, which I prefer anyways.


For what you say you are looking for, that is precisely what this little rifle was made to do. It is amazing how fast you can go through 240 rounds with this little unit.