Although no one can definitively answer the question about which rifle would be best for Barb and hubby, a couple of ideas come to mind:<br><br>1. What kind of protection do you envision? Are we talking protection from people or animals?<br><br>2. Does it have to be a rifle? For short range work nothing beats a 12 ga shotgun.<br><br>3. Why semi-auto? If a person is not trained well with any weapon, the potential for the weapon to fail is increased.Semi-autos are great if you spend the time to practice with them. They also tend to be more maintenance intensive.<br><br>4. What environment is the defese weapon to be used? If it's in the house then IMHO you DON"T want a rifle - unless you don't mind the bullet passing through the house and possibly going into someone else's home. For interior home use a shot gun poses the least threat to bystanders and family members in the next room. (Depending on shot size and power)<br><br>There are a dozen different criteria you can use to try to answer the question. I sold firearms for over a decade and the question "What is the best gun for...." came up multiple times daily. Barb, I don't want to overwhelm you, but it's just not that simple. <br>Email me if you want.