Standard A2 to CQB
I strongly recommend starting new shooters out on some sort of 22LR bolt action rifle. It doesn’t matter if it is magazines fed or a single shot. Learning the basic shooting skills of aim, hold, sqeeze and learning how to hit the X at 100yds is important. If you are dealing with a young adult, one of the most fun things you can teach them on is a standard A2 AR15 and show them how to use the sighting system and the sighting system.
The Standard A2 Target models are probable the best instroductory semi-auto. If you are firearm instructor or a Dad that has young sons to teach, that’s your best option, but if you want to have another firearm ready for home defense, we highly recommend picking up an M4 style AR15 Upper carbine and putting a white light on it. You can keep one configuration for target shooting and training and another for close quarters situations. The AR15 has quickly become a favorite amongst serious gun owners especially due to the ease and balance of the weapons firing controls.
AR15s are as accessorable as legos. You can add on everyone accessory you can possible think of to an AR. There have a been a few funny spoof photos of people putting can openers and headlights on their guns, but it’s not far from the truth. There are reasons to have rails on various parts of a firearm, but most people won’t need anything more than a mount for optics, foregrip and a flashlight. Military applications open a whole new can of worms.
We’re still waiting to get feedback from our operators to see how well this upper holds up over time. I don’t believe they’ve been on the market long enough to get combat worthy reports yet, but we shall see. There seems to be a dry spell on finding a good AK in 5.45×39 and the AR15 Upper may be your best option. The Upper comes in an flat top configuration and will be a great secondary or primary weapon to keep around.