Kuffaar

For fun I would personally recommend the almighty ak-47 I own a Yugo blast to shoot and really cheap ammo. How ever since I see you live in cali I believe you cannot have larger than a 10 round mag if I am not mistaken

For Hunting Deer,Elk, Boar ext I would recommended a Marlin 308 express very accurate and rifle is in the 4 to 5 hundred range

And for home defense I would have to go with the 12 gauge shotty can not go wrong with any of these

And last but not least my personal preference .45 acp 1911 in the glove box

rhinonemec

Maybe it was good there were no Hi-Points, gives you time to look for other stuff and save up for a quality rifle. Nothing against Hi-Points, there's just a reason that it's so cheap. Knew a guy that had Hi-Point pistol and he though it was really cool that you couldn't field strip the gun to clean it! And yes, a 9mm is certainly close range, even coming out of carbine, you can only get so much range out that round. I'm still saying get a 223, but the 7.62x39 is a great, cheap round thats fun to shoot, but can still reach out and touch someone!

Kuffaar

the 7.62 x 39 will out penetrate the 5.56/223 any day more knock down power thats almost like a 9mm vs 45acp its all about the torque.

rhinonemec

absolutely, it's just not as accurate, but that's probably more due to the rifle. It's a bigger round, so yeah, it will do more damage. There's a reason the military started looking at other rounds, like the 6.8mm. 223 is great for plinking and hunting though. I think it's got a little better balistics, as well.

Kuffaar

Very true at 100 yards the ak can only shoot with in about a 3'' radius or if you can get a milled not a stamped out ak they are very accurate. Also if you want some serious accuracy/take down power the 6.5 Grendel and the Rem 6.8 with the ar-15 platform is unreal. I will not disagree about the accuracy of the .223/5.56 cause with the right shooter you can shoot a dime at 100 yards.

So_Cal_Tay_12

I greatly appreciate all of the help you guys, honestly, you've all DEFINITELY steered me away from buying rifles that I probably wouldve

rhinonemec

Let us know what you get, and post pics!

JKWillie

UUUHHH............HELLO???

I thought it was ALL ABOUT "SHOT PLACEMENT"???

rhinonemec

Yeah, i know, another discussion about "knock down power"!

Lorrel

There's no doubt the 7.62x39 has more mass, as the average weight is 124gr. for a FMJ, whereas the .223 is 55gr. The velocity is higher with the .223 at 2854 at 100yds and 2487 at 200, as compared to 2030 at 100yds and 1780 at 200 for the 7.62.
There is no dispute the AR round is far more acurate, at both 100 and 200.
As for penitration, since we are not engaging an armored vehicle, but rather a paper target, who cares?
The OP is new into the gun world, and wants to get a nice rifle with a budget of around $600. With that said, I would not even be looking for an AR due to the cost, or anything that shoots .223 due to the cost of the ammo. The AK would be the better choice, as it is far less to purchase, as is the ammo.
For the AK and say 500 rounds of cheap ammo, we are talking about $600 -$700, right about budget.
Now if we look at the HighPoint 995TS, we are looking at a $250 carbine. No it's not going to be as acurate as the AK at 100 yds, but then again with a $100 red dot scope, 100 yds is not that far away once sighted in. As for the ammo the 9mm is one of the least expensive centerfire rounds, 600 rounds can be had for about $150-$200 for a total cost of $500-$600 for all, right at budget.
In addition, the 9mm can also be a very effective HD weapon as it is short and light, however now we're getting into another area, that the OP may or may not be interested in.
For the budget listed and a very fun to shoot weapon, my choice would be either the AK or the HighPoint, and seeing that the later is only 50% the cost of an AK, I know what I would purchase.