Having taken people who aren’t gun people to the range I always take a selection of my collection. See what they like. M1 carbine is always a fan favorite. AR15 not so much. I’d use my carbine for self defense but some of them are junk. They’re also expensive.

Then again when people ask me what gun they should get my questions are usually what they want it for and do they have a gun they aren’t thinking of that will do that if they take the money a new gun would cost for ammunition and range time in preference to buying a new gun without being able to afford the new gun, instruction and range time.