First rifle suggestions for novice shooter.

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Tibu

New member
Hello. About 2 months I got in the world of guns. I bought a Beretta 92FS as my first handgun. And it has been a joy to shoot. This is honestly the best hobby I have ever taken up. My original plane was to buy a 9mm as my first handgun. Then, to buy a .45acp caliber handgun and then to move on up to the rifle/rifle cartridge world. Well I got into shooting with my best friend since childhood. He got his permit about a month later than I did and since I already had a 9mm and we almost always go together shooting, he decided to get a 1911 .45 to complement my Beretta.

Well since now I can shoot both calibers and I am getting very proficient at both I have now decided to start looking for my first rifle. However, I find this decision to be much more tricky and hard than buying my first gun. Should I go for bolt action, semi auto, surplus, new, .233, .308, 7.62, 30-06, Ar15, mini 14, SKS, AK47, AK74, etc etc. And then there's the brand consideration on top of that.

I would some advice/opinions from the members as to what you think I should go with first. I would like some detailed thoughtful advice and the reasons why you recommend X rifle over Y rifle. Also this will definitely not be used for SD/HD. This is just for putting holes on paper and also long range target shooting.

I should say that as of right now, my slightly uninformed short list is:

Surplus SKS
Mini 14
Mosin 44
M1 Garand
M14 (highly unlikely due to cost, unless I find a deal I cant pass on)
sub $800 Ar15
Mini 30
Ak47

Your thoughts/advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
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taylorce1

New member
For your first rifle I'd look into a good bolt action .22 Long Rifle, cheap to shoot and will give you hours of enjoyment at the range. After you get the mechanics of shooting a rifle well then move into larger calibers. But if you must have a larger caliber to start out with I would again go with a bolt action .223 in a rifle. This will be the cheapest rifle to feed with the least amount of recoil out of all the calibers you mentioned. Savage/Stevens will be the cheapest route to go in a bolt action rifle in .223 caliber. JMO
 
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ZeroJunk

New member
Taylorce is right on IMO.If you start with a heavy recoil cartridge you may very well develop bad habits that are difficult to overcome.Learn to shoot a light recoil and move up as you like.
 
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ZeroJunk

New member
Just a follow up FWIW.I had a cousin that had a 7 MM Mag dot his eye about 25 years ago.He cannot shoot a high powered rifle of any denomination to this day.
 
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taylorce1

New member
I checked out your other post and found you live in PR which you say is very gun unfriendly. So I would go with the rifle that is easiest for you to own as well. I don't know what the local government has for regulations on a semi-auto rifle.
 
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kcshooter

Moderator
First rifle, I'd recommend a Savage bolt action in a .223 also.
Not that Savage is the only one, but its a good gun, very accurate, great action, adjustable trigger, which I think is important for a new shooter to be able to dial in a trigger pull he or she likes so they can base their next purchase on an informed preference rather than just taking what trigger the factory gives 'em.
Get a rifle that has iron sights and also get a decent scope also, even a $75 tasco or simmons 3x-9x power for a starter scope will work but make sure the rifle you buy also has iron sights, which is another important feature for a first timer.
Again, these are just my opinions. But I think they are pretty good ones.


EDIT:
You can get the rifle and a quality entry level scope for just under $500. Spend the other $300 on a spotting scope or good binoculars, shooting bags, and ammo. Lots of ammo!
 
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Tibu

New member
Taylorce:

Yes, the situation here is VERY gun unfriendly. However, once you actually get the permit to own a firearm, you can own any rifle/handgun in any caliber you want. No restrictions on quantity either. It's just that it takes 3-4 months to get the permit and about 2-3 weeks to gather all the paper work.

Firstfreedom:

Budget would be a max of $850. Give it a little wiggle room because if there's really something that catches my eye, I can wait a bit until I have the funds. That's the best I can come up with, being a college student and all :( (last year before I graduate though, so soon my gun budget should hopefully go up :D )

But overall the cheaper the better. I don;t need anything fancy in terms of "ninja" looks or crazy scopes, etc. Just need something reliable with some degree of acceptable accuracy.
 
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hdawson228

New member
I have great fun with my Henry .22 lever action. And very cheap to shoot.
Although I love my M1 Garand, both for the history and the pleasure of shooting it, might be a bit too much to start with. CMP www.odcmp.com will have some M1 Garands later in the year at a good price.
They now have some surplus 30 cal carbines available. :cool:
 
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DFWJ

New member
I'd have to say the Ruger 10/22 is a good starter rifle. Great to learn on and tons of room to grow with. Dirt cheap to shoot/ practice.
 
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Tibu

New member
Any more suggestions? I might do as some suggested and disregard anything over .223 But I really don't dig .22LR. Now the question is which .223. Ar15's are usually over my budget I think, unless I buy used. Mini 14 might be a good idea. They are usually cheaper. I really don't know anything about bolt action rifles and which ones are good. But I gather that anything from Savage or Remington is fairly good. But in all honesty... I was sorta looking for a semi auto.
 
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USMCG_HMX1

New member
+1 on the Ruger 10/22.


Shooting a rifle is different than shooting a pistol. You have to worry about what you're shooting at, but also what's behind it as well. The report from a .223 is going to grab alot of attention and since the projectile has some decent range to it, you'll need a gun range or pit to shoot at.

With the 10/22 you can get the fundamentals down rather well, do it cheaper, and not have to worry about what you might shoot beyond the target whether its property, buildings, or God forbid, people.


Also keep this in mind:

The AR can effectively shoot to 500m on point targets and 800m on area targets. The .308 is regularly shot at 600m to 1km. You need to have an area where you're shooting that will be able to handle this.



Kris
 
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ConcealCarryNY

New member
If you are a novice rifle shooter who wants to be proficient start with a bolt action. As you have stated you are not into 22's which is fine but I would not go much above a .223 this rifle is what you are going to use to lay the ground work for proper technique and form so go light caliber so you can tell what you are doing wrong and correct it. Also start with an adjustable peep sight that way you can learn to adjust for windage and varying distances.
 
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Csspecs

New member
With the 10/22 you can get the fundamentals down rather well, do it cheaper, and not have to worry about what you might shoot beyond the target whether its property, buildings, or God forbid, people.
Click to expand...

Uhh well a .22lr can go as far as a mile or so, you still need to know what is behind your target.

I would also find the middle ground, I would buy the .22 and a SKS.
 
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Tibu

New member
The rifle is only going to be shot at closed and outdoor gun ranges. As I said, it's only for putting holes on paper. Maybe with time and practice, even putting holes on paper in as tiny groups as possible :)
 
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FirstFreedom

Moderator
Get yourself a turnbolt in .223 rem. That'll give you the accuracy you want at short to medium range (out to 250 to 300 yards). I recommend Savage or it's economy little bro, the Stephens:

http://www.savagearms.com/
http://www.savagearms.com/st_200long.htm

Perhaps this one:

http://www.savagearms.com/12bvss.htm

Although an AR15 also ought to give you good accuracy (though not quite AS good), and have the added fun factor of semi-auto - it will push the limits of your budget though - you'd probably want to shop used.
 
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kcshooter

Moderator
Semiauto, .223, on a budget for a beginning shooter?

Definitely check this one out, I think it may be exactly what you are looking for.

Olympic Arms Plinker Plus, at your local gunstore for $599.

Reliable, decently made, accurate enough, maybe not the best AR on the market but definitely the least expensive. I have one, it was my first AR and to be honest, it's been just as good to me as my Bushmaster which cost me about twice as much and it's only big difference is the trigger. My bushmaster has a better fit and finish, but I don't show off my guns, I shoot them and then lock em back up. For that purpose, the Oly has been as good as the Bushmaster.


However, I do agree and also would recommend a bolt action for a first long gun.
 
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4V50 Gary

Staff
Don't buy. Borrow. Go shooting with a friend and try a bolt action 22 rifle. Get use to the feel of shooting a long gun. Semi-automatics are good if you want to develop bad habits and keep them. That's why I prefer to train with a 22 bolt action. Cheap ammo, plenty of practice. It's trigger time, not the caliber that counts. When you get good, broaden your horizon and then explore semi-autos.
 
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tegemu

New member
I strongly recommend a good bolt action .22. With that you will learn how to shoot well and very importantly, inexpensively. I would suggest a CZ-452 Trainer.
 
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