I'm interested in buying a rifle, but my total rifle experience consists of:
"50 shots towards the woods" in USAF basic training--M16 converted to .22 rimfire.
One shot, .50 cal muzzle loader
One shot, Ruger Mini 14
One mag, Henry survival rifle (.22)
One mag, full-auto M16
One mag, semi-auto AK-47
I'm interested in getting a relatively inexpensive rifle, and the top contenders are a Mosin Nagant, an SKS, or a Ruger 10-22. I fully understand that the Ruger would be the more sensible choice, but there's part of me that feels like a .22 is barely more than an air rifle.
A local store has Mosin Nagants for around $70, but the staff I talked to said the recoil might be too much for a beginner. Unless it's a lot more than a 12 gage, I don't think so, but even if it does, I'm very likely to buy reloading gear fro the cartridge regardless of recoil (I reload pistol now)--I assume that being bolt action I can shoot significantly reduced power rounds if I want.
Haven't fired an SKS, but my brother in law has one. The cartridge is enough to make me feel like I'm actually shooting a rifle. It interests me about the same as the Mosin-Nagant, looks like it will cost a bit more, but still within budget. I'm certainly willing to pay more initially if SKS ammo is easier to get or significantly cheaper than 7.62x54r.
My club has a range with targets up to 125 yards, and almost all my shooting will be there. No idea how well I'll shoot a rifle, but in USAF basic training in the 80's, marksman required a 360/400 score, and I scored 351 my first time ever shooting a real gun. No plans to hunt.
Which one should I start with, and why?
"50 shots towards the woods" in USAF basic training--M16 converted to .22 rimfire.
One shot, .50 cal muzzle loader
One shot, Ruger Mini 14
One mag, Henry survival rifle (.22)
One mag, full-auto M16
One mag, semi-auto AK-47
I'm interested in getting a relatively inexpensive rifle, and the top contenders are a Mosin Nagant, an SKS, or a Ruger 10-22. I fully understand that the Ruger would be the more sensible choice, but there's part of me that feels like a .22 is barely more than an air rifle.
A local store has Mosin Nagants for around $70, but the staff I talked to said the recoil might be too much for a beginner. Unless it's a lot more than a 12 gage, I don't think so, but even if it does, I'm very likely to buy reloading gear fro the cartridge regardless of recoil (I reload pistol now)--I assume that being bolt action I can shoot significantly reduced power rounds if I want.
Haven't fired an SKS, but my brother in law has one. The cartridge is enough to make me feel like I'm actually shooting a rifle. It interests me about the same as the Mosin-Nagant, looks like it will cost a bit more, but still within budget. I'm certainly willing to pay more initially if SKS ammo is easier to get or significantly cheaper than 7.62x54r.
My club has a range with targets up to 125 yards, and almost all my shooting will be there. No idea how well I'll shoot a rifle, but in USAF basic training in the 80's, marksman required a 360/400 score, and I scored 351 my first time ever shooting a real gun. No plans to hunt.
Which one should I start with, and why?