For pure shooting fun, what would you choose...

For plain versatality go with the AR family.
One receiver and several uppers will make the gun a multi caliber, muti use all around blaster.

For pure joy an M1 Garand is hard to beat.

Lever actions are passe' unless you have a hankering to relive the glory days of the cowboys.

Lord what a decision.

Levers are a blast no doubt.

The M1 Garand, well it is just about my favorite rifle.

But for pure shooting fun I would say AR15 and this is why.

1)Cheap ammo.
2)Very accurate.
3).22LR conversions (Trust me on this one you will love a .22LR upper)
4)The Lego of the gun worlds, sights, uppers, handguards, lights etc.
5)Different uppers that totally change the personality of the gun.
6)Basically can be made into anything from an uber tactical entry gun with all the gizmos, to a historical recreation of the M16A1, to a super accurate match rifle etc.

M1 Garand.

Nothing beats the ping!

What cslinger says...

Two choices really - I don't think the lever gun will be all that much fun, at least compared to the semi's.

Garand - I bought a Garand from the CMP mainly to complement my other C&R WWII stuff (and because I was at the North store with a friend) and it somehow managed to become one of my favorite rifles. The Garand is a BLAST to shoot and further more it can outshoot many of its progeny. I bought my Garand on a whim and now I couldn't be happier that I did and I would never consider a firearms collection complete without a Garand.


AR - I'm sure lots of people will tell you to get an AR15, and for many good reasons...blah blah blah. About two weeks ago I was at my local gun shop and an Armalite AR180B caught my eye and I bought it and I have been very, very impressed. There are not as many toys and add ons for the 180B (for that matter - NO firearm has as many do-dad's as the AR platform - most cars don't even have as many extra parts as AR's do)but the ones you can get are great and in my personal opinion they modifications they made to the design puts the AR180B above the regular AR 15.

Get the Marlin in 357, and use the rest of the money you saved by NOT getting an AR to get what you really want - a SKS.

To me, at least, this would be a total no-brainer!

There is nothing in the world that gives you the almost perfect combination of light weight, low recoil, excellent accuracy, excellent ergonomics, ease of maintenance, durability, and a plethora of accesories as the AR platform.

Add to that the almost universal availability of ammo, both commercial and MilSurp, the very low cost of ammo, and if you handload, the price and availability of components.

And just for good measure, they hold their value quite well.

You have come to the right place: I have all of them.
Actually I have one 1894C, three M1s and a number of ARs: I don't know exactly but it is over 10.
No question in my mind what I would buy: an AR15.
And do me one small favor ? When you get back on here and ask which AR15 you should buy, ask which one has the best quality: not which one is the cheapest ? Please ? I have never asked you for anything in my life. Just say, I am thinking about buying an AR15 platform rifle or carbine. I want to be really happy with my purchase. I want to look back in five years and say I made a good decision. I am not really interested in the cheapest possible AR. I am not interested in what AR you have or which one is your favoirte. I want the one that is the best.

Colt AR15 is probably the most fun, or an M1 Carbine. Both good plinkers. YMMV

I would go with the Marlin.
Lever guns are cool.

I'm not an AR fan so the other two got my attention and I don't have an answer for you. I have both...

Having a lever gun to go with the six shooter on my hip makes for a fun day in the desert and the Marlins are great.

That being said, a M1 Garand in every household is my campaign motto.

For a pure fun gun, I'd go with the AR15. .223 ammo is common and cheap. There is also a certain "cool factor" of having an "EBR" in your stable. This cool factor makes the AR a great rifle for taking a newbie out to the range with too. And since it's so easy to shoot, they will have fun with it and go a long way towards getting hooked on shooting themselves. That kind of makes the AR a "two-for-one" deal.

Just for fun? Here is the order for me if I did not own any of them. Although personally, I think you should plan on getting all three.

1. AR-15. For all the reasons already listed. Everyone should have one. I have one (2nd on order). Very fun. Very versatile.

2 and 3. Tie between the Garand and Marlin 1984 (357/38). I don't have a Garand but it is very high on the want list. How could you not want one?

I do have a Marlin. Don't overlook a lever for pure shooting fun. Yeah, it may be an old design but that does not take anything away from its effectiveness and versatility. They can be found new for under $300. You can go full power .357 loads or plink all day on cheap .38's. Try one out, the word "passé†will never enter your mind.

Now, for just fun shooting, a 10/22 will do just as well. I also suggest an SKS, inexpensive to buy and cheap to keep loaded.

Good luck and enjoy.

PING! vs. SPROING!

All the guns you mentioned are hella fun and good, multipurpose firearms. Since you included possible casual target shooting, that means a Garand or AR IMHO.

My two fun guns: the Ruger Mini-14 (cheap ammo and semi-auto) and a Marlin 1894 in .45LC (love those levers).

I have and love two M1 Garands. Fifty rounds and my shoulder is sore and 30-06 is not exactly cheap.

The Garand is next on my list, but I already have an SKS. Don;t know it that counts as AK platform or not.

BradN said:

Fifty rounds and my shoulder is sore...

Click to expand...

But you know you love it.

Garand

You have definitely narrowed it down to a good "top 3" list. You won't regret any of those choices. I would have to agree with cslinger, however, and if I was going to pick one to start with it would be the AR from the "fun factor" standpoint. Next would be the Garand, then the lever.

You must eventually get all three, but that would be my order of purchase....

AR-15

Not even a second thought....get the AR, get one from someone you can trust to be a good one. Very fun to shoot, very accurate, and 223 is EVERYWHERE. After that you can indulge in different uppers for various cailbers.

I too own an M1 and an AR15... both are great fun. I don't own a lever gun; but if even casual target practice is on the menu, the AR and M1 should be far superior to most lever guns.

A CMP M1 has a sense of history and is just a plain fun shooter with excellent iron sights. I like them even better than the AR irons. The en-bloc clips are fun and practcal as well. On the other hand, it won't handle as much sustained fire as an AR and ammo is more expensive.

The AR is everything mentioned here - ergonomic, fun, modular. Ammo for it is affordable and it is built so that it can handle quite a few rounds in a shooting session with no problems (I've fired 800rds over a 6hr period).

I don't think you would be disappointed with any of the rifles you listed.

Marlin 1894C. With .38 specials there's no recoil, the ammunition is cheap, the rifle is lightweight, and it just looks cool.

I'd like to shoot my M17s with a 120rnd. drum, but we can't have those in Ohio w/o a class 3 ffl. Crap. :banghead: Other than that, my Jld G3 and my Glock 20. I'd like to get a .22lr conversion for my G3. Btw, hi all, I'm a newbie. 1st post.