Advice for friend purchasing 1st Rifle

NEF handi-rifle in .223 with heavy barrel will be about 300.
a Howa 1500 in .223 will run about 550 with a nice tapered barrel.
and the best thing for target would probably be a savage MK-II in .22 or 22wmr.

Mid-level AR-15. (around $900)

Very versatile rifle for a variety of uses.
Always popular. Superior re-sale value.

Not at all expensive to shoot unless you are Mr. Mag-Dump.

Plain-Jane "hunting" rifles can be had for less.
Used Plain-Jane's can be had for a LOT less... which tells you a lot about Plain Jane resale value.

Take a look at the Remington SPS Tactical in .223. Has a great reputation for accuracy and the price is between $550-$600.

I wouldn't say the .223 is expensive to shoot. You can get the 45 Grain jacketed hollow point Winchester White box stuff for $20 for 40...that is 50 cents a shot. That should kill ground squirrels just fine. Probably kill a coyote easily too.

As for the rifle...check out the Thompson Center Venture Right now they are going for about $400 with rebate.

Has he been shooting your rifles up to this point? Has he shown a preference to rifle brand and/or caliber? If you guys are shooting squirells most of the time, then a .17 or .22 mag makes the most sense, but not so much if you plan on coyotes.

If you decide on a .223 I recommend looking at the Savage Edge. It's a fine rifle for $300 or so, which isn't much more than a decent .17. I've seen the rifle/scope combos selling for around $350, but son't know anything about the scopes they use.

I always recommend starting with a good .22lr like a ruger 10/22.

Cheap to buy and cheap to shoot, can add something bigger down the road.

I concur with the Ruger 10/22. Inexpensive and really cheap to shoot. $900 for a mid level AR is not inexpensive for folks "who don't have a lot of money."

Based on what you said, I'd have a say a good bolt gun in .22. If cost is a concern, it wouldn't be with a .22. I like the Savages. They shoot really well and at around $300 for a target model, are very hard to beat.

If you'd like some knock down power, I suppose the .17HMR is an option. I've been shooting more and more of this lately and am growing to like it, although it still bothers me that the bullets are so small. I'm still a big fan of the .22 mag. The ammo is plentiful and you can get a brick of 500 from cheaper than dirt for around $60 for the BVAC stuff, which shoots reasonable well.

I could talk in circles, but it would really help if we knew what the budet was. Do we need to worry about glass too?

For bang-for-buck, I'd say Savage-Stevens 200 in .223. Then just drop a budget scope (Simmons, Vortex). The rifle out the door was $350, the scope....$80 with a $20 mail-in-rebate from Simmons.

I would go with a stevens 200 in .223 and shoot ultramax 55 grain soft points or fiocchi 40 vmax. Both types of ammo are accurate and extremely affordable (about $25 for 50). Stevens rifles are insanely accurate for the price and really reliable.

I will be contrary to some here, but I think the .17 HMR, will the right ammo will do everything they need, at a reasonable price, and they are a blast to shoot!

Plinker -- A 22lr is a great place to start -- I would recommend a good bolt gun since they generally will be more accurate -- ammo is cheap and almost always available.

Good All Purpose -- 223 Remington -- can be used for game up to small deer and varmints -- Accurate -- Ammo can be a problem. Fun gun to play with if you/they get into reloading -- cheap to reload at less than 25 grains of powder.

Neat Gun -- M1 Garand -- can be gotten from CMP for $500 -- Ammo from there is about $0.50/round -- Owning History

For rimfire, go 22 lr. It will work on varmints well within 100 yards. Ammo is cheap and he will be able to learn a lot that will transfer over to larger rifles. This will be great since cash is tight. Lots of rounds down range with little cost. I like the savage mark 2 at walmart, synthetic stock and accutrigger. About $130 I THINK.

For centerfire, I vote 223 bolt or a marlin 3030 lever. Very affordable rifles are easy to find as well. Both have cheap and very available ammunition, and both are very capable of taking plenty of game and targets.

Providing I could have one rifle only, it would be a savage mark 2 in 22lr or a marlin 336 in 30 30 lever action.

Edit: One of the switch barrel rifles might be just the thing!! The TCs are really nice, but I havent priced them.

22lr RIMFIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is no better first gun to start with. Alternately I don't know if you are a shotgun guy (sry I know this is rifle country) but a 20gauge or 12gauge Field/Rifled combo does many jobs well but I know they aren't cheap to shoot. I know 22lr won't kill much but it gets you shooting.

suggestions...

A Ruger .22 for @ $175-200 new...or less used, is a great starter rifle. Marlin 795's, Stevens, Springfields, lots of fine choices available.

For about $100 more, NEF .223 with scope from Wally-world, heavy bbl, nice.

Ammo for either or any is reasonable, and easy to locate and works on the game mentioned. .22 is a little light for coyotes...but we use what we have.

Around here, we can get Marlin and Mossberg BA rifles for $250 or less in various calibers...this is a great time to be picking up a rifle for a new shooter. I did see two ATR"S at one place for $199. ea.

I saw a nice Savage 10FP with scope in 223, looked brand new...for $329, makes me wish I had more money! LOL But I got a Winchester 70 in .30-06 instead...it looked brand new and was only $400, with a gorgeous stock.

Life is short, eat desert first! Buy a good rifle second.

I agree with the Ruger 10/22 crowd. I love my 10/22.

You can make it look however you want, customize away with lots of options - and you can shoot all day with a brick of 22 for not a lot of money. Great practice, great fun.

MrOldLude said:

For bang-for-buck, I'd say Savage-Stevens 200 in .223. Then just drop a budget scope (Simmons, Vortex). The rifle out the door was $350, the scope....$80 with a $20 mail-in-rebate from Simmons.

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Got to go with this in a centerfire unless deer are on the menu. If you decide on a rimfire I would stick with a 22LR. The 17's and 22 mag are not that cheap to shoot when we are talking about 200 rounds at a time.

For his level of training and uses, I'd agree with the single-shot .223, maybe .243
You can get that bull barrell which is a big upside.

The 22-250 is a great round. I have taken a number of deer with my Rem 700 SPS at ranges below 150 yards. Its light recoil.

You didn't mention a range but how about a used 30-30 lever gun like a Marlin 336 or Win 94? 30-30 might be a bit much for squirrels, but it will handle coyotes no problem. Plus you can pick up a nice rifle for not a lot of money, and 30-30 isn't that pricey relatively.

Also don't forget about milsurps like a SKS, cheap ammo but plenty of power for your friends needs.

.410 shotgun and some rifled slugs

Most people would do well with a .22 for their first rifle, but since coyotes are on the menu I might step it up to a .22 WMR or .17 HMR. But then I just can't fathom paying that much money for rimfire ammo. Might as well get a 7.62x39 or .223 Rem and spend another $100 or so on a .22LR from the used rack.

Too bad Rossi doesn't make Matched Pairs or Trifectas for adult sized people, except for the .22LR/12GA/.50 and .17HMR/20GA (not the calibers I would recommend here)

What about this in 7.62x39 for a "big boy" rifle? It will certainly take care of coyotes (if all you want is dead coyotes) and deer with the right bullet. $263 MSRP. also available in .223 Rem (good coyote medicine) and .243 Win (from varmints up to deer with the right ammo) but the ammo for the .243 is too much $$$ for plinking.

http://www.rossiusa.com/product-details.cfm?id=39&category=9&toggle=&breadcrumbseries=

You could always get a .22LR barrel for it later for more economical shooting/plinking/squirrels. H&R advertises this in their web site (~$100 IIRC) but Rossi doesn't. :scratch head:

Rossi has the new Wizard rifle that has a number of barrels available, but is $130 more, $391 MSRP. At that point I might rather have an SKS.

I'm in agreement with the OP. I think his friend might actually do better with 2 rifles. Since this is his first rifle, and $$ is a consideration, I would recommend possibly going for a couple of used rifles. I think a search of local pawn shops would ideally produce maybe a used Marlin 336 in 30-30 and also something along the line of a Marlin 60. If purchased together, the buyer should be able to get both for well under $400.

Everyone needs a .22 LR. No gun cab is complete without one. You can get it in any flavor you want from store brand like Ted Williams (Sears) to Winchester Match Grade. I'd get a used bolt 22 with a 3/8 dovetail. Should be able to get one used for $100 or less?

After that, I'd step right up to a used 308, 30-06, 270 or whatever you/she can find that is nice and you know he'll like. Even a 30-30 will do fine with LeverEvolution ammo. It'll get out to 150~200 yds and 30-30 ammo is like $18 box around here. Popular caliber ammo comes on sale now and again and he can stock up.

I don't see the ideal "one gun" solution for a cash strapped family? Killer fine "do anything" rifles like say my .257 Roberts are not cheap, or cheap to feed. They are great, but cheap they are not