About the only thing similar between the 3 rifles is that they are...rifles.
Looking at getting a Mosin-Nagant M44, a Yugo SKS or a Ruger 10/22.
I don't have a rifle (I think at this point after over 4 years of THR I have to hand in my membership card after making that confession). What can I say I like shooting handguns :-/ I want to start to shoot rifle though and have narrowed down to these three fine firearms.
Why these 3? Because they are cheap, they are available, they are on my list and by the end of the year I will end up buying all 3 of them. However, I try to be somewhat frugal so I will buy them one at a time.
These three firearms are very different, that is a given. All three of them will first and foremost be used as Range guns.
My Range has one MAJOR ammo restriction - no FMJ rifle rounds. Period. You get caught with ball ammo and you are ejected from the range. Can't say I blame them, the ball is going to tear up the backstop and be more likely to richochette than a SP or HP or lead ammo. So that is one factor.
The M44 is tempting because...well...I tend to jump in and buy whatever the biggest caliber is first. Not the smartest idea, but my first shotgun was a 12 gauge and my first handgun was a .45. I also like that it is a major caliber, about the perfect rifle size, and $80 for a laminated stock version (well I guess $100 after S&H...I have a C&R) is hard to beat. I am not worried about the recoil, nothing can be worse than sighting in a slug gun or patterning turkey loads. In general the old corrosive ammo is cheap...dirt cheap, but it comes only in FMJ. I am not "that" deterred though, I reload and being a major caliber a range session of more than 50 shots is unlikely so it isn't that much of a burden to have to reload for the rifle. In fact I would probably reload for it even if FMJ was allowed. Not sure about accuracy, would 2MOA be unreasonable with good handloads and iron sights?
The Yugo. Well it is an SKS, great caliber, semi-auto. SP and HP ammo can be found for cheap so that is a plus. I don't really have a lot else to say about the Yugo, they seem to be well built, reasonably accurate and hold their value well.
Finally the Ruger 10/22. Who doesn't love a .22LR? Bricks of ammo are $10 for cheap and $25 for match. I shoot my Walther P22 5x more than my other handguns. The Ruger is a great tinkerers firearm as well, they seem to shoot around 2MOA out of the box and getting them to 1MOA isn't much of a stretch. Shooting for a whole day isn't going to leave you sore, bruised and broke.
So there you have it. Any advice? I know...buy all 3...I will. But which one first?
I am leaning towards the M44 in the next couple of weeks and then the Ruger 10/22 in the summer when I really have time to shoot a lot. My reasoning is that Ruger 10/22s will be around for a while, but the $80 M44s won't.
Looking at getting a Mosin-Nagant M44, a Yugo SKS or a Ruger 10/22.
I don't have a rifle (I think at this point after over 4 years of THR I have to hand in my membership card after making that confession). What can I say I like shooting handguns :-/ I want to start to shoot rifle though and have narrowed down to these three fine firearms.
Why these 3? Because they are cheap, they are available, they are on my list and by the end of the year I will end up buying all 3 of them. However, I try to be somewhat frugal so I will buy them one at a time.
These three firearms are very different, that is a given. All three of them will first and foremost be used as Range guns.
My Range has one MAJOR ammo restriction - no FMJ rifle rounds. Period. You get caught with ball ammo and you are ejected from the range. Can't say I blame them, the ball is going to tear up the backstop and be more likely to richochette than a SP or HP or lead ammo. So that is one factor.
The M44 is tempting because...well...I tend to jump in and buy whatever the biggest caliber is first. Not the smartest idea, but my first shotgun was a 12 gauge and my first handgun was a .45. I also like that it is a major caliber, about the perfect rifle size, and $80 for a laminated stock version (well I guess $100 after S&H...I have a C&R) is hard to beat. I am not worried about the recoil, nothing can be worse than sighting in a slug gun or patterning turkey loads. In general the old corrosive ammo is cheap...dirt cheap, but it comes only in FMJ. I am not "that" deterred though, I reload and being a major caliber a range session of more than 50 shots is unlikely so it isn't that much of a burden to have to reload for the rifle. In fact I would probably reload for it even if FMJ was allowed. Not sure about accuracy, would 2MOA be unreasonable with good handloads and iron sights?
The Yugo. Well it is an SKS, great caliber, semi-auto. SP and HP ammo can be found for cheap so that is a plus. I don't really have a lot else to say about the Yugo, they seem to be well built, reasonably accurate and hold their value well.
Finally the Ruger 10/22. Who doesn't love a .22LR? Bricks of ammo are $10 for cheap and $25 for match. I shoot my Walther P22 5x more than my other handguns. The Ruger is a great tinkerers firearm as well, they seem to shoot around 2MOA out of the box and getting them to 1MOA isn't much of a stretch. Shooting for a whole day isn't going to leave you sore, bruised and broke.
So there you have it. Any advice? I know...buy all 3...I will. But which one first?
I am leaning towards the M44 in the next couple of weeks and then the Ruger 10/22 in the summer when I really have time to shoot a lot. My reasoning is that Ruger 10/22s will be around for a while, but the $80 M44s won't.
