Best all around rifle and caliber for a newbie

[stogiegila]

I was leery about going with a rimfire. I don't particularly care for the .22lr round especially when I heard and read about occasional jamming issues. I definitely wanted to go with a centerfire, but didn't want something too high in caliber.

The .223 is widely used and cheap so it met my needs. The gun doesn't have sights but came with a Bushnell 3-9x40 scope.

I'm sure this won't be my last rifle but felt it would serve me well for many uses.

Besides the Savage was also a lot cheaper than the Ruger Mini's I found.

Thanks for all the advice

 

[zimm17]

I would go with a good bolt action 308 or lever action 30-30. The 308 will get you into the 300-400 yard shooting if your so inclined and the 30-30 is good for 200 yards hunting with the right ammo and quick follow up shots.

This..... A marlin 30-30 was my first non .22. Love it. Holds 7 rounds, shoots 1.5" groups at 100 yards, is handy, balanced, lays flat, etc etc. does great with open sights. I took the scope off, ruins the gun in my opinion.

If you need over 200yards, get a .308 bolt action rifle. You should spend at least half the cost of the gun on the scope. $100 scopes are a waste on a nice rifle.

Get a .22 semi auto for plinking.

Then you can shoot a box of 20 big bullets at the range, the take out the 22 and shoot until you're tired for a few dollars.

 

[JustinNC]

It is amazing how many people post well into page 3 with suggestions, having not read anything (not even a few of the more recent posts) to find out if the OP made a decision/purchase yet

Forgive my stupidity and lack of reading comprehension. I've read the thread 10 times prior to my post but must have skimmed that part. I too hope to have time to point out others' mistakes in threads.

 

[ogletate]

I was leery about going with a rimfire. I don't particularly care for the .22lr round especially when I heard and read about occasional jamming issues. I definitely wanted to go with a centerfire, but didn't want something too high in caliber.

The .223 is widely used and cheap so it met my needs. The gun doesn't have sights but came with a Bushnell 3-9x40 scope.

I'm sure this won't be my last rifle but felt it would serve me well for many uses.

Besides the Savage was also a lot cheaper than the Ruger Mini's I found.

Thanks for all the advice

I hate the occasional 22 jam also, so i have a Win 9422 lever and a Remy 572 pump. if you get a "fail to fire", just make the action and you are back in the game. No pulling the mag, etc.