Economical Rifle

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Bruenor

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Hello everyone. I'm looking for some advice on an economical rifle, what with prices for everything going up. Here's my criteria:

1.) Economical to buy and also to shoot.
2.) Rugged in design - I don't want to have to worry about breaking it.
3.) Good for hunting - up to deer sized animals.
4.) Decent for self-defense. For the home I'd rather use my 12 gauge, but if I need to I'd grab the rifle.

The only thing that I've shot that would fit in this category is an SKS. What else out there would be a good fit?

Thanks in advance.
 
I was going to say the SKS, even though I'm not a big fan of semi-autos for hunting. I prefer bolts or levers for hunting, but then they don't fit as well into your self-defense catagory. But, in the semi catagory, I think it's pretty much established that the SKS is more accurate than the AK's and their variants.
35W
 
In my experience, it would be best to keep your defence rifle a different model from your hunting rifle.

Many would say AR-15, Mini 14 or 30, SKS. In my opinion, .223 should not be taken in the woods for deer. It is just to small. BTW, I am not willing to discuss this further. 7.62X39 to me, ballistically sucks, just like the 30-30win. Again, my opinion. But to stay in the lower end of the cost market, I would go with a Mini 30, the better choice of the crappy calibers but with a better gun. Even better though, would be to save a few pennies and get an AR-10. You get the semi auto I am sure you are working for, and .308. .308 is great for all the above.
 
I knew this was going to happen.

OP calls specifically for an "economical" rifle to fit into two roles that he or she would need it for.

Someone comes in, condemns previous suggestions, then says that the thread originator should buy something that's 10x as expensive.

For the record, I took my first deer with an SKS at the age of 9.
 
Nothing is economical to shoot besides a .22 rimfire any more, unless you load your own. If you load your own, caliber doesn't matter all that much.

An AR-10 is expensive to buy and to shoot.

I'd actually recommend buying two rifles, not one. And expecting a gun to be good for home defense, cheap to buy, cheap to shoot, and good for deer hunting, is a VERY tall order.

Perhaps a Remington 7600 pump rifle (in any caliber it comes in), and a reloading press, would do the trick.

Or get a .22 and choose a centerfire that fits other criteria but doesn't have to be really cheap to shoot.
 
Remington 7600 30-06. Operates just like a pump shotgun, is as accurate as a bolt rifle. I just bought one brand new for $550 at a gun show. That is as cost economic as you can get. There were used ones a lot less than that. Just my opinion, good luck!
 
The answer is a good turnbolt. But cannot answer WHICH one until you tell us:

Economical to buy.
Click to expand...

HOW economical is "economical to buy"? $150-$200? $200-$250? $250-300? $300-$350? $350-$400?

Are you willing to buy used, or do you want new?
 
Really, the caliber that you choose will be the more important aspect of the "economics"
down the road. Not trying to offend deer hunter but it is a legitimate statement suggesting that you consider either going with a "home defense" type rifle or a hunting rifle. I don`t know what the fellows would think about me if I brought an AR to the deer camp. But regardless, a good caliber would be something like a .308 or .223 as far as the economics go. Are you looking for a bolt action, semi-auto, etc.?
 
Mosin Nagant is cheap to buy, cheap to shoot. May have some trouble on the home defense weapon, as the bolt doesn't cycle that fast and some of them are quite sticky. Plenty of power for any application that you care to put it to.

Personally, I'd have to go with a Win 94, Marlin 336, or Marlin 94 -- depending on range and game, any of those would do fine for hunting, reloading would make the rifle calibers economical to shoot, and they will do for a defense weapon. Pistol calibers in the Marlin 94 will do for hunting if need be, and be more economical to shoot factory ammo than the rifle cartridges. Maybe even more economical to reload for, to boot.

SKS isn't a bad choice, but is long and heavy for its power. Lever carbines are much more trim and compact. Redneck assault rifles, I've heard them called.

None of those is necessarily optimal for any of your applications, but any would work.
 
thankyou 308sc, I was waiting for someone to state the correct answer.

The Mossin Nagant is under a $100 for the rifle and 440 rounds of ammo for around $70-$80, you just don't get a whole lot better than that as fatr as low cost and no you arn't gonna break it. and it would be great for home defence you can have 12 in of bayonet sticking out the front, but over penatration is a issue to consider.
 
You didn't give us the most important piece of information. Where do you live. It makes all the difference when it comes to choosing a hunting rifle. If you live in Arizona you'll want a different rifle than if you live in Western Washington or Alaska.

Where I live the vegetation is thick and 100 yards is a long shot. For me, 7.62x39 or .30-30 is plenty adequate for anything but elk. If I lived in Alaska, .308 would probably be my minimum as I'd want a hunting rifle that could also serve for protection against big bears. Out in the desert or the plains states I'd want something flat shooting for shots out to 400 yards.
 
Maybe y'all can tell me where you find .30-30 for cheap these days?

Seems there's not a hunting caliber out there that's under 15 bucks for a box of 20, even at Wally World. .223 FMJ is 9 bucks; .223 loaded with hunting bullets runs 16.50.

How's that economical to shoot?!?
 
SKS...the best fit for your stated needs. Inexpensive .30 semiauto with the cartridge equivalent to our .30-30, range practice FMJ or HP ammo that will cost about $0.20/cartridge. Wolf makes the best hunting cartridge...a 154-gr soft point at about one-third the cost (less than $5/20 from Midway) of the 123-gr Remington or Winchester hunting soft points. (Got a 320-lb wild pig about a month ago with one shot...it moved a couple of steps, fell down, and kicked a couple of times!) Light, reasonably short, very easy to operate, very durable. Aftermarket detachable magazines up to 30-round capacity are available...but the original 10-shot magazine is far better for range, hunting, and home defense use (the long magazines seriously get in the way, especially when hunting or shooting from prone or a bench...and they are heavy!).
 
Lever action in 30-30. Or a shotgun capable of shooting slugs.

A bolt action by Savage would be a great hunting rifle for not a lot of money. Great triggers, decent barrels and very economical.
 
+1 for the Mosin-Nagant M44 if cost is a real issue, there is really nothing comparable in terms of cost. 7.62x54R is powerful enough for most bears, let alone deer, and cheap. No, the ammo isn't quite as cheap as 7.62x39, but because they are bolt guns and kick like the proverbial mule, you won't be going through ammo like with an SKS or Saiga either.

I don't have anything against the SKS if you will be hunting in wooded areas with short range shots, it's a great rifle, but the Mosin Nagant will have longer legs, so to speak, as well as being cheaper.

If you want to hunt but don't want to have to modify the gun (SKS and M-N have integral bayonets, which are not popular with game wardens) then a Saiga in 7.62x39 costs well under $300 new. You could also look for a M-N M38 carbine (no bayonet) or long M-N 91/30 rifle (removable socket bayonet). The first is harder to find and the second will trade better ballistics because of the the longer barrel for less handiness because of the the longer barrel.

Lots of options there, just depends on whether you want power and range (M-N) or faster follow-up shots and rate of fire (SKS/Saiga).
 
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