First rifle

[Clipper]

$500.00 should buy you a decent .22 and 15,000 or so rounds of ammo...Shoot that up and you should either be a great shot, or looking for a shotgun...

 

[scrat]

by far a .22 is the best way to go. i have several .22 lr rifles and hand guns. they are very fun and easy to shoot. besides big 5 has cci blazer ammo on sale right now 525 rounds for 14.99. you cant beat that. those pries are excellent. thats what makes it fun to shoot tooo

 

[EricTheBarbarian]

.22 is fun and cheap to shoot. Most people I know have a .22 as their first rifle. If you want something different look at some of the surplus guns. Mosin Nagants and mausers are fairly cheap and with the price of surplus ammo they arent expensive to shoot either. Just make sure you clean them after using corrosive ammo.

 

[drummerwookie]

even tho im a noob here, ill throw a word in...i suggest a Ruger 10/22. probably the best 22 rifle for the money.

heres my ruger with my other baby i havent modded the ruger yet, its still as it was when i got it...but i love the stainless with wood stock


heres my other rifle, which somebody mentioned was their first rifle a few posts b4 me. an M44 Mosin Nagant...its a lot more pricey to waste ammo with then a 22, but its worth it.

 

[drummerwookie]

scrat, at wal-mart you can get a box of federals, 550 rounds in a box, for 8-9 bucks.....very cheap way to do it....atleast at the wal-marts around here

 

[monoceros]

Thanks for all the great input, it seems like the .22 is a must have for cheep ammo and ease of shot. After I have a little more experience with rifles I believe the consensus is to buy either a mosin nagant or an m1 garand, and feel out those more powerful loads.

 

[Eyesac]

+1 on the Lyman sights...

 

[GarandOwner]

You cant go wrong with a US Rifle .30 M1, affectionally known as the "Garand" If thats out of your price range you can get a cheap Mosin Nagant for around $100

 

[____hoot____]

For $500 I would get four. 1. a good grade new air rifle $100-125 2. a used model 60 Marlin 22 $100-125 3. A new Traditions basic slam-bolt inline muzzle-loader $125-140 4. A Yugo SKS $100-$175 Shoot them all and see what 'grows' on you. After a couple of sessions with each you will have a much better idea of the type and style of gun you would like to keep for life. Perhaps it would be better to add in a bolt gun in the milsurplus type instead of the SKS or Model 60 to see if that is the type of action that you prefer. Think of these as "rental" guns to determine your own personal preference. If you take your time and buy smart you won't lose much when you trade them in[ if you want to!] on what you really need.

 

[Vaarok]

Marlin Model 60 for cheap, or Marlin Model 39A for more. Then a Mosin M-39.

 

[aspade]

Where are you going to be shooting? Finding somewhere to safely plink with a .22 is a lot easier than the same with a 30-06.

 

[Cokeman]

CZ 452 .22LR

I chose the CZ 452 Special over the Ruger 10/22 because I wanted a bolt action to help me focus more on the target and less on just shooting up the place. When I was looking, I read lots of good and bad comments about the stock 10/22. I have never read a bad comment about the 452.

 

[busy_squirrel]

My first was an M38. But I don't like to shoot paper if I can help it.

 

[collateral]

My first rifle was a Ruger 10/22. I now have a surplus polish AK, the 10/22 and a mossberg 500.
A good .22 LR rifle is a great starter gun, cheap ammo, really easy to maintain, its also very easy to improve your marksmanship with. My friends and I have sat outside all day shooting ours, it's a blast.

I would have to say go with a .22. For the manufacturer I would recommend Marlin or Ruger. I have seen a few nice Thompson Centers though.

 

[antagonist22]

+1 on CZ 452.

But if you think you will shoot more centrefire than rimfire later on in your life,then get a bolt centrefire as well or even start with centrefire(even though its more expensive to feed).