Getting my first rifle...

Which first rifle for a strapping young lad?

  • Short range, Saiga 7.62x39mm

    Votes: 29 34.5%

  • Short range, M1 Carbine

    Votes: 7 8.3%

  • Long range, Finn Mosin

    Votes: 13 15.5%

  • Long range, M1 Garand

    Votes: 35 41.7%
  • Total voters
    84
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Nolo

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I'm going to be 18 this November (the day before the election, actually), so I'm going to go out and buy myself a rifle for my birthday. Possibly before, actually (with my dad's help, of course).
I've got about $1K, and I want to save at least a third of that, so I have two options:
-Get a rifleman's rifle. Something that can do 500 yards no sweat. The two weapons I'm looking at for this are the Finnish Mosin-Nagant and the Garand.
-Get a short range rifle for HD and fun. The two weapons I'm looking at here are the M1 Carbine and the Saiga 7.62x39 (I'll convert it later).

So tell me, which path should I choose? The path of the Jedi or the Sith?
(sorry, I'm a hopeless nerd :D:D)
 
M39. There aren't that many and the price keeps going up. Buying one, the reloading supplies, and a single stage Lee press will keep you going for some time and leave money aplenty.
 
I like the idea or a long range gun, because you can alway shoot short range with it, but not vice versa. I only have Russian Mosins, but they are fantastic.
 
I'd get a semi-auto "evil-looking" firearm since those will be the ones affected by any new elections. I have a preference towards the AK.
 
I'd say go for hi-cap things and pick up lots of mags before the ****ing Democrats yank them back. AR/AK and things like that. After I get my moderately cheap lever-action I'm saving for an AR of some kind just to be safe. Then I want a Mosin.
 
Why buy the reloading supplies?
And isn't the same true for all of the suggested rifles?
Click to expand...

For the M39, reloads are pretty much a must if you'll shoot it much. Corrosive surplus isn't the best to put through them, and commercial ammo can be inconsistent.

As for the availability, of what you listed the M39s are the most rare.
 
I would look at J&T rifle kits and spike's tactical lowers. Get an ar15 in 6.8 spc and be able to take anything from coyotes to elk with great accuracy. Also, it's just fun to build your own rifle for under $700.

Take a look at some of the things taken with the 6.8spc.


http://www.ko-tonics.com/hunting.html
 
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I don't really know the ins and outs of building a rifle for myself, and I'm rather shy of the AR-15 platform, so that is kind of a put-off to me. It's not that I have a whole lot of experience there, it's just a feeling thing.
The Garand is great, but it's not handy. I have as much affinity for the Garand as any collector, but I know they are not the end-all, be-all.
And I'm surprised that the Carbine hasn't gotten more votes. It's an even split with the other options. The ability to have 60 rounds on-gun in an emergency is also very attractive to me.
 
True, the ar15 is very simple and easy to build. I am sure the kits come with instructions and the upper half is completely assembled. But If the ar is not your cup of tea than it isn't everyone has their own niche and the ar may just not be yours. I know the ar is my go to platform due to ergonomics and accuracy. Also, they are very durable as for weather damage and knocking them around. But a few small specs of sand in the action freezes them quickly unlike the saiga.
 
I am not that much different from you at least in age I am 21 and been around the ar since I was 17. but in those few years I have researched every new caliber, color, and configuration the come in. Mine is my favorite gun I managed to take out a turkey at 380yds with it this season being the only tom I had a shot at. lol
 
Snakeman, I understand where you're coming from. The AR is a great rifle, there's little doubt about it. However, I am, first and foremost, a designer. You can tell by my post record (not that I expect people to research such things). If a rifle's design doesn't nearly completely satisfy me as a designer, then it turns me off. This is why I love the original 1958 all-Eugene Stoner AR-15, even with all its warts, because the design makes sense to me, because I can see through Stoner the designer's eyes, but really hate rifles like the M4, the M16A2/A3/A4 and other AR variants. This, by the way, is why I am going to school for Mechanical Engineering.
The Masada/ACR is another rifle where I go "I know what the designer was thinking" when I look at it. In fact, I designed a rifle recently that almost point-for-point matched the ACR, without even realizing it. I even made the same design mistake with the charging handle that Magpul did! (let's face it, the charging handle over the receiver is far more elegant than over the barrel) The primary differences in the design were metal construction and a 60.6 OAL. I even contemplated switching to a carbon-fiber lower near just before I realized I had basically recreated the ACR!
Anyway, rifles are a largely aesthetic thing for me, but in a design and function way, not in "normal" ways. I will, I am sure, get an AR sometime in my life. I have no doubt about that. But I've thought long and hard (thoughts that have, indeed included the AR), and I have come down to these four rifles.
 
after shooting a lot of different makes and models of semi-autos, if I had to pick one to go back and buy first, it'd actually be the M1 Garand. it is one of the nicest shooting, accurate and reliable rifles I've put my hands on, and ammo right now is cheap.

join the CMP, buy a Garand for $600 and then go on collecting all the other interesting stuff you can get your hands on, you'll never regret buying the Garand.
 
I'd get an M39 and a Saiga first, then a Garand. The M39's are already becoming scarce, but for $300 you can still get a good one. Who knows how long Saiga's will be around. They might not be here this time next year, (remember Bush Sr. created the import ban by executive order). Then save some money and get a Garand. They'll still be available for awhile.

As I see it, the Saiga is the most practical rifle of the bunch. It's powerful enough to hunt with, can easily be fitted with optics and is far better suited to home defense than an M39 or a Garand. Accuracy is nothing to write home about, but is pretty good as far as AK's go. An M1 carbine would make a good HD weapon and a fun range toy, but it's a little underpowered for deer sized game and it's not set up for optics. A Garand is a very large, heavy rifle that doesn't easily mount optics. It would be great fun at the range, but I wouldn't want to use it for hunting or defense. M39's are also fairly large and don't mount optics well, but I wouldn't hesitate to hunt with one. I really like the way they handle and it's easily the most accurate of the rifles listed.
 
Damnit! I really just want an ACR in 6.8mm! :eek:
The Saiga's a good rifle, though. And the M39 is of course a natural choice. I still have a huge affinity to the M1 Carbine too. And nothing needs to be said for the M1 Garand.
 
With a little hunting around, you can afford two of the rifles listed.

Personally, I strongly advocate a Finnish Mosin just because they're rare, good shooters, and I got myself a SAKO M-39 for my eighteenth birthday as first-ever.

I think I'm up to nine M-39s now, though.

I would say, that if you have $1,000, you should not be too hard pressed to buy both a decent M-39 and a CMP M-1 Garand.

The M-1 carbine, while a nice gun, suffers from Expensive Ammo Syndrome, and is overpriced for what it is as a shooting-gun.

One interesting choice, which you haven't thought of, is a Saiga-12 shotgun! What's better than an AK? A magazine-fed 12-ga semiautomatic shotgun? How about both AT ONCE!

It handily fulfills your Evil Black Firearm quota, and compensates for the slow rate-of-fire of the M-39 - if they get close, you are well prepared.
 
The Saiga would be the way to go, your looking into a good investment both ways, the garand prices rise daily and similar on Saiga's. as every one said already 30-06 ammo will burn your wallet a lot more than the 7.62's. buy the assault rifle, you will be pleased!
 
Saiga, convert it yourself, buy ammo and mags. The rest can come later. Get that now. It'll be a great first rifle that's cheap to shoot.
 
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