My first gun, Need some advice

[Dave2521]

Hi everyone, just joined the forums but ive been reading them over the past week and would like to say that this forum holds a lot of good information!

That being said im thinking of buying my first gun. been wanding once since i turned 18 (im 21 now) and been looking around seriously for about the past 3 monthes. I work at a Sports authority here in Arizona, and we sell rifles and shotguns. Ive had my eye on a Savage 12fvxp .223 rem for the past month now. It comes with a Synthetic stock, heavy barrel, and a simmons 4-12x40 AO scope. It is priced at $489, but with my discount i can come away with it for $490 after tax.

My primary use of this rifle is going to be mostly going to the range with friends and light hunting. My friends saysthat with practice i could go deer hunting with him using that rifle.

My question to you guys is that do you think it is a good buy? And also is it a good first rifle for me for my stated uses?

My dad loves the gun; however, he says that it might be a waste of money as he doesnt think i will use it that often. But my statement to that is that i plan on going to the range at least once a month and once i get better hours at work i plan on going out hunting with my buddy a lot.

Any input or other recommended guns would be awsome. Thanks a lot a head of time guys

-Dave


EDIT: I live in arizona, and i also wanted to add that after everything wanted to spend under or around $500

 

[MatthewVanitas]

So far as deer hunting goes, the .223 is too light for deer in most states. What state are you in?


Here's a suggestion: if the goal is to get into shooting, and maybe do some hunting down the road, consider getting a rifle in the .22LR caliber. Examples highly esteemed on the board would be the Marlin 60 (semiauto) Ruger 10/22 (semiauto) and CZ 452 (bolt action).

Any of these would have many advantages:

1) Great quality at a low price: the 60 costs $99 at my local sporting-goods store. Ruger and Marlin are U.S. Made, the CZ 452 is Czech made, and those Czechs make great guns at a bargain price.

2) Low ammo costs: even the cheapest .223 will run you 12c/rd, whereas .22LR will run you 2c/rd, so six times as much shooting for the price!

3) Great way to build skills: most of the folks on this board reccommend extensive practice with a .22LR as the way to build up and refine essential shooting skills. A .22LR has enough muzzle-flip to require you to use proper follow through, but not so much recoil as to be tiring at all.

4) You can do great small-game hunting (depending on your local game laws) with the .22LR, on rabbits, squirrels, etc.

So, deer or pig hunting will be a definite option once you get some good .22LR practice under your belt, and you'll have a much better idea by then as to what type of larger rifle will suit you best in the field (especially if you hang around the Rifle and Hunting forums here on THR and soak up wisdom).

And your Dad should be happy, because you're only starting out with a $99-$250 investment, plus it's should be pretty easy to sell off a good-quality .22LR if you decide that shooting isn't for you.

A good .22LR will last you the rest of your life if you buy a good one now. Not to many other $99 items out there that you'll be using for the next half century. I'm only 25, but I've got a Marlin 39A lever-action .22 made in 1953, and it's still going strong. Good luck in starting out in shooting!

-MV

 

[jtward01]

Let me second the idea of making a .22LR rifle your first gun purchase. Proper shooting habits are difficult enough to learn without having to deal with a loud muzzle blast and painful recoil. Plus, as was pointed out, .22LR ammo is really cheap and readily available.

A Ruger 10/22 with a synthetic stock and stainless barrel/receiver should last you a lifetime with minimal maintenance. Take good care of it and you'll be able to teach your grandkids to shoot with it.

One of the biggest reasons to buy the Ruger 10/22 instead of the others is the amazing number of custom accessories available. You can take that basic little Ruger and replace enough parts to turn it into a world class competition target rifle. Or, you can add a folding stock, handguard, flash hider and a 50-round magazine and turn it into a "mini assault rifle" just to have fun with. There's even a kit to turn it into a scaled-down replica of a WWII German MG-42 machine gun. (You can even buy two 10/22s, remove the stocks, mount them together in a special tripod mount and turn them into a mini "gatling gun" that shoots as fast as you can turn the crank.)

Seriously, though, the 10/22 is an ideal first gun, just as it comes out of the box. Master the basics of sight alignment, breath control, trigger squeeze and follow through using that 10/22 and you'll be learning skills that will serve you well for the rest of your life, regardless the caliber of weapon or size of the target.

 

[Preacherman]

I'll "third" the idea of a .22 rifle as your first gun, with this one caveat: buy a rifle that's as close as possible in operation to the bigger-caliber gun you intend to buy. If you want to get a bolt-action rifle for range and hunting use, then get a bolt-action .22, so that your training will "carry over". Same for pump-action or semi-auto rifles: if the "big one" will use that action, get a "little one" using the same action.

As for hunting, I suggest that the .223 is way too low-powered a round for deer hunting. Sure, it can be used, and has been used, for that purpose, but it takes a very accurate hit with a good enough bullet to get the job done, and there are many deer wounded and lost with that round. I'd consider the minimum round for smaller deer to be a .243, and that's marginal on larger deer. Look at the 7mm. and .30-caliber class rounds as a better all-around choice. It also helps if your choice has cheap ammo available for practice (unless you plan to reload), as the more you practice, the better shot you'll be. For this reason, I often recommend a .308 to aspirant hunters, as military surplus ammo is freely available, and if your rifle has a strong enough action, it can handle the milsurp stuff easily.

 

[KaceCoyote]

It costs 1/50th to become a marksman with a .22LR what it does with a .223. My first rifle was a Marlin 336, in .30-30 and great gun it may be its not ideal.


Focus on a gun you can afford to shoot the absolute SNOT out've, how nice is the thought of spending like 12 bucks and burning through a thousand rounds. In .223 to shoot anything worth shooting will cost 200 bucks for maybe 500. .22LR first, seriously.

 

[Snorkel Bob]

Dave2521: email me @ [email protected]
Im the Outdoors manager at Store 786 in Fresno. You have other options that are probabaly not aware of yet.

 

[lawson]

for those who weren't lucky enough to start shooting at a young age, i will also recommend getting a .22.

500 rounds for 5-6 bucks, and here in Arizona there is a lot of hunting that can be done with a .22. if you decide you like shooting and hunting, then you can move up to a serious hunting rifle, and still have that .22 that you will shoot all the time and maybe someday teach your kids to shoot with it. take good care of it, and a good .22 will last you a lifetime.

and if you don't like shooting, provided you took good care of it and cleaned it after shooting, you can get a decent resale.

i own six handguns, five rifles, and three shotguns. my .22's get used more than anything (in the amount of rounds through them, at least).

 

[rangerruck]

what is the bbl twist on that thing? if it is 1/8 or 1/9 you can use heavier bullets , up to 70 75 grnrs. that is plenty enough to huntdeer with. also does it have the accutrigger on it/ if it doesn't then this is too much money for that rifle. there is a guy at a gun show here in houston that has a savage package rifle like that in 243, no accutrigger, for 250. i think i will get it. Also once you start going to the range, you will do whatever it takes to get back there as much as possible. yes savage makes a very acc rifle for the little money you will spend on it.

 

[rangerruck]

another thought here is a 22 mag or a 17 , once you get one all set up the way you want , throw in a plane jane mod 60 for 100 bucks na learn to shoot with that baby first. if you are goint to get a bolt action centerfire, then get yourself a bolt action 22, etc.,etc.

 

[Fred Fuller]

One more vote for starting out with a .22 rimfire for your first rifle. You can get in a lot more trigger time for a smaller ammo budget, and the skills you learn are transferable to a larger rifle.

I also think a .223 is too light a caliber for deer hunting also, even though I have killed one small buck with it (a small spike with a broken leg that came by while I was looking for coyotes) with a neck shot. It -can- kill deer with everything in its favor, but are you a mature and self disciplined enough hunter to make absolutely sure you have a clean killing shot with such a small bullet?

lpl/nc

 

[Mad Chemist]

For the amount you're about to spend on the Savage .223, I say get a Winchester .30-30 and a Ruger 10/22. Both rifles together will cost about the same as the Savage and you will have a decent deer rifle as well as a good .22 plinker.

JH

 

[homefront]

If you aspire to one day owning a handgun, a carbine in a handgun caliber might be interesting. Leverguns, pumps and semi-autos are all out there in common handgun calibers. Not nearly as cheap to shoot as a .22, but not hard to shoot, and some (.357mag. and up) are used by many to bag whitetail under 100 yards. This choice could also lead you to reloading which would really expand your horizons and knowledge of firearms.
I have a Marlin Camp Carbine in .45 ACP, which takes the same magazines as my 1911. Very mild recoil, and makes an impression on targets!
I suggest this because you don't seem to have well defined hunting uses for a firearm, but definitely seem interested in range shooting. Be sure to hook up with a good (safe, experienced) mentor or NRA certified instructor to set your first steps straight.

 

[GoBrush]

Dave:

Couple of thoughts if you have already shot alot just get something you can aford, like, and will shoot. If you have not shot alot I would recommend getting a nice 22lr rifle to start out with. There are alot of good ones out there but the Ruger 10/22 is hard to beat. 22's are very cheap to shoot and you can really fine tune your skills. This route will allow you to start shooting and give you more time to decide what direction you want to go.

Hunting, Target, Rifle, Shotgun, Handgun, defense

If you are just getting started in the shooting sports I suggest trying them all. Any way this probably did not help you much just a couple ideas.

Good Luck

 

[akodo]

I hate to disagree with you guys, but you are giving him bunk advice. You got to remember, lots of people get into shooting and gun ownership and choose guns for other than purely ballistic reasons. Hell, some knowledgable guys are doing it to. Do you really NEED that 300 weatherby? won't your 30-06 or 300 winmag do just fine on deer, and this theoretical elk hunt you would like to go on some day?

Buy what you enjoy shooting, then BORROW a 22 rifle. Two guns = more happyness. You get the gun you desire, plus you get the gun that will be economical, and easiest to learn on, and applicable to more hunting situations.

.22 rifles are excellent teaching guns, as well as extremely handy tools. Hence there are piles and piles of them out there. I am sure if you ask around you can come up with an uncle or a cousin or a friend's dad who has a 22 to lend you. My family seems to accumulate them like crazy. Have 2, one from each grandfather who passed, 1 which was my dads, and 2 from my brother and myself, 5 total .22 rifles before going gun-nuts and extending collections. Lent one to a nephew who needed something for gun training.

Barring being able to borrow one, BUY TWO GUNS. Again two guns = more happyness. As mentioned, for under $100 you can pick up a pretty inexpensive but solid marlin. What's more, go to the used gun rack, i bet with $50 you can pick up a pretty solid bolt action .22


regarding ammo cost, yea 223 is much more expensive than .22lr, but either way, range dues are going to cost more than the couple boxes of ammo you got

 

[CB900F]

Dave2521;

Another vote for the .22 rimfire. However, I think the comment concerning: "Proper shooting habits are difficult enough to learn without having to deal with a loud muzzle blast and painful recoil." should not be associated with the .223 on a rifle platform. The .223 is a pretty mild-mannered shooter, loud & painful simply don't apply. However, that same mild-manner that makes it a nice shooter, is also the reason that it's not really well suited for game hunting.

I have several .22 rimfires, a .223 walking varminter, & other hunting guns up through the .338 Winchester magnum. If you want to get a centerfire hunting gun to go with your (hopefully) .22. There are several very nice calibers that would be far better in filling the hunting role. In ascending order: 6mm Remington, .257 Roberts, 6.5 X 55 Swede, and 7/08. The first centerfire I got for my, then, 16 year old son, was a Remington classic in 6.5 X 55.

900F

 

[Mal H]

Guys, I'm sorry to say I think we have a hit-and-run case here. Dave hasn't returned to THR at all since his first post on Jan. 9th. All of your advice has been falling on deaf ears.

I hate it when that happens!