new/first handgun.

[Seancass]

well it seems like you guys need another oportunity to shout out your favorite first guns, so here it is.

i really think i am going to go out and buy a Single six on my 21st bday (in november). two friends have em and i always end up shooting them when we are out. i will also be shopping around for DA guns with 9 round or so cylinders, i think taurus makes them? any opinions? any better ideas?

then comes the next gun. most likely a henry lever action 22, possibly on the same day if not before hand. im really itchin for a lever.

now finally, the part i need help with. whats next? by the end of the day i'll probly have a coupld thousand rounds through each of the above and i'll need something else. I just realised this should be in list form:


i made the part below too long. just read this if you want.
cheap.
plinker.
SA revolver.
357/44/45
cheap.
accurate as me.
5"+ preferably. 6"+
scope-able?
i suppose my budget is 3-500.

and for the bored, the origional version:


this next purchase i like to call my "cannon."
i need something that makes a big boom, possibly damaging wrists and foreheads.
and does it on the relative cheap.
this guns only purpose in life will be plinking. it will probly never kill anything. unless i just get bored or something.
it seems i can get a .357/44 for $4-500 SA revolver. this is tempting, possibly an uberti? bargain ruger?
i Dont want a snub.
is there anyway i can have SA cowboy style and mount a scope? bad i know but im blind and dont want to have a gun that can out shoot me by too much.
i want it to be pretty accurate. im not, but i want it to hit whatever my whobbly hands point it at.
i've considered a Thompson Center in 45/70 cuz that sounds like stupid fun. but not cheap.
maybe a buntline? but i should probly keep it manageable since it will be my only big bore for a long while.

so thats about it. what'ya got?

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Welcome aboard!

Single Sixes rock, you will not regret getting one. You can also buy them used on Gunbroker.com for around $200 + shipping and fees. The cool thing is, the pre-safety "half-cock" Single Sixes are as affordable as the other used ones. If you order from online, you have to have it mailed to a local FFL (Fed Firearms License) holder in your local area. Go to www.gunsamerica.com and use their "FFL Finder" to comparison shop on fees. Usually $15-25 is reasonable, plus you don't have to pay sales tax.


IRT a DA 9-10shot .22LR: you're thinking of the Taurus 94. The only major competitor currently in production would be the 10-shot K-frame S&W 617. Taurus goes for maybe $350 new, the S&W more like $500. If you're planning to keep this gun the rest of your life, I'd imagine that the higher quality of the S&W would be worth the money.

Same deal on the Marlin lever-action vs. the Henry. You can buy a lightly-used Marlin 39A or 39M (carbine) for $300ish online. The Henry has an aluminum receiver and some plastic parts, the Marlin is solid walnut and steel, made in basically the same model by the same company for over a century.

One way of looking at it: if your Dad passed a gun down to you and said "I saved $15 back in 1963 by buying the cheaper model!", wouldn't you rather that he'd sucked it up and bought the nice one? If you're looking to swap around a lot, buying cheap can be fun. But if you know exactly what you want and plan to hold it for decades, buy the good stuff.


You can combine your "cheap plinker" and "big boomer" categories and just buy a Ruger .357 Blackhawk. Shoot .38Spl for cheap, shoot heavy .357Mag for noise. I believe they can be scoped, you might want to use the THR search engine to look up info on that. I've seen used .357 Blackhawks for $250 or so. Then use the Search engine to find a decent pistol scope and a way to mount it to the Blackhawk.

 

[Majic]

I doubt very seriously you will put a couple of thousand rounds thru both a single action or double action revolver and a levergun in one day.
There's not much to add the the advice already given except to consider along with the Marlin the Winchester or Browning leverguns. There is a big difference in the quality of those guns vs the Henry.
Buy your .22 first and shoot it for a while. There's no big rush in buying everything you want. You may find your wants change and you may want a double action centerfire revolver instead of the single action. A lot of people have wasted money making purchases to fast only to learn later that they really want something different.

 

[gandog56]

I agree with MatthewVanitas above. A .357 magnum will also shoot .38 special loads very handily.I got a 20 some year old Taurus 66 wheelgun that I can still shoot one hole targets with using .38 special double end wadcutter loads. And I made some mighty powerful .357 loads that put out a pretty impressive ball of flame and boom when I shoot them.

 

[weregunner]

Older Taurus revolvers.2 count em 2 The model 65 is a 2.5 incher in nickel.18 years old and like others here shoots 38 specials and groups 2.5 at 25 yards.So does the model 66 in blue.4 incher and shoots like the 65.Time and use smoooothed out the trigger pulls with no grit or stacking.357-110grainers are what is used for social purposes.Less recoil.Flame from 357s is impressive enough one can give a smoking perp a light.Hee Hee.Doh!:banghead:

 

[Seancass]

went shopping today and saw a single six stainless with the scope mount ready barrell for 320 used. seemed like a good price. is it? i have also seen on rugers site that they have the bisley target model. would this model be worth the extra money and trouble finding it or wourl it be smarter just to have a little work done to a regular ruger?