New shooter, Got a question

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Duneblade

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Hey everyone, I have been goggling lots of gun stuff and this forum site has popped up like 20 times. So I figured what the hell, let’s join and start posting. Anyway on to my question. I went pistol shooting about 3 days ago, and just love it. (It was my first time) It seems that shooting is the only thing I can think about. I have a pellet Co2 pistol, which I use to practice stance and what not. But I am under 21 so I can not buy a pistol, therefore, I want a rifle to plink/target shoot. I see a lot of people talking about Ruger 10/22's. However, I also see people talking about Merlyns. Are they about the same, and it just comes down to personal preference? I do want to go Semi-auto I think. I went to a gun shop and checked out a Ruger 10/22, it was solid black, and looked like a composite body. I like how it was lighter that is sister which looked like full wood. The black Ruger was like $220, is that a good price? Also, any recommendation to look into, to make sure what I get is what I want? Also, some tips on buying rifles so I don’t get screwed over? Thanks, in advance for the info. I look forward to reading your replies.

Duneblade
 
Welcome to the site! It's a great one!

.22 Is a great cal. rifle to hone your shooting skills, and its hella fun to shoot. and its cheap to feed also.

the marlin is a good gun. the reason it is favored a bit more to some if the hi cap tube magazing that runs inlength with the barrel. vs. the ruger where it has a box mag. you can get 30 rounders for it also, they hang down like an ak-47 magazine.

for the ruger there is endless amounts of things you can do with it. different stocks, sights, actions, barrels, the list is endless.


personaly I have neither.. I own a weatherby semi aout.22. that does me well.
 
does the price of $220 sound like a resonable price? I know people will shake their heads when I say this, but wal-mart has some .22's for like 100$, but I dont think they are name brand. Is it worth spending the extra cash?

Dune
 
I have both a 10/22 and a Marlin 60. Both are excellent choices. (actually the Marlin is one of my son's, but he's fallen in love with the Ruger since I did a trigger job on it. - So the Marlin's sorta up for sale locally. (WA))

You can't go wrong with either. They're both accurate enough for the price. The Marlin has the edge with the slightly longer barrel. But the trigger on the Ruger is better out of the box. Both have good safeties. The Marlin is easier to clean, but full takedown is a wash. The two major differences in them is that the Marlin is available in a tube feed that holds some 15+rnds. Or a single stack magazine feed that holds 7rnds. The 10/22 factory magazine holds 10. You can buy the banana clips for the 10/22, But Don't. They suck. (There are some with metal lips on the plastic magazine that are better, but you're still better off buying multiple factory 10rnd magazins)

There are a ton of aftermarket parts/modifications available for the 10/22. Not much for the Marlin. But the Marlin's microgroove barrel is just about as good as they get for accuracy out of the box. The Ruger will have better options for scope mounting down the road.

Does it look like this reply is leaning toward the Ruger? Not neccessarily. The Marlin60 is a great open sighted plinker for a beginning shooter. It's usually considerably cheaper too. If you're limited by budget, the Marlin 795 at Walmart is tough to beat.

-Steve
 
Price

And a budget I am on, a budget, and check wal-mart.com marlin 795 is 117$ which is a bit more reasonable than the $220 for the Ruger. This is a hard choice because it is my first rifle, so I don’t know the ins and outs and the ups and downs. With the marlin, can you put a scope on it, because that would be about the only thing I would want to add at this point? Also, I like the idea of clip fed. I am leaning toward the marlin mainly because of price. Also, checked into the Marlin 60, which is around 180$. What are the main changes between the 795 and the 60?

Dune

P.S. Thanks again for the info. This has got to be one of the friendliest forums I have been on in a while!
 
It appears that the only differences in the 795 is a slightly shorter barrel, and the cheaper fiberglass stock. Still has the micro groove rifling, and it really looks like the same 60 series reciever.

http://www.marlinfirearms.com

I started my boys out on single shot bolt action rifles. (as did I) So don't knock the 925 or the 980 series bolt action/magazine feed. I have a Glenfield/Marlin bolt action rifle too. It's accurate enough for plinking.

I know you're on a budget, so, Walmart has a Lay Away Plan. (I think) You get what you pay for in guns. (Most of the time) You pay less for the Marlin, so you can afford more ammunition, but at a slight cost down the road. The Marlin won't hold value as long, but it'll never be worth less than $100. Even in poor shape it'll still bring pawn shop value. The Marlin with aluminum trigger, but plastic trigger guard, and fiberglass stock, truthfully isn't quite as nice as the all metal composite or wood stocked Ruger. And the Ruger 10/22 will retain a bit more value down the road. That said, I have had these three .22's for many years, and am in no hurry to get rid of any of them. After countless thousands of rounds down the pipe, they all still perform as they did when new. They are all very effective .22's for the beginning shooter, -and even some of us old guys like to shoot them all day long when out plinking. For any listed above, you really can't go wrong. You could save all your pennies and buy an Anshutz. But, That's not really what you're looking for.

-Steve
 
I'd go with the Ruger. I've shot both very regularly.. The Marlin is a very nice gun but still something about it that I can't quite put my finger on that I don't like. The 10/22 in my opinion is a far superior firearm, well worth the extra $. Down the road, if ou get the bug, you should check out www.rimfirecentral.com, in fact, check it out now. There are hundreds - of mods available for th 10/22 to modify it to your heart's desire. It's quite amazing. The 220$ i would imagine would be for the wal-mart special (22" barrel, checkered stock) It's often quite the shooter out of the box, mine was. They should have a carbine version too for $160 or thereabouts. You cannot go wrong with either, it's entirely your preference.
 
I am looking at spending under 200$. There for I am looking at the Ruger 10/22 rifle, the Ruger 10/22 Blue all weather, or the Ruger 10/22 standard carbine. I just dont understand the diffrences. I guess it's still becuase I am new. Also, are guns purchased at wal-mart less reliable than if I went to a gun shop? Or no, becuase they are all made from the same company? Also, what does blue stand for, im guessing something to do with the barel. Because stainelss, is a sainless steel barel right?

-Dune
 
Hey, don't get impatient. Do you know anyone that has any .22 rifles? Ask to shoot theirs, then determine what you want to buy.

Bluing is just the finish of the barrel and other components. Think of it as paint, but it's not paint. To blue a piece of metal incorporates a chemical process that provides the metal a finish that is most admirable to view, but will be somewhat resistant to the elements. A stainless barrel is a different metal alloy all together. Although I love the look of Blue, if I could afford it, all of my arms would be stainless. You'd never regret buying the stainless 10/22. Not at all.

Rifles from Walmart are the same as from the gun store. Walmart has strict return rules though.

Try your local Pawn shop too. I've got several guns in my safe that were purchased as used items.

-Steve
 
Nope, I dont have any friends that have one. I called around to some pawn shops in Arizona, and they used ones where only like 40$ or so sheeper than wal-mart. And I can swing the wal-mart price. I will let you know what I decide :)

Thank you soooo much for the info!
 
While you're calling around, give a call to any large sporting goods chains that you have in your area. In know that Yellow Mart/Jernigen's is big in CA and carries guns, same with Big 5. Academy (which I mostly see in the Midwest) also has great prices on guns.

I've seen the Marlin 60 as low as $99 new in Academy and Wal-Mart here in Austin, considerably cheaper than the Ruger. Might want to call you big sporting stores and see what their prices are. If Wal-Mart is charging $180 for a Marlin rifle, it's got to be the stainless/synthetic version (EDITED: yep, it's the SSK variant). The blue/wood version should be around $100, but Wal-Mart might not have it in stock.

A word on scopes: since learning to use the iron sights is a fundamental skill for many types of shooting, just use the rifle as is for at least the first few months that you're out shooting it. Further: cheap scopes can be real junk (as I learned with a $7.99 made-in-China special), and good scopes will cost as much as the Marlin itself. Just buy either the Marlin or Ruger (definitely the top two choices in your pricerange), buy a bunch of small boxes of ammo and figure out what shoots best in it, then buy a huge box of inexpensive but reliable (in your rifle) ammo and shoot the heck out of it.

-MV (who favors the Marlin)
 
Welcome to the high road!! A .22 rifle is a great way to start shooting. I would recomend a ruger
 
I'd suggest you consider some other options. I have a Tula to87-4 .22LR bolt action that is made in Russia. The trigger is fully user adjustable and is remarkably smooth and light. It comes with two 10rnd and two 5rnd magazines not to mention it comes with a threaded muzzle should you decide to purchase a suppressor later. This rifle cost $150.00 and regularly gets 5 shot groups at 100yds into a 1" group. Although a $7.00 cheapo scope probably will suck, a $20-30 scope will represent a significant step up in quality.
 
Welcome to THR!

I've found great info here and learned lots. I own both the Marlin and the Ruger, and slightly favor the Ruger. I agree with those that encourage starting with iron sights...not a scope. It's a better way to learn. When you really think your shooting at the max accuracy the rifle has to offer, then (with the Ruger) you can get better stocks and barrels that will take you to a new level. Last but not least....though both rifles can be finicky over ammo, my marlin was pickier than the Ruger.

FWIW....The High Road and 1911Forum.com are the best gun sites on the web. Best of luck,

KCAce
 
I've had both the Ruger and the Marlin. I prefer the Marlin. The Ruger is great if you are into tinkering with the rifle and doing mods to it. With enough time and money, you can make a Ruger into an excellent shooter. Out of the box, the Marlin is the superior rifle and more accurate. It all depends on whether you are looking for a long term project (Ruger) or something to shoot now (Marlin)
 
I agree with cueball...My Marlin 60 is SCARY accurate (I have a 3-9x Tasco Pronghorn on that it got for like $40), much more so than most Rugers are out of the box. Cheaper too (although mine was a gift). But if you like to tinker the 10/22s have tons of aftermarket stuff available. If it were me, I'd buy the Marlin to start, you can always trade for or buy something else later. But for a beginning shooter, an accurate gun makes it all the more fun.
 
I just wanted to add a few more things to this.... You cannot go wrong with either Ruger 10/22 or a Marlin 60. I'd be careful about picking up a gun from a pawn shop even though if it's cheaper, it could have a world of issues. But again it could be the best damn gun ever. It could happen with a out of box straight from the factory... Whichever you finally choose, you'll be happy with it.

As for the differences between the ruger, it's nothing special.... Nothing to concern yourself over.. The differences is usually the barrel length and the stock style. The "blued" has been covered in one of the posts up there. Good Luck.
 
I love the Ruger/Marlin .22 argument! Actually it's become a hot topic around this house (wife and kids have all taken to shooting).

I'm a Ruger guy, I've got a 10/22, Christmas gift from my wife a few years back (don't go running to the ATF, I filled out all the forms myself, just "wasn't allowed" to pull the trigger until Christmas morning) and a Mini 14 GB I'm restoring. Love them both. I'm also a former competitive shooter and cut my teeth on tricked out .22 bolt actions.

My wife loves the Marlin. It's a little slimmer than the Ruger, probably why she likes it so much.

We're it up to me, I'd go Ruger all the way. IMO it's the ultimate in beginner rifles. While I may be a bit more experienced, I still love the fact that I can make changes so easily and cheaply.....
 
you may very well be able to buy a pistol. Some states (michigan for example) have laws where if you purchase the handgun from a private owner you only need to be 18. So instead of buying from a gun shop you look for a used pistol from a friend, neighbor, or fellow THRer. Thats how I got my first pistol. becareful who you ask because not as many people understand or know the law as well as they think. I remember I was told many times by police that no such rule existed but indeed after a recruiter buddy told me it did I checked with the local "weapons guru" at the police station and he confirmed that it was legal. So don't give up on pistol shooting yet!!
 
Welcome to THR! The nice thing about THR is that you can talk about your hobby w/ the passion other hobbiest exhibit w/ their not so controversial hobby. Welcome & see you on the boards ;)
 
Both are high quality rifles. Both companies have excellent customer service. I am a 10/22 fan though. I have 6 of them. All are great shooters. The number of aftermarket accessories for the Ruger are endless. Couple the Ruger with a reasonably priced scope and you have a deadly combination for small game and plinking.
 
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