Rifle or Shotgun as a first long gun?

[akjren]

I will agree with all of the recomendations for a .22LR. However, if you can afford it I don't think it would be bad to get a good shotgun at the same time.

My dad started me shooting cans with a Marlin 60 and I still have it and shoot it almost every time I am out on the range.

Alex

 

[antsi]

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BTW, a little of topic but, are shotguns are allowed in rifle ranges? Or just at trap, skeet, etc. ranges?
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Depends on the range and what their set up is.

At the shooting club where I used to go, people would "pattern" their shotguns there all the time (shooting them to see what pattern of shot they get at what range).

However, I don't know how much fun it would be to shoot at still targets with a shotgun. I guess you could shoot slugs at a paper target, but it would get pretty expensive. Plus, I don't know that slugs are accurate enough for enjoyable target shooting. Whenever I see people sighting in their slug guns for deer season, they seem to shoot some pretty ragged groups.

 

[bclark1]

ammunition a lot cheaper? you can find all kinds of shot cheap.

shotguns are infinitely more versatile. i wondered the same thing when i was getting my first long gun. went with the shotgun, and maybe a month later understood what a good decision it was.

 

[Evil Monkey]

What if I was to rent a rifle......say......a WASR 3 at a range and have no problem with it. Wouldn't it be better to just skip the .22lr and go for a center fire rifle of my choice?

 

[Brian Dale]

Better? If there's a long gun out there that you discover you really want, then go for it. There's nothing wrong with doing just what you've described.

Otherwise, it's hard to beat a .22 rifle as a first firearm. You can have more fun per dollar with a .22 than with any other firearm I can name.

A house without a .22 rifle in it is like a house without, well, soap. A guy named Kim DuToit refers to the .22 rifle as a household commodity, like salt, sugar or flour, and I agree.

If it's for home defense, get a pump shotgun first; see the Shotguns forum for clear directions on how to pick one (hint: get the Big Four pump that fits you best). If it's to start a collection of militaria, start with the milsurp rifle that most attracts you (I sure like my CMP M1). If you want to learn to shoot well, get a .22 rifle first.

Rifle shooting is a lot like science; shotgunning is an Art.

Take your .22 out shooting and meet a bunch of people; see what grabs you. Along the way, you might meet some wily old shooters, folks with real mastery, who still like to go out and shoot their well-worn, well-maintained .22s.

 

[jjohnson]

Ruger 10/22s

Oh, I've trained a handful of young new shooters who got their first firearm, a Ruger 10/22 for their birthday or Christmas. I know, you'd like to see it be a Stevens Crackshot or something, but the bottom line is that's a great toy, and once they understand safety and fire control, to them it's a fun gun because they can hit with it over and over and over. That's while you stuff mags quickly as you can with the spare hi-cap mags you brought along because you've been there before. You can tell you have a new shooter with a thing about shooting when you've exhausted a brick in an hour. You can't get away from safety, but young shooters like lots of instant feedback. Maybe it's from the video games with neverending ammo supplies. I let them have their fun and we work on better technique on subsequent visits.

 

[mindwip]

If you are picking a shotgun vs rifle, it would depend if you have a shotgun range to use it, for me there are no close places for one. I would pick a .22 or a more powerfull lever action rifle first if it was for the range, but if i had a shotgun range i could shoot clays too arr hard choice but my first gun i shoot was a 22 rifle and i still love it