Whats the best route out of my choices for a first rifle.

[Idempotent]

Every so often I see someone recommend a rifle in 30-30 for a beginner, and I just don't understand why. 30-30 is not an appropriate caliber for plinking at the range. It's significantly more expensive than 308 and especially 223, both of which also out-perform it ballistically.

Yes, 30-30 may still be the most popular deer-hunting caliber in certain necks of the woods, but that's only because of inertia. For a new shooter looking to buy a new rifle, ammunition availability, price, and to a lesser extent, performance, are all very important, and the 30-30 loses on all three of them.

As a response to the original poster, if this is actually your first rifle, then the standard advice is you should get something in .22 LR and put many thousands of rounds down-range with it until you become decent at shooting rifles. The reason is that it will be much more economical to do it with .22 LR than with any other cartridge. And a basic .22 LR rifle is cheap -- around $100. Then once you get enough experience shooting the rifle, you'll probably also have a better idea of what you want for your first center-fire rifle, and that's where you spend most of your money.

 

[Alex45ACP]

Right now you can get a Spikes 5.56mm carbine or midlength upper for $479 (including shipping) at AimSurplus. I ordered mine on Tuesday morning and got it today, haven't fired it yet but it looks great and is basically "top tier" in terms of specs.

 

[FlyinBryan]

i would say the AR15 is a great rifle, especially for a beginner.

it sounds odd to start with something so advanced, but the fact of the matter is this. the AR15 was designed to be a fitting weapon for many young men who had never owned a firearm in their lives. its an amazingly simple design. great firepower. extremely accurate design rivaling even the finest bolt guns, and the list of aftermarket goodies is endless.

that being said, i would like to add one thing.

i spent the first 25 years of my rifle purchasing years without an M1 Garand. i waited 25 years too long. mine are hands down my favorite rifles (i love my AR's, and they were my fav's until i started buying M1's)

in my opinion they are the finest rifles ever made (just my opinion)

look into joining the civilian marksmanship program, and you can purchase the real deal, u.s.g.i. M1 garands for as little as 500 bux, not to mention the instant camaraderie among members/M1 owners.

to me there is just something special about a 30-06 semi, that recoils like an sks or an ak, and can be reloaded in the blink of an eye.

god i love my M1's. i get all lathered up just talking about them.

 

[Zanad]

that is a nice m1. Interestingly enough, I saw a m1 "tanker" in .308($1000 with no papers) at the same gun shop i saw the mini-14 nra. I read up on the modified m1 and the responses were less than enthusiastic about the gun.

to flynbryan:
where can i get a garand for $500!?!?!?

 

[FlyinBryan]

right here. the field and rack grades are 495. the one in the pic is a service grade and was 595.

item# RM1SAS

http://www.thecmp.org/m1garand.htm

 

[Hatterasguy]

Buy something in .22LR. I wish my first rifle was a .22LR. For $12 you can shoot all morning, and you can work on not developing bad habits.


I own a lot of rifles, but my recently purchased 10/22 sees the most use.


When I go to the range I'll usualy bring one or two of the big boys and maybe a pistol, but only run a couple mags/clips through them. The 10/22 gets the most use.

 

[winchester '97]

AR or the Scout.
For a .22 Marlin or savage make the best stock semi autos, though the marlin 795's magazines are less jam prone than the savages, unless your tacticooled ruger has has trigger/barrel work it would not shoot as good as the marlin or savage.
And you can get an upper to make the AR do whatever you want it to.

 

[Hatterasguy]

If you want tactical get that .22 AR S&W makes.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=173964841

My friend has one, its accurite as can be and a blast to shoot. Mags are not to expensive either.

Its a heck of a good way to get trigger time on an AR without paying .20-.40 cents everytime you pull the trigger.

 

[Zanad]

quote from hatterasguy: if you want tactical get that .22 AR S&W makes.

As of now i'll think i'll stay away from the m&p 15. i enjoy the thought but if want want an AR-15 look-alike in .22, I'll just buy a conversion kit for the AR lower i have so i dont have to spend the extra cash.


now, for everyone recomending a semi auto .22lr: although this is a cheap shooter, it doesnt fill the need for a hunting rifle. Dont get me wrong though, I've rented/borrowed a few autoloader .22s and I think thier great to shoot, but as I said before, it doesnt satisfy the possible hunting requirement.(even though I will most likely get 1 anyway, just not at this time)

 

[The_Pretender]

If it were me, I'd get a .30 carbine and a Winchester 94 in .30-30. You get two guns that fulfill everything you wanted, plus plenty of cash leftover for ammo.

I know you don't want 2 guns, but I find it hard to pick something that covers pest control and deer. (Before anyone comments on separate AR uppers, why not have 2 guns at that point? You can just as easily pick up a different rifle in the time it takes to switch things around.)

In any case, I'd suggest picking a primary rifle for target/hunting, and leave the pest control up to a cheaper secondary weapon, i.e. .22 LR or 12/20 gauge.

Course, if you don't mind blowing coyotes/foxes/etc. into the next county, go with the M1A.

 

[Ignition Override]

On second thought, a low cost .22LR looks like an excellent decision, as you evaluate different guns.

But if you have the fever only for a larger round, the SKS ("Did he say SKS?") is a modest price/very good value, and the ammo at Cabela's is now $3.79 per box of 20, as with .223.
You can sell one of these rifles after you have compared others for the long-term, and commit much more cash.

 

[Zanad]

as for pest control, I should show you the fox pest pelt I legally obtained after it went on a 30 chicken rampage(oh what a mess to clean up).

 

[amprecon]

I just got into AR rifles and would venture to say that if the ammo was more popular and reasonably priced, my RRA LAR-6.8 Mid-Length A4 could very well be the one and only rifle I'd ever need.

It's basically a .270 short in a light handy rifle that I can hunt with, SD/HD with, target shoot with, trick out or leave basic, it's A4 configuration makes mounting any type of optics a non-issue, not like the M1A series of rifles.
I've never fired an AR rifle in .223, so I can only imagine after shooting my 6.8 that it'd be akin to shooting a bb gun as far as recoil is concerned.

As any rifle caliber it has it's limitations, learn them, stay within them and you'll be fine. But I've read accounts of many hunters successfully using it to take deer and some very large pigs, but mostly within 300yds, which is where this caliber will perform the best on wild game.

 

[Zanad]

made up my mind after some help.....at least for now.....

ok people, here's my choice. for my first rifle I chose to finish my father's AR-15. heres whatit looks like now. i hope to finish this thing when my pay check comes in/next gunshow. chromed lined guts , here I come.

oh and after some thought, I just MAY get another rifle after I finish this thing.