first firearm

therise21

Active member
I was at my cousins house over the holidays and he is a hunter. He was showing me a bunch of geese he shot and some of the shotguns he uses. Now i have always had an interest in guns, and this rekindled the flame. I am thinking of buying one, however i dont have any idea of what to look for. I know i should start with a small caliber, like a 22. And i would like a rifle to shoot targets with, and something pretty cheap, like under $200. I live in NY and i know there are pretty strict laws around, so any advice is welcome.
 
I was at my cousins house over the holidays and he is a hunter. He was showing me a bunch of geese he shot and some of the shotguns he uses. Now i have always had an interest in guns, and this rekindled the flame. I am thinking of buying one, however i dont have any idea of what to look for. I know i should start with a small caliber, like a 22. And i would like a rifle to shoot targets with, and something pretty cheap, like under $200. I live in NY and i know there are pretty strict laws around, so any advice is welcome.

With the advancement of modern day rifles, recoil is greatly reduced. If you're looking for a cheap rifle with cheap ammunition the .22 is the way to go. If you are looking for a target rifle I would recommend you start with a .243. If you are looking to go old school, you can get a WWII rifle for dirt cheap. My DDR Mosin Nagant only cost me $100, and the ammunition is very cheap: the rounds I shoot cost $60 for 440 rounds. I also hunt with my black-power .50 cal. I shoot a break action CVA muzzle-loader. You will find that getting the materials to shoot the thing will end up costing you a good bit but some muzzle loader are cheaper than others. I first started with a $75 one and it was a great shooter. It all depends on what you're going to use the gun for: for a hobby I would recommend a muzzle loader, if you're going to use it for rigorous target practice I would recommend the .243 for a starter rifle (I use my muzzle-loader but I have a lot of time to waste..usually takes me an hour to an hour and a half to clean). All in all good luck with your gun hunt.


Best regards,
FutureMedic
 
My first guns were a Romanian Model 56 SKS made in 1958 and a Mosin Nagant 1891/30 made in 1938 at Tula. They're both great choices for beginners because they're simple to maintain properly, are very reliable, and they fire cheap ammo. They're also just great rifles for the price. Just make sure you have the headspace checked out before firing the Mosin if you get one.
 
My first guns were a Romanian Model 56 SKS made in 1958 and a Mosin Nagant 1891/30 made in 1938 at Tula. They're both great choices for beginners because they're simple to maintain properly, are very reliable, and they fire cheap ammo. They're also just great rifles for the price. Just make sure you have the headspace checked out before firing the Mosin if you get one.

Yea, if you get a Mosin make d@mn sure the bolt is in good condition and check the firing pin. Make sure it also has strong rifling with no signs of pitting.
 
If you looking for a fun, economically affordable, easy to maintain and clean rifle. I think a Ruger 10/22 Rifle is just what you're looking for. It's a Semi-Automatic magazine fed 10rd capacity .22LR rifle.

There are many accessories and add ons that you can get for it. Also if you ever decide to resale it you will not get all of your money back but you will make a nice sum.

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAFamily?type=Rifle&subtype=Autoloading&famlst=39
 
What do you guys think about buying a Mosin-Nagant off of this site?
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Russian_M44.html

Its cheap, and i think the ammo is also. Do you think the 7.62 round is too large for someone just learning?


I would recommend having the gun in-hand and being able to check it over before purchasing; they firing pins can be damaged or the barrel riffling could be damaged. They aren't as accurate as modern-fire arms but I love mine. The recoil is mild. The size of the slug won't make a difference. Happy Shooting...:m16:
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I think i a, going to buy either a Marlin 60 or the Ruger 10/22 after my finances recover from the holidays. Although i may still opt for a bolt action.
 
sorry for hte double post but i was in a sporting goods store and the had a remington 710 in 30-06 on sale for $250. Whats your opinion on buying this as a first rifle?
 
What are you going to shoot with a 30-06?

It's a great calibre, but far too expensive to use just to get some experience and hone your shooting skills.

I'd recommend a good .22, something like a BRNO Mod.1. My son is using his Grandfather's, it's 45 years old and still shoots well. God only knows how many rounds it's had through it, I estimate that I put 10 - 15,000 rounds through it.

Learn with a weapon that's cheap to shoot and put your skill into practice with the calibre of your choice later.
 
My first rifle was my .22 . I got a pre-World War 2 Cooey for $50 here in Canada. A box of fifty rounds is about $2. I got a scope on it and I'm waiting for it to some come back from the gunsmith. Great gun, very accurate, cheap, ammo is cheap and has no recoil.

Our rifle doesn't have a clip and it's bolt action so it's a pain to open the bolt, take out the old buring hot shell and put in a new then close the bolt. I'd recommend getting a semi-automatic one because it's gonna be easier and a lot more fun with a clip when you out in the range or whatever.
 
Our rifle doesn't have a clip and it's bolt action so it's a pain to open the bolt, take out the old buring hot shell and put in a new then close the bolt. I'd recommend getting a semi-automatic one because it's gonna be easier and a lot more fun with a clip when you out in the range or whatever.
You must be very fast getting that shell out, if you leave the bolt closed for about a second they are barely warm. Semi automatics do not encourage accurate shooting and unless you think that you may be attacked by a hoard of wild chipmunks or some such you will be far better of with a bolt action and they are more accurate anyway.

Unless you are a naturally gifted shooter, it will be many years before you can get off a worthwhile, accurate second shot at anything that's alive. If it ain't alive it will still be there for successive shots five seconds later. Save your money and buy a good quality bolt action.

One accurate shot is far more impressive than 10 misses in the same time.

It's been many years since I've seen a Cooey, They were nothing special to look at, but they generally shoot very well and lasted forever. They were quite comon here in Australia, as I remember they had to have fitted sight rails for a telescopic sight.
 
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You can shoot just as well with a semi-auto. I, personally, think they're more fun as well because if you've had enough target practice for the day you can unload a mag or two on the old, useless item of your choice for some quality stress relief. Hitting my old power supply with the Mosin was a blast - I still can't find some of the parts. If you like blowing up crap like that like I do, I'd definitely recommend a centerfire rifle. Maybe a WASR-2 5.45x39mm? The fit and finish isn't so great but it's a reliable semi-auto AK-74 clone from Romania. 5.45x39mm is cheap as dirt these days, and it kicks like a pussycat if you're worried about developing a flinch...
 
Its been over 10 years, so I don't remember the model, but I do remember that a Springfield .22LR single-shot Bolt Action was my first joy.
 
Yet another sad thread in which i realise i can never own my own firearm....espcially a rifle....:(

Non the less it would seem, based on my shooting experience(mainly with military rifles, i have to admit), that small caliber semi auto is the way to go. as for semi auto causing you to shoot unaccuratley, well, that depends. When i go into the range thinking-"im gonna put them one inside the other", i usually do. When i say "scr** this lets have some fun", i usually shoot very avrage or below. Even with a shortend M16, which is a semi-auto, relativly(to small caliber) high kick, and very poor balistics(the IDF idiot who decided to chop off the barrels of long m16s and call it a carbine should be hung) you can still shoot very good and have alot of fun. Than again military shooting training is not exactly what you call a fun day at the range(mor like a traumatic day at bootcamp:))
 
Well I decided on the ruger 10/22. it was on sale at sports authority so i went and got it. I also got 1000 rounds of ammo with it(500 was free bc they screwed up the paperwork and i had to go back.) Now I just have to get to the range and try it out. Its a semi-auto b the way.
 
Good choice. That's the first firearm I remember shooting back when I was four or five years old. You can spend $200 on the rifle and $2000 on after market parts if you really need something to waste money on. Point is, there are a ton of things you can do with a pretty simple rifle.
 
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