My first rifle should be???

The Russian military were Not and are not "conscripts" and there was 1 Russian woman sniper as I recall that had more kills in the battle for stallen grad the. All the male snipers put together. She used a m91/31 bent bolt mosin. So if a little Russian chick can stand the recoil then an American mans should be able to as well. With out developing "flinch" unless he has an extremely soft shoulder. No ofence to the PO. I learned on a 30-06 that kicked like a mule. I can still get moa or better groups at 100yds out of my remi 700 in win mag. How's that for kick?!
 
For a first gun I always suggest a 22 (like a Ruger 1022) since you can shoot one all day for little money.
You say you have been looking for Marlins but having a hard time finding one.
If it doesn’t have to be a lever action try a bolt, Ruger makes the 77 in 44 Mag (which I own) and recently came out with the gun in 357/38. I really like my 44 and it will shoot 44 specials all day.
The only issue I have had is with longer heavier bullets the rotary mag won’t accept them although the gun will single feed them.
Stainless steel, synthetic stock with great Ruger Scope mounts. Great trigger and built like a tank.
http://www.ruger.com/products/rotaryMagazine77357/models.html
 
First rifle AR

Uncle Sam got this on right decades ago.

The M16 is about the easiest rifle for a new shooter to master. Low recoil, big fun factor, shooting should be fun..

When the time comes that the shooter wants a more powerful weapon, the skill sets from the M16 carry over.
 
The common autos being the AK and AR guns are out of the question I think. AR guns are getting cheaper, but that's for the bottom of barrel guns. AKs are getting harder to find, used to be at every gun store. Prices are going up, target ammo is cheap. But anything else is expensive.

A good bolt gun isn't exactly cheap either, and a decent rifle catridge isn't cheap on ammo either.

Pumps and lever guns are not cheap to buy unless they are imports. Rossi and Taurus have decent stuff.

Single shots are nice, get a decent quality gun for little money. H&R/New England makes a gun in every common calumets. Rossi is a decent option too.

Revolving rifles always have the cool affect. Rossi makes one. you can get reproduction Colt SA carbines in .45 Colt. Another option would a reproduction bp Remington carbine and get a .45 ACP cylinder.

Here's what I suggest, look for a Ruger or Savage bolt action that's used. 243, .270, 30-30, 308, and 30-06 is what I'd look for.
Rossi Circuit Judge is a pretty nifty gun, but a lever .357 mag would be a great option. More than capable of 100 yards and around $25 buys 50 rounds. You can get anything from target rounds to hunting rounds commonly.
A Hipoint carbine is another option too. About $300 and $12 buys 50 rounds of 9mm. Also capable of 50-100 yards easily.
 
If you don't want to start with a .22 .....

There are entry level scoped rifles out there in .223 (the most cost effective plinking caliber) for $400 or so .....

If you want to maximize your ammo dollars, get a Lee reloading kit....
 
do a lot of shopping. Find one that fits you, and is pleasant to shoot.

The caliber should be one that has a variety of bullets and good availability. My first rifle was a Marlin 336 in 30-30 I still own it and shoot regularly. The bullet selection is limited and has some inherent accuracy problems.

My second was a Vouree Mauser in 243. It was extremely accurate for the first three rounds. (very light barrel) It weighed 6.5 pounds with scope. A pleasure to carry in the field. Sold it wish I had not.

Go to Wal Mart and check ammo prices. My recommendation would be a 243 followed by a 308 or 30-06 in a good brand rifle which fits you. As time progresses and budgets improve you can up grade triggers scopes and accuracy. Eventually you will have a custom rifle which will serve you for many years.

My favorite rifle is a Remington 722 in 257 Roberts. The rifle started as a 244 Remington with a butchered barrel and trigger. Over the years it has gotten a trigger job, custom barrel a Weaver Old style K12 scope. It shoots sub minute of angle every time I do my jog. Someday I may replace the stock but after 30 years it still does its job so I may not change anything.
 
Not sure what a 357 mag rifle gets you. Maybe a short range deer rifle??

For a rifle, I would get a rifle round.

Good first rifle rounds are rounds like 22 lr and 17 hmr.

If you want something for hunting of some level, I like rounds like 223 Rem, 243 Win and 308 Win. My buddy's first rifle was a Savage 10 in 308 Win. So was his second. This is kind of the classic rifle. His first was the std Savage, which might be too light for someone to hit well with in the field.

Yes, weight makes rifles easier to hit with.

My first rifle was a 1917 Enfield Winchester 30'06 sporterized at 12 lbs including Weaver K4 scope. I could hit anything with that at 12 years old!

Let's talk action type's. . .Generally scoped modern bolt actions are the most accurate rifles. Here is a basic one. . .a Savage 10 in 243 Win:
images


Together with a 10x Super Sniper, it might look like this(rifle in pic not a Savage):
entry000000000587_e.jpg


There are even some unique fun ones like the Ruger Scout Rifle which are fun looking too:
ruger-scout-rifle.jpg


I like lever guns too. A pistol caliber carbine might be real fun. Don't underestimate their recoil. They can be snappy with little to no recoil pad.

If I were getting a single shot, I would likely opt for a T/C Encore or Contender due to the wider barrel selection.
lg0000013407_A_1295518863.jpg
 
first rifle

i think for your first rifle you should go with a mini 14 or a mini 30 if you just wana plink around. not to expensive you can get cheap ammo and there loads of fun and suprisingly accurate. and if your looking more for a bolt action . i find mosin nagants to be very entertaining, you can just take it to a feild or a range and shoot or put a nice mount and scope on it, drop it in a good stock and take it hunting
 
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I will add my vote for a switch barrel single shot rifle. They let you try different calibers cheaply, and two barrels will cover a lot of different shooting scenarios. Start with a .223 barrel for economy of ammo, and add something bigger down the road. If you use quick detachable scope mounts, you can get by with one scope for several barrels-- just keep track of how many clicks different they are in their zeros. You will probably need to fire a few shots to get them fully zeroed after switching, but they will be close enough to start.
 
There's nothing wrong with a .357 lever action especially if you're carrying a revolver using the same round. You might drop by a few Cowboy Action Shoots in your area. Cowboy Shooters change guns a lot and you're 99% sure of getting a good gun with a little action work on it. My Son, my Daughter and my Wife all killed their first WT Deer with a Marlin .357. I lost count of the number I killed with it. They are great home defense guns. The .357 is one of the easiest rounds to reload.
 
The .357 mag, even in a Marlin, is marginal for deer. Would make an ok personal defense weapon but it emphatically does NOT "reach out and touch someone". I had one and was disappointed in it's capability. It is basically a pistol with a longer barrel. I would say the same for the .44mag carbine with it's rainbow trajectory. Again, I like mine but decided to get a .30-30 for a closer in deer rifle. Flatter shooting, more power, and there has been some pretty exciting ammo put out for .30-30 recently, including spire-points.
A .22 is a good starter rifle to learn some basic handling and range work. I learned a lot from my .22 bolt (which I still have 50 years later!) If I could put something in my scope I could hit it.. Graduated to a .30-30 Marlin and from there went to a Browning in .308.
A SCOPED SKS might make a good starter rifle with less expensive 7.62X39 ammo. More accurate than an AK and more distance.. Stay away from the MN carbines.. too much noise, muzzle-blast and often finicky sticky bolts.
Look around, shop.. read, and don't believe everything a gun-shop guy might tell ya. Or a gun forum guy either :D
 
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