Rifle Newbie needs help on Rifles

B

bamf

New member
Greetings,

I've been pistol shooter for a little while now. I've been thinking about getting into rifle and get a cheap target rifle. By cheap I mean like 100 bucks tops (maybe less).

I've been looking at surplus Mausers 8mm, these seem to be nice project guns. I've also been seeing all these Romanian .22 training rifles for like 50 bucks. What are your opinions on this subject? What should I get? Oh yeah I'm in CA so no assault rifles, at least no cheap ones.

Thanks,

~bamf
 
bamf,

While I can appreciate your desire for a cheap rifle, it might not be the best for you right now. You might be better off upping your budget a little and getting an inherently accurate .22 to learn rifle shooting with (I picked up a new Ruger 10/22 for $140 a few weeks ago). Once you've become reasonably accurate with it and learned the basics of shooting a rifle correctly then by all means pick up a Mauser and ammo for plinking. The problem that I see with you just jumping into a big centerfire would be that if you developed a flinch from the recoil or something similar. Good habits are easier to learn from the beginning than it is to unlearn bad habits down the road.

As far as the Romanian trainers go. I've never shot one but did play with one in a store once. It looked like it would work fine, just not very smoothly (built to handle the abuse of recruits). If I was trying to teach someone to shoot it wouldn't be my first choice of weapon. I would want something smooth operating so they could concentrate on their shooting rather than trying to get the magazine out, working the stiff bolt, etc.

FWIW,

Greg
 
Yeah, another fella thinking a .22 would be a good starter. And, something to remember is that a non-beatup used rifle will do just as good as brand new. (Really, all that counts is that the bore is shiny, and the crown of the muzzle is not dinged up.)

One thing to consider: It's real easy to "just have fun" with a semi-auto, turning money into noise. A magazine-fed bolt-action is a bit better for developing "one-shot-hit" self-discipline.

FWIW, Art
 
Buy the Romanian.You have yourself a project just cleaning off the wierd preseverative they use but they are great shooters and I agree with our moderator, a bolt action is the way to go.
 
Forget about REAL cheap and buy yourself a Rem. VS in .223, topped by a decent scope. If that doesn't work out, then one of the bolt action .22's might do just fine.
 
How does perceive recoil in a rifle compare to pistols? Any particular company of .22 bolt action I should be looking for?

Walter,
How much does that Remington VS .223 cost?

Thanks,

-bamf
 
Bamf;

Having owned both the .22 and the .223 (in several varieties each), I would still recommend the plain old garden variety .22 bolt action (or maybe a pump) rifle to get started. You can get a Winchester, Remington, Marlin, Taurus, etc. and not spend much, if any, over $150 for a really good .22. It's fun and cheap to shoot and you'll do as much to hone your shooting skills with that .22 rifle as any gun you'll ever own - mostly because you can afford to shoot it 5 or 6 times as much as almost any other caliber gun - including the .223's (and they're pretty cheap for a centerfire).

After you mastered the fine art of riflery, that good old .22 will be a great gun to introduce other folks to the terrific sport of shooting, whether it's your wife, your kids, your grandkids (someday), the neighbor kids, the gun-fearing neighbors or relatives, tons of folks.

It's no accident that all the branches of the military used the .22 to start all their recruits in marksmanship (perhaps still do - it's been a while for me ;) ). Scouts and 4H have always used the .22 to introduce new shooters to the sport.

Art's got the right idea. Get a .22 and you'll never regret it. ;)

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If "the people" in the 1st, 4th, 9th & 10th amendments, means "the people", why do some folks think "the people" in the 2nd amendment means "the state"?
 
I bought one of the Romanian .22s just a few days ago. Haven't shot it yet. Yes, the dingier ones go for $50. I suggest upping it by $20 and getting a "hand-picked" rifle. Less dings and cracks and such. Same thing if you go to buy the Romanian SKSs that are floating around gunshops for $150. Pay another $50 or $70 and get one that is in very good shape.

There are an awful lot of .308 Enfields (Indian Ishpore, for example) for between $70 and $150.

If you go with a .22 rimfire, it is tough to beat the Ruger 10/22.

Rick
 
I'd take a good look at the Marlin line of .22RF rifles. They cover it all. Bolt actions, semi-auto, levers, magazine fed, tube fed, whatever. Some of the best .22 rifles in the world and all at very reasonable prices (around $100 new, dirt cheap used). I highly recommend them.

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Roadkill on the information highway.
 
Marlin .22's are the best. My first was the model 60 (tube fed semi-auto) which I got used for $25 it still shoots good.

My second .22 was the Marlin 25N with a Tasco 4X rifle scope. With that one I can shoot a squirrel in the eye most of the time. If I remeber correctly I spent about $150 to $200 for it ten years ago. That is one sweet shooting gun. Winchester Wildcat ammo costs $10/500 rounds.

I love .22 rifles, no other type of cartrige gun is more fun, or half as cheap.
 
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