The rifle itch.... it burns!!

I would love to start out with a .22 but... I'm don't like to buy otherwise useless guns[/B]
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A few facts about that useless gun
It has taken more game then any other caliber.
ruger 10/22 or marlin 60 instantly becomes a heirloom rifle.
It is a wonderful survival rifle with a very high ammo load out
It is a great fun to shoot at distance. I shoot 4 inch clay birds until they are dust at 100 yards.
They are addictive and you will have more. Right now i am looking for a Henry lever gun in 22.
When you are broke and can barely afford gas to go shoot and want to shoot the 22 is a great mood changer.
You can get by without a 22 caliber rifle but of the dozens of shooters I know who have lots of rifles they still all have at least 2 or 3 22 caliber rifles.

Your a bit arrogant to think you should not have one and you will never learn the secret gun owners handshake if you don't own a 22.

Did I mention they are fun.
 
Mark,

I'll agree, .22's are boatloads of fun. I love shooting them mini clays at 100 yards with iron sights. They let me shoot for $20. I barely shoot my 7mm Mag because factory ammo is pricey and so are components to reload, ( in comparison to the .22).

I understand the OP's reasoning for wanting to jump to the big guns off the bat. Budget affects decisions like this, I've been down that road. Looking back, I wish I would have bought a .22 pistol or revolver. I thought that they were useless aside from being range guns, I was wrong, I love shootin .22's all around, just have to go to the range with my buddy so I can shoot his 1911-22, for the time being.



Tapatalked via my highly abused iPhone
 
The op states he has never fired a rifle before, the thing I think should be considered would be comfort shooting. Most of us have no problem shooting and enjoy shooting the 270 or 30-06 but... a new rifle shooter would probably be suprised by the recoil of these rounds. A 270 while not a heavy recoil does recoil sharply. My opinion he should start with the 308 family of cartriges and then move up after some experience I whole heartedly agree with the 7-08, mild mannered accurate easy to reload for and good up to elk and even bigger with proper bullet selection and shot placement. fun to shoot = more shooting = better shooting ability = more fun to shoot.
just my 2cents
 
Whatever bolt gun you might pick, and you've been given great suggestions so far, make sure it has a nice set of irons as a good foundation. I think that's the only real caveat I can find that you will probably want to address. I know Remington's 700 BDL line, for the most part, have a good set of rifle irons if you want to pull off the glass and still use the gun. I'm sure the other manufacturers have this option, but I am 100% unsure of which ones do. I, myself, don't see how you could get any better than a Remy 700 bolt in .308. It will immediately be the most modular platform to purchase outright and you could literally spend thousands upgrading it to your heart's content. My dream would be to get one in long action (30-06 or 7mm) with an AI chassis system. We can all dream, can't we?
 
Cost of a .22 is under 10 boxes of most centerfire ammo

Some portion of 200 shots wasted with a centerfire while you learn, vs. a whole 'nother practice rifle you won't outgrow...Honestly, you'll be ahead financially.

Check out a Marlin 795 or 60. Crazy accurate and soooo inexpensive! For a bolt, Savage Mk II is well-regarded and a great value. I went with a CZ 455 instead.

Good luck, I like shooting my rifles more than my handguns.
 
Hey Corrado, welcome aboard. "My Opinion"... 22's are great for learning the mechanics of shooting at a low cost (both gun & ammo), but to become proficient with a big bore, you need to shoot a big bore, and shoot it often. I have several 22's, but I don't shoot them all that often, because I am always developing loads for my hunting guns. As far as caliber goes, that depends on your needs, if you ask 10 people, you will get at least six different answers. All of them will probably suffice, ... it's a matter of personal taste. Narrowing down some specifics(coyote,hogs,deer,bear, etc...) will help in your determination.
 
Thanks for the info guys. In all honesty, I would love to start out with a .22 but... I'm don't like to buy otherwise useless guns. Everything I buy has multiple purposes. It's why I didn't start out with a .22 handgun. I REALLY wanted a Ruger Mark III Hunter (or whatever it was called) with a 6.8 inch long barrel. It would have been a tack driver. It would have taught me great skills since there is almost no recoil whatsoever. I stewed for months on it, going to the store, handling the guns etc. But in the end I convinced myself to buy a 9mm. Why? Because the gun can be used for more than just basic target/small game shooting (and is powerful enough to use for defense, if need be.)
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Every gun nut should own a Ruger 10/22 (I suppose you could substitute some other .22's but I won't) but I can't say that for ANY centerfire rifle. As a matter of fact if it wasn't for big game hunting and coyotes I'd find very little need or want for a centerfire rifle and consider them nothing more than a drain on the wallet. From plinkin to practice to serious target shooting to long range shooting there is nothing a .22 won't do. Useless my butt.
 
There's much better guns for the money than a 10/22. Its great IF you want to customize. If you want accuracy out of the box there's better.
 
How about this:
Two guns, one centerfire and a twin in .22.
That way you get all the fun and practice you want.
Many of the competitive rifle shooters do this.
The .22 has about the same behavior at 100 yds as most centerfires do at 300.
So, it provides meaningful, inexpensive practice for the centerfire.
 
There's much better guns for the money than a 10/22. Its great IF you want to customize. If you want accuracy out of the box there's better.
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There's a big ol' load of BS right there. 10/22's are $200 NIB, You name me one semi-auto .22lr that is better, let alone MUCH better, than that for that price. Sure there are better .22's out there but you ain't gonna get em for $200. As for part 2 of your BS the 10/22 doesn't need customized. Contrary to internet lore the 10/22 isn't inaccurate for it's intended place in the shooting world. The 10/22 was intended to be a durable, reliable, fast handling plinkin and small game gun and in that role it's great. Accuracy to spare in that role. Low and behold it's not a target gun out of the box, cry me a river. If that's what you want go buy a .22lr bolt gun cause none of the lower priced semis are gonna come close out of the box.


Now I'd be full of crap if I said there wasn't more accurate semi-auto .22lrs for comparable, maybe even less $$$. But there is more to a .22lr semi than SLIGHTLY smaller groups sitting at a bench. I'll take all the positives of a 10/22 over an extra fraction of an inch gain in accuracy any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
 
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Another vote here for a .22 bolt action to start with. You can buy a good new one for well under $300 and a good used one for well under $150. I recommend a CZ452/455 or a Marlin.
 
There's a big ol' load of BS right there. 10/22's are $200 NIB, You name me one semi-auto .22lr that is better, let alone MUCH better, than that for that price. Sure there are better .22's out there but you ain't gonna get em for $200. As for part 2 of your BS the 10/22 doesn't need customized. Contrary to internet lore the 10/22 isn't inaccurate for it's intended place in the shooting world. The 10/22 was intended to be a durable, reliable, fast handling plinkin and small game gun and in that role it's great. Accuracy to spare in that role. Low and behold it's not a target gun out of the box, cry me a river. If that's what you want go buy a .22lr bolt gun cause none of the lower priced semis are gonna come close out of the box.
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Marlin model 60 is 150.00 and is more accurate out of the box. I never said the 10/22 was inaccurate just that there's better for less money. I do own a 10/22 and a Marlin 60. The 10/22 needs mods to shoot as well as the Marlin.
 
Marlin model 60 is 150.00 and is more accurate out of the box. I never said the 10/22 was inaccurate just that there's better for less money. I do own a 10/22 and a Marlin 60. The 10/22 needs mods to shoot as well as the Marlin.
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See, you are equating a slight increase in accuracy to quality. Not so fast. I've seen el'cheapo Marlin/Glenfield 25's out shoot Marlin 800 series bolt actions, seen Savage MK's out shoot CZ's, seen Savage centerfires out shoot Sako's, bet there's more than one M60 that will out shoot the average CZ semi .22 or Henry may out shoot a Marlin 39 or a Winchester 9422, etc etc etc. Does that mean they are better than the competition? Heck no. It means the cheaper, less quality gun is more accurate than it's competition. That's all it means, absolutely nothing more. You measure quality by a number of traits for any given product, accuracy being one of many when it comes to guns. You can't take that one trait your product is better at and claim it's top of the food chain when it comes to quality. The 10/22 wins easily on a handful of other fronts.
 
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