What should I get for my first rifle??

[Osage Orange]

30-06 is like shooting a shoulder mounted mortar.

Hehehe...

I've a good hunting friend that will not shoot anything but his 30-06...and we live on the prairie. With sometime wide open 400 yd shots.

He makes is work for him....I shoot a Winchester .270

[BooBoo1000]

First thing is go to WWW.Guns and Ammo.Com, you will find lots of good advice from Pros. They know what they are talking about and would be glad to hear from you.

[Osage Orange]

Doubt that.........

But thanks-

[Halgr]

I pondered the same question over a year ago...and I answered it with the purchase of the Marlin 336 in 30 30.

Then I bought a back up weapon.

The Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle in Semi Auto .223

[blackminorca]

#4 buck - 56 pellets means getting hit with twenty .22’s ;-)

OUCH!

[MHGinTN]

Stand an M1 Carbine round (30 caliber) next to a .357 magnum round; the .357 is a larger bullet on approximately the same casing size, thus the .357 moves slightly slower but has larger impact. ... Yeah, it’ll do nicely don’tchaknow.

[Lazamataz]

An official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock and a thing that tells time.

[NeoCaveman]

An official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock and a thing that tells time.

You'll shoot your eye out.

[Lazamataz]

Of course I am also rather fond of this plasma weapon I saw on District 9:

[csmusaret]

My complaint with lever action rifles is they are a pain to unload. You have to chamber then eject then pickup every round in the magazine.

[School of Rational Thought]

Efforts to find an “all around” firearm usually results in buying more firearms to rectify the mistake.

But, having written that my first rifle was a Marlin 336. In 3030 it is a great deer rifle, and being short and a lever action can provide multiple rounds in a close environment.

[MHGinTN]

BTW, I’m holding out for the Hi-Point .45 ACP carbine they’ve promised.

[MHGinTN]

Learn to remove the magazine plug, Luke. Use the farce.

[Still Thinking]

But do you have the DNA to fire it?

[csmusaret]

There is a magazine plug in a M94?

[MHGinTN]

I’ll go check if you like, but IIRC the mag tube can be opened from the muzzle end for cleaning.

[csmusaret]

And that would be easier and faster than ejecting all the rounds?

[MHGinTN]

see http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Marlin94P.html
Part #47 allows Part #45 to be removed, thus opening the mag tube from the muzzle end.

[MHGinTN]

You didn’t ask about easier or faster, so now you’re just being gotchaesque. Bye by.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"The Howa rifle is very good, made by a reputable manufacturer. The above package is about $600."

Like you wrote, for the money it is hard to find a better package than Howa. Three years ago I walked out of Bass Pro Shop with a Howa 30-06 in camo finish, pretty darn good Nikko Stirling scope, nice gun case and a box of ammo for a little over $500. When they put a package on sale in Sept-Oct, you can get a really good deal.

The Howa action is the same as Weatherby, from what I've read, and before I bought the package I couldn't find a bad review online. I was not disappointed and the gun lived up to everything I read.

Ended up selling the gun to my son because I wanted something more like by beloved Savage 250-3000 for deer hunting. In November I bought a Browning X-Bolt in walnut, 25-06. What a sweet gun ... I love it, but it is beyond the budget stated in the body of this thread.