what would be a good learning rifle?

8/24/2004 | rune3345

[rune3345]

HI, I am wondering what a good learning rifle would be. something that wont cost me a arm, a lag(how ever you spell it) and a few toes for the rifle and bullets.

[1L]

For a kid: Marlin .22 semi-auto. I have one my parents gave me for my 16th birthday. Commemorative edition. Magazine is under the barrel, easy to load, shoot, and is accurate.

For an adult (in this order):
The Marlin listed above;
Or a Ruger Mini-14 (fairly easy to shoot and reasonably accurate; shoots same ammo as US Military (.223);
If you want something in the middle, either a Marlin or Winchester .30-.30.

With the latter 2 you can hunt bigger game while still having a rifle that's fun to shoot and doesn't have much recoil. After you've shot one of these a bunch, then you can look at a high powered rifle, a bolt action Remington or Ruger in whatever caliber you choose. I would not start with a bolt action high powered rifle until you are proficient with one of the previously mentioned weapons.

[Chode]

even better!!! and easier to get ammo too...

[Bogey78O]

I think someone ran the math on the mini-gun Ventura used in Predator. To fire it fully loaded he'd have recoil equivilant benching a 220 lb weight. He had to wear a flak jacket just to protect him from the casings which were firing blanks.

[snuffy smiff]

Or.... he needs to change ammo. When I first bought mine, I also bought a fair quantity of CCI's Stinger ammo. Hot stuff supposedly. Too hot-couldn't hit even paper with it. Tried about 10 other brands and then ran across CCI SGB(small came bullet)ammo and the gun is now a tackdriver.

Every gun shoots every brand of ammo differently...IMHO

keep yer powder dry

[nightdriver]

"Actually, I shoot 30.06 and can get surplus rounds CHEAP as heck!"

I do too, and for the same reason. Would you FReepmail me a source or two for the surplus ammo? The only ones I can find nowadays are foreign.

[snuffy smiff]

I've seen SKS's from China, Yugoslavia, and Russia

The Chinese early models had milled parts and were pretty decent shooters(got two myself and never had a prob). The more recent ones have stamped parts and IMO, junk. We're talking as cheap as 59.95(yes NEW) a few years ago. Beware. Side by side it is easy to tell which one you DON'T want.

Ive looked at some Yugo-mades and I might try one-if the price was right. Most start like you said $150-160 'round here.

The Russians are the Cadillacs(well-Trabants maybe?)-and priced accordingly. All I've seen were somewhat over $200.
Look well(very well in comparison) put together with quality parts and workmanship. I wish these had been available when I bought my Chi-coms.

Now the above is not written in stone-just my experience.
I don't know of any other countries that make the SKS. Anybody else?

[snuffy smiff]

Find and consult with a competent gunsmith. They can guide you and check out your firearm for safety.

[petro45acp]

I may close early.........

Hey! you can't do that......

[snuffy smiff]

The GE-made ones had better accuracy....

[Bogey78O]

USSR, Albania, East Germany, Romania, Yugoslavia, Poland (I think), China, Korea, Vietnam all had SKS production at one time or another. The Vietnamese and East German are about the rarest since few survived or were imported.

[Blood of Tyrants]

The Yugos are very well made with a milled receiver. I have two, one $90 shooter and a $150 all matching. Both are very good rifles.

[petro45acp]

Just to shave the "idiots" moniker, I may have been the only one in my platoon in bood camp that had ever fired a rifle before we hit the range. When all was said and done, our platoon had the appropriate number of Experts, Sharpshooters, and Marksmen. The quality of instruction is probably more important than the type of rifle used. It may well be better, when initiating a child into our idiom, to move through a progression of power factors. If it is necessary to go directly to full power rifles, it is possible to train out the flinch and instill good marksmanship techniques.

Semper Fi!
Pete

[Chode]

yeah... but if that didn't get yer blood up nothing ever would
i'd love to give it a whirl

[Chode]

old habbits die hard i guess... used to work for a Westinghouse breakaway company

[snuffy smiff]

It's OK, I was just funnin' wid ya. The thread got me to thinking about all the different manufacturers of M1's way back and how gun enthusiasts will rib at each other.

I'm so fighting the urge to amble over to GunBroker.com and
drool.

[Calamari]

Remington 700 in .223 remington.

[RetiredNavy]

"Don't get the cheap little Ruger semi-auto though. IMHO it's not accurate enough to instill good shooting skills and habits"

I would tend to disagree. I have 2 of them and both will shoot 1/2 inch at 50 yards. I think it is an excellent choice for a beginner.

[rune3345]

is the SKS ammo about .223 mm.

[SBprone]

If there is a club within driving distance that has smallbore shooters you can borrow a very accurate smallbore rifle and use it for as long as you like.

Smallbore is not the thriving sport that it was back in the 1960s and most folks who compete have their own $2,000 Anschutz rifles and don't need to use club equipment. There must be hundreds of perfectly good loaner rifles going unused in clubs around the country.

Anyway, smallbore is where you really learn to shoot a rifle. It is the best foundation for highpower competition or anything else involving a rifle.

[SBprone]

Sorry, that was for rune3345.