Best beginner rifle (Vanity)

Vanity ^ | 10-18-03 | Me

[dogbyte12]

I am about to finally leave the urban jungle of Los Angeles and move down to both Louisiana and South Carolina. While I do fish out here, I have only gone hunting a few times with borrowed equipment.

I am interested in starting to hunt, and would love for any freepers to give me recommendations on a good beginner rifle, something that isn't so pricey, but reliable, as well as any other gear that I will need as a beginner.

I am not a stranger to handguns, or to military rifles, I qualified expert on both a .45 and an M16, so I am not starting from scratch, but I am looking for a rifle for deer hunting basically that will not set me back too much money, yet still be a decent value. I plan to not spend that much money so it can be economical. I do know how to fabricate a carcass, and would love to hunt for meat, without the cost of hunting making it more expensive than going to the supermarket.

Any help in this regard, web sites, consumer reports, etc, would be much appreciated. Thanks all.

[El Gato]

Yeah I'm trying to figure out which one of your Demonrat Senators I hate the least. Boxer or Feinstein

When told that our "vistor", actually a subcontractor, was from California, the guy at the range where we took him to shoot a coworker's machine gun said that "y'all ought to vote with a rope". I think it was the owner, who also taught my CHL class, but it was about 3 years before I took the class and I'm not certain, sounds like something the owner/instructor would say.

[Squantos]

Glad I could help......were all here to learn from each others mistakes......Great to hear Paco is a helpful sort. I really enjoy his efforts.

Some lessons are better than others......ain't that right Eaker .......:o)

Stay Safe !!!

[El Gato]

Right now I'm living in a post office box, but I can't tell you which one.

Doesn't it get crowded in there with that .50, along with the grill and cooler?

[archy]

...or a double-barrelled .30-30.

A drilling would be nice, wouldn't it. A 20 or 12ga. underneath would be a sweet package...very handy.

Oh Santa.....!

My idea along those lines was a .30-30/7mm/.308 over a 20-gauge 3" magnum shotgun barrel, with an oversized unventilated *rib* atop the stiffer rifle barrel that would be bored for a .22 long rifle tube.

The traditional German drillings were usually side-by-side with an auxiliary barrel beneath, but there were all sorts of varying configurations. I've yet to run into a drilling bullpup, but I've done a couple of sketches. -archy-/-

[PoorMuttly]

You and the guys are helping me to Stay Safe, which is in the mind and heart first....trigger later.

Survival is a philosophical, spiritual thing, I think. What you do has most to do with who you are, and then what you know.

Putting them together properly is where the big lessons and experiences in life take place...and it teaches one how to be...who to be...and where we really are. Some people may think these "gun threads" are primitive testosterone-fests...but some of us...I notice the ones with the most knowlege and experience, are the deepest people you could ever meet...and navigate by.

On we go...and poor little Muttly has a big day in his continuing adventure tomorrow, so he'll sign off in a few minutes, and check in again later.

Tally-Ho all...and it sure is nice to be back.

-PM

[archy]

I am good friends with someone who wears one. It was her father's.

I'm willing to admit I've been one-upped. Soooo.. can I get her number? =)

It begins with a 358 rather than a 49, if that tells you anything.

-archy-/-

[archy]

I am interested in starting to hunt, and would love for any freepers to give me recommendations on a good beginner rifle, something that isn't so pricey, but reliable, as well as any other gear that I will need as a beginner.

I am not a stranger to handguns, or to military rifles, I qualified expert on both a .45 and an M16,

Okay; so you're familiar with the peephole aperature sights of the M16, and have at least a passing familiarity with or working knowledge of the Kalishnikov AK design, fielded worldwide in at least 100 million examples. That is a lot of rifles, a very major production series of any industrial device ot tool, and an impressive testament to the Kalishnikov design's functionality.

No, probably neither an AK nor the more American opposite number, Stoner's AR 15/ M16, is what you want as a hunting weapon. Instead, consider the previously most successful military weapon fielded before the AK leadspreader came along to take over first place: the Mauser turnbolt rifle; with the model 98 version being the most developed and widely issued.

It was successful enough that after facing Spasnish Mausers during the Spanish-American War, we abandoned the recently introduced Krag-Jorgenson repeater less than a decade old and developed a Mauser copy that served American soldiers well in both the First Great War and the Second. Since you're used to the peephole aperarture sights of an M16, those on an M1903A3 Springfield would likely be familiar to you. The usual; caliber is the .30-06 US government M2 chambering, but alterations are both possible and common.

But it was the *pure* Mauser used by Germany in both wars; and more than half of the nations of the world. A dozen common military chamberings will accomplish the task you describe and have done so for years. At least two dozen less common possibilities also exist, and one of them might work nearly as well for you; maybe even better, and might be the bargain that happens to come your way and can't be denied.

Prices on a used military Mauser model 98 can run you anywhere from $50 or so for a well-used Turkish 8mm to a couple of hundred dollars for a specimin of the WWII German infantryman's karbiner 98 K battle rifle, produced in the millions and of which many survived their wars in varying states of repair. But there's very little that can go wrong with a Mauser bolt-action rifle, and if a part or two is worn or otherwise out of specs, they're not at all hard to work on and get back into top-motch condition.

A few countries or empires developed alternatives to the Mauser bolt gun, and one of them might also do for you. Great Britain's Enfield rifles are a fascinating field of study in and of themselves and can certainly do in this century much of that they did throughout the span of the last one. If virtually limited to the rimmed British .303 service rifle cartridge, at least it's a good one. And there are Enfields in the hands of scared young troops today, serving their nation and the member of that nation who bears that rifle.

Likewise the Russian Mosin-Nagant design served in the hundreds of thousands and can be had very reasonably priced; in this case, the cartridge will almost certainly be the 7.62x54mm rimmed design of 1891 that still serves Russia in the SVD sniper's rifle and PK machineguns. They too can be found in a variety of price ranges and conditions. And Japan offered their Arisaka Mauser copy in two calibers, a 6.5mm and a .30, Switzerland a 7.5mm machine tool that required no turn of the bolt to work, just a pull to the rear followedc by a return push forward. Sweden issued a superbly crafted Mauser of an earlier design in a very efficient 6.5mm chambering, and South and Central America considered a wide spread of mostly Mauser designs in a range of calibers: the 7.65mm version used by Argentina and also Belgium, the 7mm caliber of those early Spanish Mausers that so impressed the Americans facing them, and versions in the same 8mm and .30 calibers the Germans and US used. You could probably make do with any of them. But if you have a choice? Go with the Mauser 98K, in the German Army's chosen configuration. Ammo remains very available for it, and is still in service here and there. If you're so inclined, you can rework the rifle to another caliber if you wear iot out from excessive shooting or neglected maintenance, but the original condition is a good place to start.

Spend as much on ammunition as you do on the rifle, and after that's used up, you'll know enough about what you're doing that it won't matter if some other possible configuration offers a slight improvement. You'll be able to get the job done.

Maybe at that point you may want to fit a telescopic sight to your rifle; or you may not need one by then. That's another consideration and choice to be made farther down that road. But for now, there's a good rifle waiting to meet you.

[Joe Brower]

That's a great pic, my good man!

[yarddog]

Really good points, also one of the few which took his "economy" request seriously.

[SLB]

Thanks for the bump. Interesting reading. When I got my first rifle, it was simply what I happened to get for Christmas and what dad and mom could afford and thought would be the best for me.

[TexasCowboy]

I had a 7mm Weatherby Magnum Mark V one time that was so damn pretty I hated to shoot it.
I bought if for elk, but when I sold it I hadn't shot a thing with it except targets, and then I was very careful to keep from scratching it.
I've never made that mistake again.

On the other hand, I had a 44.40 saddle rifle that looked like it had been used in every war since Noah's day, but at a hundred yards in the brush country it would make a hole to get to the deer.
I put a lot of venison in the freezer with that rifle.

[TexasCowboy]

"Is it an H&K 93?"

No, it's an SL-8:

[TexasCowboy]

"And it would do for dirt bikes too. Do youy have any good recipies; I'd think they'd be a little stringy and gamey."

Well, you gotta treat the gas tanks like musk bags and cut 'em out.
Marinating a few years in Hoppe's takes out most of the gamey taste.

[TexasCowboy]

"Doesn't it get crowded in there with that .50, along with the grill and cooler?"

Well, I've got one of those double wide boxes, but if you come over for supper, you'll have to sit on the floor.
Sorry.

[TexasCowboy]

[dogbyte12]

Thanks for the great response. I am a simple kinda guy, and something simple will work for me. The peep hole in my m16 was good enough for me, and I still see 20/15, so I will only go the scope route if needed.

I will look into Mausers very seriously.

[lodwick]

Hey - no, I don't know about Tony's place...but I'd surely drive 30 miles to shoot with you guys again.

Cheers.

[Colorado Doug]

I will post a better photograph of the pistol later today but it can be seen in this photograph. The fellow in the middle is my father (I was adopted rather late in his life) It looks as though I was mistaken about the plane being Spad but it's clear that they have . . . ahem . . . liberated a few souvenirs. There is no crown on the pistol nor is it ornate which makes me wonder if perhaps it was perhaps an assasen's weapon, used to shoot someone of some significance. I can think of no other reason for a common gun to have made it into the Kaiser's collection. The photo was taken around 1918.
Look at the other interesting artifacts in the picture too. The short barreled rifle on the left and the cane (gun?) on the right.
Sadly, he passed away when I was two years old so I never got to hear the story first hand.

[lodwick]

Brilliant defense of the .30/.30.

Cheers and good shooting.

[autoresponder]

no safety glasses (CHUCKIE.gif)

click below for sound

no ear protection (DiFi_AK.jpg)

but then no finger on trigger

someone taught her well

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FReegards!



a u t o r e s p o n d e r



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