My Kid wants a gun...

Home | 3/3/03 | Patton

[patton]

Ok, my son is ready to upgrade from his .22 (the one my dad gave me).

His requirements are 1000m accuracy, cheap ammo.

Our deal is I buy the hardware, he buys the optics.

1000$ limit ($800 rifle, $200 optics).

Ideas?

[mamelukesabre]

The mauser is better.

IT's better because you have more aftermarket parts available.

He's only going to be using the receiver of a mauser.....you see? The rest, and I mean all of it, will be replaced with modern high tech hardware.

[PatrioticAmerican]

M-1, or AR-15 DCM, no optics.

[mamelukesabre]

Smith and wesson makes a sub nosed, concealed hammer, 5 shot, 44 special now. I think that sounds veeeeery interesting.

[AnAmericanMother]

Hi, yonif, glad to see you're getting into the shooting sports.

The very first thing I would do if I were you is find a local shooting range where you can rent and try out various handguns. You may be surprised at what you can shoot effectively. A lady I know who is 98 pounds wringing wet came out to the range with us and fell in love with my .45 . . . you just never know. Try before you buy.

I would second the revolver - but what I would do is get a .357 Magnum and load it up with .38 special ammo at first. Then as you gain confidence and accuracy, go to the .38 special +P loads, then the .357 Magnum.

I wouldn't get a self-loader (semi-auto) for your first pistol unless you are going to take lessons and practice-practice-practice. The drill for failure to feed or a stovepipe has to be automatic or you may find yourself in trouble . . .

That said, if I were getting a semi-auto I would just go ahead and get a good old 1911A1 (.45 ACP). It doesn't recoil that much more than the 9mm, and in my not very humble opinion the recoil is more comfortable - more of a shove than a kick.

[Gordian Blade]

This is a good article for a first-time handgun buyer:
http://civic.bev.net/shawnee/gunbuyer.html

[6ppc]

You won't get any argument from me. Looks real close to my recommendation. By the way, Bushnell has bought out Bausch and Lomb. I recommended the Elite 4200 8-32x. I've also purchased from SWFA and they are very reputable. I have a Rem 700 VS that (until I shot the barrel out) would hold under half an inch with my hand loads. Most folks now are recommending the Savage as better quality out of the box, but the Rems have better stocks (Brown Precision I think). I now shoot almost exclusively benchrest 6ppc (custom actions) so I don't have recent experience with the newer Rem actions.

[templar]

I've never run across 1000 meters in any of the hunting that I have done here in the SE US, nor am I familiar with any ranges of that distance,

Heck, out here in Colorado we shoot prarie dogs at at that distance. Head shots of course, the little critters have gotten kinda wiley, just staying hunkered down in their holes most of the time and barely poking their heads out if someones around.

[patton]

Savage .308 is looking like candidate #1. Less range, but how much do we have? 1500' is probably our longest shot.

And we can spend the rest on optics...

[harpseal]

CXheck your freepmail

[TheBattman]

As I posted in my reply - Most of the Savages are now coming with their new "AccuTrigger" that is adjustable.

Actually, both of my Savages have the factory trigger that I have worked myself - one with a replacement spring from a guy over one the Varmint's Den. That was a coupe of years ago. The other was just by my own work.

You have to be careful as the trigger group is case hardened- if you stone the contact surfaces as you would a Remington or Ruger trigger, you work through the outer hardened surface and are into softer metal on the inside - not a safe situation.

With a light spring made of "piano wire" you can make a nice trigger spring that is both safe and can be adjusted very light.

SharpShooter's supply also sells a replacement trigger that I hear is super.

I'm real anxious to try one of the new AccuTriggers, though....

[Shooter 2.5]

Absolutely, positively DITTO.

Great advice.

[spodefly]

I was out In Colorado several weeks ago visiting one of our customers north of Denver, and prarie dogs were everywhere! Unfortunately, they were all within a few hundred feet of an apartment complex or some other sign of civilization that would prohibit their being hunted with a rifle.

I remember thinking how much fun it would be to have a 22-250 and a farmers permission to rid him of the pests.

[6ppc]

Good choice. Look hard at the Bushnell Elite 4200 scope, and don't forget the cleaning equipment!

[6ppc]

Do you know if the Accutrigger will drop in to older models? A couple of friends of mine have been thinking about buying the trigger for guns they already own.

[spodefly]

Oh, and my recommended 7mmRemMag might be a little much for a praire dog ... :)

[AnAmericanMother]

That's a darned good article from the Shawnee Hunt Club newsletter. I second everything they say.

. . . I note particularly that they like the .44 Special although it is an orphan, and that they point out that John Browning was reputedly divinely inspired when he invented the 1911A1.

[harpseal]

I am thinking a 1903 Springfield .30-06. I really don't know about the optics.

[cavtrooper21]

Just skipped over to www.savagearms.com and, well hush my mouth! there sat the 12VSS (I think thats what the model # was) Nice looker, stainless with laminate and comes in .308! At @ 675.00 I'm looking at one as soon as the weather turns.. Every one here thinks the accu-trigger is a good one, so I will add my voice to the Savage vote!

[Shooter 2.5]

:) when you say that, partner.

[templar]

Savage must have improved their barrels in the last few years.

I only have one 110. It's a verry early model (one of the first made). In 30-06 it shoots about a half minute groups with a weaver scope. The trigger is almost match grade as it came from the factory as well, but I hear a lot of complaints about the triggers in the new guns. I immagine they have had good and bad production periods. When I buy a gun, I never intend to leave it as is anyway unless it's special that way for some reason. As I slowly learn a bit more gunsmithing I always feel an overpowering need to modify everything I own.