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?

[JEC]

M1 Garand accurate to about 3500 feet. Got one from CMP (rack grade) and was very impressed. Easy to clean, ammo reasonably priced.

[1stFreedom]

I love blackpowder.

I have a blackpowder revolver and I tell you it's more fun than the new semi auto handguns. More smoke and more flame. Plus, you have to race to reload so as to get as much shots in as possible before the ranger calls cease fire.

Only downside is finding ranges that let you use BP. I know of one in my area.

[tet68]

Ya got to walk before you run.

Can he keep all , ALL his hits in a one inch sq. at 25 yds?
Then he stands a good chance of making first round hits out to 500.
I'd settle for that for a bit, look at a "B" barrel Finn M-39, excellent cond. Whole sale Gun and Ammo has them for
$ 139 plus transfer your talking about $180 and these are
Sako made generally, a like new will cost $200 + transfer
I have several and they are great shooters
Apply for a 03 Curio and relic license and UPS will bring them to your house!
Warning, milsurps ARE habitforming!

[yonif]

While we are on the subject, anyone know of a good pistol a first-time gun owner should buy to start out?

Thanks

[patton]

Shot group is the order of the day. Never hunted a day in my life, but for the two-legged kind.

(Actually, anybody know how to skin a cow?)

[1stFreedom]

I'd go with the Savage w/ trigger job.

Don't skimp on optics. It seems like the easiest thing to cut back on but it's as important as the accuracy of the rifle itself.

Savage has a good rep for accuracy, low cost, and crappy triggers.

[Double Tap]

How much is the C&R license? What does it require to have one?

[ezo4]

buy him a marlin 45/70. The first person I ever seen shoot one of these was a skinny little girl at the age of 12 or so.

Just do it.

[Nucluside]

I have two junior shooters and I think it's a pretty big jump from a .22 to a 1000m rifle. How about a 500-700m gun, like a .300 Win. mag or .338 magnum? Personally, I'd talk him in to an '06 or .308. I think you can get any of those calibers in a Remington 700. Most important thing: Join the NRA if not a member and get him signed up, too!

[oldvike]

Being able to hit a target at 1000 yards with a blackpowder gun is damn impressive. I'll have to admit that I'm not that "into" blackpowder guns, however I do have an el cheapo .50 CVA. I don't trust myself outside of of 200 yards with it, though. To tell you the truth, I'd never take a shot at a deer over 100 yards with the thing.

[yarddog]

The Remington model 700 action is probably the most accurate affordable rifle out there. If it were me, I would choose 30-06 and one of the synthetic stocks. The only thing you will need to do is have the trigger adjusted by someone who knows what he is doing.

The .308 is supposed to be more accurate but this is more theoretical than real. The 30-06 is a little more powerful and good surplus ammo is available.

The scope should probably be a Leupold or Nikon. You could probably get by with a cheaper one if you choose a fixed power. Say a 6X. If he is interested in long range shooting, it might not even be a bad idea to put on a receiver sight and forget the scope.

A scope will be better for absolute accuracy but iron sights for some reason do real well at long ranges.

[45Auto]

If I wanted a good 600 yard off-the-shelf rifle for distance shooting, I would buy the Remington 700 PSS in .308, fit it with a Harris bipod and either a Weaver V24, a Leupold 6.5 x 20 Vari-X III, or if I had the money, a Nightforce 5.5 x 22. The rifle should run between $900 - $1000. The Weaver scope is about $300, the Leupold somewhere between $500 -$600,and the Nightforce near $1000.

[oldvike]

I'll have to look that up. That's just un-fricking-believable.

[Tailback]

I bought a M700 PSS a couple years ago and it was only $725 You can get the M700 VS which is the exact same rifle with a different version HS Precision stock for even less than that. Optics will be what takes him over budget though.

[45Auto]

Remington 700 P series: .308, .300 Win Mag

[Nucluside]

45/70 is NOT a 1000m gun. For game, 125-150 yards is really stretching it because of the bullet drop. They're great for short range in woods, though.

[cavtrooper21]

Hey, my 25-06 mauser sported a Tasco and was quite capable of delivering 1 moa at 700 meters (on a good day, depends on how much coffee I'd been drinking) Whole rifle ran me @ 1200 bucks, with new stock. Of course, this wasn't "off the shelf" and did take about a year to put together. Worth the wait.

[wrench]

There were some Whitworth muzzle loaded sniper rifles imported from England to the CSA during the War of Northern Aggression that were quite accurate at 1000m. There were confirmed kills with these weapons out to just over a mile.

Not a cheap gun, took a custom cast long bullet to achieve the accuracy. The barrels start to loose accuracy at 1000 rounds or so. I regularly shoot 2 moa with a 54 cal muzzle loader.

For a newcomer to highpower rifles, the Savage 110 in 308 will be a great training platform.

[HP8753]

Get him a .223 or .22-250 in Bolt action.

Tell him to master 400 yards first.

And try some varmiting....Those darn coyotes are everywhere these days.

[I got the rope]

Go for a .38 special revolver...maybe a taurus model 85. If not a revolver...try a Glock 9mm model 19 or a 17 if you have the cash. The reason I chose these for you is because the round is small enough to learn accuracy for a beginner. As you progress, you may want to go to a larger round. Good luck.