Good rifles to learn shooting skills?

[mcjon77]

Hey all,

I have decided to begin developing some skill with a rifle and wanted your opinions as to which rifle would be a good choice for me. Here are some of my goals and some of the restrictions:

1) Must be a rifle or carbine. Handguns are illegal in the city I live in so they are out, and there are not enough places to practice with a shotgun, unless I am interested in trap shooting (which I am not).

3) caliber should be a pistol caliber or .22 lr. There are several ranges in the suburbs, but almost none of them allow centerfire rifle cartridges to be used on the range.

4) preferably not a single shot rifle.

5) moderately accurate. It doesn't have to be a tack driver, but I would like decent shot groupings.

6) decent open sights either come standard on the rifle or are availible at a modest price through aftermarket sellers.

I was thinking along the lines of a Marlin 980S, a ruger 10/22, or a .22lr from savage. Also, the ruger PC9 looked interesting.

What do you guys think?

Jon

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

Hey all,

I have decided to begin developing some skill with a rifle and wanted your opinions as to which rifle would be a good choice for me. Here are some of my goals and some of the restrictions:

1) Must be a rifle or carbine. Handguns are illegal in the city I live in so they are out, and there are not enough places to practice with a shotgun, unless I am interested in trap shooting (which I am not).

3) caliber should be a pistol caliber or .22 lr. There are several ranges in the suburbs, but almost none of them allow centerfire rifle cartridges to be used on the range.

4) preferably not a single shot rifle.

5) moderately accurate. It doesn't have to be a tack driver, but I would like decent shot groupings.

6) decent open sights either come standard on the rifle or are availible at a modest price through aftermarket sellers.

I was thinking along the lines of a Marlin 980S, a ruger 10/22, or a .22lr from savage. Also, the ruger PC9 looked interesting.

What do you guys think?

Jon

I have a Ruger PC-9 and I love it. You can plink with it just like a .22, but it's more effective, particularly w/hollow points, for home defense. Also, I'd consider a mini 14 (223), great guns as well--specially with a 50 clip, lol.

AJ

 

[Gary Crawford]

is 223 caliber allowed? If so I recomend an AR15.There are several manufacturers to choose from.It's a great rifle if you want a high velocity low caliber rifle that is acurate at 100 yards or so.

 

[kenpo2dabone]

Check out the link below. this is the gun that I juat bought about 4 days ago. I had actually been waiting fro it to be shipped to the US for the last 3 months. It finally arrived and I was the first of several people on a waiting list. It is probably the trickest 22 rifle you will ever see. And it comes that way from the factory. I have not yet shot it so I can't tell you how acurate it is yet but I am sure it will be very accurate. It has a 20 inch barrel adjustable open sites. A tactilcle rail for scop a rail for a light and a rail that a laser mounts on. The laser is really nice because it was designed to look like it came on the gun from the factory. I plan on getting an open eye red dot scope for it as well.

Anyway check it out,

http://www.carl-walther.de/englisch/defense/defense-100.html

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

is 223 caliber allowed? If so I recomend an AR15.There are several manufacturers to choose from.It's a great rifle if you want a high velocity low caliber rifle that is acurate at 100 yards or so.

In CA any semi-auto rifle with a pistol grip can't be purchased. . .deemed an assault rifle. . .the logic. . .idunno

 

[Rob Broad]

I learned how to shoot with a Lee Enfield Bolt action .22 cal rifle. There are old Canadian armed forces surplus, but a work horse of a weapon. After that everything else became gravy.

 

[Michael Billings]

Ruger 10/22 - great little rifle for learning and cheap to shoot for fun. Good learning weapon. The rotary clip is a little different, but you can get a banana clip, or actual drum magazine (not really a good idea to start with due to quantity over quality of shooting).

He specifically asked for a SMALL caliber, I saw someone recommended an AR-15, not a beginners weapon, but an assault rifle(?), I guess if you want the "beginner" to be a survivalist. Not to slam the weapon, I had one for many years and it was great.

Remington's are affordable in .22 caliber, and I like Marlin's also.

Big market for .22's, browse the gunmakers websites, then visit some of the gun enthusiast boards. You should have plenty of input to help with the decision.

-Michael

 

[KenpoTex]

My vote would be for the Ruger 10/22 or Remington Viper if you want a semi-automatic, one of the Marlins if you want a bolt-action, or Henry if you want a lever-action.

Overall, for the money, I would probably go with the Ruger 10/22. They're reasonably priced, Ruger has a great warranty, and they're easy to customize (lots of cheap aftermarket parts).

 

[mcjon77]

Thanks guys for all of the responses.

.223 is to big a round for my purposes. None of the nearby ranges will let me shoot it. How is the accuracy of a 10/22 out of the box? Also, for learning how to shoot, is it better to go bolt action or semi-auto?

Jon

 

[Stick Dummy]

The 10/.22 is a good rifle, I have owned a half dozen or so..... but the trigger pull SUCKS!!!

For a low priced economical .22 rimfire, you may want to look at the Marlin tubular fed models, They have made millions of them, and they continue to work very well to this day.

Bolt vs semi? Your call - a bolt action is "safer" for a novice to learn the fundamentals, and normally are more accurate out of the box.

Semi's tend to make one sloppy, and they desire to "A team" a target with volumes of lead instead of precision fire.

Screw the laser sights and all that crap, learn Iron sights, and then a telescopic sight and you will be OK.

Also avoid all those peripheral "bolt on " gadgets bipods, barrel shrouds, high capacity magazines, folding stocks, flashlight mounts, most are crap and no benefit is gained other than a reduced weight in your wallet.

 

[arnisandyz]

Ruger 10/22 is a good gun. I also have owned a Remington pump-action 22 (forgot the model #) which would be a good alternative to a bolt or lever action if you don't want a semiauto. My dad started me on that to eventually move me up to a pump shotgun, so. It had a tubular magazine like the marlin, and was more acurate than the 10/22.

 

[dearnis.com]

You cant go wrong with the 10/22. If you want a bolt the 77/22 is good way to go.
A semi-auto won't hurt you in learning as long as you use good sense as to safety practices, and don't get carried away with rapid fire.
The rugers are also very easy to customize; this is a good and a bad thing. You want to avoid junk, and needless bolt ons; but it is nice to have a gun which is easy to upgrade when you want to do so (I got my 10/22, umm, wow, 20 years ago. The original barrel and stock are long gone.
I was going to say the trigger isnt so bad, but then again, well, mine is about 20 now. Wow; I feel old....)

 

[Tae Kwon Doughboy]

Marlin. Pretty much anyone I know who has ever had a rifle has had one. They are inexpensive and accurate enough for one hole groups at 50 feet. What more could you ask for, for the price? My current one was in a garage sale for $7. It was fun restoring it. Shot a fly with it at 50 feet!

There is a special place in my heart for the Remington 52C I used for the NRA course. I wish I could afford one.

 

[hardheadjarhead]

You can get a bolt action .22 for very little. The ammunition is cheap. It'll help you with sight picture and sight alignment and whatnot.

I honed my skills on an old bb gun. That can actually be very helpful, and you can "plink" indoors.

Regards,


Steve

 

[Insedia_Cantharis]

I personally shoot air rifle, (target) it's an olympic sport, it's great for learning the fundamentals of accuracy, and you can continue at any age. there are shooters that are like, sixty, and they are usually some of the best.


We shoot at ten meters, and the ten ring is really the size of a pinhole....

 

[TonyM.]

I'm a big fan of bolt actions so the 77/22 gets my nod.

 

[dearnis.com]

Nuthin' wrong with a 77/22 (except the flat base mag that doesnt eject smoothly from a 10/22.....)