Looking to buy my first rifle.. Any advice?

I am not a hunter, I have always enjoyed target shooting. I was a boy scout and had a blast earning my rifle shooting merit badge back and the day and was quite good at it. My parents always hated guns, so I never really got into it. I watched a marathon of Top Shot the other day and its got me itching to get back into it. I bought an air soft pistol a while back and its a little bit fun to shoot with it, but as you probably know they are terribly inaccurate at any sort of long range. I live less than a mile from a shooting range and I think it would be fun to go over there and hone my skills a bit. The dilemma is I am totally new to real firearms. I dont want to spend an outrageous amount of money but I would like a nice, accurate rifle for target shooting. I know nothing about what is on the market and what is good. All I really know comes from video games. The gun that I really love is the Dragunov SVD. I just think it is badass looking gun, and has appeared in a lot of games as a good sniper type rifle. They aren't exactly cheap, but I would splurge for one, if the performance matched it looks,
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d58a78452017.jpg[/atsimg]

I am a custom car guy, and by that I mean, I almost prefer looks to performance, but I am aware that in firearms, those could be two separate things. Id like to have something that performs well, but still has a sexy look to it. Any body have any advice? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

If I were you id start with a .22 rifle, specifically a Ruger 10/22. Ammo is dirt cheap and light weight making it a great shtf tool also. Start with the basics.


Deebo

10/22 or bolt action 77/22 learn to shoot.

Last thing you want is to start out with a "flinch" every time the gun goes off you will never hit anything.You can buy "sexy" later; Its not like a video game..You need a good.22 in the rifle rack anyway. Once you get some experience with "firearms you will be able to make a better decision. walk before you run.fundamentals apply equally to a .22 or 7.62 but you can afford to practice alot with a .22rimfire.

I totally agree with the 22 idea. Although any drugonav style rifle is arguably the best for reliability. The cool thing about the one you want is it's 7.62x54R. Which means ammo is super cheap and super plentiful.

reply to post by Cheesefacedogbone


For the money I personally wouldn't buy a SVD. Remington makes a great series of bolt action rifles for not too terribly expensive. AR-15's are great, but usually run around a 1,000$ for a new brand name rifle. I have a romanian Ak and love it, but its not at all that accurate. It depends on what your looking for really.

I still enjoy target shooting. I have shot many rifles, though not the high end sniper types, but then again, I am not planning on being a sniper anytime soon. You can get a mac 90 7.62 with a dragunov stock. The one plus is the weight balance and easy re-targeting due to the heavy front end.

SKS are very accurate. My father was a sniper and he loves his sks. You have to hunt for one that takes standard clips instead of stripper clips though, but you can find them. I think they call those the paratrooper model.

I had a mac 90 .223 which was a freaking cannon. It scared everyone at the range the first time I started shooting it. It heats the barrel up a lot though, and the muzzle flash is about 8 inches so you need a flash suppressor really. The 7.62 model is really nice though. I've never shot a dragunov so I can't say what it's like on the range.

mac 90 dragunov





SKS dragunov




Hope this helps some.

22's are definantly the way to go for target shooting... me and some friends get together every weekend and shoot off our 22's. Ammo is so cheap, like 20 bucks for 500 rounds.. search for an indiana firearm owners site, my state has one, thats where i got my rifle.

reply to post by Cheesefacedogbone

My personal favorite is the Springfield M1A 308 scout squad with the Short Stock Rifle system Bulldog 762.
Expect to put out about $4000.00



When it comes to military rifles, you get what you pay for. Occasionally, I make it up to the Sacramento Valley Shooting club. At the 1000 yard range, using Remington brass, CCI primers Sierra 172 HPBT with Varget powder, expect grape fruit sized grouping. Tel Jack I said Hi

reply to post by Cheesefacedogbone


I used to be a small collector so take my comments for what they are worth. This weapon has been on my list for a while. My advice concerning teh dragunuv is to purchase the real deal and not one of the cheap imitations on the market. It will cost you a pretty penny but will always yield a good return if you don't beat it up. Look for the russian ones.... in the red velvet case even better.

If your looking for something practicle to shoot and have fun with I would look at something else.

Try a sig 556. if you really want a quality accurate weapon look at knights stoner. I had an SR25 .308 that was tack accurate and an absolute pleasure to shoot. Overall you will need to research the caliber you prefer to use and the gun that you are comfortable with. Everyone has differant opinions. Chance are you will go through a couple.

I started out the same as you looking for an all purpose rifle and ended up a collector. Have fun. There's nothing wrong with having 2 or 3 or a few dozen guns it's the american way and if you buy wisely they will appreciate in value. Can anyone say tangible assets?


BTW I also agree with a good 22 for practice small game etc.

Originally posted by Deebo
If I were you id start with a .22 rifle, specifically a Ruger 10/22. Ammo is dirt cheap and light weight making it a great shtf tool also. Start with the basics.


Deebo

I concur.

Here is the link to their page.
Ruger10/22

reply to post by 46ACE

Your best bet is to go to a gun store and ask them. Tell them what you want it for and they will point you in the right direction. Also, ask for prices on ammo. That should give you an idea of how much you want to spend.

You could even go to a shooting range and rent there equipment and buy their ammo. This way you get a feel for different guns and the different types of ammo. This is what I did to start. And you can rent the handguns as well.

If your just looking for a SHTF type weapon to protect yourself and family, then buy a 12 gauge shotgun. You can hunt birds and ducks with it to keep you fed. Also if you want to scare away someone, just fire a shot in the air.......no one wants to be around that. A shotgun can also blow open locked doors, and be used like a baseball bat. Also the stopping power with one of these is incredible and takes almost no skill. try to buy one with a shock absorber in the stock though.

Have fun

10/22 again...

second line

reply to post by Cheesefacedogbone


If you like accuracy, and a smaller round go for a .17hmr rifle with a bull barrel. I have one that I put 5 rounds inside a dime at 150 yards. For looks and further down range fun, the AR-15 is a great gun to own. My advice is to do your own research and go with what will make you happy. FYI... I love my .17 so much I wouldn't sell it for 10x what I paid for it.

Originally posted by morder1
22's are definantly the way to go for target shooting... me and some friends get together every weekend and shoot off our 22's. Ammo is so cheap, like 20 bucks for 500 rounds.. search for an indiana firearm owners site, my state has one, thats where i got my rifle.

A single shot .22' and a pocket worn box of cartridges kept alot of folks alive during the"great depression" of the 30's.
If you watch the "swamp folks" shows on discovery they are shooting big alligators in the head with .22magnum rimfire rifles after trapping them.the .22 magnum rimfire rifle. is known as a "poachers" cartridgeup here. its cheap, light;powerful enough; its taken deer( illegally ) and fur bearers. It'snot dragunov :"sexy" but once you shoot abit you realize these are "tools"for a job .Not viagra.They don't make you bulletproof. or magically ward off evil.
cheers.

reply to post by theclutch


He was pretty specific in his desires and answered all the necessary questions before any one had to ask. Any reputable gun store would lead him to a .22 from the details that he gave. You gave sound advice although to much information for his goals.

reply to post by Cheesefacedogbone


A 10/22 is a great rifle to learn with. If you're looking for something defensive I'd recommend an AR platform not all manufacturers are equal and many of the 1k plus AR-15's are crap. For $800-900 dollars you can build yourself a rifle from manufactures with with top notch quality. Here is a great company do go with www.bravocompanyusa.com... here's a great website for information www.m4carbine.net... If you're looking at an AK style go with Saiga, it's manufactured by the Izhmash factory which is home of the Kalaniskov they're are the Colt/KAC of the AK world. The S-308's are very accurate and fire 7.62x51/308WIN which is very plentiful in the States. Here's a great website for the Saiga series rifles and shotguns. www.saiga-12.com... The Saigas are also VERY customizable as are the AR's

I'll say it now, you're hard pressed to find an authentic SVD. More likely you'd find a romanian model.

Most of the guys above are right, for target or simple stuff a 22LR is great. Ammo is incredibly cheap, and easy to find ATM with 2500 going for less than $90.00 in the right places.

There are several companies, I'm a huge fan of Marlin 22 rifles although Ruger rifles are awesome too. You'll find there are people split on that subject, I'm just speaking from experience here: I like the Marlin models because they offer a tube magazine that I find convenient for hunting or shooting around. Small magazines are slick and can get lost easily due to the size of the bullets. However, marlin and ruger both make excellent rifles with magazines that you can put some grip tape on... If you're into that kind of thing...

Marlin M60 and Autoloading 22LR www.marlinfirearms.com...

Ruger 10/22 and Others www.ruger.com...

If you're looking for a big boy gun, look at any Colt, Browning, or Remington rifle.

reply to post by Cheesefacedogbone


Cheese, honestly, an SVD is not the type of firearm you want to learn on. The round that the rifle fires (7.62x54R) delivers considerable recoil on the shoulder, and that recoil would ultimately impede any type of learning that would occur in terms of the fundamentals of shooting a firearm. You don't want to be intimidated by the recoil of your gun, so start out easy.

One good question to ask yourself is what are you going to use it for? Is the firearm going to be used for hunting? Home defense? Target shooting? If for home defense, what type of neighborhood do you have? Are your neighbors' houses far away from your or do you live in a suburban setting. Those are the type of things you should think a bout when purchasing or considering a firearm purchase. If you live in a suburban setting, plan on using your firearm for home defense, and want a rifle, I'd go for something small caliber that won't penetrate your neighbors' walls (collateral damage). Just for the purpose of this thread, the 7.62x54r round has the capability to kill at 800+ yards, so it'd be able to go through at least a few homes too. Kind of impractical for home defense wouldn't ya say? A good candidate for a HD (home defense) rifle is a pistol caliber carbine. More on those later.

An SVD's performance is pretty good. With sniper grade ammo, it has roughly the same performance attributes as the M110 and M24. An authentic SVD from Mother Russia would cost you a pretty penny. Most of the Dragunovs out on the market today are Romanian or Chinese copies. The quality of the workmanship with these are subpar compared to the Russian variants. Also, good scopes for the Dragunov will cost you too. The PSO-1 scope will cost you, if you can find a good deal on one, great!

Like I said before though, the SVD may be a little hot for a beginner. To get better at shooting and to work on your technique, you're going to have to fire a lot of ammo. The best candidate for this type of shooting is a .22lr. Plus, they have relatively no recoil, and they are accurate. If you shop around you can find a decent .22 for $100 then spend the difference on ammo. The Ruger 10/22 is a great beginner rifle that'll last a long time & if you want it to look cool they have a whole market for upgrading those things.

Pistol caliber Carbines are another option. They use pistol mags, but they are rifles. This means less recoil. Pistol caliber rounds means less velocity = rounds will be less likely to end up in your neighbors' house. If you want one that looks really good & is made by a company with a history, I'd suggest a Beretta Cx4 Storm. That's the one for you. I'd suggest the 9mm variant because 9mm rounds are more affordable than .40 & .45 cartridges.

The last thing!! & if you've been reading this long, thank you! Before you go off and buy a gun and start shooting it at a range, take some gun safety courses at that range nearby to where you live. They'll teach you proper gun handling and shooting posture. Even though you got a merit badge for using a rifle before, a little more knowledge can never hurt!

-Crunk

Thanks for all the advice everybody. I think the .22 is the way to go. I have a tendency to spend a ton of money on things I get bored with later anyway. Ive just always liked the SVD. I have shot .22's several times at realatively short range. I guess my next question is long range accuracy. I live in the country, and the range near my house is an outdoor range, and it is huge. I like the idea of target shooting at long distances. Is a 22 accurate at around 400 yards? I think Im gonna shop around a little this weekend and see what the gun stores have to say.

And once again, thanks everybody for all the help, I didnt expect this much response.

As has been said, a .22 is the best place to start. Depending on your wants, you can find many in any price range, new and used. The 10/22 is a nice semi-auto and available for about $200 new, the Browning t-bolt is really accurate and the Browning semi-auto is a classic...and is a takedown. I bought a T-bolt in the 60's and it is the most accurate .22 sporter I have ever fired. Henry lever actions and pump actions are well made and their survival rifle is unique and also accurate. You can also find 22's that look like AR-15's if that is what you want.
Whatever you buy, I recommend that you get a rifle with open sights. All of my rifles have open sights in addition to any scopes I have on them, including a Ruger 77 in .30-06. Learning to shoot with open sights is to your benefit and not having to depend on a scope is just good planning. Scopes are usually trouble free but are not without problems so it is best to learn without one and add it on later.
If you do get the Ruger, buy extra factory magazines for it. The cool looking 30 round mags are a pain to load, jam regularly, and prevent accurate prone firing. The temptation to spray and praywith one is also counter to learning to place shots. They also generally get in the way of a sling and hang up on branches and brush as you move through fields and forests. Simple is best.