Basic all around Rifle? (warning, gun retard at the helm)

You're getting such a variety of suggestions because there really is a tremendous variety of rifles that are eminently suitable for having fun at the range and maybe someday having to go up on the roof and fight off marauders. That's kind of like asking what knife should I get for cutting cord and whittling tent stakes -- any knife is good for those purposes, so you'll get almost as many different answers as different people answering.

There must be some way to narrow it down ... at the range, are you satisfied to hit tin cans at a hundred feet or do you want to make neat holes in the middle of a bullseye target at 1,000 yards? If you have to repel boarders how far away will you be able to see them from where you live? Do you anticipate needing rapid fire at close range or pinpoint accuracy at a distance? Don't leave out the fun factor -- when you're shooting tin cans are you playing John Wayne or Rambo? Nothing wrong with a little fun too.... :cool:
 
an AR-15 and a ruger 10/22 would be your best bet a ruger 10/22 $150.00 and some AR-15 can be had for $600.
 
I was going to suggest an AK as well. I haven't checked lately, but the Romanian variants used to be the best built. Reasonably priced, high capacity, definitely accurate out to 100 yards or better, cheap ammo, and ultimately reliable. A classic design that if you don't mind the stigma attached makes an excellent all aound weapon.

Jack
 
The .22 rimfire is arguably the most versatile caliber there is. Ammo is cheap and you can carry/store a lot of it in small spaces. Accuracy is excellent to 100 yards (and more, if you practice enough).
If you really need more power, I'd go with a .30 caliber....A 30-30 lever action or a good .308 or .30-06 bolt action. Ammo is readily available for all three in a variety of loadings.

Paul
 
Why? I've owned many of the carbine/rifles mentioned above (being a gunstore whore can/may/will do that to a guy...lol) and at 35,000+ rounds through my 'box-stock' 10/22, it's still economical, reliable, and accurate...

Mel
 
Buy a good-quality, 2nd-hand, bolt-action rifle in .308. Reasons?

It's a current NATO calibre, unlike .30-06, .25-06, .270 etc. etc. There'll always be shedloads of surplus available.

It hits hard enough to knock down anything you'd have any business to be shooting at.

.308 is renowned as an intrinsically-accurate calibre.

.223 is lighter, but is usually found in self-loaders ("semi-autos"). They are fun to shoot, but buck for buck are far less accurate than bolt actions. .223s are also illegal for deer in many areas, with good reason.

.223s are lighter so that one can carry more ammo, but that advantage is negated when one has to shoot the target 2 or 3 times to put it down...

Put a decent-quality 1.5 to 4x, or 2 to 7x scope on it.

With thoughtful practice, you should soon be able to put all your rounds into a <4" group at 100yds; tighter as you improve.

In a TEOTWAWKI/SHTF scenario, raiders are deterred by one hard hit, not 5 noisy misses.

Finally, if it matters to you, bolt action rifles have none of the negative associations of AR15/SKS/AK/FAL type rifles.

maximus otter
 
MO,
You forget that down in the South 30-06 is more available than .308. Prior to the .308 coming out 30-06 was THE caliber at shooting events.

The .308 is more shooter friendly for people that are recoil sensitive.
 
Actually any decent bolt action rifle with a scope should be capable of 1" or smaller groups at 100 yds. Good ones will shoot sub 1/2" groups.

I have found the 30-06 to be superior to the .308 for my purposes. As I have gotten older, I like recoil less and less and have gone to .243, 257 (25-06) and .270 caliber guns. If you can shoot accurately, most North American game will fall to these. If you are hunting Moose or Grizzly Bear, get something bigger. I have killed six elk with a .243 over the years. All three of these calibers have some very stable bullets/load combinations the work at ranges out to 400 yards.
 
Start off with a decent .22 rifle. Shoot it a whole bunch while you are kicking tires, reading these posts and making up your mind. It's hella fun knocking beer cans off of the woodpile and is cheap to boot.
 
You guys Rock!

Yeah Cougar I kinda kicked myself for not being more specific, but I really don't know exactly what I need ya know? I'm not hunting (right now) I don't usually go out plinking (cause I don't have a rifle) but I just kinda figured I ought to have one and the rest might follow. I'm leaning toward the Marlin 336 as mentioned, Dunno I just like the lever action. And the (remington?) 700 in 30-06. I'm fairly impressed with that one. I figure just like knives I'll get myself a basic one and figure out where I need to go from there. I'll start out with the Camillius Cub Scout knife and then progress to dads hand-me-down old navy issue pilots knife and by then I'll have a little experience cutting and will start to learn more and etc.

Thanks to all of you for the information, I hope I get to turn the tables someday and offer you some information that I might have.

Will keep ya all posted on what I wind up with but I'd say look for me to get one of the two mentioned above.

C
 
The Marlin 336 series is an excellent choice. I have had mine for 20 years, taken a ton of game, killed many threatening tin cans and rocks, and never let me down. That said, I would lean to any of the decent brand bolt actions in .308 if I had to choose but one rifle. The .308 is mild on recoil. Ammo is availible almost anywhere that it is sold, and ranges from dirt cheap surplus to WW Failsafes that are capable of taking anything you are likely to encounter. Top your new toy off with a decent scope(the lower end Burris and Leupold scopes in the $200 range are excellent values for the money), and you are set for most anything. I own way more rifles than I need and the .308 leaves the house more often than not. I dearly love my .223's, but they come up a little short for general hunting of anything larger than coyotes.
 
For a cheap survival rifle, you might take a look at The Kel-Tec 2000-a folding 9mm carbine that uses Glock mags-including the hi-cap pre bans. It costs about $300 and mine, at least, is easy to shoot and accurate at SD ranges.
 
If you really want a lever action in .308, you might consider the Savage model 99 in the current incarnation. Most lever actions are limited to flat nosed bullets because they have tubular magazines. These are not generally sufficient for open country like we have in the southwest. The bullets do not travel very flat-forget anything much over 200 yards away.

The 99 Savage is an old tried and true deer rifle available in .308, .300 Savage, .243 and 250 Savage. They are inexpensive as high powered rifles go and not bad for a starter. The downside is a long, hard trigger pull and a very light 22" barrel that heats up and gets a little erratic after several rounds, making it hard to get good groups. While cold they are accurate. By innacurate, I mean shooting 2" or larger groups at 100 yards.

The Remington 800 you mentioned is an excellent choice. I would go with the 30-06 though. The .308 is not too different in factory loads, but if you catch the disease, you will be reloading and working up custom loads before long and the difference becomes apparent at the high end.

Military surplus ammo is ok for plinking, but illegal for hunting and 30-06 ammo in hunting loads is at least as plentiful as .308. In fact, in the west probably the .270 is more common also. It is among people I know. I only know one person that hunts with a .308.
 
I'd have to say a mini-14 for a fairly universal gun. You would definitley be able to pop off marauders at long distances and with 50 round clips... that's alot of ammo. I love mine. Like has been stated before, ammo is available anywhere and isn't that expenisive... especially if you reload. The only thing that makes me say that this wouldn't be the perfect gun of choice, you said also medium to large game. How big? Deer, elk, bear? If that is the case I wouldn't go any smaller than a .243, but would much rather see you go with a .270 or a 30-06. Both are fine choices, but all guns have their limits, uses, and different costs of guns and ammo.
 
Originally posted by Chambers
Let's say the world ends or what ever and I'm forced to stand on my roof top and shoot off violent marauders. (Oh tell me you've never had this thought)
Click to expand...

No, I haven't. However, my family has developed a rather intricate zombie plan in case something like Night of the Living Dead or 28 Days Later ever occurs. It involves running to my gun collecting cousins place (fairly central, about 3 hours from most of the families residences). Barring that, we know where ODOT stores the concrete barriers for road construction. 3 or 4 of those stacked on top of each other should stop most zombies. Even a single row would be adequate protection beacuse such a barrier will slow most zombies down enough to flee or get a clean aimed shot.

As far as firearms, 7.62x39, 7.62 NATO (AKA 7.62x54 or 30-06 i think), and .223. Get a rifle in NRA Good condition from a well known manufacturer in any one of those calibres and you should be all set. Ammo is plentiful and inexpensive, as are bullets and casings if you want to handload, and the guns themselves should be common enough to repair and upgrade with off the shelf parts from any aftermarket maker.

If its good enough for the worlds armies, these calibers should deal with zombies at a safe distance and with enough accuracy for a head shot. Presumably, this would also work on zombified game animals as well. Just be sure to cook your catch very thoughougly as we do not yet know what the infection vectors are for zombie.
 
Thought I would toss my two cents in.

If you are looking at leaver guns, check out the Winchester 94. my friend has the .357 I just got the .45LC I can hit five inch plates at 100yrds with mine(iron sights)

Regarding Bushmaster firearms.
DON'T GET ONE!!!!!!
They are pricey pieces of crap!!!!!

Now I've noticed no one has mentiond this little gem of a carbine.

The Feather www.featherusa.com

You can get this gun in 9mm, .45, and I think they are doing .40

This gun breaks down and goes into a small case, very light weight and just a joy to shoot. and not to expensive(9mm at Wal-Mart for $10.00 a hundred count) This gun is just as acurate as the ones above with open sights, and you can get large cap. magazines for it too. No problems with this gun malfunctioning, unlike the Crapmasters.
You will like this gun...it's perfect for rooftop zombie shooting!
Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Mace
 
Am I the only one that would recommend staying away from a 30-06? Either a .270 or 7MM will give you basically the same knock-down power, but with better long distance accuracy. And don't worry too much about the recoil. You can buy aftermarket recoil pads now that cut down over 50% of the felt recoil.

First on your list is to figure out what you want out of a rifle. If accuracy is your main concern, go with a bolt action. If you want quick follow-up shots, go with a semi-auto. If you want to play John Wayne, go for the lever action. As for the caliber, figure out what you want to shoot. If a whitetail is the biggest animal you plan to ever hunt, go with a .243 or .308. If you live out west, and plan on hunting mulies and elk, look into a .270 or 7MM. If you want to hunt trophy elk and moose, step up to a .300 or .338. And if you're not sure what you're going to shoot, but want the perfect all-around caliber, I'd take a .270 anyday. It's light enough to be able to shoot all day without separating your shoulder, but has enough punch to take down a moose.
 
The Marlin 336 would be an excellent choice. I have the Marlin (39 I think that' the model #) .22 cal lever action and it's really great. The new Marlins are exceptional quality peices, and my Marlin rifle is extremely accurate and the sights are easy to use well. The wood is great (especially compared to most new guns these days), so's the steel and blueing. A classic peice for a lifetime.

I see that some have recommended the Mini-14 and mention hi-cap mags. It is an OK gun, but decent used hi-cap mags for the Mini-14 run $60/ea last time I looked if you can find any at all. IMO an AR15 is a better choice. Excellent gun, and good used mags can be had for $25. I like rebuilt mil-surp FAL rifles in plentiful NATO .308 (aka 7.62mm x 51mm), for which good used 20rnd mags can be had for $10ea. Magazine cost and availability can make or break these military type rifles. That's why your choice of the Marlin levergun is a good one. Bolt actions are OK but mean that you'l probably have to become an accuracy freak with a scope, which again is OK but adds significant cost and can be boring when shooting. AKs are good, but not very accurate, so they're not that good as good a choice for accurate plinking, same for the SKS. Mil-surp bolt actions like Yugoslav Mausers, Finnish M39s, Enfields etc. are good and cheap but the problem I've had is that the ammo they used was different than what you can get cheaply today, such that it puts the shots out of the adjustment range of my sights, and I can't get taller sights because of lack of parts. This is easy to correct if you re-load your own ammo, which I don't yet and I don't see you doing that soon either. So, Mil-surp bolt actions can be more complicated.
 
imho AKM's are almost as accurate as an AR15, at least w/iron sights, and my AKM will wayyy outshoot my mini14, was shoooting a 18" gong at 300 yds w/a colt AR15 and a maahdi AKM, iron sights, 5-6 outta 10 hits for AKM, 6-7 for AR15, really too close to call, either one was more accurate than we were, i doubt i coulda hit it w/a mini14, mine just isnt very accurate.

greg
 
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