Help Me Choose a Rifle

sling and spare magazines.
a scope is not necessary until you've shot it enough to break it in good.
with the iron sights, you should be able to get 1" groups at 50 yards after some practice.
 
When I went I got mine on sale it was a synthetic stock one in desertcamo. It was cheaper than the wood stocked ones. I like it better now that I've had it for a year or so. It looks just like it did when I got it. A wooden one would have some scratches and dents on it I am sure from my clumsiness. I put a cheap red dot scope on mine and I got 4 - 30 rd mags too bad your. In CA the 30 rd mags allow for some real plinking fun.
 
So, I'm still on the fence about synthetic stock vs wood stock. The wood stock is elegant and sort of classic hunter esque. I think I might have to buy another one (or maybe something in a different caliber :eek:) just for the tacti-cool element. But I don't actually care about stainless vs blue'd barrel anymore really.

In terms of extra's I will definitely get some spare magazines and a sling. I think I might also get a magazine latch, an auto bolt release and a flash suppressor to start. Maybe a bolt buffer too. I'll start small and work my way into it. I think I'm going to enjoy firearms every bit as much as knives!
 
1066vik said:
sling and spare magazines.
a scope is not necessary until you've shot it enough to break it in good.
with the iron sights, you should be able to get 1" groups at 50 yards after some practice.
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WOW, that is some dang good shooting, practice or not. 1" at 50 with a stock gun and sights is a bit much to ask.


Sorry, I can post the pics of the groups but I am 7000 miles away from my rifles so pics of them will have to wait till Jan 2011. :D

Pics of groups shot with the 10/22 in the previous pic, all groups are 10 shot, off of a bench with front and rear sand bags from 50 yds. I actually have another 10/22 with a cheaper green mountain barrel that will outshoot this one, not by much though. :D
The dates on these groups are the first time I took it to the range after I got it all put together. To bad they don't make dynapoints anymore, best bulk ammo I ever shot. Chris

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My advice is to go with a synthetic stock. They don't absorb moisture and shift zero like wood stocks often do. For some reason, the gun makers almost always leave the interior surfaces of wood stocks raw and exposed so they absorb moisture, swell, and not infrequently jam actions plus the aforementioned zero shift. When I work on a customer's wood stocked rifle I always coat the interior wood with stock finish oil, then wait two or three days before refitting the action.
 
Old CW4 said:
My advice is to go with a synthetic stock. They don't absorb moisture and shift zero like wood stocks often do. For some reason, the gun makers almost always leave the interior surfaces of wood stocks raw and exposed so they absorb moisture, swell, and not infrequently jam actions plus the aforementioned zero shift. When I work on a customer's wood stocked rifle I always coat the interior wood with stock finish oil, then wait two or three days before refitting the action.
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Shifting POI I have seen, although very easy to fix yourself, but jamming actions? Thats a new one, been in the gun biz for a long time and built quite a few myself and never seen a jammed action due to swelled wood, actually never heard of it till right now.

Blued steel and wood for me, if POI shifts when she heats up, 10 dollars worth of epoxy and a couple of hours of my time will fix it, or even easier than bedding, float it, bed the action and let the wood do what ever it wants. No sir, give me a piece of walnut or maple that looks like a bunt cake and I am a happy man. :D Chris
 
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go with H&R or New England Firearms single shot in 30_30.
can be disassembled wityh one screw
carried in pack
accurate
simple operation
ammo available anywhere in world
adequate for anything in calif
inexpensive.
 
You can't do both with the same rifle as you have found out. Pick a good 22 like the Ruger 1022 and customize it for accuracy. I would suggest a Winchester or Marlin 30-30 for economy of gun and ammo but from the little I know about CA it sounds like shots can be past the effective range of a 30-30 (150yds). The Lever actions are cheap to own and shoot and have been good self defense weapons for more than 100yrs. I shoot a 7MM08 and have shot smaller game with down loaded match bullets that don't expand. Col Townsend Whelen first did this with the 30.06 in the 1940's. You can load most centerfire rifles to lower velocities if you invest in a reloading kit and learn how to load your own ammo. This will not result in any high volume shooting but it does allow you to have greater versatility in your rifle. I also load a 22-250 which is a high power varmint rifle and velocities from 2200fps to 3850fps. at the lower end it mimics a 22mag and the higher end a really flat shooting varmint rifle. Some folks deer hunt with a 22-250 for smaller deer out west but I think it is a little small for that. Do an internet search for Chuck Hawk's reduced loads and see if that interests you.
 
If you didn't live in CA an AR-15 would be what you need, with one lower you can easily change uppers and go from .22 all the way up to a .50 cal with many calibers in between. I am sure alot of folks will poo poo this idea but the whole platform is modular and it is the 1911 of rifles there are so many options for customizing and it is so easy. You can go from super accurate hunting rifle to .22 cal plinker to home defense tactical weapon with just pulling a couple pins.
 
Congrats on deciding on a .22. Everybody should own one. :) I'd prefer stainless just for the ease of maintenance, but am less concerned about wood vs. plastic stock. Dad owns a 10/22 with a plastic stock, and it does feel kinda weird to me (balance is different), but then again I'm just accustomed to the wood stock on mine.

The issue about wood's potential to swell and contact the barrel is sort of a moot point with a 10/22, far as I'm concerned. They have a ring around the front of the forend and barrel anyway which keeps the 2 in contact as it is. Unless you're talking about a non-factory gun or doing lots of customizing anyway.

August West said:
Not to start another ethics debate but FMJ ammo is illegal in most states to hunt with.
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No need to start a debate, since it's not illegal to use FMJ on small game in my state or the OP's. (at least I couldn't find anything on it in California's documents: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/ ) Some states may restrict FMJ for use on big game, but I was not advocating that in the first place. Of course it's up to each individual to read and understand the laws of their locality.
 
hell, go to gun shops and buy an old .22 bolt action. Mess around with that. It is hard to wear them out.

Start inexpensive, graduate to more expensive.

Be safe.
 
Let me leave my 12 cents here... lol

I dont think anyone has mentioned this one. but I LOVE my Marlin 1894C in 357 Mag, yes its a pistol ammo. which to me is a plus, my 686+ by coincedence shoots that also. hahah.

I use heavy 357 ammo for deer and pigs. I use plain nop +p 38 special for small game. I am trying to learn a technique called "barking" to harvest squirl with this ammo. You are supposed to shoot right next to the squirl and the actual energy hit from the bark of the tree gets them.

anyways to me ammo is cheap enough, it can do small game and larger game. Plenty of ammo options, weight, loads, bullet types.... for me its my go to unless i am going after big game. for that i take 30-06
 
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