kinda off topic - need gun advise

PrimitiveMan said:
I am voting for the 45-70 guide gun as described above. I know of nothing in North america it cannot take. Not going to make a 500 yard shot with it, but anything 150 and closer is gonna die.
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Including some of his shoulder and buttocks tissue from this round kicking him when the gun and his stance are not positioned properly and he lands on his ass.

A lot of Western game is taken well beyond 150.

Course, you can take buffalo real close at Custer State Park with that caliber. :D

Actually, you may want to delete the whole post.:p

South Jersey...?
 
If you've never owned a gun before a .22 LR is an awfully good place to start....they're reasonably priced and ammo is still dirt cheap so you can practice and develop good skills and habits. As well, they are loads of fun to shoot. If you're new to the sport, this, in my humble opinion, is the place to begin.

- regards
 
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Yea... I some friends who have 22 so I know I can use theirs for practice - don't really want to buy one since I just bought and air gun. I still plan on getting a rifle even if I don't shoot it right away.

Is there something in the $500 price range that's kinda between a 30.30 and a 30.06?
 
The difference between a .22 and an airgun are like the difference between your High School girlfriend and a Stripper. Sure, they may look similar and have the same basic parts, but pardner... trust me, they ain't the same thing.

Do as you please. Buy a 30-30 or a 30-06. You will not enjoy shooting it and will likely never learn to do it properly.

Shooting is only fun when you are able to hit your target. ;)



Edit: Sorry if I sound condescending... I don't mean to be, it is just that I have this horrible habit of telling people when they are wrong. ;):)
 
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kdstrick said:
The difference between a .22 and an airgun are like the difference between your High School girlfriend and a Stripper. Sure, they may look similar and have the same basic parts, but pardner... trust me, they ain't the same thing.

Do as you please. Buy a 30-30 or a 30-06. You will not enjoy shooting it.

Shooting is only fun when you are able to hit your target. ;)
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Well I bought the air gun for small game - rabbits, squirrels. Think I would be better to take it back and get something like a ruger 10/22 (another gun I saw at walmart)?
 
newknife said:
Yea... I some friends who have 22 so I know I can use theirs for practice - don't really want to buy one since I just bought and air gun. I still plan on getting a rifle even if I don't shoot it right away.

Is there something in the $500 price range that's kinda between a 30.30 and a 30.06?
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.....well then, if you will be shooting factory ammo look at manufacturers ballistic charts ( you can usually find them on-line ) and pick a caliber then load with the power and trajectory that will match the game and terrain you plan to hunt. The 30-30, a lever action proposition, is typically thought of as a brush gun with a range of 150-175 yards; although the newer Hornady LEVERevolution round will extend range another 50-75 yards. The 30-06 is a very versatile caliber with a bit more range and knock-down power. Ammunition for both can typically be found with ease. I recommend you try to fire both in a variety of loads before you choose.....and narrow down your intended quarry.

If you are interested in something in between the two you might look at the .257 Roberts....which is considered a medium to long range caliber adequate for deer, antelope, and even black bear. It's a fine caliber with much to commend it; however it's not something you would typically use for elk, moose, or brown bear.

- regards
 
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10/22's are fantastic! I would highly recommend them. The semi-automatic not as safe for someone unfamiliar with them, but they are a lot of fun. They are very good rifles, but please be careful. Remove the magazine and rack the slide several times to ensure no round remains in the chamber.

A bolt action may seem kind of dull in comparison, but it would be my recommendation. It isn't how much lead you put in the air... Don't 'spray and prey', aim carefully and gently squeze the trigger. Make every bullet count. Have fun!
 
kdstrick said:
10/22's are fantastic! I would highly recommend them. The semi-automatic not as safe for someone unfamiliar with them, but they are a lot of fun. They are very good rifles, but please be careful. Remove the magazine and rack the slide several times to ensure no round remains in the chamber.

A bolt action may seem kind of dull in comparison, but it would be my recommendation. It isn't how much lead you put in the air... Don't 'spray and prey', aim carefully and gently squeze the trigger. Make every bullet count. Have fun!
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.....it's really a darn good way to learn sound shooting skills. For generations dad's have started their son's and daughters out on a bolt action .22. That speaks volumes.

- regards
 
kdstrick said:
The difference between a .22 and an airgun are like the difference between your High School girlfriend and a Stripper. Sure, they may look similar and have the same basic parts, but pardner... trust me, they ain't the same thing.
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It really depends on the airgun he bought... I have airguns that will rival most .22lr rifles. They are a GREAT way to get QUALITY trigger time in my opinion and can be VERY affordable to shoot.

I personally like .22 lr's also and agree that the 10-22 is a GREAT gun. Get one if you can, but don't neglect practicing with your airgun because its not a "real" gun.

I would vote for a 30-30 marlin. I think you will be able to learn how to shoot this quicker and easier than a 30-06 and it will also be cheaper to shoot. I have always found it strange that a .44mag or single shot 30-30 is the bomb when hand gun hunting Elk or other big game, but shot it in a rifle and it is NO good. If anything it will be better out of the longer rifle barrel.

Tom
 
kdstrick said:
The difference between a .22 and an airgun are like the difference between your High School girlfriend and a Stripper. Sure, they may look similar and have the same basic parts, but pardner... trust me, they ain't the same thing.

Do as you please. Buy a 30-30 or a 30-06. You will not enjoy shooting it.

Shooting is only fun when you are able to hit your target. ;)
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He's right. If you're not already a pretty good shot you won't enjoy a centerfire very much. And you WILL develop a flinch without a lot of trigger time on a lower powered gun first. Airguns don't count.

The cost of the gun is by far the cheapest part of shooting. If you shoot even just once in a while you will spend way more on ammo and gas than your gun even in your first year. So if you are worried about costs try to stick to something that is cheap to shoot like a rimfire or shotgun.

If you are new to guns you probably won't have the skills to shoot accurately much beyond 150 yards or so for a while so I wouldn't worry about performance beyond that for a first gun.

With $500 I would get two guns. I would buy a single shot 12ga. You can get these for less than $150 just about anywhere. I would also get a .17hmr and a decent scope.

The 12 as I said before is a really versatile gun that can take just about any animal in North America and is good for about 75-100 yards with a smoothbore or 150 with a rifled bore and sabot slugs. If you shoot the cheap bulk ammo the recoil isn't too bad but some of the magnum rounds can be downright brutal in a lightweight gun. Going out and wingshooting some birds or clay pigeons will help develop skills that will come in handy when that buck doesn't want to give you enough time to aim at him:D


The .17hmr is hands down my favorite round to shoot. It is cheap (~$12/50rds) low recoil (like a 22mag) powerful enough to take up to coyote size game, and super accurate right out of the box (way more accurate than your average .22) Hitting what you aim at really makes shooting more fun and you learn a whole lot faster when you know that any error was yours and not the fault of the gun. An accurate gun allows you to learn to dope the wind and have a smooth trigger pull. Skills that are very handy to know when you step up to a bigger cartridge shooting longer ranges. An inaccurate gun or a gun that is too powerful for you however won't allow you to learn these skills because any minor changes you make will be lost in the variations from the gun or flinch.
.17hmr is very accurate out to about 150 yards and if you can judge distance really well (or have a rangfinder) it's good out to about 250.
.22 is good for about half that distance but will never shoot as flat (+ - .5" at 120 yards for .17hmr.)
 
Tom Krein said:
It really depends on the airgun he bought... I have airguns that will rival most .22lr rifles. They are a GREAT way to get QUALITY trigger time in my opinion and can be VERY affordable to shoot.

I personally like .22 lr's also and agree that the 10-22 is a GREAT gun. Get one if you can, but don't neglect practicing with your airgun because its not a "real" gun.

I would vote for a 30-30 marlin. I think you will be able to learn how to shoot this quicker and easier than a 30-06 and it will also be cheaper to shoot. I have always found it strange that a .44mag or single shot 30-30 is the bomb when hand gun hunting Elk or other big game, but shot it in a rifle and it is NO good. If anything it will be better out of the longer rifle barrel.

Tom
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the air gun is a gamo big cat.
 
I'm trying to decide on my first gun too and I'm between the cz 452 and the Marlin 60. I hear so many great things about the CZ's but the Marlin is way cheaper and it's still a good gun. I'd like to hear others thoughts on my dilemma as well if you don't mind.
 
Capt. Carl, if your going to get a 22 rifle, the Marlin Model 60 is a great rifle to have but IMO if your going to get a 22, GET A 10-22 Ruger, there the best to me.
 
30-30 drops 7.5 inches at 200 yards, sighted in at 100. Drops 24 inches at 300 yards.

.308, .30-06...maybe an inch or two..still minute of deer. Out here in farm country, see more deer in the early A.M. coming out of the woods...and there is no cover on pasture or cropped field land...so distances are more often beyond 150 yards.

GOOD deer hunters sit in a tree stand and wait for the deer to come to them, so shots are closer. (I hate sitting in the morning cold.)

For $500, around here...you can get a used single shot .22, a used single shot 12 ga., AND a used .308 or 30-06, which are pretty much the same, ballistically.

Mil-surplus rifles...7.62x54 Mosin 44, or 91-30...same size slug, similar ballistics. Enfield? .303...same size, pretty much, slug, and ballistics.

Least expensive on the market today is the Mosin Nagant...up to $150...beyond that is over-priced. Most need cleaning of storage grease, but never saw much use..many made at the end of the war years.

But, until they made rifles ok to shoot around here, I got deer almost every year with a 12 ga. shotgun and a slug, under 100 yards.

read, learn, decide. You can practice in the basement with an air-rifle. At most indoor ranges with a .22. Usually need a range to work with the centerfire rifles.
 
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