Good gun for begginer?

Question

Ok so. im looking for a good begginer rifle. i know about near nothing of guns and have shot only a couple of times.i was looking around and was looking at the remington 700, but i kept reading on saw that theres a lot more selections to choose form.

what im looking for is a rifle around 500- 750 dollars. caliber big enough to bring down large game, aka deer. but fun and ammo cheap enough to where i can take it to the range and literally shoot it all day.

also looking for a good scope. kinda going towards a leopaud (proly spelled that wrong). but thanks for the replies and looking forward to getting started on my shooting.

Answer 1

Hank,

If you've "shot only a couple of times," the last thing in the world you need is a Remington 700 in any caliber, or any other centerfire rifle for that matter.  

Keep saving your money.

Take a couple of hundred dollars and purchase a bolt-action .22 rifle.  Remington, Savage, and Marlin offer several different models, and there are thousands of old Winchester .22's on the market.  Buy the one that fits your stature, fancy, and wallet.  Don't buy a scope yet.

Spend the next year or two shooting at every opportunity.  There is only one way to become a good marksman, and that is to fire thousands of rounds of ammunition in practice.  In addition to being less expensive to shoot, you can purchase 500 rounds of .22 ammo for less than the cost of a box of 20 cartridges for many centerfire rounds, a .22 LR rifle is the perfect tool to teach you good gunhandling habits, and marksmanship skills a hunter needs.  With it's mild report and negligible recoil, you can shoot hundreds of rounds of .22 ammo in the course of a day without bruising your shoulder or developing a world class flinch.

After you've spent a year or so learning to use your iron sights, buy a good quality, medium priced scope (Simmons or Bushnell will do well enough) and spend a few more months learning the ins and outs of optical sights.  Then will be time to discuss what kind of rifle you need for deer hunting.

Believe it or not, I'm not trying to discourage you.  I am trying to encourage you to do things the right way.  Learn to be a rifleman before you try to become a hunter.  If you've "shot only a couple of times," you need to learn the basics before you go to more advanced levels.  Remember, your first bike probably had training wheels, you didn't start of on a 2000 cc crotch rocket racing motorcycle.  The same principle applies to shooting sports.  LEARN THE BASICS FIRST.

FWIW, in over 40 years of shooting, I've never known a good shot who didn't start with a .22.  And don't turn your nose up at .22's as "Beginner Rifles."  If most gun cranks are honest, we probably shoot more .22's each year than we do centerfire ammo.  I don't know of many things you can do with your clothes on that are more fun than to spend an afternoon at the range with a good .22 and a brick of ammo.

Welcome to the wonderful world of gun cranks.

Good Shooting,

Doc

Answer 2

You can shoot a wide variety of big game calibers and fire a ton of ammo through it each day.

At the very cheapest, the ammo is going to be 10 bucks a box for 20 and that's if you buy a shopping cart full when it's on sale in the fall.

So on a several hour trip, you're going to shoot up perhaps 50 bucks of ammo.

For jacking around, there's much better cheaper choices...especially for a begginner.

For the 700-900 dollars in total you want to spend you might consider the following.

1. Get a 22lr for 150 and put a simmons 22mag scope on it. Marlin bolt action, Marlin 60, Ruger 10/22, etc...Your total cost for the package is going to be under 250 out the door.

2. Then get your centerfire next year (unless you're hunting this year). If money's tight, go with a savage, howa, or mossberg for 300-400 (they'll likely outshoot a 700 anyway) and put a Mueller scope on for 150-200. Total for a very good package would be 600.

So you have a big game rifle and a 22 (which you can shoot 500 rounds for less than 20 bucks and will pay for itself in no time) all for maybe 850. And those would be the only two rifles you'd ever "need" for the rest of your life.

Answer 3

i strongly suggest a 243. or a 270. with a 3x-9x, 40mm scope

Answer 4

Wii is a good virtual game you can buy. then go in for a real gun

Answer 5

Remington, Ruger, Savage and Mossberg are all good choices.  The last two brands will be a little less pricey.

Scopes:  Leupold, Burris, Nikon, Simmons, Bushnell are all good.  You can buy a fixed power scope like a straight 4x or 6x to hold cost down some.  You can still get decent variable power scope from Simmons, Bushnell, etc.  Higher priced are the Leupold & Burris but these are really good quality.  If you want to go all-out get Zeiss or Swarovski scopes, but these could cost you more than the rifle itself.

You didn't ask about calibers but for deer you want at least a .243 Winchester or larger caliber rifle.  The .25-06 Rem. is better as is the .270 and .308 Win.  The .30-06 Springfield will take any North American game but if your are in big bear country consider the .338 (Federal or Winchester Magnum).   The magnum calibers are not really the best 'starter' rifles for the novice shooter, though.

Good luck.

H

Answer 6

Your best choices are Remington, Savage, Kimber, Mossberg rifles in 308 or 30-06 caliber.* Burris Brand Scopes are great with a terrific warranty, and reasonably priced.* A variable 3 to 9 power scope would be a good choice.*

Answer 7

For your budget, you can get a pretty decent rifle. The answerer above gave you some good brands and scope ideas. I like the 30-06. It is a very effective round for medium and large game and has a wide selection of loads. It is also extremely common so everyone carries it and is as inexpensive as you will find in large caliber ammo. Whatever caliber you do get, try several different loads by different manufacturers to find which one your rifle likes the best. Some ammo will be more accurate than others. No way to tell without shooting them. Good luck.

Answer 8

Since you're a beginner, and in the market for a gun, here's my suggestions.  Go buy two guns, a .22 LR, and another deer caliber rifle.  .243, .22-250, .25-06, .30-06, even .223.  I have owned and shot all of these guns.  I have also shot a .270, but didn't like it as well.  The .223 and .22-250 are centerfire rifles, but have small lead.  Of you're planning on deer hunting, your shot placement will have to be in the neck for a clean, quick kill.  If you go with one of those two calibers, you will be able to forego the .22LR, as these two calibers are good target calibers, as well.  These two calibers are also great for small game and varmint hunting.  The other calibers, while "high-standard', are not great for target and you might need a little cheapie .22 for practice.  I do, however, suggest that you choose a .22 anyway.  This will help you with better control and it's not that expensive to shoot and you can get a lot of practice with one.  Since you've only shot a few times, I would suggest making sure that you take a hunters safety course, which in most states in pretty much mandatory.  It will teach you a lot, I promise.  As far as scopes go, that's a pretty expensive little market right there.  Leupold is a good brand, but you can get the same from BSA, Bushnell, etc.  When you purchase your rifles, ask your gun dealer for suggestions.  Ask lots of questions about everything from price of ammunition to how to work the gun.  I know you can figure a lot out from the handbooks and manuals that come with a new gun, but make sure that before you get to your hunting spot, you are completely comfortable with your firearm.  Happy hunting!