Any recommendations for a beginners .22 rifle? *edit: Bolt or auto-load?*

[SithSolo1]

I've never been hunting before but I would like to learn to shoot (I live in GA and don't even know how, sheesh). Anyway, I thought I'd start out with a .22, but I don't have a clue what brands or features to look for. Any help would be much appreciated. Time is shorta of the essence as the local hunting store is having its costumer appreciation day on the 31st(somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of all guns).

Thank You,
J


*Edit: Bolt or auto-load versions?*

 

[gentobu]

Ruger 10/22.

Edit: added link.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: gentobu
Ruger 10/22.

Edit: added link.

That's what you are going to hear from everyone. A 10/22 is about the most popular .22 out there, and it's freaking cheap and has tons of accessories.

Need to keep in mind that a .22LR or even magnum round isn't real powerful, and certainly can't be used for larger game like deer, elephant, etc.

It's a varmit round, groundhogs, moles, armordildos, etc.

Should be able to snag a nice one for under $200 easy. I've seen the ugly blued one for $150.

 

[KenGr]

Find someone who knows what they are doing to help you. What you are going to hunt is the critical question. A .22 is not really the weapon of choice for most hunting. Maybe squirrels and "varmints". Don't know about your state but some states don't allow hunting of most game with rifles. (Too long a range, not sporting enough, too much danger to people and property.) For some reason people think .22's are big BB guns but the high powered bullets can go for a mile.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

22 is a good idea also because you can shoot allday without hurting your sholder or ears and it won't cost alot. I plan on getting my wife a 22 ruger slabside for pistol shooting. She can shoot all day for next to nothing in money.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge
22 is a good idea also because you can shoot allday without hurting your sholder or ears and it won't cost alot. I plan on getting my wife a 22 ruger slabside for pistol shooting. She can shoot all day for next to nothing in money.

Yup, 500 round bricks are less than $10

Not that I would use it, but it's big enough to kill, many folks use .22s as a concealed. A bit small for my liking but it does the job I suppose.

Don't know if this is correct, but the guy that teaches the CCW course around here says .22s are the #1 killer out of all the calibers.

 

[LAUST]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge
22 is a good idea also because you can shoot allday without hurting your sholder or ears and it won't cost alot. I plan on getting my wife a 22 ruger slabside for pistol shooting. She can shoot all day for next to nothing in money.

Yup, 500 round bricks are less than $10

Not that I would use it, but it's big enough to kill, many folks use .22s as a concealed. A bit small for my liking but it does the job I suppose.

Don't know if this is correct, but the guy that teaches the CCW course around here says .22s are the #1 killer out of all the calibers.

He is correct about #1 killer

also you are both correct the cost and value of .22

 

[justint]

I second the 10/22 as a beginner learner gun. Ammo is cheap, and it is an excellent gun. I recommend strongly that you take an NRA approved basic rifle course. After a while with the 10/22 you can move up to the Mini-14 in .223, which is what they use to teach basic marksmanship to the Marines.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

another vote for the 10/22, although I learned to shoot with an ancient Marlin bolt action. It was tube feed and when you chambered the round you had to pull back on a cocking piece at the rear of the bolt. The advantage was you could not shoot rapidly, which meant you had to learn to make each shot count.

 

[BD2003]

I also want to get into shooting, hunting would probably come later. Whats the difference between all of the calibers?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: BD2003
I also want to get into shooting, hunting would probably come later. Whats the difference between all of the calibers?

Not sure what you mean, but larger calibers are just that, bigger bullets. Smaller ones, being lighter come out of the barrel faster, have less recoil. The larger retain their energy better, and are less likely to be deflected by wind.

What you use depends on what you want it for.

 

[SithSolo1]

I don't plan to hunt with the .22 at all. I plan to use it just for learning.

Also what about bolt action .22s? The gun store has alot of used ones. I saw one in the store they other day that felt pretty good but I doubt it was worth the $360 price tag.

 

[Ladies Man]

i learned with a 7.62 rifle

big and fun
wear ear plugs

 

[BD2003]

So bigger calibers are louder, have more recoil, more accurate, more expensive and hurt more?

Is .22 the smallest or is it an in-betweener?


My experience with guns goes about as far as BB guns and counterstrike, so forgive my ignorance. Is there a gun basics faq somewhere?

 

[ViperMagic]

.22 is the smallest widly available powder-fired round. You can get BB guns that are .177 cal. A .22 will cost you about $20 to shoot all day, and at the end of the day you shoulder wil feel fine, and your ears wont be ringing. Bigger calibers hurt more, sound more, cost more. I would personally reccomend a .22 bolt action to anyone just getting into shooting, because you cant just unload the whole magazine. As fun as that is, it leads to bad habits.

 

[wolf papa]

even though a .22 doesn't have the recoil or noise of a larger caliber, ear protection is a good idea. And please take a hunter safety course - a .22 can be lethal. The bullets can travel quite a distance, and a riccochet off of water, roads, hard dirt can send a bullet in a direction you didn't intend. I love shooting (and hunting).

 

[SithSolo1]

Originally posted by: ViperMagic
.22 is the smallest widly available powder-fired round. You can get BB guns that are .177 cal. A .22 will cost you about $20 to shoot all day, and at the end of the day you shoulder wil feel fine, and your ears wont be ringing. Bigger calibers hurt more, sound more, cost more. I would personally reccomend a .22 bolt action to anyone just getting into shooting, because you cant just unload the whole magazine. As fun as that is, it leads to bad habits.

So something like this or should I look for a single shot bolt?

 

[wolf papa]

the rifle you linked to is actually a .22 Magnum (not interchangeable with the more common .22 Long Rifle). Some .22 rifles will allow you to use .22 Long or .22 Short cartridges also. My own personal preference for a beginner's rifle would have iron sights, rather than telescopic sights. I think you learn more of the fundamentals of aiming with iron sights, then can later add a telescopic sight if you want. For the range that a .22 is suited for, iron sights are usually adequate. Besides, most entry-level scopes are crap. (This from someone who used to repair rifle scopes)

 

[SithSolo1]

Figured as much, thx.

 

[wolf papa]

maybe something like this

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: BD2003
So bigger calibers are louder, have more recoil, more accurate, more expensive and hurt more? Is .22 the smallest or is it an in-betweener? My experience with guns goes about as far as BB guns and counterstrike, so forgive my ignorance. Is there a gun basics faq somewhere?

Ok
Forgive me if I start at too basic a level, but here goes

Cartridges use a primer that ignites when the firing pin of the firearm strikes the base of the cartridge. This can be in the rim or the center. 22's are a rimfire cartridge, and a .223 is a centerfire cartridge. The diameter is obviously about the same, but they are very different. The 22 is cheaper, because the bullet is driven to a lower velocity. This means less powder volume, smaller cases (several can be made from one .223 round). Now both can be accurate, and match .22 rifles are incredibly accurate at the range they were designed to be used.

Advantages for the 22- cheap
For the .223, higher velocity which results in flatter trajectory. Better for hunting or shooting people. (M16's use this round- well technically it is 5.56mm, the NATO designation). Cons- more expensive to shoot.

Now moving up in size, the bullet gets heavier. For a given amount of powder, a heavier bullet travels slower, but because of how physics works, the momentem and the ballistic qualities of the round change.

The larger round travels slower, but retains a greater percentage of it's original velocity. It's flight path has a more exaggerated arc as a result of the slower speed, which means you have to compensate more in aiming at various distances. You might shoot too high or low.
How you get around this is to increase the amount of powder to increase velocity and flatten the trajectory, but that means greater recoil. BTW powders are fomulated such that some burn faster or slower, and that affects things, but let's not go into that complication.

So what you buy depends on what you want to use it for. Shooting paper targets at 50 yards is not the same as shooting people in a battle, which is not the same as shooting an elk at 300 yds.

 

[etech]

Originally posted by: SithSolo1
I've never been hunting before but I would like to learn to shoot (I live in GA and don't even know how, sheesh). Anyway, I thought I'd start out with a .22, but I don't have a clue what brands or features to look for. Any help would be much appreciated. Time is shorta of the essence as the local hunting store is having its costumer appreciation day on the 31st(somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of all guns).

Thank You,
J


*Edit: Bolt or auto-load versions?*

BUYING THAT FIRST .22 RIFLE

There is a lot of information at this site.
GUNS & SHOOTING INFORMATION

The first gun I ever shot was a rolling breech block 22. Sprent a lot of hours plinking away with it on my grandfather's farm. Moved up to a pump action 22 and then went to a 12 ga shot gun for rabbits. There were too many on the farm and always a lot of stray cats around to feed them to.

 

[BD2003]

I would much rather start out with a .22 bolt cause I'm not looking to unload like rambo or anything. I'd like to learn how to shoot before I even tried hunting.

I live in a crowded city, where can I go to try shooting a rifle?

 

[glenn1]

here's a good place to start to get some ideas...

Shotgun News Classifieds

A good choice you might want to look at would be a Remington 597. My personal choice in rifle is a Winchester model 70 (in .270 Winchester caliber, but they make almost every standard caliber), but that particular model might be a bit out of your desired price range.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I really suggest going with an automatic over a bolt for a .22 to start off. The sheer volume of the number of rounds you can fire off will take forever for you to load and cycle the action. Imagine operating the bolt 500 times and loading 500 rounds into an internal magazine.

An auto with a 10 round clip is easy and quick to load, plus don't have to cycle it each shot.

A larger caliber doesn't necessarily mean more power.

Pic

Both of those are .30cal

One is a bit more powerful than a .22, the other can take down an angry bear.

Less than $0.10 for the small one, more than $0.25 a round for the big one.