Interested in a Bolt Rifle

[schneiderguy]

Just get five Mosin Nagant 91/30s

 

[adlep]

Mosin/Nagant

 

[jessieqwert]

I picked up a new 700 at Dicks for <$400. They have a rebate pretty frequently. Came with a decent scope but later upgraded to a Millett.

Used to have a 710, that was a POS!

 

[Bubbaleone]

OP said "$500.00 budget, target use, iron sights". ATOT suggests maybe think about hunting, in the future (good idea):

Savage Arms Model 11F Hunter Rifles are some of the best hunting rifles money can buy. They are precision made and extremely accurate straight out of the box. Savage .243 Winchester rifles are ideal for hunting Whitetail Deer, Wild Boar, Mule Deer, Elk and is very effective for long range varmint hunting. Iron sights come standard. $509.99

 

[Analog]

Go to a gun show and see what you can find. Many times a non-dealer may be walking around with something that might suit your fancy and save you a lot of $$.

If you want the cheapest, I know that some of the Mosin Nagants that shoot a 7.62x54R (similar to a .30-06) are pretty cheap guns ~$100 depending on the make. These are bolt action rifles. I have a Polish one that is a carbine and literally shoots fire out the end of the barrel. A ton of fun. Open sights though.

 

[BladeVenom]

And .22 Mag is even cheaper.

Why not just a .22 LR. Ammo doesn't get cheaper than that. I hear CZ makes a nice one.

 

[caddlad]

Savage 110 is a fine rifle for the money. Most are very accurate out of the box.

 

[pontifex]

For a beginner I would get a 30-30 Winchester. I had one to start out and it is a good all around gun. You can get them cheep for like $200. I had a lot of fun with my 30-30. Mine was a Marlin lever action. Here is a good post about the type of gun I had.

http://survivalpreparednessblog.com/30-30-winchester-best-survival-gun

gotta love atot.

OP: looking for bolt action rifle
ATOT: How about this lever action?

 

[IEC]

Get the M28/76 - I bought one recently:
M28/76 at JG Sales

Warning:
Requires reloading 7.62x53R with .308 projectiles, compared to .311 projectiles in surplus and most commercial 7.62x54R.

A very sweet rifle but not for beginners.

 

[sjwaste]

I saw the Mosin Nagant mentioned. I will say that if you want a target rifle, this generally isn't it. It's cheap, but its production basically placed quantity over anything else - it wasn't particularly accurate brand new, and even a lot of the nicer looking ones are going to have dark bores or shot out barrels due to the corrosive primers used in pretty much all mil spec 54R produced over the service life of the weapon. You can find non-corrosive new production and surplus, but the rifle itself probably has thousands of rounds of corrosive primers already through it. You may get an accurate one, but it's quite literally a gamble.

The carbine length variants also have a TON of recoil. With the (stock) steel butt plate, you really may not want to put more than 10-15 rounds through it before you're ready to fire something else.

If you want something really cool and are into surplus, the Swiss issue K-31 is probably the most fun I've had with a surplus rifle. They were MOA accurate when new, and a lot of them still are because the weapons were well cared for. You may even get the original owner's tag under the butt plate. It's a straight pull bolt action, which is kind of cool too. The downside is that surplus GP-11 ammo runs about 50 cents a round. It's comparable to 7.62x54R or 30.06 in terms of firepower, but the rifle itself has enough mass so that recoil isn't an issue.

I still think the most fun rifles on the range are the K-31 for iron sight shooting, a 22 for plinking, and an SKS for semi-auto fun. You can shoot any of those 3 all day, too. All are well within your budget.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I saw the Mosin Nagant mentioned. I will say that if you want a target rifle, this generally isn't it. It's cheap, but its production basically placed quantity over anything else - it wasn't particularly accurate brand new, and even a lot of the nicer looking ones are going to have dark bores or shot out barrels due to the corrosive primers used in pretty much all mil spec 54R produced over the service life of the weapon. You can find non-corrosive new production and surplus, but the rifle itself probably has thousands of rounds of corrosive primers already through it. You may get an accurate one, but it's quite literally a gamble.

The carbine length variants also have a TON of recoil. With the (stock) steel butt plate, you really may not want to put more than 10-15 rounds through it before you're ready to fire something else.

If you want something really cool and are into surplus, the Swiss issue K-31 is probably the most fun I've had with a surplus rifle. They were MOA accurate when new, and a lot of them still are because the weapons were well cared for. You may even get the original owner's tag under the butt plate. It's a straight pull bolt action, which is kind of cool too. The downside is that surplus GP-11 ammo runs about 50 cents a round. It's comparable to 7.62x54R or 30.06 in terms of firepower, but the rifle itself has enough mass so that recoil isn't an issue.

I still think the most fun rifles on the range are the K-31 for iron sight shooting, a 22 for plinking, and an SKS for semi-auto fun. You can shoot any of those 3 all day, too. All are well within your budget.

You've obviously never played Call of Duty. I could hit a head from 300 meters with the Mosin Nagant consistently in my younger days.

 

[sjwaste]

You've obviously never played Call of Duty. I could hit a head from 300 meters with the Mosin Nagant consistently in my younger days.

I still play COD:UO Base Assault is one of my favorite multiplayer modes in any game, ever.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Worst product name ever.

If you think thats bad, you will love Hornadays latest line of ammo

 

[Nebor]

If you think thats bad, you will love Hornadays latest line of ammo

I know a company commander that has boxes of that stuff on his desk at work. :biggrin:

 

[Pocatello]

Centerfire cartridge like the .308 rounds aren't cheap to shoot, even mil surplus ammo are expensive. On the other hand, .22 LR is cheap, you can shoot hundreds of rounds per day without breaking the bank. Cz makes some awesome bolt action rifles in .22 LR. I have a Savage Mark II heavy barrel, I really like it for its accuracy.

 

[Kelvrick]

Centerfire cartridge like the .308 rounds aren't cheap to shoot, even mil surplus ammo are expensive. On the other hand, .22 LR is cheap, you can shoot hundreds of rounds per day without breaking the bank. Cz makes some awesome bolt action rifles in .22 LR. I have a Savage Mark II heavy barrel, I really like it for its accuracy.

I take my savage mark 2 out to 300 and its as hard to read the wind as my 308 at 600. Much cheaper than 308, even when using match 22lr but there is no way would I do it with irons.

That, and if he ever shoots steels at 200+, he is never going to knock those little rams or chickens down.

Oh, and sometimes the satisfaction just isn't there.

 

[Jeffg010]

Find me some $200 lever guns in 30-30 and I'll buy every one of them. The cheapest I've seen is a 35 year old beat to heck shot out Marlin for $250.




For just range work, .223 is more than enough. Lately I've been thinking of getting a 30-30 for hog hunting.

True you will have to go used but these guns are tough and will last. I have no problem with one used.

 

[KMc]

Savage 110 is a fine rifle for the money. Most are very accurate out of the box.

This.

I've owned mine for 17 years now and have harvested many, many deer with it. I've never had a miss and never needed a follow-up shot. I know you aren't looking for a hunting gun, but it speaks volumes on the accuracy and dependability of the model. One thing you should spend a little more on is the optics, particularly for target work.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

17 hmr vs 22 mag, go

DingDingDingDingDingDingDing

 

[dud]

I saw the Mosin Nagant mentioned. I will say that if you want a target rifle, this generally isn't it. It's cheap, but its production basically placed quantity over anything else - it wasn't particularly accurate brand new, and even a lot of the nicer looking ones are going to have dark bores or shot out barrels due to the corrosive primers used in pretty much all mil spec 54R produced over the service life of the weapon. You can find non-corrosive new production and surplus, but the rifle itself probably has thousands of rounds of corrosive primers already through it. You may get an accurate one, but it's quite literally a gamble.

OP, here is another vote for the MN. A friend and I each bought ourselves one for about $110 (hex receiver, lates '20s vintage). The guns came in 9/10 shape with very little cosmo on them. The guns are great, accurate shooters ... just ask the "White Ghost", that Finnish sniper who knocked off about 700 Russians with his (with no scope) back in the late '30s. My rifle is over 80 years old and the barrel/rifling looks almost new.

On the issue of "corrosive" primers ... the primer used in the 54R round is NOT corrosive. The round leaves salt deposits within the barrel during firing. Salt attracts water and water causes corrosion (i.e. rust). All you have to do is clean the barrel out after each use.

As for the MN being a gamble ... these guns cost next-to-nothing to buy and maintain. They are combat assualt rifles built to be used in absolutely horrible conditions and still shoot. Fro the money these are a great value.

 

[Tsaico]

Man, ATOT has a lot to say about guns... lol, but I digress. I was looking around, and it seems more and more, my usage looks to be better with the 22. Mainly for cost and still target shots. The rounds for a 30-06 is almost a dollar (at 100 rounds a time), 308 is currently 45 cents a round for me , vs 15 cents at a 22. I didn't even think of that. The lighter recoil also sound nice. I have a 12 gauge shotgun that is fun as all hell to shoot trap and skeet with, but after a while, my shoulder gets a little sore after an hour or so. My first shotgun was a nice used piece, so I have no problem with a used gun.

And as for hunting, the only thing Southern Cali allows for is coyotes, and only in a couple of areas. Outside of that, I would have to drive 5+ hours or out of state to do anything larger in Co. With that comes a couple of problems,
1- I only one one other person who even owns a gun let alone wants to go game hunting and if I get into trouble, would rather have someone with me,
2- I don't know and don't really care to learn to dress a kill,
3- I am not carrying back game meat in my car for a 5-7 hour drive, and I would also rather not just let it rot out in the wilderness.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Hunt or assassinations?

 

[Bulk Beef]

200 yards will really be pushing it for a .22. Great for practice at shorter ranges though.

Do you want to ring 8" steel gongs at 200, or shoot little ragged holes?

 

[Tsaico]

200 yards will really be pushing it for a .22. Great for practice at shorter ranges though.

Do you want to ring 8" steel gongs at 200, or shoot little ragged holes?

I was thinking of self setting gongs. That is part of the reason, why I want to keep it around $500 for the gun itself, because a lot of these targets are a 100-200 range. If I spend more on the gun, then less for targets. I will end up getting hanging hinge type if the better gun is found vs self setting. To tell you the truth, 200 yds is really farther than I could probably do with iron sights anyhow.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Glass / Polycarbonate Security Glazing
Threat side - Shot from the side shown
No Complete Penetration of both
9mm and .22 cal. LR rounds

Ceramic Metal Matrix Composite Armor
Threat side - No Complete Penetration
of 7.62x51 NATO round