First Gun

M

MMcCarthy_9

I'm new to shooting and just recently qualified for my FID. I know a lot of it is personal preference but I'm just looking for a little bit of guidance on what I should look for in my first firearm purchase. I'm really just looking for something easy to shoot and maintain. My cap is around $800 but if I can't find a great gun for cheaper that would be great. I know I'm limited to pump shotguns and low capacity rifles so any help within these categories would be greatly appreciated.
 
off topic but why did you settle on just the FID? You need the same qualifications for either FID or LTC and they are both $100?
 
Depends on what you want to do; plinking, hunting, etc. For $800.00 dollars, you can get both a decent shotgun for hunting and a decent rifle in .22lr for plinking. Basic Ruger 10/22 is about $300 and a Remington 870 12ga is about $400. Welcome and good luck.
 
true, didn't even think of that

This! +1

or you could get a cheaper mossy500 and a 22 rifle and have money left over for ammo! you can find some mossy's for under 300 and 10/22 used market for under 300. Just my 2 cents. I had a 10/22 takedown and it was an awesome edition in the 10/22 line. Remin 870 for me is next for shotty tho.
 
A .22 certainly is a great way to go. You will be able to shoot it a bunch and I'm sure your budget to feed it at 19 you have other things you could spend you money on. +1 on you getting your FID and not waiting till 21 to get your collection started.
 
What do you want to use if for: target shooting, hunting (what?), zombie defense, civil war reenactments?

For target shooting, a 10/22 would be best but some places won't sell them to FID holders--there's a thread here about that. But there are other, .22 rifles you can get for short money. It should last you a life time. I still shoot my 10/22 on a regular basis--it's just so fun and cheap ammo.

Give that some time then maybe a bolt action savage in 308, if you have a range over 100 yds and wand to get into some longer range target shooting. Or a shotty like a Remington 870 for skeet/trap/hunting in Mass.
 
any 22 rifle, autoloader or bolt...perhaps even a nice lever? a pump shotty in 12 or 20ga weather it be a BPS, mossy 500, rem 870, or even one of the lower end weatherby's would be nice! a nice economic center fire rifle would be a bolt in .223, such as a savage axis. lots of options buddy!

+1 for getting the FID!

Dom
 
I'd grab a used 10/22 for plinking, a cheap $200 NE Pardner Pump for trap, and then you might just have enough left over for a clunker AK if you can find a deal.

You can get nicer stuff later, but for now you can have a lot of different types of fun for short money.
 
M1 Garand of course, but will eat up your whole budget. Second choice would be, Mosin Nagant for $99 bucks(880 rd surplus ammo for about $200) and a used 22 rifle. Plenty of cash left over for more ammo or another gun. The Mosin will let you know if you like high power or not. Plenty of kick and noise. Another good choice would an SKS for under $400. Neat looking and 10 rd semi auto(cheap mans M1), cheap ammo.
 
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Ruger 10/22 great rifle, cheap to shoot, and it can grow with you if you decide to make improvements on it.
 
I'll echo the .22 bolt action - I just picked up a Marlin xt-22 that I've yet to shoot.

A 10-22 is always a good choice as well.

Grab a mosin in addition to that and spend the rest on ammo/accessories.
 
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