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Need help finding a first rifle.

A

aznmunkay

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Hello, I joined this forum because I need help finding a good first rifle. I live in Massachusetts, my budget is up to $400. I also want a rifle that's good for home defence, semi-automatic and magazine fed. I appreciate any helpful comments and suggestions.
 
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It is going to be tough to meet all of your criteria and stick to your budget.

A great first rifle is a Ruger 10/22 and it is within your budget, but may not be the best choice for home defense. Not that anyone wants to get shot with a 22 rifle, but most would want something that shoots a larger caliber.

You can't go wrong with a pump action shotgun. It is good for home defense and can serve multiple purposes.

It sounds like you would prefer an AR-15 but you would need to increase you budget to about $600 for an entry level rifle ( M&P sport)
 
You can get one of those Hi Point rifles in 9mm, and have money left over for ammo.
 
Unless you live in rural area, i would caution against AR for HD.

have you considered a shotgun?
 
Keep saving,
My first real rifle was a Glenfield 25 22lr. The first centerfire rifle I bought was a sks.
If I where you I would try to narrow down your needs.
If 400$ is all you have what about ammo and accessories?

The high point 9mm carbine is a fun gun. I love shooting my friends hi point.
 
Keep in mind here in massachusetts due to the AWB many low cost options are not MA offered in MA compliant versions. I know N-PAP ak variants are advertised for 450 or so online and in free states but again no compliance. I would also advise you to inherently go used due to budget. Good luck.
 
how about a kel-tec sub2000?

a fun, foldable carbine. I keep one as a trunk gun with a total of 3-33 round glock mags and it all fits in a briefcase.

New, they are just over $400 MSRP. you can find them used for $350-500

sub-2000-1.jpg

sub-2000-2.jpg
 
Wait and save up for an AR, a used M&P Sport should not be much more than $450-500. If you don't mind a .22 the Ruger 10/22 is nice and there is an AR version. Also that Kel Tec above looks pretty sweet.
 
I would humbly suggest a .22 rifle for a first rifle. I'm presuming you don't have much shooting experience (and am quite willing to be corrected if I'm wrong). A .22 is still cheaper to practice with than a centerfire rifle using factory ammo, even with the hoarding that is *still* going on. It doesn't have the recoil (not really an issue with a .223/5.56 AR) or the muzzle blast (which can be an issue with an AR). I would suggest saving another $200 or so and get a 10/22 and an AR. Replace the sights on the 10/22 with Tech Sights so you have the same basic sight picture as the AR and use it for a lot of practice.
 
As others have said, partly it depends on where you live. If you are in urban or most suberban area you should propably stick to either a pistol cartridige carbine (like the hi-points or the keltec sub 2000) that you can run hollow points though (or better yet the polly tipped ones are supposedly better for drywall) or a basic shotgun (running PDX loads or some other deffensive rounds NOT SLUG).
If you live out in the middle of no where by yourself, buy a Nagant and shoot through the wall, the bad guy, the next 3 walls, the barn 2 miles away and still have enough power to take out the guy truck...

Honestly a modern sproting rifle would be best, depending on your ability and habits. An AR can be veary accurate out to a decent range, but requires regualr maintince. An AK uses slightly cheaper ammo, and requires less maintence but dosnt aim as well (normaly has a shorter sight radius and more 'play' in the parts). Most other semi-rifles are going to be bigger and heavyer then those and harder to move around, but have better range and accuracy... just my .02
 
i think an sks is a great first rifle. no mags though. for home defence i would look into a shot gun. people mentioned high points is also a good choice.
 
aznmunkay said:
Hello, I joined this forum because I need help finding a good first rifle. I live in Massachusetts, my budget is up to $400. I also want a rifle that's good for home defence, semi-automatic and magazine fed. I appreciate any helpful comments and suggestions.
Click to expand...

Tell us more, please, about your ambitions. Do you need to learn marksmanship? Are you protecting an apartment, house, or country property? Are you also interested in sport shooting, hunting, or plinking? Do you expect $400 to cover all your needs? Ammo, storage, accessories, club membership, or range fees included?
 
Thank you for the replies everyone. As for more details, I live in a suburban enviroment, I do need to learn marksmanship, I'm defending a small house. And $400 is my budget estimate for the rifle itself.
 
Chrisf350 said:
You can build an ar for around 400$ pretty easily


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

With all due respect, that is an incredibly misleading statement. Sure, you "can" probably piece together a rifle that cheap using all low end stuff like PTAC, but there is no way to build a complete rifle including sights and magazines for that. Just a set of budget sights are close to $100 by themselves, same with an optic. The lowest I would ever tell someone they can budget for a decent AR is around $600 for something like a M&P Sport, or a similar build. Very few first time people would be able to build one cheaper without having the experience of knowing what to buy, and where to source the best deals for quality components. For instance, it's very tough to even find a decent complete upper for that $400 you quoted, because just a decent BCG is going to be about $100 minimum. If I was going to build more than just a range plinker, not something to defend my life with, it wouldn't be with extreme budget components, that's for sure!

OP, as stated by others, about the only decent center fire rifle that meets your criteria is going to be something like the Hipoint carbine. The nice thing about that is if you buy it in the same caliber as whatever handgun you plan to buy (or already own), you don't have to stock too many calibers. A pistol caliber carbine is also practical for home defence because you have more accuracy and control than a handgun, without such a powerful round that it is going to keep going and kill one of your neighbors like a 308, 5.56, etc. can. As mentioned, a decent pump shotgun can fit your budget and makes a great HD tool as well as a fun range toy. If you really want an AR, then you should plan on a minimum of about $1000 to have a decent rifle with appropriate accessories to make it serviceable as a HD gun and good for range work too.

A few guys mentioned the Sub 2000. That should be considered as well because it has the advantage of being able to use the same magazines as several popular pistols including Glocks, Beretta, S&W, etc. depending on the version, pre-ban high capacity mags are also available, which you can't have with the Highpoint. The major downside is that the Sub 2000 is not easy to find, and even though msrp is in the $350-$400 range, it is nearly impossible to actually buy one, even used for that price because of the high demand/low availability.
 
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Thank you again for all the replies everyone! So far I'm liking the idea of pistol caliber rifles, are there any other 9mm rifles in my budget besides a Hipoint, and a Sub 2000? Just wondering because the Sub2000s are hard to find, and the looks of the Hipoint is kinda unappealing to me.
 
aznmunkay said:
Thank you again for all the replies everyone! So far I'm liking the idea of pistol caliber rifles, are there any other 9mm rifles in my budget besides a Hipoint, and a Sub 2000? Just wondering because the Sub2000s are hard to find, and the looks of the Hipoint is kinda unappealing to me.
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Sadly most of the ones that look "better" are outside your $400 budget. I don't have one yet, but I rather like how the hipoints look.
 
Id totally love to shoot a hi point carbine. Save up and build an AR in 9mm. Better yet, 10mm of you can find it. :)
 
fencer said:
It is going to be tough to meet all of your criteria and stick to your budget.

A great first rifle is a Ruger 10/22 and it is within your budget, but may not be the best choice for home defense. Not that anyone wants to get shot with a 22 rifle, but most would want something that shoots a larger caliber.

You can't go wrong with a pump action shotgun. It is good for home defense and can serve multiple purposes.

It sounds like you would prefer an AR-15 but you would need to increase you budget to about $600 for an entry level rifle ( M&P sport)
Click to expand...

+1. This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say.
 
sweed said:
Id totally love to shoot a hi point carbine. Save up and build an AR in 9mm. Better yet, 10mm of you can find it. :)
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^^^if you really want a pistol caliber carbine this would be the best way to go and you could use a compatible lower for multiple different caliber uppers in the future...the hi point is the cheapest option...like was said a shotgun or a M&P AR would be good without spending too much...even buying a glock with a carbine conversion kit would be expensive and i'm not sure how accurate/reliable they are
 
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If its just the look that you dont like, dont forget that the Hipoint has two differnt factory stocks (the recent one more tactikool then the older version) plus there are a veary few after market stocks that I have seen here and there.
 
aznmunkay said:
Thank you again for all the replies everyone! So far I'm liking the idea of pistol caliber rifles, are there any other 9mm rifles in my budget besides a Hipoint, and a Sub 2000? Just wondering because the Sub2000s are hard to find, and the looks of the Hipoint is kinda unappealing to me.
Click to expand...

There aren't any others that I know of in that budget. You could build a 9mm AR, but it would likely cost more than a center fire version. The good thing about the AR is that you can build one as you can afford to, which is how I built my first one. You can start for as little as $100, or even less buying a lower receiver, then a parts kit to finish it, add a stock and buffer tube, and be complete for $250 (sometimes less if you jump on sales or used stuff). After that it's just waiting for the right upper to come along, which right now is a great time to build because the market is flooded with them. The important part is that you can collect pieces as your budget allows and end up with a way better rifle than you can afford right now, you just don't have instant gratification. Another option no one has mentioned is going with a M&P 15-22, which is a .22 AR. It will fit your budget, get you familiar with the operation of a regular center fire version, but it will be cheaper to feed. Probably not the best HD weapon, but still preferable to a club or pointy stick! I have one, and it's a great gun for the money, and awesome to train new shooters since it has not much more recoil than a pellet gun.
 
Another option that came to mind was a nice used 30-30 lever action rifle. I bought a barely used Marlin 336c from a member here for $350. Early 80's model.

It is a sweet rifle and 30-30 will knock down damn near everything in North America.

I also have a Winchester 94 Trapper that is a handy little rifle that easily rings the gong at 100 yards, is a great round if you had to put meat on the table or repel ghetto goblins.
 

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