New target/range rifle shooter-what to buy?-

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It seems like most would suggest getting a 10/22, out of the gate, and that makes sense for ammo cost and shooting comfort and skill up. However with this gun I would be tempted to also pick up something a little heftier as sort of a fun variant at the range. Price wise the obvious choices seem to be old military surplus (mosin-nagant, k-98, sks, swiss k-31).
The problem is when i have the money on me I think well, maybe i should just get a saiga .223 or maybe spend the extra dough and get a ruger mini 14. I also historically get completely side tracked by the m1 carbine, and am tempted to get one of those as well.
I do like the idea of a semi-auto, but i would not want to spend more than 600-700 total.
Too make a long story short..
What would you do if you had that money and knowing what you know now, what would be your first purchase or purchases? A couple of $300 guns or one 600-700 or something in between?

I appreciate the input in advance. Trying to take advantage of my wait for state papers to get a focus on what i want to buy. I consider myself a good researcher but I am a somewhat newb in actual shooting.
 
I love my Savage 10FP-SR in .308 Win. So my suggestions are biased towards Savage products. Excelent accuracy at a very reasonable cost. I say a Savage 93R17 TR (96772), or a Savage Axis in .223 Win (19228).
 
It seems like most would suggest getting a 10/22, out of the gate, and that makes sense for ammo cost and shooting comfort and skill up. However with this gun I would be tempted to also pick up something a little heftier as sort of a fun variant at the range. Price wise the obvious choices seem to be old military surplus (mosin-nagant, k-98, sks, swiss k-31).
The problem is when i have the money on me I think well, maybe i should just get a saiga .223 or maybe spend the extra dough and get a ruger mini 14. I also historically get completely side tracked by the m1 carbine, and am tempted to get one of those as well.
I do like the idea of a semi-auto, but i would not want to spend more than 600-700 total.
Too make a long story short..
What would you do if you had that money and knowing what you know now, what would be your first purchase or purchases? A couple of $300 guns or one 600-700 or something in between?

I appreciate the input in advance. Trying to take advantage of my wait for state papers to get a focus on what i want to buy. I consider myself a good researcher but I am a somewhat newb in actual shooting.

600-700 will get you an AR if you shop right. You would be hard pressed to beat the versatility of the AR platform for your dollar spent. .223 is cheap/available and you could always swap uppers for a different caliber later.

If a bolt is your thing the Rem 700 or any of the Savages are good. If you shooting 300yds or under you can go with a .223/5.56 caliber. Save yourself the cash on the .308/.30-06 as its not needed if your just shooting paper at 100-300 yds.

My personal suggestion is a M1 Garand, which can also be had at the 600-700 if you shop right. Fun to shoot, surplus ammo is reasonable inexpensive, and if you take care of your rifle it will only be worth more later

The biggest question is what do you "expect" out of this rifle? are you looking to become a proficient shooter and looking for accuracy or just a gun that "holds lots of big bullets"?
 
600-700 will get you an AR if you shop right. You would be hard pressed to beat the versatility of the AR platform for your dollar spent. .223 is cheap/available and you could always swap uppers for a different caliber later.

If a bolt is your thing the Rem 700 or any of the Savages are good. If you shooting 300yds or under you can go with a .223/5.56 caliber. Save yourself the cash on the .308/.30-06 as its not needed if your just shooting paper at 100-300 yds.

My personal suggestion is a M1 Garand, which can also be had at the 600-700 if you shop right. Fun to shoot, surplus ammo is reasonable inexpensive, and if you take care of your rifle it will only be worth more later

The biggest question is what do you "expect" out of this rifle? are you looking to become a proficient shooter and looking for accuracy or just a gun that "holds lots of big bullets"?

To answer your question : I have no need to have huge bang or power. I would rather be able to become a proficient shooter with accuracy. I would also like to be able to go to the range for a good period of time without wearing myself out yet still get some of that 'whoa' enjoyment out of the gun. To me, overly tactical looking or holding huge amounts of ammo is not important yet I would like semi-auto. The M1 Garand idea is appealing for sure but they seem almost rare now to find. Something came yesterday in looking around as well, any thoughts on Kel-Tec's su-16 series?
 
I'd still purchase a 10/22 (a 10/22 was my first rifle 30 years ago, and I still have it). I'd stay away from the K-31, though, unless you plan to reload right out of the gate. I seem to recall hearing that surplus ammo for those is getting hard to find. An AR-15 is a good buy although question that you can get one for under $700 without putting it together yourself.

The M1 Garand idea is appealing for sure but they seem almost rare now to find.

Not at all. You can get one from the Civilian Marksmanship Program for about $523 (or higher, depending on the grade you order) delivered to your door.

Step one: Attend an Appleseed Shoot - at most, $70. Bring that 10/22. This is "marksmanship activity" and you get a certificate you can copy and supply as proof.
CMP website said:
You must provide proof of participation in a marksmanship related activity or otherwise show familiarity with the safe handling of firearms and range procedures.

Step 2 - join RWVA (the folks who bring you Project Appleseed) or GOAL (if you're in MA). This is "Membership in CMP Affiliated Organization".
You must provide a copy of your current membership card or other proof of membership. This requirement cannot be waived. The CMP currently has over 2,000 affiliated organizations located in many parts of the country.

Step 3: Order your Garand and enjoy. http://www.thecmp.org/m1garand.htm Don't forget to order ammo for it, too.
 
Question to op, what distance are you plan to shoot with your new rifle? If you just shoot indoor range, a 10/22 is fun and cheap to shoot. The rifle selection will be broader if you shoot at an outdoor range with 50 or more yards.


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My immediate reaction is you should start with a bolt-action rifle. Why? Because I started with a bolt action rifle. So, not a very good reason. My reason for mentioning is that most of the answers you will get will reflect other people's experience, and it's not a substitute for figuring out for yourself what you want.

My only real advice is to get involved with some sort of group or program that involves instruction, formal or informal.
 
Get a decent .17HMR bolt rifle, like a Savage, with a good scope on it. It will be more accurate for a longer range than a .22LR, yet not be a total bank breaker for ammunition. Plus, you could hunt rabbit and squirrel with it if you wanted, and it is easy if you wanted to let others shoot it who might be recoil sensitive.
 
After reading what you want to accomplish as a shooter, I have to agree with the suggestion of the AR-15. Shop around now that the panic buying seems to be past us. 223 is most a good affordable all around caliber to 600 yards, with handloads, and to 300 with available match ammo. A 1/8 twist barrel will shoot 55 to 80 grain bullets. As mentioned, you can change uppers for many different calibers these days. All it takes is pushing a couple pins and money. 22lr, 223, 6.5 grendel, 6.8 spc, 762x39, and 450 grizzly to mention a few of the more popular. I have a flat top with a carry handle including match sights. Best all around configuration i can think of..
 
The thing to remember is that your first gun is probably not going to be your last gun. A lot of people, myself included, started off with a bolt action .22 rifle. Bolt action guns are really cool and a lot of fun to shoot. You can shoot .22 all day without going broke. I find the beautiful wood and blued steel of the nicer bolt action guns to be quite beautiful.

Someone called .223/5.56mm affordable, and I suppose it is if you consider spending 30 to 40 cents PER SHOT to be cheap. I don't. I still like to shoot 5.56, but cheap it ain't. At least to my limited resources.

So, I say get a .22 rifle that you like and a bunch of ammo and targets and some nice safety glasses and hearing protection, and enjoy shooting for a while. You will gradually develop preferences and interests, and you can let those guide your second purchase.
 
This is actually my list of what I started with
Glenfield model 25 bolt action 22lr with a cheap tasco scope. This gun by far has been the most shot and some of the most fun plinking I have ever done. Do not rule out any of the older 22s out there. Look around. heres a few to keep your eye open for if you want to go ultra affordable
Almost any Glenfield,JC higgens, sears branded 22s they are clones of a lot of the 22s of the day.
For a bolt gun try finding a tube fed as they hold aprox 14 rounds. Marlin 22 autos , remington 552 speedmaster or even the pumpmaster great little gun but tough to find cheap.
2. Remington 870 express 12g 28" barrel modified choke about as close as you can get for a do all shotty
3. SKS it was the only semi auto I could aford and ammo was close to free @ the time.
What I got after that is really not inportant. I can say though I still have these 3 guns. Many others have came and went. I never got the 10/22 bug

Now move on you want to get into blasting a larger cal and have sort of affordable ammo
Mosin Nagant the ones that run about 150.00 at dealers and tins of 440 rounds for under 100.00( my personal choice for a large cal semi thats easy to get CMP SERVICE GRADE M1 GARAND surplus ammo from the cmp runs about .53rnd shipped)
I never got into the larger cal bolt guns but have had a growing interest in older military guns. A 1903-A3 can be found for a decent price

based on price alone for a semi, you may want to explore the sks and saiga's ?
I agree with many posters knowing what I know now------GET A GARAND I did finally and said WTF have I been waiting for. I reload for it now along with my AR
 
As a quick side track to the topic,I want to say thank you,to all the replies. I fully appreciate and am pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of this forum, considering this was my first post.
 
We're a pretty friendly bunch. If you want to be REALLY pleasantly surprised, become a paid member and attend some of the members only shoots. It's an amazingly friendly bunch of [STRIKE]knuckle-dragging, Neanderthal throwbacks[/STRIKE] folks we gunowners are.
 
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