First gun.

[SSJwrestler]

Hey y'all. I'm looking to buy my first gun soon, for no particular purpose, but I was wondering what some of you veterans' first guns were.

[SuperMidget]

.22 lr. Enough said. You can literally put two or three thousand rounds through it in a day and spend about $40.

My specific first gun was a J.C. Higgins model 103.something from Sears and Roebuck. A friend of my dad's gave it to me when I was three. In 17 years I have put well over two million rounds through it and turned a rifled barrel into a smooth bore. It'll still hit a quarter at 50 ft. though. That gun is broken and beat up, but I'll never get rid of it. It's a perfect gun to start a new shooter. Single shot (loading tray has been missing for quite a few years) with an exposed hammer makes it damn near impossible to AD. Believe me I have honestly tried, safely of course.

So yeah, my recomendation if you want a great gun to learn the basics is a .22 probably a rifle to start. Ammo is cheap enough that you can shoot all day and not spend more than a $10 to $20.

[MrTuffPaws]

Well, it depends on what you want it for and if you want a hand gun or a long gun.

If you just want to learn to shoot, then .22lr. For either long gun or hand gun, you cannot go wrong with a .22lr.

If you want it for home defense, then you are look at a 357 mag revolver for a hand gun choice. No frills, reliable, and you can also shoot 38 special out of it. For the long gun choice, go for either a pump or auto 12-gage shotgun.

If you are looking for a handgun to carry, then a 9mm semiauto will do you well. Some say a minimum of .40 or .45, but in reality a 9mm with +P+ hollow points is just as deadly. Plus you will practice more due to the ammo being cheaper.

If you want something to make your dick feel big, then get a 50 cal pistol or long gun.

[sailor]

.22LR. Nothing better to learn on. Excellent plinking gun, lots of fun, and cheap.

Shotguns can be a lot of fun, too. Shooting skeet is one of my favorite activities. Go find a decent 12 guage, and find a local range that offers skeet shooting.

Whatever you end up getting, make sure you learn to properly and safely use it. If you didnt grow up learning how to use firearms, classes are probably a good idea.

[SSJwrestler]

don't worry about gun safety, I'm no novice in handling guns. I;ve been hunting since I was 8 and competitively shooting since 10. How about a first hunting rifle. I've used everything from a 30-30 to a 7mm Mauser, and have found success with all the guns, but they were my dad's and I kinda want my own. Ideas on first hunting rifle?

[SuperMidget]

Hunting what?

For mule deer and whitetail (and the various littler critters) :
Long to medium Range
.308 Win is hard to beat
.30-06 is classic
.270 is a good choice
.243 nice easy shooter
.223 Easily knockdown to 250 yds.
6mm Rem good all around cartridge

Short Range:
.30-30 Enough said
.44 Rem Mag great short range brush buster

Elk to moose sized game:
.45-70 Shorter range gun
.300 Magnums Excellent knockdown power
7mm Magnums nice flat shooters
.375 H&H Mag, a bit of a beast to shoot
.338 Win Mag beats smaller shooters like the proverbial red-headed step child


There's a short list of cartridges that will cover damn near anything you wish to hunt. Most of those cartridges are easy to find at any wal-mart and every gun shop will have them. The only exception being the 6mm Remington. I love that cartridge. More powerful than the .243 Win but just as easy on the shoulder.

As for rifles, Price to Performance you really cannot beat the Remington 700. If you think you need a more accurate gun as time goes on, a Remington is great. Parts are extremely easy to find, and most every competent gunsmith can work on it.

[blockmaan2000]

My first was a Browning Auto-22. Great gun. .22's make the best first guns. Cheap, accurate, not much recoil.



block

[lightning]

Try a .300 savage. It's a good all purpose gun. Good range, excellent punch, and very durable. I've got a pump and have hit white-tail deer with two shots at 200 yards. It has a smooth action that does hurt my aim much.

[Lebell]

If I was looking for a first hunting rifle, I would look for something in a .308 Winchester, probably a Remington 700.

[TequilaJr]

I kinda went balls out with my first gun: a .40S&W Glock 22. Got up really early on my 21st birthday to make a run to the gun store. I still have that gun 7 years later. Many other guns have come and gone, but that one stays.

[31Friction]

my first was a Ruger 10/22 <3 that gun...

[kel]

I went ballz out to. I bought a .357 sig Glock. I never really got very good at shooting it, and I am looking to trade/sell it for a tamer caliber. Also considering buying a barrel/magazine replacement so I can do multiple calibers.

[Moonduck]

If you want an easier shoot with your current set-up, buy a .40 S&W barrel as it should be a drop-in. The .40 shoots very easily, is the same length as you .357 Sig and same case base diameter (as the .357 Sig is only a necked down .40 S&W). I am not certain, but your existing mags may work with .40, just don't quote me on that untilk you try as the feed lips on the mag may not care for the .40's wider case mouth.

[kel]

Moonduck, wouldn't .40 be harder to shoot? The larger round would have more impulse wouldn't it? I was thinking of 9MM. That is possible right?

[monkeysugar]

My first gun was a New England Firearms single shot, break action 20 GA shotgun, followed by an old Marlin bolt action .22 For a first gun, I agree with pretty much everyone here that you can't go wrong with a .22LR, for all the merits mentioned above.

As far as a first hunting rifle goes, it really depends on the application. I'm pretty partial to my 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser

(model 94, all matching #'s, bore condition 2, Carl Gustof factory for those who are interested in old mausers)

This caliber is pretty versitile, and from what I have found it is very popular in Sweden for Moose hunting. It has a very gentle recoil, and for me it is a highly accurate. A slight disadvantage is that they are a bit cumbersome and heavy due in part to the full lengh stock. However, many sporter conversions are available, and there are quite a few on the market that have already been sporterized.

[Moonduck]

Bigger bullet doesn't necessarily mean harder to shoot. The .357 Sig has higher muzzle velocity, meaning more muzzle flip usually (ie tendency of the nose of the gun to jump upwards). That is the biggest factor most people think of when considering "harsh" recoil in light calibres like you find in mid-size Glocks. The .40 S&W has higher bullet weaight meanign less velocity and less flip, but will prduce more push (push is the gun actually pushing back into your hand). Given the way a Glock (and any other polymer framed gun) is designed, flip tends to be much worse than push.

In essence, all of a Glock's weight lies in two areas, the slide assembly, and the magazine (though the magazine changes weight as the rounds are fired). The frame weight is minimal. This means that all of the constant weight sits at the bore line (the barrel axis is called the bore line) and is thus above your hand. If you are familiar with the idea of center of gravity, you rapidly realize that a Glock's CoG is above your hand. With no real mass in your hand to help stabilize the action, the gun flips up more. There is no real way to correct this problem, so you really just have to train your way around it.

The push side of the equation is another story in Glocks. The polymer frame is VERY good at flexing (by design) and absorbing an awful lot of push, and thus felt recoil. If you were to fire a .357 Sig in a full steel-framed pistol (if such a thing is produced), you would find less muzzle flip, but more impact on your actual hand. The Glock eats push, this makes them much less painful to those sensitive to recoil, even if muzzle flip is a problem.

So, I would try switching to .40 S&W as you might find the increased push much more tolerable than the muzzle flip problem that you are likely experiencing. Personally, I find that all mid-range calibres in non-concealment pieces are negligible, but I've been shooting for 20+ years (much of it with magnum revolvers), so my recoil tolerance is higher than most. Muzzle flip is just as irritating to me as it is you though, so I've had to learn to work around it with my Glock.

Like I said, give it a go in .40 S&W, the experiment might save you some money, and if not, you can recap some of the outlay from the added value of a calibre conversion.

[SSJTWIZTA]

Check out a 7.62x39

[Jerpitcher]

Yeah, my first rifle was a .22LR as well, they might not be powerful, but for can plinkin', you can't get any better!

[Hellcattx]

Marlin Model 60. I got it 30 years ago, and it still looks like new!

[Mustis]

I'd recommend getting a .22 LR to start out with. Either a rifle or pistol - rifle: Ruger 10/22 - great gun. pistol: Browning Buckmark. Just my two cents, but .22's are cheap and accurate - plus there a number of oppurtunities for competition with .22 LR pistols and rifles.

- M

P.S.
I am currently competing in a .22 LR NRA Bullseye Postal League. Results are posted Here
(Me = Jonathan Holen (Wildlife))

[WarWagon]

I'm going to ditto the Remington 700 in .308. Accurate as all heck, TONS of parts for them, and you can drop them in to just about anything. I dropped a .223 700 action into an Anschutz smallbore competition rifle stock for a highpower match rifle and was whooping up on everybody at 200 yds.

[Strange Famous]

if you arent a very good shot, are you allowed to go hunting using an AK47 or a grenade launcher?

[Lebell]

Originally posted by Strange Famous
if you arent a very good shot, are you allowed to go hunting using an AK47 or a grenade launcher?

I'll treat it like a serious post, even tho I know what it is.


No.

First, if you are talking about an automatic AK, (regulated by the 1934 Act and harder than hell to get, not to mention probably over 10k), automatic weapons are not allowed for hunting.

If you are talking about a semi-automatic AK, then while the caliber would be sufficient and there would be no theoretical restrictions, it would be plain silly since the AK loses in accuracy what it makes up for in fault tolerance.

And while a grenade launcher might be legal, the grenades for it would not. And hunting with it would not be legal.

[Dostoevsky]

My father gave me an old Mossberg bolt action .410 shotgun for my 7th birthday. I was awfully proud that day, still love that gun. It's been in the family for about 50 years now. My first handgun was a Glock 21 (full size .45) that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago. I love that gun too. Come to think of it, I love all my guns...

-Dostoevsky

[BoomTruck]

My first gun that I actually owned was a .30-30 Winchester I got for christmas many years ago. My first handgun I owned was a S&W .41 Mag that I traded a 2-man boat for. (I got the better end of the deal on that one. )

As far as rifles go, I would definetley give Savage a look. Hell of a good rifle for the money.

[-z3r0-]

The first gun I owned was a 12 gauge shotgun
First gun I ever shot was a 357 mag