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So I want to buy my first gun....
Katholic
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I am about to turn 18 and I want to make my first gun purchase. I live in california and I want it to be possibly for both hunting/protection (if possible). I don't have a huge budget, but I wonder if anyone has some advice/good links to find out more about purchasing a gun.
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and safety should be your number 1 concern, above all else
a cheap gun would be a .22 rifle or pistol. The ammo is dirt cheap and it's simple enough to learn how to operate over a short period of time.
seriously though, if you don't know how to maintain and clean, safetly use etc a gun, it's going to malfunction and possibly injure someone you care deeply about
I would advise getting a .22 rifle and signing up for a safety course to go along with it as your first firearm. As you get used to that, you will be able to better learn about what would be right for your needs/wants.
A lot of people recommend a bolt action over a semi-auto for a first gun too. Something to keep in mind.
Can vouch deeply for the Ruger .22 pistol. Got it for christmas, very classy and easy to use pistol. Plinking has never been as fun.
I'll second that, for the additional reasons that bolt-action rifles are typically more accurate and easier to clean -- not that cleaning is a huge concern with a .22, but you should use your first gun as a platform for building good maintainence skills, as well as good safety skills. Plus, as several people have mentioned, with a decent scope (or not, depending on your preference/skill), a good .22 rifle will be great for small game hunting.
A .22 will not be good for personal protection, but that honestly shouldn't be your concern when buying a first gun. If you haven't shot much before, you won't have the skills or discipline to use a firearm effectively in a defensive situation. It will, however, be cheap to shoot and maintain, and will help you build good safety and cleaning habits that will make the transition to a larger caliber weapon much smoother and safer.
It is just a sensible choice. Its cheap, fun, ammo is cheap, less daunting to clean than a more complicated or larger caliber weapon.
I agree heartily as well, that if you've never owned your own fire arm, you shouldn't be basing your first purchase on home defense. Learn gun safety, cleaning and maintaining practices, storage. All that good stuff
As for a good hunting rifle look for anything from Winchester, Remington or Ruger. They make some pretty good rifles. If you can get a hold of a Mauser or Springfield 30-06 then your golden. Those rifles will basically bring anything from a prong-horned antelope to a caribou down.
As far as calibers to look for try to find any thing from a .270 to a .308 any thing bigger and your a long range sniper, or shooting water buffalo.
For home defense I'd look at an m-4 carbine (the civilian style)a shotgun or a pistol. Your mini-14 will do the job just fine but a pistol is better for close range and won't splatter bad-guy all over hell and creation like a shot gun. I'd look at Berreta or springfield for good quality pistols. As for shotguns just about anythig will do but Berreta makes one bitchin auto loder (thats a semi auto shotgun)
"Those who are willing to give up essential liberties for a little safety diserve neither liberty nor safety"-Benjamin Franklin
As you are 18, you cannot yet legally purchase a handgun in the US. Only rifles and shotguns. So I'm going to get on the bandwagon here and say look at a .22 bolt action. They're simple, effective, cheap and easy to maintain. If you want a shotgun, look at .410s. They're a good bit smaller in cartridge size and also inexpensive. Great starter shotguns. Then once you've got a good grip on the safety, maintenance and care for firearms you can start looking at larger caliber, more powerful weapons.
When I was in high school I did this junior rifle team thing. Basically, they had these .22 competition rifles. Huge wooden stocks, 1 round bolt action, peephole sites. The shots were something like 75 yards on targets of a similar diameter to a coke can. In a few hundred rounds I went from not being able to put 5 shots on a target, to being able to put 5 on top of each other while prone.
When you're measuring in centimeters instead of inches, learning things like trigger control and breathing becomes really clear.
What gun would you guys suggest for that? Im thinking of getting something for very long range target shooting.
Would you be interested in Military Surplus rifles? (Mostly WWII rifles)
I'd suggest a Mosin Nagant.
They're simple, extremely reliable, and can be very accurate. The only downside is that it uses 7.62 rounds and they can be a little pricey, depending on quality. They also will kick your shoulder's ass.
Here's a cool vid of one.
I've seen people hit targets upwards of 450 yards with them.
Well i was thinking of something a bit more modern, but i'll check out what you suggested.