First time Gun buyer

[NoobHunter]

I am new to hunting. Have shot maybe a total of 1000 bullets in my life. I am 22 years old and I want to go hunting. I have a few friends that hunt and they said the first thing I need to do is buy a .22 and scope and just shoot off alot of rounds. Went to the store today and checked on some different .22 rifles and scopes. I was wondering if you guys could help me out and recomend a good starting gun thats going to be cheap for me to shoot. I want'ed to go bear hunting but my friends laughed at me and said try deer first. hehe I can agree with them

[quigleysharps4570]

Welcome. I personally think you would be better off starting out with a single shot and iron sights. You'll quickly learn to make that one shot count. Makes you a better hunter in the long run. Later on you might step up to an auto or scoped auto. Have a nephew that doesn't shoot too bad with a scoped auto, can't hit a bull in the a$$ without a scope though. Kinda sad. With my old single shot I've seen him miss shots that left me standing there in disbelief. I feel it's just because he didn't start out right. Wants to rattle off rounds instead of having skill and stealth. Not sure what all is on the market for single shots these days, bound to be some good ones. Mines an old rolling block Stevens that was patented in 1907, was my grandpa's and now mine. Still shoots as good as it did when I was a young lad and it's what I usually take when I grab for a .22 rifle. My scoped Marlin auto, about all it gets used for is sniping snapping turtles anymore. If your hearts set on an auto, I'd go with the Marlin or Ruger. BTW, when you get ready to go bear hunting, holler at me...you'll probably want me standing beside you with the ole Sharps. That would greatly improve your odds of reaching my age.

[DocHolladay]

i agree with quigley, open sights are better to start with. i personally started with a daisy bb gun, then .22/20ga o/u, then .30-30 w/ scope, then .270 w/scope. i was a DA(i don't mean district attorney either) and sold the .22/20ga. now i dont think a semi-auto or single shot makes a diff. as long as you take it one well aimed shot at a time. once you know you can hit what you aim at then let 'er rip. .22 ammo is cheap cheap.

[NoobHunter]

well...I see your point with useing just the sights on the gun to start out....then move onto the scope....that will give me a little more advantage to useing any gun without a scope, say a barrowed one then i would have to mount the scope and sight it.......on the otherhand starting and getting good with the scope is faster, and taking the time as u said to make the 1 shot count.....So i am thinking single loader, but then my lazy side says clip.....semi-auto, full auto is illegal here in washington state where i am.....Alot of my buddys go to Montana, they say lots of game over there....dont even have to get out of the truck to shoot it LOL...... just to get my shooting down i am going to go with a .22 rifle, but the guy at the store had 3 top brands....Marlin, Remington...and i forget the other....I like the metal style newer looking, over the wood looking type....I am thinking BIG clip...dont need a single loader one cause i think that would be long after awhile hand loading .22 1 by 1......Wife wants me to start useing a Bow because they are "safer".....and she doesnt like the idea of a gun in the house either.....even though i brough up points about trigger locks, not a handgun, locked cases.......anyways, great tips your pointing out and i hope u have more... Avg. price is 175$ for the gun and i can get the 4x scope for 30$ *on sale*....Just dont want to buy one that will fall apart after 1000 shots....I plan on taking care of it and keeping it clean

[quigleysharps4570]

Probably a Ruger 10-22 he has. It's one of the more popular autoloaders. Lots of accessories for them, bull barrels, synthetic stocks and all kinds of gadgets. You can really spiff one up. Good luck on whatever you choose. Just keep in mind, marksmanship should come first. Spraying later.

[mountaineer]

You might want to focus on learning good shooting habits and more about firearms themselves. It will help you get your wife more comfortable with them being around and keep you and others safe as well. Pick up a hunter safety course - it will do you and those sharing the woods with you a world of good.

There's a big difference between full automatic, which requires a federal permit no matter where you live in the USA, and semi automatic which requres you to squeeze (hopefully) the trigger for each shot. The media loves to mix the two together.

[grizz]

I would suggest getting a bolt action rifle and scope (maybe in .308) as to a semi automatic.Bolt action makes you want to place that first shot right on and you can have more problems with a semi automatic especially a used one.I would most certainly spend some time at the shooting range to familurize yourself with the gun , you have to anyway in order to zero out your scope.

[derekpfeiffer]

I can definitly relate to what you're going thru i'm 21 now and got my first gun when i was 14. I so badly wanted a semi auto but I knew my dad wouldn't let me so he bought me a Rem 514 Single shot and told me it would make me a good shot....so i took that single shot and practiced constantly and when I turned 18 I bought a Ruger 10/22 which I thought i needed and barely shoot it now b/c any semi auto is less accurate than a single shot or bolt action and i just bought a 17cal and bought a bolt action in that also. I'd venture to say that 90% of the time if you're gonna hit what you're shooting at you will hit it on the first shot and the rest are just "hail marry's" and seldom hit the prey. So I know what you're thinking but getting a bolt action or single shot WILL make you a better shot this year i shot my deer at 385yds and last year at 330yds so it will make you a good shot if you put forth the effort to practice and become good. and as far as your wife not being comfortable w/ guns that's really too bad i'm fortunate that my girlfiend doesn't care and also likes to shoot w/ me once in a while. so maybe if she shot a couple times and realized how safe it is when guns are handled properly she would be a lil more comfortable

GOOD LUCK

[derekpfeiffer]

If you do buy a semi auto I would definitly go w/ the Ruger 10/22 i feel they are the best on the market for the money hands down