Shopping for a first Rifle + Scope, Help needed!

Z

Zenathura

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Location
Ontario
Hey guys, I'm a brand new shooter looking to familiarize myself with gun safety, maintenance, proper form and accurate shooting. I'm getting ready to take my PAL and purchase my first rifle, scope, and everything else i'll need to keep it running. I'm short on cash, and am trying to learn on a budget without going so cheap as to buy garbage parts.

I'm a lefty and was thinking of getting a Savage Mark II GL and mounting a scope on it, but i have no idea what out there is a good buy. Are there any bolt action .22lr rifles in the $200 range that you would recommend over the Savage Mark II GL? Any scopes that i should be looking into in particular? I also have zero idea what scopes are a good buy for the price and are affordable on a student budget.

Is it worth it to buy used for your first firearm?
 
Go to tradex by a 6.5 x 55 military trainer
Ammo is a little bit more but you can use it for accuracy and hunting deer or elk
This would be an all around rifle .
You'll spend 200 on a 22 and not get good training
You'll get bored with it fast ammo is cheap
you need to have something with a little kick
 
Tikkam65 said:
You'll spend 200 on a 22 and not get good training
You'll get bored with it fast ammo is cheap
you need to have something with a little kick
Click to expand...

Wait for it.... wait for it.....

I COMPLETELY disagreed, as will most other people hanging around the rimfire forum. And trust me for a new shooter, the rimfire is the right place to post this!

Not only is the .22 perfect because it is cheap.to fire alowing for A LOT of trigger control practise, breathing, and learning the wind.... all for a lot less than any other caliber out there. And FYI big game hunting is not everyones game... definitely ain't mine!

As for the original post.... I think the savage is your best but, great rifles for the price! And optic, probably something with an adjustable objective as I'm assuming you'll be doing 100 yards and less to begin with. I have a simmons 3-9x32 AO I purchased for about $80 and I think it would make a good entry level scope!

Edit; cz brno beat me to it, same scope I was talking about.
 
What the other guys said... Savage Mk II is a good choice, very affordable, and I'm thinking the same thing for myself! I have a Simmons .22 Mag 3-9x40AO as well and it's not the best scope ever made but for those of us with a budget, it was a great choice for me to put on a .22 (my 10/22 in this case).
 
Tasco makes good cheap scopes. The 10x40 is imo awesome for the price. The 6x24 is less money but I found it less clear at higher power.
I just bought the bsa sweet 22 in 6x18. Very good price at an airsoft store. Was the same cost as basspros 3x9 sweet 22! Pays to look around and make some calls!
 
Left hand bolt actions are pretty rare in .22LR. As you have noted, Savage is about the only option. They shoot well, but you definitely get that stamped/sheet metal feeling when working with one.
I shot right handed .22 bolts lefthanded for years. They work pretty well too. Actually, some lefties prefer shooting right hand bolts to left hand ones.

200$ doesn't leave you alot of options.
You might want to consider other action styles. A used 10/22 semi automatic is pretty close to the same cost. Very popular, lots of fun to shoot and decently accurate.
Semi automatic Nylon 66's come up occasionally for under 200 on EE, and they also have lots of fans.
Occasionally used pump or lever actions come up that might work just as well for you.
Just watch the Equipment Exchange and wait for something you like.
Good deals are out there, but they go fast. Sometimes with a useable scope included.

Regarding scopes, it's best to pick the gun first and then the right scope.
Even a simple 4x scope works fine for most shooting.
I used 3-9's for years and was quite happy, though now I prefer 4-12x scopes, since they work so well on gophers. Bushnell scopes are generally decent. Just avoid the cheapest ones.
Avoid all BSA scopes IMHO.

Good luck.
 
The savage will fit the bill for the rifle but if I was in your shoes I would stick to the iron sights on the G and save a bit more for a better scope. The nikon prostaff is pretty good, or the vortex diamondback. If you look around those scopes are ~$200. One thing I have learnt is that cheap glass is just that. Nothing beats the clarity of a good scope.

LarryG said:
I shot right handed .22 bolts lefthanded for years. They work pretty well too. Actually, some lefties prefer shooting right hand bolts to left hand ones.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

I am one of those guys. Cant stand a left hand bolt it is way to weird. I have been shooting right handed rifles for 20+ years though
 
LarryG and hometownhero, do you guys reach over and cycle the bolt with your left hand (like Pvt Jackson in Private Ryan lol) or do you leave your left hand on fire control and use your right hand to cycle? Just curious :)
 
The .22 is the way to go for a first rifle, and maybe for your third rifle, and your fourth and 6th and 9th too.

Get bored with a .22?!?! No way! Practice your position shooting, practice long range shooting (200 yards is a pretty close simulation of.308 at 1000) have a look on YouTube for vids of a guy hitting an 8" gong at 800 yards about 8 out of 10 times!
Spend all day at the range for $20! Try that with any center-fire cal!

As for scopes, 3x-9x is a good place to start. After you've played around and see what powers you select most, you can think about other powers. Personally I like lots of magnification, 2 of my .22's mount 6x-24x scopes and one used to carry an 8x-32x. On the other paw... you might find that you tend to stay in the lower range and are always saying to yourself "I wish I had a bigger field of view.", than maybe you'd like a 1.5x-4.5x or a 2x-7x

And generally I've had excellent luck with Fitco/Futong scopes, cheap; but adequate. (and they are on sale right now!) I have some "not cheap" scopes too, on some of my center-fire guns and they are nice; but for $50-to-$100 you can get a decent scope for a gun that doesn't kick and you only use close to home (so if the scope craps-out it's a minor inconvenience)
 
OP, I was in the same spot you are a couple years ago. I started with the Savage MkII GL because it a) had a good reputation for accuracy, b) had iron sights which I wanted to train with a bit before moving to a scope (though, I will admit my brother's 10/22 has much nicer iron sights that made the MkII's look bad), and c) it fit within my budget. All in all, I'm happy with it for a first rifle... though I occasionally drool over the left handed CZ 452s. Someday...

Scopes, I did a lot of homework here. I'll PM you my spread sheet that I'll post here, someday. My brother's Ruger has the for-mentioned Simmons on it and I can't say I'm impressed by it. I'd say go with a Bushnell Banner 4-12 with AO. Welcome to rimfire shooting!
 
A Savage Mark II is, in my opinion, the best route that you could possibly go.

I own 3 savage rifles now, 2 of them .22lr, and LOVE them. The accu-trigger is great and they are a very accurate rifle.

I recently purchased a Mark II .22lr for my wife as her first rifle and she loves it also, she is new to shooting and is getting about 1.5" - 2" groupings at 100 yds. Her rifle has a Tasco .22 Riflescopes - 3–9x 32mm mounted on it. GREAT scope for the price.

You can see the scope here (take the space out when you paste it in your browser): h ttp://www.tasco.com/products/index.cfm?ClassID=13&FamilyID=168&ProductID=693&CFID=44955447&CFTOKEN=d04c8f3eb5c6db0b-DC61F745-9681-1D60-36286EF4F604E399
 
The Hawke Sport HD 4x32AO is another cheap scope with clear optics. Quite happy with it on my Marlin Golden 39.

I have quite an array of scope sizes on my many .22's all the way from a fixed 2x to a 6-24x and one thing I can tell you is that the smaller scopes are the best for a carry gun for out hunting, and a 6-24x AO is good for mainly punching paper. If you do both equally perhaps the Bushnell Banner 4-12 AO is a good compromise. About $120 I believe. The way I look at it I would spend more money on quality clear optics if I had a .22 that cost over $500.

In your price range (as previously suggested) the other gun that I would consider is a semi Ruger 10/22
 
Sambaru said:
LarryG and hometownhero, do you guys reach over and cycle the bolt with your left hand (like Pvt Jackson in Private Ryan lol) or do you leave your left hand on fire control and use your right hand to cycle? Just curious :)
Click to expand...
Reaching over the bolt with a scope attached is pretty tough to do. You won't find many that prefer it. Never attempted it myself.
 
Since no one has mentioned it, the sks fits your price criteria. If I were just starting out it I would seriously consider it. But with a gun like that is better to have a friend help you get started.
 
I'd stay the HELL away from semi-autos for your first rifle...and stick to you Accutrigger-equipped Savage plans. For starters, the trigger has a HUGE effect on how accurately you can shoot your rifle and all modestly-priced factory semis have notoriously heavy triggers. Even my beloved Marlin 795 did. :) Anyhow, the accutrigger might be the best factory trigger out there and bolt action are inherently accurate rifles compared to semis. They're WAY easier/faster to clean too..if that matters to you. And YES...as others have stated, .22lr IS...I repeat, IS the right place to start with new shooters. Like probably everyone who posts in this rimfire forum, my collection contains a few heavy hitters...but it hasn't changed my love of rimfires..and I reach for the .22s most often. Another endorsement of your Savage plans~I'm picking up a Savage tonight...it'll be my third Savage rimfire, but 4th Savage rifle in the collection. :) All bolt-actions. On the scope issue~while I used to think you didn't have to spend more than $100 on a scope...I've smartened-up quite a bit. I'm still on a modest budget, but these days...I'm more inclined to save-up for the one I want rather than slap anything on a rifle. That said...since this IS your first rifle..you simply can NOT appreciate, or have anyone convince you, that good scopes are worth the money until you have some trigger time behind a shi**y one. Maybe you're less stubborn than I am (was) but for your first...I'd suggest keeping it simple/inexpensive. A 3-9x40, with adjustable objective if possible, will serve you well. I'd have no hesitation buying used, OR to getting a lower magnification scope even if it was fixed power. If you're on this site in the EE, take a look at old Tascos and Bushnells...anything made in Japan will likely have good glass and you'll often see some of these @ $50-$75. I personally like these and own a few myself. (Bushnell Scopechiefs)

Since I haven't seen it mentioned yet in this thread, be prepared to try several different ammo options once you're set-up. Most .22s (every one I've owned) has shown a strong preference for one ammo over another. I'm a fan of CCI products, but one of my guns (Anschutz) prefers Federal Gold Medal Target. Good luck!
 
Wow, I honestly didn't think i would be getting this much feedback, thanks guys! I'm definitely sold now on the Savage Mark II GL

I'm checking out each of the scopes you guys posted, i'll make sure i do some more homework before making a purchase, but it all looks great :) Do most stores offer boresighting or is that something that i can do myself?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom