First firearm advice

[lipervitch]

I just recently got in to shooting and have picked up 3 different firearms. Mossberg 500 12 gauge pump for skeet shooting. I've put about 300 rounds through it and it has worked flawlessly. I chose the mossberg 500 over the Maverick 88 because it comes with a set of choke tubes and has a 10 year warranty vs only 1 year on then a Maverick. A ruger 10/22 for target shooting. It also has worked great with 400 rounds through it and not a single failure. Finally I just got an SKS and will be shooting it for the first time this week. Can't wait!!
Sounds like a 22 rifle would suit your needs right now. Good for cheap paper punching and small game hunting. Lots of goodd stuff on the EE to chose from.

[DT741]

I forgot to change my location. I am now living in Lloydminster, last time I saw an SKS it was 279.99$ and I was advised from 2 other gun stores that they will be very hard to source ammo and guns.

Wow you guys are getting robbed !!

Still find some for 199.99$ around here

[GLS_1956]

I am always a fan of starting out with a 22 rimfire, and in adding them to the collection. Also when starting out I support the idea of getting manually cycled actions, so I would council getting a bolt action 22, a lever action or a pump action would also fill the need, and the Mosin-Nagant rifle, then get the Remington 870 shotgun. I like the 870, what can I say.

[Pencilneck]

Before buying a .22 anything, go to the range or near by woods with a friend that has one and try it. Like in this thread I was told man! you got to have a 10/22 so I bought one, shot 200 rounds with it and sold it along with 3 550 round boxes of ammo. Wasn't my thing at all, felt like I was shooting a pellet gun Just saying...

[Chas59]

One of my first firearms was a mosin nagant sniper, I still love it to this day even though I have modern rifles that cost 10x the amount I paid. I also bought sks's and they are fine, but would pick the mosin any day. I would stick to bolt actions at first, modern or milsurp before moving to semis. I recently picked up some Lee Enfields and am greatly enjoying them.

[naminator58]

My wife wants a .22 in the future. I have nothing against the .22. I think it is a mighty fine round. But honestly? I want to shoot a "real" gun. I have played airsoft for years and one of the guns I collected was a 10/22 look alike. I was out at a relatives with it and they brought out there 10/22. We lined up some cans and started taking shots. At the relatively short range, my airsoft .22 out shot the real one and aside from how loud a real .22 round is, my gun had just as much kick.

I am still seriously interested in a shotgun for the utility of it. Right now I am wafling between getting a Maverick 88, a SKS, a Mosin or a modern .308 rifle. For the prices I am seeing, I may just get a mosin at my LGS and get a used shotgun from the EE. I went into a gun store on Friday to ask a few questions and I was told to buy a bolt action Savage in .223, a Savage MK2 .22 and then was completely ignored, which was really dissappointing. You would think a potential customer coming in and talking about getting there first firearm would generate a bit more of a response than the couple of sentances the guy shared with me (.223 is cheap, get that. Shotguns are terrible for shooting targets. .22 is better than .17hmr).

[p3kvic]

Just got my PAL and as much as I want a nice 9mm I'm going to go slow and get a 22lr Bolt and probably a GSG 1911. Why waste $ missing. 22lr is pretty cheap and I'll become more comfortable in the mean time. I'll shoot that till fall then try to pick what I want up on sale or in the EE if they ever let me in.

[radmacks]

I would get something in .223 look at a savage axis when they go on sale. Plenty of ammo options. I think you would be more satisfied paper and varmint wise.

[jetfixer]

For a first center fire rifle, I would suggest a .223 bolt action rifle as it is fairly inexpensive on ammo and still has good reach and range of use.

As far as shotguns go, the Maverick 88 is a great first shotgun for the price, in my opinion (I owned one for 17 years and it never let me down - lots of other shotguns came and went during that time). The Remington 870 is a well made shotgun but the feed ramp on it (much like many other brands) is simply not as user friendly when reloading compared to Mossberg shotguns. It will probably never bee an issue but fast reloading on the Maverick and Mossbergs is a lot faster/easier.

I had an SKS for years and they are amusing/cheap to shoot and there is a lot of accessories/mods for them. You won't be getting tight groups but it's still fun to try!