Post bill C-21 - Are these good beginner options?

[Potashminer]

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Interesting. Any particular reason (reliability, maintenance, etc) or just personal preference?
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Likely started with a hunting buddy freezing up his pump action - could not get it open when he got back to the truck. Some minutes of warming and it cycled fine. Is my impression that can not happen with bolt action - can smack the bolt and get it open - although a neighbour's Rem 788 broke off the bolt handle from the bolt body by doing that. That sort of morphed in my thinking that bolt action was more dependable, in cold. So likely became a "personal preference" to stay with bolt actions - typically I understand them and have experienced most all the ways they can fail - and how to get them back running, again. I am just not familiar enough with how semi-auto work inside. My preference is for bolt actions that I can dismantle the bolt to firing pin spring and firing pin without using tools - just fingers - so, sort of "old fashioned" that way - I use mostly Mausers of various ages, and Win Model 70 with three position safety. P-14 and M1917 Enfields are similar. Is no doubt that there are semi-auto designs that allow same to be done - I just do not know how.

[Hmatt]

My Dad had a 30-06 - he did not reload - factory ammo only - I believe that my hand loaded 308 Win with 165 grain Speer was fully equal to his factory 30-06 with 165 grain ammo - my elderly Shooting Chrony was showing circa 2800 fps with 165 grain from that 308 Win - loads are shown in Speer and Nosler manuals. I could not keep up with heavier 180 grain or 200 grain bullets, though. Especially for a new hunter, do not loose track it is the bullet that will take the game - not the head-stamp on the casing. I believe that 308 Win and 30-06 (and 300 Win Mag and 300 Weatherby) all throw the same bullets. After our son "absconded" with that 308 Win, I moved on to 7x57, and 6.5x55, and 243 Win - any of which I think are perfectly adequate hunting cartridges to several hundred or 300 meters range. It is my impression that 100 grain 243 might be a trifle on the light side for moose and elk - but many of those animals taken with that combination. I would have no reservations using one for mule deer or white tail though - in my family, and among friends, there has been about a dozen taken with my wife's 243 Win.

Perhaps as perspective - there is several boxes of Woodleigh 9.3 mm 320 grain Weldcore here for the 9.3x62 - I have not done a thing with them - except look at them. Is an entirely different thing for many - ideally one would want them circa 2,200 or 2,300 fps on impact - is not a high speed, long range thing at all - more like a fighting rifle, or a big hammer, for close range. I am not even sure whether 9.3 mm makes it into the Medium Bores - older british also had "big bore" which I think started north of 45 caliber - there seems to be several differences of opinion where lines are for small bore, medium bore and big bore. I tend to think 32 caliber and less is small bore; 33 to 44 caliber as medium bore and 45 caliber and larger as big bore - but I have read other, very different, definitions. Was likely a carry over from the days when bullet diameter was considered to do the work - velocity was not too much different?

I also have 6.5x55 now along the .308 and a 7x57 is probably my next bolt action purchase.

[GliderBuzz]

Thanks everyone for their recommendations! For the moment, I settled with a Ruger 10/22 and a Mossberg 590A1. Shout out to Al Flaherty's store!

As for the .223 Rem and a larger TBD caliber, jury is still out. I just watched the Lockhart Raven 5.56 1000 Round Review and now I'm on the fence.

Very good advice in here.. What potashminer said about the .308 is correct I had a 30-06, sold it and got a .308. That was a mistake, but now the wife has a rifle haha. About a month ago I purchased a 9.3x57 as my “bigger” gun(don’t buy one of these unless you hand load , but you said youre a beginner so I’m betting you don’t) You may consider 30-06 or 300win instead of .308.. same projectile further reach.. also very available and relatively cheap.

If you're new, I'd get a 308 over a 30-06 or 300wm. 308 will easily cover any hunting in Ontario, and has no problems hitting targets at 600-800yds. 308 has the cheapest ammo of the 3 and the least recoil. Learning to shoot good is easier if you're not getting beat up by recoil.

If you're going to shoot 1000+ or hunt something like Bison or Grizzly then you might want to step up from 308, but the 308 is a great place to start. Plenty capable, but not too punishing.

My Dad had a 30-06

Ha! You folks convinced me, I'll re-evaluate the choice of .308 and research more.

As for 12ga, I'm a Mossberg fan. I prefer the location of the slide release on the Mossberg (behind the trigger guard vs infront of it for the Remington) and I also prefer tang safeties over cross bolt, that way I can operate it without issue from either shoulder.

Thanks to you and thegazelle, I went to a store to try out the Mossberg 590. Turns out I also liked the Mossberg controls better compared to the Remington.

As for a 22lr, I'm a fan of anything thats not a 10/22 lol, but I'm not a huge fan of a semi auto 22lr that doesn't have a last round hold open... Marlin 795 are Winchester Wildcat are the two I've been playing with most lately, they both have last round hold opens and both are pretty accurate. Actually, I would recommend a bolt action 22lr over a semi auto 22lr for your first 22.

For the 22lr I went the opposite, semi-auto.

Hard to beat a bolt action 22lr for learning the fundamentals.

Does that count if the person has some fundamentals? :D

Likely started with a hunting buddy freezing up his pump action - could not get it open when he got back to the truck. Some minutes of warming and it cycled fine. Is my impression that can not happen with bolt action - can smack the bolt and get it open - although a neighbour's Rem 788 broke off the bolt handle from the bolt body by doing that. That sort of morphed in my thinking that bolt action was more dependable, in cold. So likely became a "personal preference" to stay with bolt actions - typically I understand them and have experienced most all the ways they can fail - and how to get them back running, again. I am just not familiar enough with how semi-auto work inside. My preference is for bolt actions that I can dismantle the bolt to firing pin spring and firing pin without using tools - just fingers - so, sort of "old fashioned" that way - I use mostly Mausers of various ages, and Win Model 70 with three position safety. P-14 and M1917 Enfields are similar. Is no doubt that there are semi-auto designs that allow same to be done - I just do not know how.

That's an awesome story! I haven't thought about the simplicity of bolt action when it comes to maintenance and malfunction repair in cold weather. Today I learned!