Most versatile first rifle?

the Mosin is a great one to start with in my opinion (somewhat bias as I started on a 91/30) but its cheap for the rifle and ammo, even non corrosive, easy to take down which helps you get to know the process and parts of cleaning and assembly, its effective to take down any N.American game if you want to hunt, and once you run out of ammo you've got an 18 inch bayonet to mess around with. Also, its just a ton of fun.
There are even a couple on the EE now for $130, cant get much cheaper then that these days.
 
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welcome to the forum!

one is never enough, and each caliber of cartridge is better / worse for specific things.

at a bare minimum you should first consider a .22 for plinking and lots of practice. (ruger 10/22 is a common popular option in semi auto, savage mkII is a popular cheap bolt action to look into (cz 452 or 455 if you want to spend more), Henry are famous for their lever action guns.)

Then I'd suggest a shotgun. that covers both opposite ends of the spectrum imo. (look into a mossberg 500/590 or remington 870 as they are the 2 most popular)

if you really like the .22 and want to get something with a little more gusto then consider the sks. it's a .30 cal bullet that doesn't break the bank to plink with. (if you buy a case of ammo, each shot is about 15-18 cents a shot). I love my sks so much... a very fun gun to own. you can buy more expensive ammo for the sks for hunting too.

This is pretty much the progression I went with and now I already own even more than that!

that m305 you mentioned is one heck of a fun gun. I'd like to own one someday too.

It's a fun journey and I wish you luck on yours!
 
It's awesome to have new shooters here in Canada, each one of us is worth his/her weight in gold....Honest! I started out with Milsurp rifles, both bolt guns and auto-loaders (semi-autos, I guess), and I had a blast for the first year..... The M-305, several Sks's, M-1 Garand, Lee-Enfields, (I still collect them!) a sniper Mosin, and even a couple of CZ 858's... but that fall when the Rancher neighbour invited me to go for my first deer hunt, all I really had for that was a Tikka T3 in .243 that I had bought almost as an afterthought.... as time went by, I began to fire my milsurps much less, (I don't miss the ENDLESS cleaning that they required)and firing good quality bolt guns kept shooting interesting, and became something to work to get better at. I still get completely carried away, and imagine myself as a sniper the likes of Rob Furlong or Craig Harrison, and shooting at distance is certainly one of the most difficult challenges that I have ever taken on. It's beginning to bear fruit; I have some gorgeous bolt-guns, and last fall a Buddy and I shot our deer with a Mark V .300 Wby that I had had re-barrelled and a muzzle brake installed....And we shot them at 650 yards! When we started out that morning, I never would have guessed how the day would end! Anyway, I think that where there is a will there is a way, so if you really wanted to shoot long range, you will find the means and the people that you need to, to do that. You may wish at some point to compete a bit.... Doesn't have to be Olympic level shooting, there can be all sorts of local and range competitions high-lighting all types of shooting.... But competing, even at the friendly beginners level will help you focus on your interests, your gear and what you need to maintain and up-grade it, and finding the expert shooters that you need to learn from, in order to learn the proper safety and basic techniques for shooting. The Sport is a life-time learning experience, and if you are open-minded and willing, your interests will evolve and change very rapidly.....
 
Oh! By the way, I've been at this for a couple of years, now, and I still find 500 yards (or, 500 metres, because we shoot metallic silhouette) to be a significantly long distance to shoot.....Some days are easy, and I can achieve lots of hits at that range, other days can be a frustrating washout, but either way, there is still lots to keep my interest, and always something to work on and get better at. I've shot at a 1000 yards a couple of times.... Wow. I'm nowhere near there, yet. But I'm sneaking up on it..... I've got a Mark V in .30-378 with a Nightforce NXS on it lurking in the shadows, waiting for it's day.....
 
Ruger 10/22 , Ruger 77 RSI in 243 & 308 , A nice No. 1 RSI any Cal. a 96 carbine & a Mod 44 Finger Grove Sporter both in 44 mag , Throw in a Red Label in 28 Ga. for busting birds , then move on to Rems. , Wins. , Sakos , ect. Then start on your Milsurps , next up Blacks , get your RPAC and your into a whole new ball bark (to bad your to young to enjoy prohibs ) Sorry old guy , to much disposable income & recalling years of what your in for . Welcome & good luck trying to stop at 1 2 or 3 . P.S. clue to age , my first 10/22 is from 1965 new to me 2nd year production & still going strong
 
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Haha!! Blackcats knows how it goes, and has been at this game just a little longer than me.... I'm just glad that I was not the first, or the only one..... before you buy anything, have a look at the Weatherby Vanguard Series 2 rifles..... cheap like Borscht, and a great value for the money. You can get them in any calibre you would pretty much need, especially if you are just starting out.....
 
These are all good suggestions, I'm not a mil surp kinda guy, that being said my SKS is just plain fun. Its cheep to buy, cheep to shoot, ammo is everywhere, not restricted, and a wonderful gun to learn gun maintenance on. I have a Axis as well, I got it for my son to learn on, at least from a hunting shooter point of view, it was also cheep to buy, its a 270win so its not too expensive to shoot, and he can shoot longer distances, which makes it a good choice for a beginner hunting rifle, I like the Axis more because its a gun that as a new shooter you can learn a lot of the basic shooting knowledge with, like ballistics, (yes I know that its good to understand the ballistics of the SKS ammo as well it just doesn't come into play shooting 5 round strips as fast as we do) proper trigger pull, even shooting posture and stance. Also and I admit we have learned some extra stuff as we upgraded the trigger to a Timney, that was about 100 dollars, and have got a new stock coming (Boyds) $150.ish , so it is a gun that as a new shooter he has been able to grow and learn with. In the end the choice is yours, just get out there, join a gun club, shoot lots, learn lots, be safe, and be a GOOD embassador to our (your) sport.
 
"IMO, get the Savage chambered for .270. You have warranty, a modern rifle, good ammo, can hunt with, and you can play with the bolt to your heart's content."


What he said. And this is from a guy who has hunted and killed game with a Mosin. The scoped 270 will give you the confidence to shoot game reasonable distances away that you wouldn't realistically be able to do with the Mosin (like 200 yards for example.)
 
A bolt action savage (or remington, winchester, ruger, tikka, etc) chambered in 30-06, with a scope. A serious hunting rifle, and good range rifle, and serious all-round contender.

Mosin, and SKS are milsurp. Fun to shoot and capable of hunting but not really scope friendly.

The M305 is slightly easier to scope. It is harder to tune and accuracy is so-so unless you spend some time and effort tuning. They can turn into a bottomless money pit pretty quick.

If you have young eyes and don't mind iron sights for hunting, then the Mosin is usually very capable and would be my choice over the M305 or SKS as my first hunting rifle. Mosin is a very acurate rifle - more so than the SKS or M305 in stock form, IMO.
 
Hey all,
Great thread to read as I am considering my first rifle as well. Leaning towards an SKS at the moment, due to the potential stock upgrades etc and cheap ammo.
Anyone have any input on the Tapco stocks or scoping these rifles?
 
chameleonman said:
Hey all,
Great thread to read as I am considering my first rifle as well. Leaning towards an SKS at the moment, due to the potential stock upgrades etc and cheap ammo.
Anyone have any input on the Tapco stocks or scoping these rifles?
Click to expand...


Ask this question in the "Red Rifle" section of the forum and you'll find everything you want to know about SKS mods.
 
You're probably better off buying a shotgun with interchangeable barrels. Rifled slug barrel for big stuff and field barrel for little stuff. Look at Remington 870, Mossberg 500 etc. You can kill anything from moose to bunnies effectively adjusting the barrel and ammunition type you use.

I also think you need to get the basics of shooting under control before you worry about not having a big enough range. The Savage Axis doesnt require a 1000m range, most hunters can't shoot well enough in field conditions to be much good past 200m. A scope isnt all about long range. Its about target acquisition and light gathering just as much.
 
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