My take on a buyer obtaining his first gun purchase can be a person who has little knowledge on what a good / great rifle is... So he buys an inexpensive rifle because when he looks at a Savage Axis, Mosberg or Remington 783 - he thinks the look of the rifle is awesome, and the price is reasonable (to him). He will likely buy a 308, 270 or 30-06. Or maybe a Marlin 30-30. Why...? Because he has heard something about these calibers and may know enough to realize that the ammo for these calibers are most often cheaper (and available) then other calibers. Look at the prices of 7mm08 compared to 308. It's usually a fair bit more in price. Look at the price of WSM or 7mm REM Mag or 303. And lastly his first gun will need a scope so he buys the gun package with a scope in what he understands is a common caliber.
He will likely find out that it needs to be sighted in and he might know someone who will likely have a bore sight-er. He won't likely know that the bore sight-er will only get him on paper... He might just go hunting with a gun package that may not be totally sighted in. In time, if he stays with the sport, and talks to those with a bit more experience, he will learn more... Keep in mind that for the new shooter re-loading is way off in the distance, and he may be very happy with the results he gets from factory ammo. Some of it is good enough for MOA.
So there is a learning curve when getting into the sport of shooting and hunting. It takes time, and if he listens to good advice and gains personal experience he will do as well as we have done. So lets keep in mind who is shopping for their first gun and what they know.
This fall I assisted 3 young men who needed their gun/scope packages sighted in. All of them had tried to sight in their rifle but they didn't keep track when they moved the turrets and printed their shots all over the paper. So when I assisted them with sighting in the guns, they were so happy... When I finished the sighting in sessions with them I congratulated them on getting into shooting and hunting and told them, in time we all learn what to do, and if they needed additional assistance I would be happy to help them.
Those are the kind of guys that feel more comfortable buying their first gun at places like CT and they ought to be encouraged to stay the course and get good at shooting and hunting.
