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I know Jeff will respond to this and give me crap again.
Anyway, what do the long gun experts think is a decent starter rifle? I'm looking for something that's not very expensive, easy to operate and take care of, uses ammo that isn't exotic and isn't too expensive (probably .223 NATO, right?), is fun to target shoot with and will work for home defense if needed.
I was looking at the Armalite and Bushmaster rifles lately. I've also thought about buying one of the Springfield M1 Garand reissues or a Springfield M1A.
I really don't need anything bigger than a .308 so don't go all .50 cal overboard on me. lol
Any input is appreciated.
Oh, my girlfriend wants to learn to shoot with whatever I get, too, so that's half the reason why I'm leaning towards a .223.
I've NEVER owned a firearm before, so bear that in mind. I intend to get instruction after I buy. I have shot a few pistols, a .357 revolver, a 30-06 bolt-action rifle and an M16 (<-- only with blanks).
I know Jeff will respond to this and give me crap again.
Anyway, what do the long gun experts think is a decent starter rifle? I'm looking for something that's not very expensive, easy to operate and take care of, uses ammo that isn't exotic and isn't too expensive (probably .223 NATO, right?), is fun to target shoot with and will work for home defense if needed.
I was looking at the Armalite and Bushmaster rifles lately. I've also thought about buying one of the Springfield M1 Garand reissues or a Springfield M1A.
I really don't need anything bigger than a .308 so don't go all .50 cal overboard on me. lol
Any input is appreciated.
Oh, my girlfriend wants to learn to shoot with whatever I get, too, so that's half the reason why I'm leaning towards a .223.
I've NEVER owned a firearm before, so bear that in mind. I intend to get instruction after I buy. I have shot a few pistols, a .357 revolver, a 30-06 bolt-action rifle and an M16.
Jeffrey is the expert on baking cookies and shooting rifles, but I will say the M1 Garand is a very reliable short rifle. .223 would be good and probably better and the 30-06 has a bit too much recoil for me. the old 30-06 Springfields could split your lip.
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Jeffrey is the expert on baking cookies and shooting rifles, but I will say the M1 Garand is a very reliable short rifle. .223 would be good and probably better and the 30-06 has a bit too much recoil for me. the old 30-06 Springfields could split your lip.
Split my lip, eh? That's enticing. It might scare the crap out of my woman, though, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. lol
The M16 I shot was really easy on recoil. I could have stuck that thing on my crotch and not worried. Of course, it was shooting blanks but maybe they were full loads. I don't know. Does the military use fully loaded blanks with the MILES gear?
I built my AR-15 about 9 months ago. It is very easy to do and very rewarding. I used all parts from government contractors (LMT - Lewis Machine and Tool) which from what I understand are as good if not better quality as the main mfgs, who get their parts from the same people, lol. They are all Mil-spec. Anyway's they are fun and I like knowing that I have the same tool that the majority of the armed forces use.
If you have any questions let me know. . . I need to take some pics.
you dont want a rifle for home defense, rifles go through walls and you have to think whats on the other side, unless you live out in the middle of nowhere then it doesnt matter i guess. why is it that you cant get a hand gun? its easy to get, fun to shoot.
you dont want a rifle for home defense, rifles go through walls and you have to think whats on the other side, unless you live out in the middle of nowhere then it doesnt matter i guess.
I agree with that. For home protection if you don't want a hand gun I would suggest a 20 ga. shotgun or similar, you can't really miss with a shotgun either.
As far as a rifle that is just a fun gun to shoot. I really like my Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle. It is a .223 semi-auto and comes with a 10-round magazine I believe, but you can buy 20 or 30 round magazines easily, just gotta watch out for the cheap magazines with that capacity cause they make the rifle jam alot
Right now I am really looking at the Beretta Carbine in .45. I would love a HK USC45 but those are just too expensive.
Yeah, that's what I was wondering as well. If you're getting something for home defense, a rifle is about as useful as a baseball bat....just hold a hockey stick like a gun and swing around in your hallway or bathroom and see much sh!t you knock off the walls
If you're just getting something for target shooting then I would just get a .22 rifle or something.......ammo is dirt cheap and there are tons of options. You can spend all day at the range with one of these for just a few bucks.
so true, .22 is the way to go only for fun shooting.
The home defense criteria is very low on priority but it's in case of a MAJOR calamity. I live in a high-rise condo building that's very secure against normal crime. I'm not worried about everyday crime at all. I'm worried about a major calamity where the CPD isn't able to come to our aid. In that case, I'd be sitting outside the building where we have a lot of surrounding open space.
Also, about the hand guns, they are BANNED from legal ownership in the city of Chicago. I'd have to be a police officer in order to have one. The only guns permitted for ownership are long guns and maybe not even shotguns, but I'll have to check. I'll have to pay a $20/year registration fee and register the gun with the CPD every single year.
Yea, no rifle for home defense, bad idea.
A great round that has plenty of power and long distance is the .17 hmr. Extremely accurate. The CZ line of rifles in this are great and inexpensive. The 452 Varmint bull barrel model is an excellent rifle.
This is a group that was shot at 200 yards. That's less than 1/2 " except for that flier.
And it will penetrate body armor.
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how far out in the 'burbs to you have to move before you can legally own?
Pretty far. Most 'burbs have similar or worse bans than the city. You literally have to move to another county, for the most part. There are a couple of 'burbs that might allow them but that doesn't help me anyway. I think Des Plaines might but they're right next to O'Hare and most of the town floods every few years from the river, so I'm not interested in living there lol.
You don't have to be that far out to own a handgun. Lincolnwood allows them (there's actually a gun shop in Lincolnwood, unless they closed it recently), I think Skokie does, Mt. Prospect does.
First thing I did when I moved out of the city was to buy a gun.
I agree with the others though. If you want it for defense, buy a 12 gauge. Skeet shooting is far more fun than plinking with a rifle, shotguns are legal in Chicago, and either way you're going to have to drive out to the 'burbs to shoot.
There used to be a skeet club on LSD just north of North Ave. YOu know where the outdoor theater is? Go north a ways, there's a building that's blue & white, that used to be the skeet club. Then Dickie Daley decided that it wasn't nice to shoot clays that were thrown out over the lake, and he shut it down.
If you want to check out a good gun shop, drive out to East Dundee, there's a place called Gat Guns. About an hour or so out of the loop if the traffic is moving (& you drive 75!). They have a huge selection of handguns, rifles (including assault rifles), shotguns, bows, crossbows, knives...I'm like a kid in a candy store in there!
The shop in Lincolnwood is Shore Galleries on Devon and I'll be going there to check out what they have probably tomorrow. They're literally around the corner from me.
My grandfather dredged the lake bottom by the North Shore Gun Club's shooting area for lead. He made a few bucks doing that.
I've been to Gat. My buddy lives right down the road from there in Elgin. I'm probably going to check that place out again.
I have a M1a scout with a dot site, and oh man is it fun. But if you don't want something to exotic, you can go with the mini-14. There pretty fun, I sold mine though...haha. The M1A has to be one of the most accurate long guns I have ever shot. Well it better be since I paid over a grand for it haha.
Speaking of... what's Asheville like? I have always heard good things. Just wondering.
I don't want to speak on Low J.'s behalf, but I will chime in, the weather there is beautiful, I used to live in Chapel Hill NC, and we would go to the mountains near Asheville. I love it, almost went to UNC-Asheville for the location, but my degree put me somewhere else. I love NC and cannot wait to come home, DC is great and all, but NC is so nice, I love it.
Long gun questions (can't buy a hand gun)
It might scare the crap out of my woman, though, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. lol
