I NEED YOUR HELP

[SKULLCRUSHER]

Ok here is my situation I am planning make my first firearm purchase by friday, I am definantly here for the long run and in time I will most likely have a rifle, shotgun, handgun in my possession or most likely a few of each. I just can make up my mind for my first one. I took a huge pay cut in the last few months and that is why my options are cheap beginner firearms, but I would like to get a nice one later.

OPT 1
Marlin 795 .22 Semi Auto Rifle for $150 at BIG 5 plus $25 DROS fee plus tax
About $186 out the door

OPT 2
Charles Daley 12ga Shotgun for $200 plus tax and DROS fee at BIG 5
About $240 out the door

OPT 3
Hi Point 9mm with Hard case/trigger lock/extra set of sights/hard case/$10 off coupon for NRA membership (online purchase)
135 gun
15 extra 10 rnd mag
65 dros and ffl fee
15 s/h
25 hsc
--------------
$255

Definantly leaning towards option 3 the Handgun because I have been looking at them for a long time but the ammo for option 1 is so affordable (brick of 500 at BIG 5 for 17.99 right now in the bay area). Guys help me out here. And sorry if I posted this in the wrong section.

[Bobula]

the .22lr, ammo is cheap enough to have fun

[RedDawn]

I'd definitely go with the Marlin, IMO Marlin makes great rifles.
22lr ammo is cheaper than the other options, so you'll end up having more fun when you don't have to stress about ammo costs.

Depends on what you want out of the gun though.
If you're thinking home defense, I'd say go with a Mossberg or Remington shotgun. Just save a little bit more.

[dgey]

I have a marlin 60 22lr... it's a tube loading semi auto with a 2x-6x scope. Loads of fun shooting 1" hole groups @ 25 yds. I'm moving to 50 yds next to see what the marlin can do... and the ammo is super cheap... buy it 5000 rds at a time and the price is awesome...

[ivanimal]

I would go with the 22 option at first.

[fairfaxjim]

Start with the Marlin .22lr. It may not be the one you keep forever, but you will want to have at least one .22lr rifle for the rest of your life. Marlin makes pretty good stuff (I still have my Marlin Golden 39A lever rifle that I bought somewhere around 1962 at the age of 12 - no I won't sell it to you!!) The fun/$$ cannot be duplicated with any other firearm caliber - PERIOD!

We spent last weekend camping in the NV desert, and my wife put about 2k rounds through her Marlin 60SN (Big 5 Xmas present). It was dirty as hell when we started, and was absolutely filthy when we finished. All it took was a squirt of CLP and a wipeout now and then to keep it chugging. And let me tell you, she shoots that thing so fast that you can't get your hand near the barrel!

Another advantage to the .22lr rifle is you can fire it at most indoor ranges too (not sure what the thrill there would be, except to sight it in, but it is ok with the most ranges, and if you don't have anywhere else to shoot at the moment - hey do it.)

I would avoid the High Point handgun, save some money and get a decent used gun - hell get in on one of the Sig P6/P225 group buys of the German police turn ins. I even bought one of those just because. Make your first handgun something that works. An alternative to the 9mm for a first handgun would be a decent .22lr handgun. There are several choices there, the two most popular being the Ruger Mark III or the Browning Buckmark. I prefer the Buckmark, but it really seems to be a toss up. Again, LOTS of shooting for little $. Pistols require a lot of training, meaning a lot of ammo, to get good. Maximize your investment.

Shotgun would be last for my purposes (easy for me to say with several sitting around) They are good for home defense. For that, get at least a Mossberg 500, but better if you could save a few (not that many) more $$ for a Remington 870. Shotgun ammo aint that cheap either, and you can only blast so much with a short shotgun - it doesn't really take that much training to become effective with one. If you want to do clays, then you are off on another adventure completely. (I have shot some clays with my 18" 12 gauge, even using a red dot sight - that was kind of fun.)

[Someguy925]

.22lr is a great way to start into the hobby. Marlin is a good brand as well.

I recently got hooked into buying a marlin model 60 and armscor AK-22. Probably looking into looking for a Henry .22lr lever action.

[wildcard]

.22 to learn some basic marksmanship on the cheap.

[daves100]

Rifle

.22 Rifle to start with Marlin 150.00 plus 25.00 DROS

Big 5 has Mossberg 500 on sale for 259.00 plus 25.00 DROS

or you could put the rifle and the shotgun on layaway and save 25.00 on the other DROS fee

150 plus 259 = 409 plus 25.00 = 434.00 plus tax

[What Just Happened?]

+1 to what fairfaxjim said.

The shotgun should be at least a Rem 870 or a Moss 500.

As for handgun, that's a very personal choice, but you should anticipate spending at least $500 - $600 new or $400 used.

[caldude]

As said before, a lot depends on what you want out of the gun. Are you looking to just learn shooting, or is this going to be for home defense also?

The .22 is best for learning how to shoot, either the rifle you have in mind, or the .22 pistols mentioned in other posts. Learn how to sight through the iron sights before adding optics.

The shotgun is not a good beginner gun, but is much better for home defense. The Charles Daley is a lower end shotgun, for a few bucks more Big 5 usually has the Mossberg 500 on sale for $239.

Hi-points don't have a good reputation, besides being fugly. Look for a good used gun. You won't get one as cheap as a Hi-point, but you'll get a better gun. Search the Internet for reviews of the various makes/models you're interested in. Here are some places to start:

http://www.gundirectory.com/body.asp?gun=Pistol&pp=1&sort=-3&pop=1

http://www.handgunreview.com/default.asp

[Breadfan]

go with the .22 Marlin

[SKULLCRUSHER]

wow a lot of feedback and fast. well im sold and i will be going to BIG 5 tommor to purchase the marlin 22 then i will start saving for a nicer used or new handgun thanks for the help guys

[fairfaxjim]

wow a lot of feedback and fast. well im sold and i will be going to BIG 5 tommor to purchase the marlin 22 then i will start saving for a nicer used or new handgun thanks for the help guys

Enjoy - post a pic of you and your new rifle in 11 (yep 11, Big5 adds a day!) days.

[hylander]

This is really not an Option: It is just Junk.

Hi Point 9mm