First Rifle

[midlife]

I'm trying to decide whether to get a Browning BL 22 or SA 22 as my first firearm. Haven't shot since I was a kid. But I'm a decent shot. Want something to enjoy target shooting at range.

Thanks.

[RonnieP]

Have you considered a Marlin 795? If you haven't, see if there is a range in your area that rents them out, they are very accurate out of the box and goes for $150-170ish.



If you want a bolt action .22LR, the Savage MKII has a huge fan base. They run about $230-270



As for ammo, .22LR are hard to come by now-a-days. Palmetto State Armory has some CCI at $5.50 for a pack of 50 and Natchez has some Federal at $19 for a 325 pack. Not great prices, but it's there if you want/need it.

[midlife]

Thank you! I'm trying to decide between lever action or semi auto. Not sure which to get first.

[foesgth]

I have both. I love both of them. But, my personal experience is that the SA22 goes to the range twice as much as the lever gun. Just my 2 cents.

[midlife]

Thank you! I was leaning that way.

[Friar5119]

If you do choose to go with a the 795 it is accurate. however, check the trigger if you can because the sample I have came with a trigger pull so severe, that I had to check if the safety was engaged on more than one occasion. I am sure this is not the norm for the 795 but it is not unheard of either.

A small file, youtube, and a thread on a another forum helped make the trigger relatively nice.

[beastmode986]

Thank you! I'm trying to decide between lever action or semi auto. Not sure which to get first.

Henry makes some great lever guns

[CWDraco]

Another vote for the Bolt gun. Here is my 2 cents.

A semi-auto is a plinker. You can spend a few hundred more on it and turn one into a bench shooter, but it always turns into a rapid-fire have fun gun. That gets boring at the range. They are best at General Purpose plinking. Walking around the woods hunting or doing whatever.

If you are not going to be walking around the woods with this and you just want a fun gun to use at the range my advice is to buy a Bolt gun. They are made for accuracy. You can have fun all day long with a bulk box of ammo. You can buy an inexpensive scope and shoot 100, 200, 300 or even 400 yards.

Another plus for the semi-auto is you can mount them inside an Airsoft to turn that marlin 60 or 10/22 into a cool tacticool rifle. Search around to see what people have done with them. The last thread here had a guy mount a marlin 60 in a FS2000 case. Looked awesome.http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...ghlight=fs2000

In this thread Member Defcon shows youtube videos of all his .22lr creations using semiautos inside Airsoft cases. Great stuff http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...ghlight=fs2000

[midlife]

Is 22LR Best

Seems that 17 hmr and 22 mag are more available at my local range. Is either a sensible choice for a first rifle?