Cheap rifle, heavier than .22?

[Guest Goopus]

I'm gonna start looking for my second gun in a few months. What's the cheapest rifle I can find in a heavier caliber than ,22? Keep in mind I definitely don't want a HiPoint, I understand those are fairly cheap and 9mm.

The most consistent options I keep seeing are Mosin-Nagants and SKS's.

 

Edited February 25, 2015 by Goopus

[maroonandwhite]

What do you plan to use it for? Hard to beat a good ole' Remington 700 for a bolt gun. You can get them fairly cheap used with a synthetic stock. Also available in many calibers. And later on if you want to upgrade it there are plenty of aftermarket parts around.

[gregintenn]

Mosin Nagant. ***My word! After looking, Mosins aren't that cheap anymore!***

 

I've never been happy later that I bought a "cheap" rifle.

 

I'd suggest you save up a bit more and buy something you can enjoy and take pride in owning.

 

Let's let "cheap" go for a moment. What sort of rifle trips your trigger, so to speak?

Edited February 25, 2015 by gregintenn

[Jonnin]

No offense but you don't sound like you have a ton of experience?

The mosin is an excellent rifle for its price, but it shoots a fairly punishing round and it weighs a ton.  If you *want* a stout recoil bench gun, its a good pick. 

 

sks is the fore-runner of the AK and is an excellent semi-auto defense type rifle. 

 

These two guns are polar opposites in every way...  one is a big heavy cannon that can shoot stuff half a mile away and the other a light semi auto that shoots a relatively weak short range round. 

 

lets take money out of the equation.  You can find cheap in just about any platform short of competition guns.   So what exactly do you want to DO with it?  How much recoil do you want (roughly), how much range, how much are you willing to pay for the AMMO (big guns cost over a buck a shot if you buy it)?

[10-Ring]

I'm gonna start looking for my second gun in a few months. What's the cheapest rifle I can find in a heavier caliber than ,22? Keep in mind I definitely don't want a HiPoint, I understand those are fairly cheap and 9mm.

 

 

So do you want a cheap rifle or not?

Edited February 26, 2015 by 10-Ring

[R_Bert]

What is your budget allocation for this? 

 

And, what is its intended use?

[Rhodewarrior]

CVA break-action rifle...  .243 that only costs $179. Never shot one but know a guy who bough one and liked it.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Rhodewarrior

[Moped]

Guess I will be the stick in the mud and tell you that Hi-Point Carbines are fun little rifles.  I wouldn't mind having another one at all.It's really a poor man's AR.  You can do a ton of mods to them.  Mine ran like a champ too, as long as I ran Hi-Point mags in it.  The extended Pro-mags sucked.  Now that I got that off my chest.

 

By cheap, it sounds like you are looking for something under $400.  I would recommend an older Marlin 30/30 lever action, a Ruger American in .308 or 30-06 or a Savage with the accu-trigger in .308 or 30-06.

 

If you could go another $100 and are adventerous and know someone with experince in putting one together, then go get an AR kit and put one together.

[Wingshooter]

Savage Axis, Remington 770, Mossberg ATR100 are a few. I recently bought a Savage 110 30-06 with scope for $260 in like new condition. How cheap?

[Dolomite_supafly]

Walmart sells REAL Savage bolt guns, not the Edge or Axis, for under $400 with a scope and Accutrigger. And they tend to be the most accurate rifles out of the box anymore, especially for the price. If you have some time check your local Walmart because they routinely put them on sale and you can get them for under $350.

 

Savages are like the 10/22 of the centerfire world. You can swap calibers at home without the need of a gunsmith. Used barrels can be bought for $50-$100 depending on what it is and new barrels can be had for $150-$200 for factory and $300 for drop in match barrels. To do a caliber swap on a Remington it will cost you $300+ in labor alone not including the barrel. Swapping barrels on a Savage takes 20 minutes while a Remington requires weeks at a smith.

[Guest Goopus]

What do you plan to use it for? Hard to beat a good ole' Remington 700 for a bolt gun. You can get them fairly cheap used with a synthetic stock. Also available in many calibers. And later on if you want to upgrade it there are plenty of aftermarket parts around.

 

Just weekend shooting out in the country preferably, home defense if possible. I'll look into the Remington 700, thank you.
 

Mosin Nagant. ***My word! After looking, Mosins aren't that cheap anymore!***

 

I've never been happy later that I bought a "cheap" rifle.

 

I'd suggest you save up a bit more and buy something you can enjoy and take pride in owning.

 

Let's let "cheap" go for a moment. What sort of rifle trips your trigger, so to speak?

 

I prefer something with a history, like WW2 era etc.  My price-range would preferably be around $300-$400, $500 tops. I guess if I had to save up I'd get either a .30-cal M1 carbine to go with my little .22 Chiappa carbine, maybe a Garand or Kar-98 or something.

 

 

No offense but you don't sound like you have a ton of experience?

The mosin is an excellent rifle for its price, but it shoots a fairly punishing round and it weighs a ton.  If you *want* a stout recoil bench gun, its a good pick. 

 

sks is the fore-runner of the AK and is an excellent semi-auto defense type rifle. 

 

These two guns are polar opposites in every way...  one is a big heavy cannon that can shoot stuff half a mile away and the other a light semi auto that shoots a relatively weak short range round. 

 

lets take money out of the equation.  You can find cheap in just about any platform short of competition guns.   So what exactly do you want to DO with it?  How much recoil do you want (roughly), how much range, how much are you willing to pay for the AMMO (big guns cost over a buck a shot if you buy it)?

 

Never claimed to have much experience... I didn't know this was Tennessee Experienced Gun Owners forum. I own my first gun and have for a few weeks, plan on buying another in a few months and gaining experience.

 

I just want a gun to shoot with friends on the weekends out in the country, home defense would be nice because I don't trust the .22 too much. I don't want a cannon but a little recoil would be fine by me, doesn't have to have huge range but decent range would be fine by me and even preferable. Ammo... I don't know, maybe ten bucks per hundred rounds would be up my alley.

 

What is your budget allocation for this? 

 

And, what is its intended use?

 

$300 to $500 ideally, maybe a little over if I have to I guess.. And intended use is just to shoot out in the country with primarily, just to have around, home defense would be nice..

 

 

CVA break-action rifle...  .243 that only costs $179. Never shot one but know a guy who bough one and liked it.

 

Thanks man! I'll take a look!

 

Guess I will be the stick in the mud and tell you that Hi-Point Carbines are fun little rifles.  I wouldn't mind having another one at all.It's really a poor man's AR.  You can do a ton of mods to them.  Mine ran like a champ too, as long as I ran Hi-Point mags in it.  The extended Pro-mags sucked.  Now that I got that off my chest.

 

By cheap, it sounds like you are looking for something under $400.  I would recommend an older Marlin 30/30 lever action, a Ruger American in .308 or 30-06 or a Savage with the accu-trigger in .308 or 30-06.

 

If you could go another $100 and are adventerous and know someone with experince in putting one together, then go get an AR kit and put one together.

 

Thank you very much for the detailed suggestions! You guys are giving me a lot to think about and look at here. I feel a lot better about my prospects now than I did.

 

Savage Axis, Remington 770, Mossberg ATR100 are a few. I recently bought a Savage 110 30-06 with scope for $260 in like new condition. How cheap?

 

$260 would be even just a bit cheaper than the low end of my preferred budget so that sounds amazing. I'll take a look!

 

Walmart sells REAL Savage bolt guns, not the Edge or Axis, for under $400 with a scope and Accutrigger. And they tend to be the most accurate rifles out of the box anymore, especially for the price. If you have some time check your local Walmart because they routinely put them on sale and you can get them for under $350.

 

Savages are like the 10/22 of the centerfire world. You can swap calibers at home without the need of a gunsmith. Used barrels can be bought for $50-$100 depending on what it is and new barrels can be had for $150-$200 for factory and $300 for drop in match barrels. To do a caliber swap on a Remington it will cost you $300+ in labor alone not including the barrel. Swapping barrels on a Savage takes 20 minutes while a Remington requires weeks at a smith.

 

A Savage is definitely sounding like my way to go! Thank you for helping me out!

[glowdotGlock]

I would suggest a H&R Handy Rifle in .223. It is a single shot. I believe when I bought mine new it was around $200. .223 is fairly cheap when bought in bulk and is the next step up from a .22 even though it is much more powerful.

[Oh Shoot]

I would suggest a H&R Handy Rifle in .223. It is a single shot. I believe when I bought mine new it was around $200. .223 is fairly cheap when bought in bulk and is the next step up from a .22 even though it is much more powerful.

 

Was actually about to suggest same. Use with open sites and/or scope it.

 

- OS

Edited February 26, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[No_0ne]

Unless you stay with .22lr, or take up reloading and casting, a round costing $10/100 will prove impossible to find ...

[Guest Goopus]

I would suggest a H&R Handy Rifle in .223. It is a single shot. I believe when I bought mine new it was around $200. .223 is fairly cheap when bought in bulk and is the next step up from a .22 even though it is much more powerful.

 

Thank you, that sounds really promising actually!

[Oh Shoot]

Thank you, that sounds really promising actually!

 

Looking at the models onsite there, looks like only the compact and youth models have iron sights in .223 caliber anymore.

 

- OS

[glowdotGlock]

I had a thumb hole stock version "Ultra Varmint" with a 3-12x50 Pro Staff on it. Took a many of coyote.

[Wingshooter]

Here's the savage 110 I got for cheap. I plan to eventually transform it into a long-range machine, but it's a fine rifle as-is for the price. As Dolomite said, upgrades are numerous.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Wingshooter

[Ron45]

You seem to be pretty level headed and are getting  a lot of good feedback. The best advice I have to offer is to do a little shooting first and then decide what would be best for you. As I really enjoy introducing people to firearms, I would be willing to let you shoot some of my rifles to give you some experience. I am not very far from you and would be happy to let you come by and shoot a few. I have a mosin, ar, 30-30 Winchester model 94, 30-06 handi rifle, and probably a few others that I am forgetting. Let me know if you are interested. 

[KKing]

Everyone should own an AR imo, and there's never been a better time price wise to get into one. You mentioned "home defense if possible", I'm not seeing any options other than the Hipoint carbine mentioned that would double in that role. Trust me when I say you could do much worse than a hipoint carbine.

[Wingshooter]

Just weekend shooting out in the country preferably, home defense if possible. I'll look into the Remington 700, thank you.
 

 
Never claimed to have much experience... I didn't know this was Tennessee Experienced Gun Owners forum. I own my first gun and have for a few weeks, plan on buying another in a few months and gaining experience.
 
I just want a gun to shoot with friends on the weekends out in the country, home defense would be nice because I don't trust the .22 too much. I don't want a cannon but a little recoil would be fine by me, doesn't have to have huge range but decent range would be fine by me and even preferable. Ammo... I don't know, maybe ten bucks per hundred rounds would be up my alley.

I know you said "cheap rifle", but since you say you're looking for your second gun, I take it you don't have a shotgun.? That seems to fit much of your criteria as well. Just a thought

[Jct1911]

Surprised nobody has recommended a SKS. Ammo can be had for $5-6 per 20. Hunting ammo available too. Plenty good for home defense and has "history". Guns are running $250-300 and 1k of ammo still can be had around $220. 7.62x39 been doing serious work for some time and isn't going anywhere.

Edit: $10 per 100 ain't gonna happen anymore unless bought in bulk online. 9mm is the closest you'll come. Edited February 26, 2015 by Jct1911

[enfield]

 
Never claimed to have much experience... I didn't know this was Tennessee Experienced Gun Owners forum.

It is. We're also helpful. Get over being butthurt - you asked a vague question.

[nightrunner]

It is. We're also helpful. Get over being butthurt - you asked a vague question.

Exactly. I like to think I know a bit about guns but there are guys here that have forgotten more about guns than I'll ever know. Just listen and read and you will probably learn something.

[crossfire]

Have you checked out the "firearms classified"? A nice SKS just hit the listings.