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I am a beginner to shooting/hunting and I am interested in getting myself and my sons into the sport. I am trying to find a good beginning rifle to use for target shooting and small game hunting. I have heard that the Rugerand Hornet .22aregood rifles to start with. Does it matter if a rifle is a bolt action or a lever action? And what do the initials after the caliber mean (for example, a Ruger I read about is described as a 10/22 lr-what does the lr mean?) Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Matt

Go Aztecs!!!

My advise is to get a bolt action .22. The semi-automatics are loads of fun to shoot but I firmly believe that the importance of precision bullet placement is the single most important element of rifle shooting. With a bolt action or a single shot,you tend to makeevery shot count and aim more carefully than with a semiauto that simply needs another trigger sqeeze to fire more rounds. The most popular .22 rimfire cartridge is the .22lr-.22 long rifle. It is also the least expensive,and very accurate with almost total lack of any percieved recoil. Some good choices would be those made by marlin,savage,ruger,and others. As with any firearm,it is absolute necessity to teach and maintain safety. Most bolt actions are simpler to operate and maintain than semiautos,and are usually wonderfully accurate.

What he said.

Also, the Hornet is a cartridge, a small centerfire 22. It reaches farther (most I have known used them up to around 150 yards) and are not as commonly made However, it is an excellent small cartridge. For starting out, it is hard to beat the 22 LR for cost.

You have already been given very good advice. To further explain the letters behind "22", for many years shooters were given the option of buying shorts, longs, or long rifles for their guns. The terms come from the length of the cartridge, or brass. The shorts were, naturally, the shortest of the bunch, and contained less powder than the other two. You also had to be careful that the gun you were shooting was chambered for the length cartridge you were shooting. You can shoot any regular .22 ( short, long, or long rifle) in a .22 lr chambered gun, but you cannot shoot an lr in a gun chambered for .22 short.
I believe on today's market, the long rifle chambering is used exclusively, and by far .22 lr ammo is pretty much the standard round. I can still buy .22 short ammo if I want a little less noise, but I can't remember seeing .22 long ammo for many years. I do believe that CCI makes a .22 long and .22 short round, but I think they are used mostly for backyard pest control where quiet is a must.
Hope this gives you a little better insight as to some of the nomenclature used. If I missed anything here, I'm sure one of the other guys will help point it out

Good luck with your choices, have fun, and most of all, BE SAFE!!!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: stalkingbear

The semi-automatics are loads of fun to shoot but I firmly believe that the importance of precision bullet placement is the single most important element of rifle shooting. With a bolt action or a single shot,you tend to makeevery shot count and aim more carefully than with a semiauto that simply needs another trigger sqeeze to fire more rounds.

While there is truth to stalkingbears advice, you can apply the same care when shooting a semi-auto (I stop and check every 1-3 rounds I fire). I have 2 bolt action .22s and a Ruger 10/22, and I am always impressed with the 10/22. The 'carbine' model is light, easy to shoot, very accurate, and I find the sights easy to use quickly (when hunting). They are also not that expensive.

For practice and small game hunting I would suggest a 22 long rifle and/or a 20/12 ga shotgun. Or a combo would be really nice. They make over and under guns with a 20 ga barrel and a 22 rimfire. Or Rossi and some others make guns that you can swap barrels from one to the other.

I suggest looking at the Marlin model 60 semi auto, a Henry lever action or the Marlin and Savage bolt action rimfires. All should be in the low to sub $200 price range. And you can get single shot shotguns for around 100 bucks or so from Rossi and H&R/NEF. They tend to kick though because of the light weight. Or you could get a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 for 250-300 dollars, they are pump shotguns. H&R also makes a pardner pump gun for under $200. I had one, pretty nice gun for the money. Nice fit and finish and pretty wood. The down side is it is made in China.

You could also look for a used gun, nothing wrong them if they were taken care of. You could probably get a decent used semi auto shotgun for what a new pump gun would cost if you looked around enough. I often see remington 1100's and others in the 3-4 hundred dollar price range. Heck I picked up a browning A-5 for 450 a few years ago.

My advise is if you want to plink and squirrel hunt, get a 22 rimfire. Fairly cheap and a blast to shoot. If you want to small game hunt, like bunnies, birds and squirrel it's hard to beat a 20 or 12 ga shotgun. And you can take them trap and skeet shooting as well which is a lot of fun. Stick with the 20 ga or 12 ga though. They are cheaper to shoot. .410, 28 and 16 ga shells are pretty expensive compared to the other two. Sometimes twice as much depending on what you are buying.

Just my opinions anyway.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Paul

How about a Henry Lever Action .22? Or a Marlin 60?

Another vote for the .22 LR bolt action...;)

Thank you all very much. I appreciate the advice that you have given me. I'm sorry for my lack of knowledge, but there were a few terms in the replies that I didn't understand. Can someone tell me what "rimfire" and "carbine" mean in terms of a .22 long rifle. Once again, thank you for all of your help and advice.

Matt

Go Aztecs!

"Carbines" are shorter barreled versions of a rifle. A rifle will typically have a 22"-24" barrel. A carbine usually is 18"-20".

"Rimfire" refers to how the firing pin ignites the powder charge. With a rimfire cartridge, the firing pin strikes anywhere on the head and the bullet fires. 22 LR, L, S, 22 wmr, 17 hmr, 17 m2 are all examples of rimfire cartridges. "Centerfire" cartridges have a primer installed in the of the head and the brass can be reloaded several times. 223, 243, 30-06, etc are examples of centerfire rounds.

Good Questions, keep them coming.