I have never been hunting but want to start learning. What is a good gun to start out with in the $200-$300 range?

NEF single shots are just over 200 at Walmart. A used Savage might fit the bill. Look for a 260 or 7mm08 if you are talking deer hunting. If not a Ruger 10-22 would be a great gun to start with. About 175-200 bucks and cheap to shoot.

Nathan67, you didn' t specify what type of hunting you wanted to do. A Ruger 10/22 .22 rifle( about $140) for squirrel hunting will help you learn to be stealthy in the woods which is a must for deer hunting. A 12 gauge or 20 Remington 870 pump will do fine for birds, rabbits, squirell and with slugs or buckshot for deer. And big game rifles depend on your terrain and average shot distance you will make. .308, 7mm-08, .260, 270, 30-06 and on and on for deer size game. But carefull shopping will get any of these in your price range. Good luck, be careful, and learn to have patience.

I think a " first gun" is probably a 20 Ga shotgun...probably a pump.

for a grown man starting out a remington 870 for shotguning and a 30-06 or 30-30. But If I was teaching my kid right now it would be a 16G Ithaca and a .270. Both have good range and killing power with the lighter frame and slightly less kick.

have you ever shot a gun before? If so what ,and how did you like it?

Nathon67:

Welcome to the board, and the shooting sports. How old are you? Before purchasing your first firearm, it would be a good idea for you to take a hunter saftey course no matter how old you are if you haven' t already. Good shooting!!

Thanks for all the responses. To answer your questions I' m 22, married with a 5 month old and a junior at Arkansas State. Don' t party anymore and need a good hobby. I love to fish so I think I' ll enjoy hunting as well. I' m scheduled to take a hunter safety course next week. I want to start out with small game like squirrel, but want to be able to progress to bigger game, so I think I' m gonna get a Remington 870 express 12 ga. synthetic stock. I' ve also picked up maps of all the nearby WMA' s

The Remington 870 is a fine gun. 12 gauge really is a very versatile gauge. If you haven' t shot at all before, (or very little), start off using lightly loaded " target" ammunition. These loads will provide the least amount of recoil. They will allow you to become use to your gun without pounding you as hard. With a little experience 12 gauge recoil is really not severe. (A less expensive alternative to the " real" target ammo is the very lightly loaded game loads....ie. discount ammo, by the major manufacturers and packed 100 per box.)

After you have become accustomed to the recoil and a little desensitized experiment with different loads to match your needs. Things like patterning your gun....sighting with slugs....and the use of buckshot.....are all covered in great detail at many different sites on the web. A good place to start looking is:
www.chuckhawks.com then go to firearms...then shotguns...and look at the menu of information items. There are many other sources as well.

Good luck with your decision...wishing you much success!

Depends on what you want to hunt, where you' ll be hunting. If you just want to deer hunt than I would say a 30-30 or a 308, you' ll be capable of taking anything in North America. If you add birds, squirrel,etc. than look into a shotgun combo package.