What is the best plinking rifle and why?

Question

I want to get into shooting for fun. What would be a good starter rifle. I can't go real expensive, this a poor mans hobby.

Answer 1

You can't go wrong with the Ruger 10/22 , it's a very nice .22 at a great price. Bushnell makes a nice 3-9x32 .22 rimfire scope for around $35-$40. They make a great combination. Eagle 30 round clips will save you from having to reload as often. You can buy the Eagle clips for $8 on gunbroker, this is less than the cost of spare Ruger 10 round clips.

Dick's Sporting Goods sells the 10/22 for $169.99(on sale)
http://www.DicksSportingGoods.com to see if there is one in your area.

site to check out firearms
http://www.gunbroker.com
http://www.gunsamerica.com

If you live in the city and don't have access to a range. A high quality precision air rifle could be an answer for you. A rifle like the RWS model 34 can be purchased for under $150, it comes with a lifetime guarantee. Air rifles can be fired inside with the use of an inexpensive pellet trap. Air rifles make very little noise so you will not shock the neighbors. A couple of sites to check out air guns. In the same way that the .22 LR is your best bet in a plinker rifle the .177 is the way to go with air guns.
http://www.beeman.com >for history and info
http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com - sales
http://www.pyramidair.com - sales

Answer 2

If you want something affordable for target practice, plinking, and small game hunting, that means .22LR. Given you've ruled out a semi-automatic, that leaves three action choices: bolt, lever, and pump. For an affordable bolt action rimfire rifle I'd suggest looking at the Savage Mk II/Stevens 300 or Marlin's models 980s, 981t, 925. Marlin and Savage tend to produce good quality affordable guns. Personally I'd recommend looking at the Savage Mk II since its got the new accutrigger set-up which is supposed to deliver really good performance. However since you said you like the ease of loading a tube magazine you might also want to take a long hard look at the 981t (Marlin's tube-fed bolt-action .22). As far as lever-action .22 rifles go, the only one close to your price-range is the Henry. Unfortunately I'd recommend avoiding them. Lets just say that I had one a couple years ago and wasn't impressed by either the quality of the gun (cracks in the lever loop, adjustable sights that don't adjust...) or the company's service department (they told me to just file the front site to adjust the point of aim... And this was after I'd already shipped the gun to them once with a letter which explicitly stated the sights need to be fixed) which was why I sold the piece of junk. If you want a lever-action I'd recommend spending the extra money and getting a Marlin 39 since they're pretty much the standard by which all other lever-action .22s are judged. Remington and Henry both make (made?) pump-action .22s. Of the two companies' offerings, the Remington 572 BDL is the better gun. Its also the more expensive. Henry's Pump Action Octagon is a modern reproduction of the gallery guns of old. Again, we're back to what I think of Henry Repeating Arms company guns... The only other option I know of for small game hunting, target shooting, and plinking would be an air-rifle. Based on what you've said I kinda doubt you'd be interested in something like a Benjamin Discovery, Crosman 2100 or Benjamin 397, or RWS 34 Panther. The only reason I mention it is because the ammunition for an airgun is even more affordable than .22LR ammunition and since they aren't firearms they're not regulated as heavily.

Answer 3

Defiantly a Ruger 10/22. The gun is less than 200 bucks, you can get 500 rounds for 8 bucks. In addition to that, since the assult rifle ban has been lifted, you can buy a 30 or 50 round magazine for these guns. Nothing beats snapping off 50 rounds a minute (be careful not to overheat your barrell).

Answer 4

Marlin Model 60. The most popular and most sold .22 in the world.

10/22s are fun if you want to customize, but that can get you well over $500 to make it good. Marlin 60 will shoot well right out the box at $140.

Learn to shoot with the iron sights before you buy a scope. It's the proper way to learn, kinda like driving a standard before you drive an automatic.

Answer 5

Marlin Model 60 or a Ruger 10/22 in .22 long rifle caliber.

Cheap to shoot. Plenty fun plinking.

Miketyson26

Answer 6

any .22 lr would be the best 500 rounds for 9 dollars cheap and fun
plus you can get them for a hundred dollars on the low end but i would suggest a ruger 10/22 great rifle fun and great for shooting rabbits and small game

Answer 7

everyone that said 22 is right the ammo is cheap no recoil so you can shoot all day and not get fatuged as far as the riffle the rugger 10/22 is alright is you are short and like to feel like you are shooting a bb gun they are very short stumpy guns and a bit pricey for what they are i prefer the marlin model 60 semiautomatic it has a tubular magizine that holds 16 shots i have had mine for more then 20 years also and it is just as acurate as any other and is much cheaper you can get one at wal-mart with a scope for under $150.00

Answer 8

Marlin 60 Glenfield. I got mine for $54 with a trigger lock and carrying case out the door. Retail new is $128, but they are commonly carried in pawn shops for $50-$60. The .22 barrel is hard to wear out and the Glenfield is the most prolific .22lr autoloading rifle out there (11 million in circulation). It is fairly accurate and reliable.

Answer 9

Buy a cheap brand new 22 automatic don't buy used unless you are able to shoot the gun, Remington, Ruger,Marlin these are my favorites.
I have an Old Stevens 22 automatic with a 3x9x40 scope about 75yards it is dead on I shoot at small screws, even 22 hulls find a friend and have a shooting contest. I have probably $125.00 in gun and scope.
You can buy all kinds of options , just look in a cabala's catalog.

Answer 10

Naming the best would start an argument over one of the really nice bolt actions and the old Winchester 63 (I think Rossi makes a copy now), but none of them is cheap. I'd suggest the Ruger 10/22. It can be customized rather nicely later on if your budget permits, too.