Need Recommendation for 2nd Rifle

[allanofcalifornia]

I wanted to have some fun with my son so I bought a Ruger 10/22 rifle to shoot at the gun range. We love it and now I want to buy a 2nd rifle, a centerfire rifle. If I am only planning on buying 1 centerfire rifle, then which caliber would you recommend? We will only be shooting at the gun range. I know the 223 caliber bullets are the cheapest but I want to have fun most of all. What is your favorite rifle and the most fun to shoot? What would you recommend?


Thanks
Allan

[Rem700 30-06]

well depends on how old your son is and how much recoil he can handle..sounds like he may be kinda young so i would go with a 243, 7mm-08, 22-250, 25-06 somethin along those lines..they would be fun guns to do some target shooting with. just my opinion

[wildbio]

The 223 is a good, fun caliber and you're right in that it is affordable. I mostly shoot to hone my skills for hunting so shoot the calibers I hunt with - 260 Rem, 35 Rem, and 7mm Mag. To me the fun part about shooting is getting sub-MOA accuracy. Getting there entails finding the right factory load and/or handloads for my rifles.
Handloading is a fun hobby that takes your gun range work away from the gun and into your workshop....I'd highly recommend it as a side activity that enhances your enjoyment at the range. I'd also think that getting into competitive benchrest shooting would be fun....if I had the time. Again with that it's all about accuracy. I think there are many different categories with competitive benchrest shooting and am not sure what they all are.
a (the?) most highly accurate caliber = 6mm PPC

[MikeNC]

If all you plan on is range shooting, I say get a 223. It's simple, inexpensive, accurate and has light recoil. Ammo will be easy to find. Because of those 5 reasons the 223 will be the best choice.

[robfleck2]

I agree with 223. It is really cheap and really accurate in the right rifle.

The 223 will be cheap for many, many, many years to come. In a few years, when the wars are over, we will all be swimming in surpluss 223 ammo.

If you want cheaper (at least for the short term), you can choose a 7.62x39. That is the bargain basement russian stuff. It has a little more kick, and gives up a little on the long end, but it is really, really cheap. It is ussually old, corrosive cased ammo. The 7.62x39 supply might dry up one day (not entirely, it just might not be cheap anymore). I don't know if it is still standard issue for modern military rifles. It was for the SKS.

For rifle choice, I don't know. Whatever fits your shoulder and your wallet. If you are going shooting with your son, remember that kids like semi autos. They also like it to look like a military rifle. I would choose either a Ruger mini-14 or a really nice vermit rifle (something camo or black - tricked out for the kid in me). Tough call.

- Rob

[338Jackhammer]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the .243, recoils like a .223, and is legal for deer hunting.

[rantingredneck]

I'll chime in with the crowd and say .223, with the 7.62 x 39 being a close second. I'll even go further and recommend that you buy either a Ruger Mini-14 (.223) or Mini-30 (7.62x39). Fun rifles to shoot, acceptable accuracy, though neither will be a sub-MOA rifle. The 7.62x39 is acceptible for deer at moderate ranges (be aware that some states have outlawed hunting with a semi-auto rifle though). Cheap, plentiful ammo for both calibers. I'd shy away from the .243 if you really don't think you'll be hunting with it. .243 ammo is not very cheap, at least not around here.

[338Jackhammer]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the .243, recoils like a .223, and is legal for deer hunting.
If you are just going to be shooting paper, the .223, would be an excellent choice.

[allanofcalifornia]

I originally was thinking of a Savage or Remington 700 223 or 22-250 rifle but wanted to make sure that I should not be looking at another caliber rifle that would be more fun to shoot like the 30-06 or some other caliber. At this time, I am only planning on shooting paper probably at 100 yards but who knows the future. Since I am planning at this time to buy only 1 centerfire rifle, then I want to make that rifle special for me and for that rifle to be the most fun to shoot. My son probably will mostly be shooting the Ruger 10/22 and I will be mostly shooting this new rifle.


Allan

[rantingredneck]

Well then if the future is uncertain and you think you will some day want to hunt deer sized or other game then the .243 is back on the table as are the .308 and .30-06. The .30-06 will be the hardest recoiling of the three but will offer the widest variety of factory ammo at the lowest prices (cheaper ammo means you'll shoot more and get better at it), with the .308 being second in that regard. The advantage to the .243 would be substantially lighter recoil and the ability to hunt small varmints up to deer sized game. The .308 would be suited to deer sized game up to Mule Deer, Black Bear, and Elk/Moose (with appropriate ammo and shot placement). The .30-06 would handle anything from deer up to even the brown bears (I'll catch some flak for that statement but it is true). You can even buy 55 grain accelerator rounds from Remington for the .30-06 which would make it a varmint gun. If you are recoil shy but still want the 06 you can buy reduced recoil factory loads for it in the 125 to 150 grain range.

Both the Savage model 110 family and Remington 700 are excellent choices in bolt action rifles.

[robfleck2]

I still say stay with the 223. Go with a nice varmit rifle with nice optics. Look at the weatherby vanguard varmit speacial. It has guaranteed accuracy right out of the box. It can be had for less than $600.

Learn to drive a whole box of ammo through the 10 ring and then take up prarrie dogging. It's not quite hunting (maybe technicly it is, but it's really more shooting). I have not done it, but I think it will be more to your liking. It will be kind of like a video game I would suspect.

Not all hunting is deer hunting, so don't worry about making your first "fun" centerfire rifle a deer hunting rifle. My favorite hunting is dove hunting. After that I enjoy duck the most. I have only recently re-introduced myself to deer hunting.

If you want to shoot for fun, buy the gun you can shoot a lot.

- Rob

[keb2739]

Allan,

You might as well invest in a good gun safe now, because once you got the bug, there's no turning back. LOL You started out with a great little gun! I've had a Ruger 10/22 for years, and love it.

You've already received some great advice. The .223 is fun caliber to shoot, that you and your son will be able to shoot, without regard for recoil issues, and ammo is plentiful and cheap. 22.250 is a great choice as well, very little recoil, and some great guns like the Remington 700 SPS, which is affordable, and accurate out of the box, and which has a trigger which can be tuned to your liking very easily and affordably. Put you a nice scope on it, and you'll be able to spend hours at the range with your boy trying to stack one round on top of another. If your son is like mine, he won't want to shoot the 10/22 near as often, once he gets a feel for the bigger gun.

Either of these calibers will serve your needs now. If you decide later on to take to the woods in pursuit of game, you'll want another gun, in a larger caliber, but in this man's opinion, we can never have too many guns. You can always use the .223 or 22.250 for varmits like bobcats and coyote.

Enjoy and welcome,

Kyle

[MOhunter]

might look into a 6mm ppc or .308win both excelent target comp rounds.

the .17's and .204 ruger are also fun.

older choices are .218bee

could also consider pistols .22lr buckmark or something.

[wildbio]

I had another thought about shooting and having fun with your son....How about a shotgun for each of you and shooting trap and/or skeet? If there is a club nearby they can be a lot of fun. If not you could toss clay pigeons. Not a rifle answer but just another way to enjoy the shooting sports. Shooting things (clays) in the air is in many respects more fun than stationary target shooting.

[allanofcalifornia]

I had another thought about shooting and having fun with your son....How about a shotgun for each of you and shooting trap and/or skeet? If there is a club nearby they can be a lot of fun. If not you could toss clay pigeons. Not a rifle answer but just another way to enjoy the shooting sports. Shooting things (clays) in the air is in many respects more fun than stationary target shooting.

Already thought of that and the shotgun will be my next purchase after the centerfire rifle. Then we will be able to go to the range together and shoot our separate rifles (also enter the rimfire and centerfire contests just for fun if we want to) and also shoot trap and skeet. This way we get to experience a wide variety of shooting and have a ton of fun. :)

Also, I already did buy a gun safe (holds 14 guns) since I believe safety is number one.


Allan

[rayderluvr]

I reccomend the .223, it was my first centerfire rifle and I love shooting it! If I was buying my first rifle, i would buy a Stevens model 200 in .223. Should be able to get on brand new for less than $300.00, and from what I have heard an accurate rifle.

[uncle jerky]

Get a Ruger Mini 14/.223 with some hi cap mags and/or a Saiga 223 that has a factory 10 round mag.Use American ammo only in the Ruger and ANY type of ammo in the Saiga. Both are good little shooters,but the Saiga is more accurate and its bbl heats up less quickly than the Mini. This will also teach your son to learn about and respect American and European technology and the weapons produced on each continent.