Best rifle for pleasure shooting?

[lendaddy]

Assault or sniper? I can see where both would be a ball, but I have no experience with either. I am considering getting one or the other for my father to play with on his property. He does not hunt, but enjoys the mechanics of the weapons and target shooting. He also has his High Explosives license from the feds, so as you might imagine he's a fan of controlled destruction

[Wolf1]

Originally posted by lendaddy
Assault or sniper?

I would go with the sniper rifle.

There is just something special about shooting long distances.

Very challenging.

You will find that playing with various bullet weights and ballistic coefficients as well as types and grains of powder is quite entertaining.

I've found that the Nosler Ballistic Tip in .30 caliber and 180 grains is very accurate traveling at 3200 fps.

[pwd72s]

Len, you seem to fall into the liberal labels? By "assault" and "sniper" do you mean semi-automatic, then bolt action with scope? To my mind, "assault" and "sniper" are military and law enforcement terms adopted by those who are opposed to our 2nd amendment. Actually, I have both types...my 7mm Mag Caliber hunting rifle, bolt action with scope, is NOT a "pleasurable" gun to shoot. A couple of boxes, 40 rounds, and I guarantee you that your shoulder will feel it the next day. My semi-auto Mini 14 is more pleasurable, a smaller .223 caliber centerfire rifle. I can empty it's 20 round magazines all day long with no pain to anything other than my wallet. But you asked for "pleasurable"? There, I'd give the first rifle I ever owned the nod. It's a single shot .22 rimfire with a simple bolt action. So ancient that Remington didn't give them serial numbers, so it's age is guestimated at late 1930's, early 1940's. It's known as a "Targetmaster" model. It will handle .22 rimfire in either .22 short, long, or long rifle. It has a crowned semi "bull" barrel. It's sights are iron. And to my mind...it's always a pure pleasure to shoot. I've had "pleasure" shooting this rifle ever since my 12th birthday. 50 years later, it still gives pleasure every time I squeeze it's trigger. "Gee, thanks dad...this is what I really wanted!"

[Rob Channell]

Something in a .50 BMG
Better have a large piece of property, though.

[jriera]

If you are into raw power, the largest rifle I had the 'pleasure' to use was a .600 Nitro Express (3 rounds, sore for a week) and a .460 Weatherby (5 rounds, sore for another week). A .50 caliber is barrel of fun (if you have the 'proper' range). For 'normal' use a good .22 is a real 'pleasure'. 7mm and/or .308's are the 'perfect' calibers for me.

[HardDrive]

Barrett

[craigster59]

About 4 years ago there were some Swedish Mauser sniper rifles being sold in the "Gun Digest". All matching #'s including scope in the very accurate 6.5x55. I wish I had bought one. They were going for about $1200 and would be alot of fun and a good investment.

[FrayAdjacent911]

Depends on what you want to do. For some casual plinking at relatively short ranges (within 50 yards), you could find a decent .22lr rifle, like a Ruger 10/22. Ammo is cheap. You could shoot all day on about $10 worth of ammo.

If you want more oomph, but don't need pinpoint accuracy, you could find an SKS for less than $300, and often less than $200. 7.62x39 ammo is potent enough for hunting most game in the US, and is still very very cheap. SKSs are also very robust and reliable. You could drive over one in your car, and it would likely still function flawlessly.


Are you a 'sprayer and prayer', or an 'X ring addict'?

[Tim Hancock]

I just put together an AR15, it is a fun toy and it is fun to see some peoples reactions when they see it, it makes them think you are some kind of whacked out militia member because you have such an "evil" looking assault weapon. I was in the army reserves at one time so my choice for a varmint gun was based on nostalgia somewhat.

An added benefit is that a few of my teen daughter's male friends have seen it and it is probably a good thing for them to think I am a little crazy!

[Shuie]

.22 lever gun is a hoot. M48 Mauser is nice also. I dont care to shoot anything bigger than a .308 from my shoulder.

.577 Tyrannosaur is probably the best caliber to watch someone else shoot.

http://www.big-boys.com/articles/kickback.html

[slakjaw]

I have a hell of a lot of fun shooting my Mosan 7.62x54mm

[lendaddy]

Thanks guys, I should have added that he aready has two .22 rifles. One is a target rifle with a thich barrel and the other is a lever action with iron sights. The AR15 sounds interesting but I couldn't pick one out of a lineup to be honest. What ammo does it use?

[Eric 951]

Originally posted by lendaddy
Thanks guys, I should have added that he aready has two .22 rifles. One is a target rifle with a thich barrel and the other is a lever action with iron sights. The AR15 sounds interesting but I couldn't pick one out of a lineup to be honest. What ammo does it use?

.223 most commonly

I vote Mauser, look up "Mitchell's Mausers" on the web--you can buy a complete 1945-46 built Mauser with sling, bayonet, field-dress kit, and ammo pouches.

They also carry P-38, Mauser Broomhandles, ad Lugers.

[Shuie]

AR15 is the semi auto version of the M16. You'd know it if you saw it. Its available as a gas operated/assisted .223 or a straight blowback operated 9mm. Recoil is about the same in both (lite). They are both a lot of fun, but make sure you have a lot of outdoor real-estate or a good outdoor range if you want to shoot the .223. A short barreled .223 with what is essentially a muzzle break is not fun inside small enclosed places.

[fuelie600]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
I just put together an AR15..... I was in the army reserves at one time

I've been thinking about doing the same thing. The M16's we used in the national guard were fun, rugged, reliable and acurate. After all of practice breaking these down and cleaning them, it would be like having an old friend back. After all, we had to sleep with the damn things, right?

Did you build it or buy it? I noticed Brownells has all of the pieces. Did you have to get a federal firearms license? Did you use the military style sights?

I would be interested in how you put this together and what the total cost was.

[VINMAN]

my baby, Steyr SSG 308!

[VINMAN]

Originally posted by fuelie600
I've been thinking about doing the same thing. The M16's we used in the national guard were fun, rugged, reliable and acurate. After all of practice breaking these down and cleaning them, it would be like having an old friend back. After all, we had to sleep with the damn things, right?

Did you build it or buy it? I noticed Brownells has all of the pieces. Did you have to get a federal firearms license? Did you use the military style sights?

I would be interested in how you put this together and what the total cost was.

I have a Bushmaster version of the M-4 which is basically the carbine version of the M-16, shorter 16'barrel, telescoping stock.
To build one you need a FFL to purchase the lower reciever.

[lendaddy]

How much are we talking for these ARs?

[Tim Hancock]

Len, most manufacturers of AR15 (semiauto version of the military type M16) ccomponents build them as 5.56 Nato which allows the use of surplus 5.56 or .223 civilian ammo. Some also manufacture .223 wylde chambered barrels which will not chamber the 5.56. the .223 only barrels are typically only used by some match shooters. Most AR15's are the standard 5.56/.223 chambers.

Go to AR15.com for tons of info on these things. There are several companies that offer kits for putting one of these together. I went with RockRiverArms components which are top notch. I ended up spending about $600.00 for the components which took me one evening to assemble. You will will find all kinds of different variations in barrel length, sights, grips, stocks etc etc.

Good brands of complete new rifles are Colt, Bushmaster, Armalite, RockRiver Arms (cost for a completed firearm will vary from $800-$2000) There are many component manufacturers also and most will mix and match (building a no frills "kit" or component gun will cost $500-$700).

I am not a gun nut, but be careful, reading the AR15.com forums sucked me in big time! Now I am looking at flashlights, lasers and holographic sights all while trying to convince my wife that I "needed" this gun for varmints (in reality, my multiple 22's and shotguns are more than adequate for dropping the occasional possum, coon, skunk or woodchuck that comes up to our deck at night to steal our catfood!)!

[VINMAN]

My Bushmaster was about $800
I agree with Tim, once you get one, they are addictive, I've spent a fortune on accesories for it!