How To Choose a Rifle

In this article, you will learn what the best rifle is for your shooting needs and your level of experience.

Step 1  

Determine your current level of experience. If you are brand new to shooting, and just want a rifle to learn with, a .22 caliber is probably the best. And it comes with much recommendation that you make that .22 a Ruger 10/22, as it is very user friendly, easy to field strip, and is extremely modular with aftermarket parts. The author's first rifle was a 10/22, and over the years, it has been modified bit by bit into something resembling a sub machine gun, so you will probably never grow bored with this model.

Step 2 Determine what you will be using the rifle for

• Hunting rifles come in many calibers. And there is an old saying from colonial days that ".30 is a squirrel gun, .40 is a rabbit gun, .50 is a deer gun and .60 is a bear gun." Of course, weapons have become a lot more powerful since then, so that formula doesn’t really apply. But on a similar format, here is a good standard for today. A .22 is a squirrel gun, .22 magnum is a rabbit gun, .30 or 7.62 is a deer gun and .300 magnum is a bear gun. And if your target is moose or something bigger, just go to the Barret Firearms website, and they will hook you up with a .50 BMG rifle that will easily cost as much as a car.
• If the rifle you are looking for is for defensive purposes, there are also many options. The most obvious of these being the assault type weapons. Although these are not true assault weapons, and the word itself is a load of crap, that is a whole other debate and the word will be used simply for recognition by the inexperienced reader. A good place to start is the AR-15 layout. It is very user friendly, and very accurate. But it tends to be unreliable when irregularly maintained and the .223 cartridge can be too much over penetration for too little stopping power. They also tend to be expensive. Another choice is the AK-47. It is much cheaper, it's 7.62x39 cartridge packs more punch, and it is much more reliable even in nasty conditions. But it is much less accurate, and many of the features are difficult to manipulate when compared to the AR-15 series, most notably the safety and magazine release.
• For apartment defense or other situations where you anticipate a lot of potential for collateral damage, some great choices are the Beretta Cx4 Storm chambered for 9mm and the FN P90 chambered for 5.7x28mm. Both of these are good choices, as they are very short and easy to handle indoors, and the rounds are much less powerful, and when using hollow point or frangible ammo, they will most likely not go through walls.
• Another thing to keep in mind is that it is becoming frighteningly common for criminals to wear bullet proof armor. For people living in inner city areas or in trouble with the Russian mafia, a good rifle of choice will be the M-14. It is very accurate, semi automatic, fires from removable magazines, and its 7.62x51mm cartridge will easily punch through Kevlar armor and in some cases, even ceramic ballistic plates. The best part about this rifle is that it is not considered an assault rifle, so it is California Legal.

Step 3 Decide how much you want to spend

• For the budget conscious hunter, an outstanding deer rifle for not a lot of money is the Mosin Nagant. This was the Russian service rifle during WW2, and they are extremely common in gun and knife shows. It is a bolt action rifle that fires the 7.62x54r cartridge from a 5 round fixed magazine. And as of May 2009, they can usually be acquired for $100 plus tax. Ammunition for it is also extremely affordable, and can be brought in bulk on the Internet for an even better deal.
• As for the budget conscious personal defense rifle, that title definitely goes to the SKS 7.62x39 rifle. It is cheap, going for around $300 before taxes if bought used. It is extremely accurate. It can be modified to use a detachable magazine, but does not usually come with that feature, instead firing from a fixed 10 round magazine loaded by hand or from stripper clips. It is very reliable, even in bad conditions. And it is very easy to maintain. And like the M-14, it is not technically an assault rifle, so it is California Legal.

Tips

• Be willing to shop around. You can quite often find a better deal if you just look. The author once saw a vendor at a gun and knife show trying to sell a Mosin Nagant M44 for $350 while another vendor not far from him had the same rifle being sold for $99. While this is an extreme case, it is something to keep in mind.
• Try before you buy. Some public shooting ranges have rifles you can rent to try out. And most shooters at ranges will be glad to let you fire some rounds through their rifles if you just ask. Most shooters are proud of their rifles, and consider it a compliment for someone to admire their rifle enough to want to try it out. And most will refuse, but offer to pay for ammunition you use.
• Be aware of recoil. Remember, lighter rifles may be easier to lug around the woods, but they also have less weight to absorb recoil.
• The best tip you can be offered is this. It does not matter what rifle you choose in the end if you do not practice well and often. A 10 year old with a .22 that they squirrel hunt with every day is much more dangerous than a first time gun owner who just bought an AK-47.

Warnings

• Never forget, a rifle is a weapon made to kill. As soon as you start disrespecting your rifle, your rifle will disrespect you.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. I repeat this one because this is how far too many accidents happen.
• Never point the weapon at anything you do not wish to kill or destroy. Always maintain muzzle awareness.
• Always clear your weapon when picking it up, when removing from storage or a vehicle, when loading into storage or a vehicle, when handing to someone, BEFORE DISASSEMBLING OR CLEANING (that's a big one, kids. You wouldn't believe how many people shoot their knees and feet off because of that.), and after firing. This is a short list of times to clear your weapon. It is best to do it often as to build it up first as a habit, later as an OCD.
• Always wear hearing and eye protection.
• Read the literature on your rifle before firing it. If your rifle did not come with literature, it can be obtained for free by calling or checking the website of the company that made your rifle. If your rifle is military surplus, check the Internet, as there are many websites with details of your rifle as well as step by step instructions, often with video, on how to disassemble and clean your rifle.

Things You'll Need

• Cleaning kit:
  cleaning rod,a toothbrush,cloth patches for the barrel,a rag or torn up undershirt for everything else,cleaning solvent. Some very good solvents are Break-Free CLP and Hopp's #9.rubber mallet (for Russian made weapons)hexagonal wrenchesmodular screwdriver.
• Snap caps or other dummy ammo. You may want to run bullets through your rifle to function check it after performing maintenance. These are preferable for this task, as they will not shoot the dog if the weapon accidentally goes off while checking it.
• For long range shooting:
  a scope,scope rings,scope mount. This can cost from $50 to several hundred dollars.
• Ammo. This can be acquired at your local gun store, or on websites such as www.cheaperthandirt.com