Plinking rifle

I'm in the market for a cheap (to buy and shoot) rifle, no hunting just a little tin can shooting. Self defense is taken care of with a .40, so I don't need some military spec rifle. Just looking for a cheap reliable rifle, .22 would be fine, but what about something that shoots a handgun cartridge? Just looking for some suggestions, the wthstf thread has some awesome firearms mentioned, but spending real money on ammo isn't too fun when your sitting around shooting cans and the sacrificial fruit. Any suggestions or models to avoid?

BTW so far I have been casually looking at the Ruger 10/22, Marlin 60 or 70, Mossberg Plinkster, and (gun buff's don't read this last one) a Hi-Point 995.

Ruger 10/22. It's the Miata of firearms.

Hell, I need one. Might buy one this weekend!

I think the 10/22 is pretty much the miata of guns

A 10/22 is indeed an excellent plinker. However, consider a bolt action 22 like a Romanian something-or-other, or an old single shot bolt action like a Remington as well. You can get them for under a bill and they are fun to shoot and won't burn up the ammo like the 10/22 with a 25 round mag will. However, you can't prune trees with a single shot.

Another vote for the 10/22.

One thing the old Remington targetmaster and such have over the semi autos, they will pretty much force you to make your shot count, they teach marksmanship by making you go through all that rigamarole between each shot.

For quite some time I have been quietly lusting after and old-style .22 lever action semi-auto. The kind that you load under the barrel in the tube. Don't ask me why.

Our 10/22 has a aftermarket "rubberish" stock and a heavy barrel with a pretty high powered scope... and a couple 30 rnd mags. An afternoon, a couple 500rnd boxes of shells and you can shoot down a tree thats a few inches in diameter.

found a picture of what ours looks like: its in black of course. Check cabelas website for some ideas on what you can do to them. : Cabelas

I vote Marlin 60 for the awesome tube magazine, ease of use, thrift (~$90), and general fun to shootability. I have two of them and I love them...

(and I have 5 10/22's so yes, i know what I am talking about)

Or if you want a pistol round in a carbine: (Beretta Cx4 Storm) You can buy a nice 10/22, lots of bolt-ons and boxes of hundreds of rounds for the price of one of those Berettas, tho.

I vote for the 995. I've owned one, a lot better gun than a lot of people say, shoots 9mm, so it has some power, and at 150.00 or so, it's pretty cheap, if not very pretty. You can get a nicer stock to dress it up if you want to. Do a Google on them, see what others say.

My dad has one of these:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=142377196 (stevens model 15) Its not that excitiing I guess, but it is almost 60 years old and still works fine. You should be able to find one from $50-$75 without too much trouble.

I dunno what AR7's are going for these days, but they make nice plinkers too. Not in the same class as a 10/22, of course, but for just having a good time, they'll do that.

^^^ I am not sure which one of those guys I would want to be. The one about to lose his ear to the barrel coming up, the guy about to lose his shoulder...

that is provided tha gun is even real

mad_machine wrote: ^^^ I am not sure which one of those guys I would want to be. The one about to lose his ear to the barrel coming up, the guy about to lose his shoulder... that is provided tha gun is even real

It is usually bolted to a boat. That is a punt gun, used in large scale water fowl hunting. Accept no substitute!

what the hell does it fire and how big are those ducks?

slefain wrote: For quite some time I have been quietly lusting after and old-style .22 lever action semi-auto. The kind that you load under the barrel in the tube. Don't ask me why.

If you're thinking manually operated repeater but aren't stuck on leverguns, and don't mind tubular magazines, think about a .22 pump. An old Winchester 62 or a Rossi can be a lot of fun.

On the tube magazine semiauto side, I really like the Marlin/Glenfield 60. It's just not as easy to fix up as a 10/22.

bigbrainonbrad wrote: but what about something that shoots a handgun cartridge?

There is only one:

mad_machine wrote: what the hell does it fire and how big are those ducks?

Don't think of shooting one duck. Think of shooting whole flocks with each shot. On the water, not in the air. Seriously frowned upon these days.

A bit pricey, but, yeah. They are visually impressive, too. (I meant the Thompson)

mad_machine wrote: ^^^ I am not sure which one of those guys I would want to be. The one about to lose his ear to the barrel coming up, the guy about to lose his shoulder... that is provided tha gun is even real

I assure you, they are real... my uncle has one.

Makes a HELL of a mantle piece!

I used to know a Class III dealer. He had a real Thompson, the WWII version. When it was already dirty (real PITA to clean), he'd let me bring a coffee can of 45's over and let 'er rip. Man, you could write your name in a phone book with that thing. Today, even the semi-auto Auto-Ordinance reproductions (made by the Moonies, gotta love 'em) are expensive.

10/22 is the Miata, Civic and E30 of .22s. No other real choice.

jg

Apexcarver wrote:

mad_machine wrote: ^^^ I am not sure which one of those guys I would want to be. The one about to lose his ear to the barrel coming up, the guy about to lose his shoulder... that is provided tha gun is even real

I assure you, they are real... my uncle has one. Makes a HELL of a mantle piece!

It is a mantle...