What Is A Good First Rifle?

Ah yes, the .22 Rimfire family. How many hours of my time have you occupied? Even the master marksmen started with these babies. Whether you can afford to shoot "better" calibers or not, no one is above the .22 rimfire. Not only are they cheap to shoot... But they are also extremely fun, especially when you're with friends! A .22 rifle teaches essential shooting fundamentals and should be the first caliber that you master. Good practice is worth more than any attachment on your fancy new AR-15 or AK-47, so shoot it up! When you make every shot count, shooting a .22 is practically free!

I just want to say that this article is completely unsponsored and is based entirely off my opinions and a fair amount of research. No harm is intended. I cannot make your final choice for you. When you find something you like, make sure you research. Look at the pros and cons and make sure you want to buy what you chose!

There are a few I could recommend right off the bat. They aren't too expensive, so you wouldn't be breaking the bank. Another reminder. Make sure to buy a few different bulk packs to find the ammo your gun likes best. They are not all the same!

The Marlin Model 795

Semi-auto.
1. Marlin Model 795 - MSRP $125 with $25 mail in rebate. There arent many things you can do to this gun, but there are a few things available. You can get a dragunov stock, bullpup stock, etc off the top of my head. If you really dont care about customization too much, you cant go wrong. Out of the box, the 795 is considerably more accurate than a stock Ruger 10/22. As nutnfancy puts it, it is "The 4.5 lb .22 Sharpshooter". The Marlin 795 also serves as a great hunting rifle due to its superior accuracy. This has to be one of the best budget guns ever manufactured. Comes with a 10 round magazine. As for pre-ban mags, sadly I can't help :'(

2. Mossberg 702 Plinkster - MSRP $162 (Cheapest Model). Also a pretty cheap option. I really don't know much about it, but it seems to be a good, accurate rifle. Check it out. You're gonna be in the middle to high $100's. Comes with a 10 round magazine.

Ruger 10/22 Carbine

3. Ruger 10/22 - MSRP $277 (Cheapest Model). This isn't the most accurate gun out of the box, but it will be fantastic for most people. You can customize it to no end, there is just so many stocks, aftermarket sights, triggers and all that good stuff. The only problem is that many (including me) cannot get their hands on extended magazines, living in heavily regulated states and all... No mags bigger than 10 for us, but I beleive you can get pre ban mags. No idea where. They are available though, this is an old gun. At my local shop, a basic model seems to go for about 200-230 bucks. It can be kind of expensive if you're really strapped for cash, but it is a good rifle, no doubt about that!

Bolt-action.
1. Mossberg 802 Plinkster - MSRP $162 (Cheapest Model) This is the bolt-action version of the 702 plinkster. I've honestly heard nothing bad about this rifle. Seems like a good option at a great price.

Mossberg 802 Plinkster

 2. Marlin XT-22 - Probably one of the best bolt-action .22's on the market, even when competing with the best. It seems to be extremely reliable when it comes to accuracy. For more information, check out nutnfancy's XT-22 video on youtube. It's worth the watch. I'll be picking one up myself soon. Looks fantastic and performs as well as it looks. My local shop has it for $225. The only thing I thought twice about was a somewhat stiff bolt. I worked it a bit in the shop, but it seems like it will loosen up quickly. A few hundred strokes before even shooting should do the job. Not that bad of a task. Looks like a good deal for a great modern looking rifle. Comes with a 7 round magazine.
3. Savage Mark II F (The basic Mark II Model) - MSRP $214. The new models have the accutrigger, which seems promising, but to a veteran shooter, it wont make a difference. You can find a non-accu-trigger model for something like $130-$150. I would recommend the accutrigger model, simply because it's all around better. The Savage Mark II is a veteran in the rimfire world. It seems to be a good option and I don't think it will do you wrong. Was my original choice for a bolt until I found out about the XT-22. Comes with a 5 round magazine.

Savage Mark II

Lever-action?
Well, in all honesty, I would never recommend a Lever-action as a first gun. Wanna know why? THE PRICE! Anyway, here are a couple of honorable mentions. :)

1. Henry Golden Boy - MSRP $515. I have never heard of a problem with one of these. It's one of the most popular .22 lever-actions on the market and it has to be doing something right.

Henry Golden Boy

2. Marlin Golden 39A - MSRP $599. The longest continuously produced rifle in history. The Golden 39A proves itself as a veteran in the shooting community. It is supposedly a fantastic rifle. I can't argue with that, considering that it never went out of productions, not even for a short time. And hey, I love Marlin!

Marlin Golden 39A

Verdict? 
So, you want something relatively inexpensive? I would recommend the 795 simply because it's cheap and right now, I just dont feel like I want too much customiztion. When I do, a 10/22 will probably be purchased. when you are first starting out, I would recommend the cheapest thing you can get. Now here, cheap doesn't mean a lack of quality. The 795 is a great rifle, not only for the "price", but as an overall solid gun. 

You can also see Nutnfancy's video about it on youtube. He hit the nail on the head with that review. As for ammo, my 795 like Federal Bulk (Value pack version) the one you can see at walmart (the red box). Again, the 795 can't shoot hyper velocity. I believe a plastic recoil buffer is to blame. I guess they cut corners somewhere, right? Either way, not a huge problem. As for a bolt-action, I plan on getting the XT-22, but if I didn't, I'd go with savage. If you could spend a total of $400, you could buy two of these guns and also end up with a couple thousand rounds of ammo depending on how expensive the guns you buy end up being. Remember, you need to try different stuff. Simply doing it from the beginning will save the frustration of trying to figure out what's wrong with your gun, when really, you're using ammo that your gun doesn't like!

I just hope I pointed you guys in the general direction of something you may want to buy. Anyway, good luck. Most importantly, have fun! 

Malicious Activity? No Way!

It has come to my attention that when visiting this blog, a warning about malicious content may appear. I dont know what the problem is, however this site has not been hacked, intercepted, or otherwise.

Google says that this site contains suspicious content from Ammoland.com, which I know is not true. However, it is true that Ammoland has been showing suspicious activity lately, with users' computers contracting trojans, adware, etc. I don't know what their story is, but it would appear that they've been hacked, because I have never gotten a virus from their site, or from the few times I've visited it. It would seem that this is a recent issue that has started in the last few days or weeks.

To confirm that my blog contained no malware, etc, I loaded every page multiple times and then scanned my computer with multiple anti-virus programs. Both reports came up clean. I think the problem may have been related to a specific ad that may have been showing up here. Pay no attention to this, there is no problem. I have done my best to infect my computer through my blog, but there was no virus to be infected by.

Thanks for your understanding. Also, good luck to Ammoland.com in fixing this whole malware issue.

Why I love Pyramid Air and Why You Should Check Them Out

Hey guys, quick post... I've mentioned them in many of my reviews, but I want to tell you just why I love Pyramid Air. This article is not sponsored and is my honest opinion about an honest company.  So here goes.

Pyramid Air has amazing prices. I'm not going to lie to you and say that they have the best prices on every item they sell, because they definitely don't. However, they offer a huge variety of products and you'd be cheating yourself by not going over to their website, PyramidAir.com to check out their items. Pyramid Air has something for everyone there.

Pyramid Air has great features. This would include their "Bullseye Bucks" program. When you buy things, you will earn that amount in Bullseye Bucks. With these, you can purchase other items. They aren't pf much value, but if you're a frequent buyer, they can really add up. They also feature a 10 for $10 program. You pay $10 and they will fire 10 shots out of the gun you ordered to make sure it is in 100% working order. It's actually a good deal, simply because most faulty guns fail on the first few shots. You can save yourself extra shipping and possible loss of dicount by losing the packaging simply by getting the 10 for $10 service.

And finally,Pyramid Air has amazing customer service. On my last order, I bought a Crosman 1377c  (review up soon on Youtube with an embed here) and a few different types of ammo. There was an error with my transaction since my bank account was on hold. They called me up, asked me about and I explained it to them. They were cool about it. I told them I'd call them up as soon as my account would go through. I called them a couple days later at 10:00am and told them to take out the money. The order was shipped that day as they ship your order if it was purchased before 12:00pm eastern time.

Last but not least, they have an honest return policy, 30 days from the time your item was delivered. I actually had a problem with one of my guns and they exchanged it with no problems, which goes back to the whole customer service thing.

Overall, I think that even hardcore firearm enthusiasts (like myself) should treat themselves to an airgun. Maybe I'm just weird, but I love airguns like I do firearms and I always will! Check out Pyramid Air, you'll be glad you did!