.223 Newbie Decision/opinions wanted

[ETH092]

First off Id like to say hello to all the MDS members. Glad to be here.

Well fellas I'm generally new to the shooting scene, I've only ever owned a Mossberg 500 Pump. And I'm soon to be joining the military. With that being said I could use some advice from the experts here on what some options of mine could be.

Looking for a .223 to get my aim in tune.
Price Range = 200-600$

Also is it possible I could find a AR in that range at say...a pawn shop?
Thank you ,
ET

 

[mikec]

Welcome to the forum.

First question, how old are you? Not trying to be rude, but MD has a law dealing with folks under 21 and certain rifles. If you are 21 or above, it makes buying easier for you.

First suggestion is to check the "Industry Partners" section of this forum and see if any dealers are close to you. Visit one and they may be able to help you with a rifle in that price range.

If you are under 21, let us know. There are legal ways to deal with the age rules. Cost might go up.

Hey former military folks, is it better to know basic marksmanship or should he go "green", so the military can train him the way they want?

 

[disco dan]

good luck finding a nice AR in that price range. IMO spend a little more money and get something nicer. You can build a decent AR15 for under 1000 dollars if you look around and get deals on parts. remember you get what you pay for when it comes to fire arms.

here is a shove in the right direction
www.spikestactical.com
www.bravocompanyusa.com
www.laruetactical.com
www.lewismachine.net

ive used products from all of these companies they cost a little more than others but its well worth the price to have a nice rifle.

 

[ETH092]

Im 17, turning 18 this november so around then is when I'm most likely to purchase.
and thanks I just seen that section right after the post. But yes, what are the ways ur are speaking of?

 

[disco dan]

cant buy an AR15 unless its an HBar(heavy barrel) til your 21 kiddo. to be 100% honest i would go get a ruger 10/22 spend 20 bucks on ammo and go shoot it all day total investment of less than 300 bucks and still semi auto fun without the expensive food blues. i still love shooting my 10/22 and ive had 3 AR's something about being able to plink all day and not go broke that i like .

think about it before you get an ar15 and remember that even with cheaper ammo your blowing 25 cents down the barrel everytime you pull the trigger.

BTW good luck with the military im trying to get in now also but im 25

 

[ETH092]

Alright thanks dan. Im going to look into finding one of those. With the ammo part ,ive already found some good deals on 22 or 223 so thats not a problem.

And you should still be able to get in Dan. dont think the age limit cuts off in any branch until you're like 27. As long as can run a mile or two, and are in decent shape you should be good to go

 

[disco dan]

haha i had to lose 50 pounds but im almost there. lost all of the weight just waiting on my med read to get back. so right now the only thing holding me up is the two pins in my elbow. i was in pretty sad shape. now that is not the case haha. AFIAK the age limit for the Army is 42 now.

 

[Chaunsey]

10/22 is a good affordable way to go, and you should be ableto find one at walmart dicks or just about anywhere at right around $200 plus another $20 for a brick of 500 rounds.

alot better than the $150 you'd pay for the same amount of .223.

you will still be able to practice the fundamentals, its essentially the same regardless of caliber, and .223 in an AR has very little recoil anyway, so its not a hard transition to make.

you really cant get an AR for $600 of any quality unless you build it yourself, but anyway because of MD law, you can only buy an assembled HBAR unless you're 21, so you really cant get an AR for less than around $800 or so.

 

[ETH092]

haha i had to lose 50 pounds but im almost there. lost all of the weight just waiting on my med read to get back. so right now the only thing holding me up is the two pins in my elbow. i was in pretty sad shape. now that is not the case haha. AFIAK the age limit for the Army is 42 now.

the one guy i seen in the recruiting station lost a good bit of weight and they tried to dick him over some loose skin around his waist so watch out when it comes to the measurements. and 42? damn WW3 must be coming soon haha

10/22 is a good affordable way to go, and you should be ableto find one at walmart dicks or just about anywhere at right around $200 plus another $20 for a brick of 500 rounds.

alot better than the $150 you'd pay for the same amount of .223.

you will still be able to practice the fundamentals, its essentially the same regardless of caliber, and .223 in an AR has very little recoil anyway, so its not a hard transition to make.

you really cant get an AR for $600 of any quality unless you build it yourself, but anyway because of MD law, you can only buy an assembled HBAR unless you're 21, so you really cant get an AR for less than around $800 or so.

Really getting the fundamentals is all im really focused on. Ill have to go to dicks and check it out then. but one thing I dont understand is... the .22LR is measured at .223 and the .223 is a .224. makes no sense

 

[joppaj]

Welcome and good luck in your military career. Now, I have a suggestion as a cop. DON'T TRY TO LEARN HOW TO SHOOT NOW! That's why the good folks at basic have such high quality rifle instructors, they will teach you how to do this properly. We get new police recruits all the time that tried to learn pistols before they came to us. Now our instructors get to break bad habits before they can start good ones.

 

[mbz300sdl]

If you really want something in .223 get a mini-14 plenty of used ones in the classifieds and if you wanted new walmart sells them for $617.

I can also imagine that what Joppaj says is true about bad habits I'm 25 been shooting since I was 6 handguns, rifles and shotguns. It would be hard as hell for me to change the ways I shoot be it good or bad.

 

[Biggfoot44]

While I know where Joppa is coming from, I've got to come down on the opposite side.
Having a grasp of BASICS is almost always an advantage. Real basics like trigger control, and a little bit of sight alignment.
The problems come when they try to run before they mastered walking .
To the OP, I'm going to go prehistoric school, and recomend a single shot .22. . It will make you really concentrate on fundamentals. One you know how to hit, use Uncle Sugar's $ to play with rapid fire, mag changes, etc

 

[Idempotent]

I see all this mention of a Ruger 10/22, but no mention of Tech sights. If he wants his practice to be as applicable to the M4 as possible, he'll need the proper sight picture.

 

[smores]

Having been through Army BCT, they do it "by the numbers" and unless you're a freaking retard, they can teach you how to shoot pretty damn well. My only experience with rifles before BCT was .22 LR Marlin bolt rifles in scout camp (parents wouldn't allow guns in the house, no matter how much I begged).

I qualified 34/40, not Expert but close! I did have the fundamentals of safety, and trigger control. Learned sight picture and breathing better at basic, so I guess I had limited experience, but was taught by BSA/NRA-qualified instructors, which are very similar to how the military teaches new shooters in concept.

 

[jimbobborg]

One word: Appleseed.

Jim

 

[ETH092]

Now ive shot 12 gauges and im a good shot with that so I imagine a 22 couldnt be hardly as challenging. I just want to be confident that I can consistently hit the target. If theyre going to break any habits, well...I already have them, if I do possess any.

But thanks for the reference to the tech sights. willlll come in handy

 

[Biggfoot44]

Shotgun skills are good. Rapid gun mounting and proper swing are transferable skills.
But trigger control with a rifle is apples and watermellons compared to shotgun.

 

[ETH092]

That just might be my next step.

Well i would like to hear what you guys think about the Mossberg 702 Plinkster. I was thinking about getting the thumbhole version with a 21inch barrel with a chrome finish. and the lower price than the 10/22 is just icing on the cake right now but i dont wanna get a lower quality, although ive never had any problems with mossberg. Thoughts?

 

[Chaunsey]

Really getting the fundamentals is all im really focused on. Ill have to go to dicks and check it out then. but one thing I dont understand is... the .22LR is measured at .223 and the .223 is a .224. makes no sense

the caliber usually refers to the bore size, so the corresponding bullet will usually be just slightly bigger so that it grips the rifling well.

That just might be my next step.

Well i would like to hear what you guys think about the Mossberg 702 Plinkster. I was thinking about getting the thumbhole version with a 21inch barrel with a chrome finish. and the lower price than the 10/22 is just icing on the cake right now but i dont wanna get a lower quality, although ive never had any problems with mossberg. Thoughts?

nothing wrong with the mossberg that ive ever heard, however, the 10/22 is probably the most popular .22 rifle on the market, so there are a LOT More aftermarket parts, magazines and accessories.

so you can buy a stock 10/22 for about $200 and then you have countless options to modify it later if you like.

if you're more concerned about cost and dont care about modifying it, then other models can be just as good for less money. although not much less, the 10/22 is pretty damn affordable imo.

i paid just $169 out the door for mine on sale at dicks for christmas some years back, they tend to run a little more these days though.

 

[JOBU]

Well fellas I'm generally new to the shooting scene, I've only ever owned a Mossberg 500 Pump. And I'm soon to be joining the military. With that being said I could use some advice from the experts here on what some options of mine could be.


ET

....I put 8.5 years in uniform, both in the ranks and with the "O's". Let me give you some free advice: save the $$, have some patience, and wait 'till you're in so you can get the government to train you for free.

Why pay for bullets when Uncle Sam can pick up the tab?

p.s. Marlins .22 for ~$100 at Dick's