I don't have much experience with guns of any kind. I was never given a BB gun or pellet gun when I was younger. A sling shot was as far as I got with
fast moving metallic objects. Now later in life, I have had my first experience with shooting. My brother bought a 12 ga shotgun from a co-worker and
he took me out shooting (December 2005). I bought a hand sling and a case of clay pigeons. I believe we were using small game shot (7 1/2)
to hit the pigeons. I hit only 25% of the targets. Anyway, the experience has left me wanting more. I am not a gun aficionado so I stick with
what I know. I searched the internet for recommendations on a cheap but reliable shotgun. I came up with the
Remington 870. What I really want is an over-under. There is something beautiful about these guns.
For a plinking gun, the recommendations are the Ruger 10/22. The .17 caliber guns are looking
pretty good too.
I'm sure everyone has there favorites, but this is what I'm looking at.
The center-fire rifle calibers I looked at lead me to choose the the .243 for its flat trajectory and long range. Why people call it a varmint gun is
beyond me. I thought that's what .22 cals were for.
Some Notes for Newbies
Getting started was very hard for me. I have no background with guns, but I don't like going to the stores and asking beginner's questions.
rim-fire - This type of ammunition you throw the shell away after firing. This includes most inexpensive .22 calibers
center-fire - This type of ammunition, the shell is reusable. These can be reloaded and shot again.
Minute of Angle (MOA) - MOA is a distance unit of measure. Many guns will claim a MOA 3 shot grouping at 100 yards. What this means is the smallest diameter of a circle drawn around the grouping. You can calculate MOA: (distance-to-target x 2 x PI)/(360 x 60).
First convert the distance to inches (100 yards = 3600 inches), multiply by 2 and multiply by PI (3.1415926) and divide by 21600. That will give you the MOA for that distance. (i.e.; 100 yards = (3600 x 2 x PI)/21600=1.047 inches)
Some of the guns I would consider buying
Shotguns
Remington 870 Express pump action shotgun 12 ga 3" chamber 28 inch trap barrel (link)
Remington 1100 Classic Field auto-load shotgun 12 ga 28 inch barrel (link)
Remington SPR310 Over-Under shotgun 12 ga 3" chamber 28 inch barrel (link)
Remington Premier Over/Under shotgun 12 ga 28 inch barrel (link)
Rim-fire Rifles
Remington 597 .22 cal rim-fire rifle for plinking (link). This rim-fire is really cheap (about $188). She is the ugly-girl-at-the-dance, but she can shoot.
Remington 572 BDL Deluxe Fieldmaster .22 cal rim-fire (link) This is the prettier .22 cal.
Ruger 10/22 rim-fire .22 cal rim-fire rifle for plinking (link)
Center-fire Rifles
Remington 700 BDL .243 Winchester center-fire rifle for varmint and targets (link)
Remington 710 .30/06 Springfield center-fire rifle for varmint and targets (link). This 700 series is much cheaper, but not as pretty.
