[jonrjen]

I'm not much of a long gun person, though over the years I have aquired a few of your basic 12 gauge pump guns. I am more interested in some opinions on rifles. I have again over the years picked up a few. Now, Keep in mind that I am not a hunter. I have done the basic dove, rabbit, duck shooting with shot guns, but never gone deer, hog or large game hunting.
I am thinking of culling out a few of the rifles, but not sure what to keep as an all around can do rifle. I am also trying to take into account the price of ammo with the equation of what to keep and what to release. Which makes for a good all around..can do rifle?
How about some feedback...please.

Here is a sample of my choices.

Marlin 30-30 lever action.....ammo most expensive of what I have.
SKS wood stock like new 7.62-39......cheap available ammo.
SKS Poly folding stock like new 7.62-39.....cheap available ammo.
Ruger Mini 14 old style wood stainless with an assortment of banana clips, perfect condition .223.......fairly inexpensive ammo compared to the 30-30.
Remington .22LR inexpensive poly stock, perfect condition.....flat cheap ammo compared to the others....but offers limited use.
Marlin .22 Magnum semi stainless wood stock, perfect condition.....not well versed nor educated on the .22mag limitations, but the price was great for the gun.

I have been giving some thought to picking up a Mosin-Nagant M91/30 7.62X54R also. Ammo is cheap and I understand this would be close to a
30-06 round.

 

[brojohn]

Some serious long gun knowledge- from real life experience-

Rule # 1- DO NOT!!!!!!........ fall in love with "high-grade" over/under shotguns or Bolt/Action rifles. (unless you inherited a lot of money)

Reason: you will stay broke, and you will get in a bind someday and sell one for peanuts.....then you will cry.

And, thats all I know about long guns...........hope it helps.

 

[btleslie]

I'll throw in my $.02 for what it is worth (probably $.01 ).

For hunting I'd keep the 30-30 unless you plan on needing to take some really long (over 100 - 150 yard) shots. It is light weight and easy to carry around and is a great brush gun.

Also keep you 22s they're cheap plinkers, or at least the 22 LR is.

A Mosin is a great gun, but is a tad on the heavy side for toting around all day for my tastes. It is like the 30-06 in ballistics and would be a good all around gun.

Your Mini-14 is good for deer in Texas, but some will say it is too light of a bullet.

I'll let others with more experience on the SKS's comment on those.

Unless you're in need of money for personal reasons I'd keep them all and have fun. Plink with the less expensive ammo and hunt with the 30-30. JMO

 

[RandyP]

Hard to beat a 30-30 as an 'all around' hunting rifle. Impossible to beat a rimfire for economical plinking and small game hunting. For surplus ammo that SKS is a winner and anything in 7.62x39 or .223 will have ammo for the next 50 years.

You can reload rifle ammo starting with a $82 Lee single stage kit from Factory Sales.

Oh..... as to making a choice? I have NEVER sold a firearm and never will. As my collection grows I simply get another storage cabinet.

 

[dbeardslee]

30-30 and 7.62X39 are pretty similar in terms of performance, but you'll probably get a better selection of projectiles with 30-30 - but as you already stated, you'll pay for 'em. I do like the poly stocks on an SKS, and a folder just makes it easier to store and tote. I don't care for the magazines though with the big hook on them, but there are conversions you can do to get them to handle regular AK mags. Additionally the SKS is generally accepted to be more accurate than an AK, and of the choices you've offered that's the one I'd pick.

 

[sparks9293]

I'll throw in my $.02 for what it is worth (probably $.01 ).

For hunting I'd keep the 30-30 unless you plan on needing to take some really long (over 100 - 150 yard) shots. It is light weight and easy to carry around and is a great brush gun.

Also keep you 22s they're cheap plinkers, or at least the 22 LR is.

A Mosin is a great gun, but is a tad on the heavy side for toting around all day for my tastes. It is like the 30-06 in ballistics and would be a good all around gun.

Your Mini-14 is good for deer in Texas, but some will say it is too light of a bullet.

I'll let others with more experience on the SKS's comment on those.

Unless you're in need of money for personal reasons I'd keep them all and have fun. Plink with the less expensive ammo and hunt with the 30-30. JMO

I'm am with this line of thought also good all around advice.

 

[melter68]

my dollars worth or pounds/euro from england,

Keep em all, if it costs a lot to shoot, shoot it less, shoot your less expensive rounds the most and from one gun nut to another i would rather part with my wife than a gun, my wife costs the earth to run, rounds i can reload and i dont win the lotto at all.

Failing that join the marines and shoot for free

 

[jonrjen]

Starting to think just leave well enough alone. I can slowly add to the ammo cans for those which don't see use. Pick up a little more surplus for those that shoot the less expensive ammo.

 

[MadKaw]

I don't get what you're talking about. I hear the words, "Sell a gun" and I try to make sense of it. I understand the words by themselves but when I try to put them together, I blank out.
Wait, I think I get it... nope, it's gone.

 

[texastaurusguy]

That 30-30 Marlin will serve you well....you could probably make do with what you have. You could add a low cost 30-06 to the stable, and 20 rounds of that will run you about what the 30-30 does at Walmart.

I have a Mosin and it's a fun, cheap round to shoot, but you'll probably end up wanting to scope it and all that, and you'll probably wish you had just bought another high powered rifle after you end up doing that.

 

[jonrjen]

Yeap, I do believe I will stay right were I am out with the long guns. I don't have a scope on any of my long guns, well the exception would be he 22mag and that is because it was mounted when I purchased it.
Like I made mention of in the original post, I don't hunt and a scope for target practice and playing seems like cheating in the long run.

 

[dbeardslee]

Yeap, I do believe I will stay right were I am out with the long guns. I don't have a scope on any of my long guns, well the exception would be he 22mag and that is because it was mounted when I purchased it.
Like I made mention of in the original post, I don't hunt and a scope for target practice and playing seems like cheating in the long run.

If you ain't cheeting, you ain't trying.

 

[wiredgeorge]

Well, I am not a hunter at all. I have been hunting and it seems to be 40 degrees and raining or worse when I go so I prefer to make friends with hunters and eat their venison and deer sausage. The Mosin Nagant 90/31 would make a better fun gun if you lost the 17 lbs of furniture and mounted it in composite; just losing the steel butt plate would be an improvement. I just can't make myself do it to mine... something that old should not be dorked with too much. Adding a scope to a 90/31 should be done right; don't bother to put a rail on a spare recoil spring cover as there isn't enough eye relief and it will shake loose eventually not matter how much red loctite you drool on the mount fasteners. The much farther spacing between the iron sights makes lining up the Mosin Nagant a joy and the iron sights are pretty darn good. At some point I will buy another with junky furniture and sporterize it. The new stock will have a 6 inch thick rubber/foam butt pad hehe

I am not a fan of the SKS because I can't hit the broad side of a barn. I just got rid of a Norinco that was actually new. The front sight post was almost impossible to move as it was in there so tight. I added a 20 rd. fixed mag and the rifle cycled nicely; I just wasn't accurate enough and putting a scope on has the same challenges as the Mosin Nagant. It can be done; just don't bother with the rail on the recoil cover. Same issues.

If you hunt, you will want a 30-06 or 308 as these are widely available rounds no matter where you go and not terribly expensive but since I don't hunt, I won't try and say more.

Not sure why anyone would really want a rifle chambered in 22 mag. It is primarily for hunting slightly larger prey than can be taken with the 22LR. Unless you hunt, it is just an expensive rimfire. The Remmy 22LR you have; is it a 597? I have a 597 with an Archangel kit which is basically AR-15 furniture. With available hi-cap magazines, the rifle is a hoot to shoot and the barrel is floated when you install the kit so it is a bonus as far as accuracy. I have a red dot scope AND a laser sight. It is a tack driver at 50 yds and you can shoot all day without breaking the bank. The 597 is also not fussy about which ammo it is fed. A 10/22 Ruger is the most popular 22LR rifle and folks who own them tend to spend large amounts of money on them turning them into personalized toys.

The 223 Mini-14? Why? Shooting varmints? Carrying through brush looking for light game? Not sure why I would want one for anything other than those reasons. This is just my take and I am not an expert so my "tips" should be taken with a grain of salt. Look at the Ruger website as they have recently come out with a number of "all around" rifles.

 

[chicharrones]

Yeap, I do believe I will stay right were I am out with the long guns.

Sounds like a good decision.

Like I made mention of in the original post, I don't hunt and a scope for target practice and playing seems like cheating in the long run.

Mount a scope on that SKS and let us know if that feels like you're cheating.

BTW, I know how you feel on the SKS. My first rifle I bought on my own is my Norinco SKS I've had since 1992. It was cheap and it is my first gun, that is the only reason I keep it. Otherwise, it is always a disappointment when it comes to actually shooting it for accuracy.