New To Firearms, and Hunting

[zahnzieh]

I only hunt with a bow or shotgun in Illinois. I own a scoped M2 Benelli slug shotgun and can usually reach out and "touch" a deer at 75-100 yards with a saboted slug-round Beyond those ranges I really have no interest in shooting a deer. My real passion is bowhunting. As far as punch (mauser vs Nagant) goes - how much punch do you need for hunting. Another thing about Nagants (I own3) - they kick like mules. their stocks are usually pretty crude w. sharp corners. You want a rifle that you can practice with and be proficient and efficient in knocking down game - not acquire a flinch factor. Yep, I keep my rifles strictly for the range or in case the zombies invade . . . If punch and range are what you want for hunting in Illinois you might consider one of the in-line muzzleloaders -ranges of 200+ yards, and legal to hunt with in Illinois. thats my 2 cents

[reyzhoss]

For this rifle, I'm considering installing a scope that's currently on a Browning BLR .358. I was told that I'd need a turn-down type bolt to replace the strait bolt I currently have. Anyone know where I can get one? The cal. is 6.5x55. Thanks.

[Fat White Boy]

If you get a Mosin, don't use it anywhere dry brush or chapparal- It has a muzzle blast that looks like a frickin' Flamethrower....

[HistoryJunkie]

Lol yeah. I'm aware of the dangers of starting a brush fire by firing the Mosin. But hey, I find the fireball to be rather amusing. I'm not hunting deer with the Mosin by the way, that'd be highly illegal in my wonderful state of Illinois. I'm just using it to help a friend thin out some coyotes. Providing I can hit them, I don't think they'll be walking away from a Mosin shot.

[roy reali]

[QUOTEThe idea of single shot I guess kinda scares me. Bolt action of the Nagant is a little better, and probably more accurate than a semi-auto.][/QUOTE]

May I ask why?

Your handle suggests that you like history, as do I. Then you should know that our country was founded, explored, and developed by men using single shot rifles. These were guns that took more then a few seconds to reload even if you were good at it. A single shot using metalic cartridges are very fast to reload.

I have and use several single shot rifles. They cause me no fear at all.

[HistoryJunkie]

I don't doubt the effectiveness of a single shot rifle nowdays. After the advancement from black powder I'm sure the reload time increased significantly. However, I could imagine myself in a panic trying to reload it and dropping my shell or something like that. Also, if I was target shooting at a range it'd be very inconvenient to reload after every shot. I'm not disputing there are some good single shot rifles, just saying they're not for me.

[hogdogs]

History, A single is super easy after a few rounds... Heck, a guy can put 2 rounds 'tween his fingers on his left hand and pull off second and third shots as fast as or nearly as fast as a bolt action... I have taken shots at double clay birds with a .410 single and 2 shots on pheasant and rabbit too...
Brent

[HistoryJunkie]

I'll certainly keep it in mind. I don't have a lot of cash, so the price of the gun and ammo for it will be big determining factors for me. Hopefully I'll get hired somewhere soon, then I can afford something that would be more suited for the purpose of coyote hunting.

[hogdogs]

History, Look into the NEF/H&R lineup of single action rifles... I know of many folks who absolutely love their accuracy for the lower cost. Nostalgic as well and nothing will make a shooter refine his skills like the one shot, one kill ideal of a single shot.
http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Rifles/youth.asp
As you see there are tons of calibers to choose and I think this isn't all if you dig deep into their line ups.
Brent

[roy reali]

I can afford something that would be more suited for the purpose of coyote hunting.

It isn't the cartridge or the rifle that is suited or not for coyote hunting. It is the shooter. A skilled and practiced hunter can eliminate many coyotes with a single shot .22 rimfire rifle. An unskilled, unpracticed hunter won't get one even if he went out with a full automatic 50BMG. Heck, he might never see one.

[carguychris]

May need help validating this, but it'd be awesome if it was true. This is bulgarian surplus ammo, 149 grain, FMJ, and also claim to be non-corrosive. Berdian primed, not sure what that means.

All Eastern Bloc Berdan-primed surplus ammo is corrosive. Do not believe vendors who claim theirs is not. They are wrong.

FWIW a Berdan primer uses an ignition anvil on the case and a pair of offset flash holes to ignite the powder charge. They are common on European and Russian ammo. Boxer primers, the type normally used on Western ammo, have an ignition anvil within the primer, and ignite the powder charge through a single central flash hole. Boxer primers are easily replaceable if you handload your own ammo; Berdan primers are not. This is why lots of American shooters will pay a premium for Boxer-primed ammo.

It isn't the cartridge or the rifle that is suited or not for coyote hunting. It is the shooter. A skilled and practiced hunter can eliminate many coyotes with a single shot .22 rimfire rifle.

+1. If you are new to shooting, you need a .22, because you can dump vast quantities of lead downrange for very little cash, and it will allow you to learn the fundamentals of position, trigger control, and breathing without having to simultaneously learn recoil management. Old military bolt-actions generally have very fierce recoil because they were designed to kill at ranges considered absurd by military planners nowadays (1,000m+), and the designers generally weren't very concerned with ergonomics and/or minimizing felt recoil. Small steel buttplates were the norm.

It sounds like you, the OP, like milsurps. Here's my advice. Czech out (ha ha) the CZ 413 Basic, CZ 452 Lux, and CZ 452 FS in .22LR, .22Mag, or .17HMR. These rifles look, feel, and function like a vintage Mauser military rifle, but they use inexpensive rimfire ammo that can be purchased anywhere, and you don't have to worry about rust, pitting, poor rifling, or cosmoline.

I love milsurps, but I use mine for blasting holes in stuff for fun; I would not use one for hunting. There are too many inexpensive modern Western centerfire rifles that are more accurate than any inexpensive milsurp, don't require value-destroying hacksawing or drilling to mount a scope or a recoil pad, and won't cause pangs of guilt if I gouge the stock on a fencepost. A Marlin XL-7, synthetic-stock Savage 11x, or Remington 770 will shoot circles around most sub-$200 milsurps while ingesting ammo that can be purchased at your local Wally World.

[HistoryJunkie]

Sadly you're right about the fierce recoil and potential lack of accuracy on milsurp rifles. Also the ammo for .22 is obviously much cheaper per round. Ideally I'd like to find a switchable barrel rifle(H&R have some) for a decent price. Unfortunately I'd want a combination that I haven't seen, .223 and 12 gauge. The 223 would be for coyotes(I've heard it's pretty good for this purpose) and the 12 gauge for deer and other game. Also if I was to stick with a milsurp firearm, it would mostly be for the fun and novelty of it. I've heard from many people that the Mosin-Nagant in particular has some fierce recoil, so if I do buy one I'm definitely going to invest in a recoil pad. For hunting coyotes I'd go with a .22LR but I've read many coyote forums that say that .22LR doesn't work very well for the purpose.

[zombieslayer]

YOu can find a nice sks, which is pretty adaptable for hunting, and it fires the 7.62x39 round, which would be a pretty good all around smaller to midsize game cartridge, imho. But you sound like you are looking for a bolt gun.

[HistoryJunkie]

I've read a lot on different forums about sks, and got mixed reviews. A lot of people say that they aren't very accurate , having like 4 inch groups at 100 yards or so. I'm sure there are some things you can do to improve its accuracy though. What is the average price of an sks? Anyone know?

[zombieslayer]

they can be had for cheap! I'd say $100-$400 depending on condition, etc, but you can get a nice one for like 200 bucks. They're good, dependable, versatile rifles. and cheap!!

[HistoryJunkie]

Yeah sks are definitely dependable and versatile. Really the two things applying to me would be cheap and dependable. I have heard a lot of talk about AK's being less accurate than sks on many different forums. Is there truth to this, or just phenomena?

[zombieslayer]

I've shot a few of both, and I feel that the sks is the more accurate of the two. It's also heavier. But If I was huntin coyotes, I'd take and sks over any of the other choices in the price range. I like Ruger Minis, but thats twice the money.

[davlandrum]

If I overlooked this in a previous post, sorry -

With the economy in the state it is in, I would be looking for a used rifle. Classified ads, pawn shops, gun stores that take consignments, etc.