what was your first semi-auto rifle? - Page 2

WildBill45 · July 30, 2013, 09:12 PM

A 30 cal. Carbine, us army issue surplus ... My dad gave me as a boy mid-60s

ripnbst · July 30, 2013, 10:13 PM

Mossberg 702 Plinkster .22LR. It was my first semi auto because my first rifle regardless of action type was center fire and a scoped bolt gun.

Nine the Ranger · July 31, 2013, 04:29 AM

A Ruger Mini-14.

Love the style and reliability. Pretty accurate too.

JimmyR · July 31, 2013, 05:38 AM

My first semi-auto rifle was a Ruger 10/22- bought about 4 months ago.

I was a little slow getting into the rifle game. I mostly shoot pistols, and the 10/22 was for a tacticool build. For plain out plinking I have a Savage Mk II bolt action that I bring out.

2damnold4this · July 31, 2013, 06:54 AM

A Marlin model 60 was my first rifle.

cecILL · July 31, 2013, 06:56 AM

Nylon 66. $69.

JL Wesson · July 31, 2013, 08:21 AM

M1 Carbine (IBM 1942). Got it for being light-weight and handy. It was also my first "full bore" rifle (can I say .30M1 is a full bore caliber?).
I like it very much.

madmo44mag · July 31, 2013, 08:27 AM

Marlin camp carbine 9mm
One of the most fun rifles I have ever owned.
Got offered 2x what I paid for it and sold it.
Yep you guessed right, I regretted it.

Armed_Chicagoan · July 31, 2013, 08:31 AM

A Ruger .44 Carbine given to me by a co-worker in 1986 or so. I put about 30 rounds through it and then the action jammed in the open position, couldn't get the breech to close. I took it to a gun smith who said it needed a part, problem was I was a few months away from my 21st birthday so I'd have to wait until then, as Illinois law prohibits under-21 from owning a center fire rifle. In the meantime I went back to school and money was tight so I never did get it fixed, after college I moved into Chicago and pretty much stopped shooting.

After Sandy Hook with all the gun control talk it really spurned me to get back into the shooting sports again. I got a new FOID card, "rescued" my firearms from my parent's house in the suburbs - my dad had moved them from the upstairs to the basement, and the basement had water at some point. All the soft cases they were in had mold/mildew, thankfully only the butt of a Remington 581 had any water damage.

I took my reclaimed guns home and decided to take a crack at fixing the old Ruger, which still had the breech stuck open over 25 years later. I found a Jim Green video on YouTube (a source not available in the 1980s - progress!) showing how to take apart the Ruger, and completely disassembled it except for the trigger housing assembly. Gave it a good, thorough cleaning and oiling, put it back together, and the action cycled a few times before getting stuck open again. I couldn't figure out what was holding it open, everything seemed clear. Finally with the help of a LED light and a magnifying glass I discovered the problem - a small pin on the lifter latch had come loose, and slipped out just enough to hang up on the mechanism. Great I thought.. good luck finding parts for a gun that has been discontinued for 30 years! But lo and behold I found a replacement lifter latch online for $15 and installed it. Cycled the action, seemed to work just fine. Bought some snap caps to see if it could cycle cartridges, they worked through fine too.

So this summer I've put about 200 rounds through it without any problems at all save the difficulty of finding ammo. That gun is a lot of fun to shoot, gets attention at the range too because people think it's a 10/22 until it goes BLAM then they come over to see what it is.

I still have no idea what that pin is for in the lifter latch, it seems like it serves no purpose except to come loose and make the gun jam.

grizz223 · July 31, 2013, 09:23 AM

Mine was an SKS did not have it very long but it was my first semi-auto. Paid a whopping 79.95 for it in 1985.

railroadman · July 31, 2013, 09:38 AM

Stevens 87 K rats at the city dump in 1962 we sure can,t do that any more.Syracuse NY.We got the bus to the city line with are cased rifles.

Pilot · July 31, 2013, 09:40 AM

Jeez, that is a good question. I think it was a Russian SKS in the early 90's. I always had bolt guns, and lever guns before that.

Theohazard · July 31, 2013, 09:52 AM

My first semi-auto rifle was the first gun I ever bought back when I was 18: It was smack in the middle of the Assault Weapons Ban and I bought a 16" Colt Match Target Competition HBAR II; basically a 16" AR-15 with a solid stock, heavy barrel, no bayonet lug, and no threaded barrel.

Ryu825 · July 31, 2013, 11:40 AM

I was looking for a non ar priced ak. I walked toward where they are in the shop and saw what I thought was an all wood ak at first glance. Of course that wasn't the case but after looking at it and the tag, I kept staring at it while picking up different ak's so I went home and researched the sks and learned that it has all the reliability of an ak and is actually better built than the ak for half the price. I sold myself an sks. Went back to the shop,got it then learned that I have a grenade launcher on it that I didn't even know about

. This gun just gets better and better. Ill probably never find a use for the bayonet or launcher but it sure looks badass to a semi newb like me

I love shooting my sks but I haven't shot any other semi auto rifles so I can't really say how good it actually is. I also love that shooting it only costs as much as my 9mm

m.p.driver · July 31, 2013, 12:24 PM

As stated before a Stevens 85 tube fed,with a brown plastic stock.My dad bought it for $10 and it was under the Christmas tree when i was 8.Took years for my arms to grow into it,but man you could whack a hickory nut from 25 yard off with open sights.Later someone threw something on it and broke the stock.It was replaced by a Ruger 10/22, but i still have it and will replace the stock someday.

Bake · July 31, 2013, 01:14 PM

Jul.'62. Boot Camp (Lackland). Issued a M-1(actually it was a M-2, Inland Div.). First time in my life I ever shot or held a weapon...

seanc · July 31, 2013, 02:45 PM

Marlin Model 60 in mid '90's. I still have it and learned to love it when I finally put a good scope and bipod on it.

Why? It was $99 and I wanted to learn to shoot a rifle.

italianbreadman · July 31, 2013, 03:23 PM

I don't own a semi-auto rifle, but I suspect it will be a Marlin or Ruger .22 if I ever do get one.

Dirty_Harry · July 31, 2013, 03:28 PM

Marlin Camp Carbine 9

P5 Guy · July 31, 2013, 03:41 PM

Rimfire, Glenfield 60.
Centerfire, Ruger Mini 30.

I no longer have either.

deadcoyote · July 31, 2013, 05:17 PM

Russian SKS, because it was $89 in 1993 and I was young and poor.

armsmaster270 · July 31, 2013, 05:20 PM

Remington 550-1 .22 rifle present from my grandfather when I graduated grade school.

osbornk · July 31, 2013, 05:57 PM

Marlin 60. First and only.

bcarver · July 31, 2013, 07:55 PM

First semi I owned was a Remington7400 in 243 because that is what was given to me. First I shot was a Nylon 66.

hlds54 · July 31, 2013, 08:40 PM

ok guess I'll chip in since I started the thread. Mine was a war 10/63 which I just bought recently. despite what you've heard this is a really great rifle. very little mag wabble, no canted gas block, shoots great and has an awesome trigger.

July 30, 2013, 09:12 PM	#26
WildBill45 Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2011 Location: Western PA. Posts: 1,630	CARBINE... A 30 cal. Carbine, us army issue surplus ... My dad gave me as a boy mid-60s __________________ ......................................................... "If Ands and Buts were Candy and Nuts, everyday would be like Christmas"

July 30, 2013, 10:13 PM	#27
ripnbst Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2010 Location: Spring, TX Posts: 1,552	what was your first semi-auto rifle? Mossberg 702 Plinkster .22LR. It was my first semi auto because my first rifle regardless of action type was center fire and a scoped bolt gun.

July 31, 2013, 04:29 AM	#28
Nine the Ranger Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2012 Location: Florida Posts: 248	A Ruger Mini-14. Love the style and reliability. Pretty accurate too. __________________ 'A Vote is like a Rifle; It's usefulness depends upon the character of the User.'-Theodore Roosevelt

July 31, 2013, 08:21 AM	#32
JL Wesson Member Join Date: January 4, 2013 Location: Italy Posts: 50	M1 Carbine (IBM 1942). Got it for being light-weight and handy. It was also my first "full bore" rifle (can I say .30M1 is a full bore caliber?). I like it very much. __________________ To ride, shoot straight and speak the truth. (Jeff Cooper)

July 31, 2013, 08:27 AM	#33
madmo44mag Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2008 Location: Ft.Worth, Texas Posts: 1,522	Marlin camp carbine 9mm One of the most fun rifles I have ever owned. Got offered 2x what I paid for it and sold it. Yep you guessed right, I regretted it. __________________ Texas - Not just a state but an attitude! For monthly shooting events in DFW visit http://www.meetup.com/TexasGunOwner-DFW

July 31, 2013, 05:38 AM	#29
JimmyR Senior Member Join Date: February 4, 2012 Posts: 1,273	My first semi-auto rifle was a Ruger 10/22- bought about 4 months ago. I was a little slow getting into the rifle game. I mostly shoot pistols, and the 10/22 was for a tacticool build. For plain out plinking I have a Savage Mk II bolt action that I bring out.

July 31, 2013, 06:54 AM	#30
2damnold4this Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2009 Location: Athens, Georgia Posts: 2,526	A Marlin model 60 was my first rifle.

July 31, 2013, 06:56 AM	#31
cecILL Senior Member Join Date: August 13, 2001 Location: central IL Posts: 769	Nylon 66. $69.

July 31, 2013, 08:31 AM	#34
Armed_Chicagoan Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2013 Location: Albany Park, Chicago Posts: 776	A Ruger .44 Carbine given to me by a co-worker in 1986 or so. I put about 30 rounds through it and then the action jammed in the open position, couldn't get the breech to close. I took it to a gun smith who said it needed a part, problem was I was a few months away from my 21st birthday so I'd have to wait until then, as Illinois law prohibits under-21 from owning a center fire rifle. In the meantime I went back to school and money was tight so I never did get it fixed, after college I moved into Chicago and pretty much stopped shooting. After Sandy Hook with all the gun control talk it really spurned me to get back into the shooting sports again. I got a new FOID card, "rescued" my firearms from my parent's house in the suburbs - my dad had moved them from the upstairs to the basement, and the basement had water at some point. All the soft cases they were in had mold/mildew, thankfully only the butt of a Remington 581 had any water damage. I took my reclaimed guns home and decided to take a crack at fixing the old Ruger, which still had the breech stuck open over 25 years later. I found a Jim Green video on YouTube (a source not available in the 1980s - progress!) showing how to take apart the Ruger, and completely disassembled it except for the trigger housing assembly. Gave it a good, thorough cleaning and oiling, put it back together, and the action cycled a few times before getting stuck open again. I couldn't figure out what was holding it open, everything seemed clear. Finally with the help of a LED light and a magnifying glass I discovered the problem - a small pin on the lifter latch had come loose, and slipped out just enough to hang up on the mechanism. Great I thought.. good luck finding parts for a gun that has been discontinued for 30 years! But lo and behold I found a replacement lifter latch online for $15 and installed it. Cycled the action, seemed to work just fine. Bought some snap caps to see if it could cycle cartridges, they worked through fine too. So this summer I've put about 200 rounds through it without any problems at all save the difficulty of finding ammo. That gun is a lot of fun to shoot, gets attention at the range too because people think it's a 10/22 until it goes BLAM then they come over to see what it is. I still have no idea what that pin is for in the lifter latch, it seems like it serves no purpose except to come loose and make the gun jam.

July 31, 2013, 09:23 AM	#35
grizz223 Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2013 Location: Fl Posts: 204	Mine was an SKS did not have it very long but it was my first semi-auto. Paid a whopping 79.95 for it in 1985. __________________ NRA Life member. Deputy Sheriff. Last edited by grizz223; July 31, 2013 at 10:49 AM.

July 31, 2013, 09:38 AM	#36
railroadman Member Join Date: September 15, 2012 Posts: 22	My first semi auto Stevens 87 K rats at the city dump in 1962 we sure can,t do that any more.Syracuse NY.We got the bus to the city line with are cased rifles.

July 31, 2013, 09:40 AM	#37
Pilot Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2000 Posts: 4,193	Jeez, that is a good question. I think it was a Russian SKS in the early 90's. I always had bolt guns, and lever guns before that. __________________ Pilot

July 31, 2013, 09:52 AM	#38
Theohazard Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2012 Location: Western PA Posts: 3,829	My first semi-auto rifle was the first gun I ever bought back when I was 18: It was smack in the middle of the Assault Weapons Ban and I bought a 16" Colt Match Target Competition HBAR II; basically a 16" AR-15 with a solid stock, heavy barrel, no bayonet lug, and no threaded barrel. __________________ 0331: "Accuracy by volume."

July 31, 2013, 11:40 AM	#39
Ryu825 Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2013 Posts: 215	Yugo sks I was looking for a non ar priced ak. I walked toward where they are in the shop and saw what I thought was an all wood ak at first glance. Of course that wasn't the case but after looking at it and the tag, I kept staring at it while picking up different ak's so I went home and researched the sks and learned that it has all the reliability of an ak and is actually better built than the ak for half the price. I sold myself an sks. Went back to the shop,got it then learned that I have a grenade launcher on it that I didn't even know about . This gun just gets better and better. Ill probably never find a use for the bayonet or launcher but it sure looks badass to a semi newb like me I love shooting my sks but I haven't shot any other semi auto rifles so I can't really say how good it actually is. I also love that shooting it only costs as much as my 9mm

July 31, 2013, 12:24 PM	#40
m.p.driver Senior Member Join Date: January 25, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 552	As stated before a Stevens 85 tube fed,with a brown plastic stock.My dad bought it for $10 and it was under the Christmas tree when i was 8.Took years for my arms to grow into it,but man you could whack a hickory nut from 25 yard off with open sights.Later someone threw something on it and broke the stock.It was replaced by a Ruger 10/22, but i still have it and will replace the stock someday.

July 31, 2013, 01:14 PM	#41
Bake Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2012 Location: San Joaquin Valley, Calif. Posts: 482	Jul.'62. Boot Camp (Lackland). Issued a M-1(actually it was a M-2, Inland Div.). First time in my life I ever shot or held a weapon... Last edited by Bake; July 31, 2013 at 02:29 PM.

July 31, 2013, 02:45 PM	#42
seanc Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 1998 Posts: 590	Marlin Model 60 in mid '90's. I still have it and learned to love it when I finally put a good scope and bipod on it. Why? It was $99 and I wanted to learn to shoot a rifle.

July 31, 2013, 03:23 PM	#43
italianbreadman Member Join Date: July 23, 2013 Posts: 29	what was your first semi-auto rifle? I don't own a semi-auto rifle, but I suspect it will be a Marlin or Ruger .22 if I ever do get one.

July 31, 2013, 03:28 PM	#44
Dirty_Harry Senior Member Join Date: January 11, 2006 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 1,484	Marlin Camp Carbine 9 __________________ "The only purpose for a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you never should have laid down." "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them." -John Wayne

July 31, 2013, 03:41 PM	#45
P5 Guy Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2005 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 1,804	Rimfire, Glenfield 60. Centerfire, Ruger Mini 30. I no longer have either.

July 31, 2013, 05:17 PM	#46
deadcoyote Senior Member Join Date: April 13, 2009 Location: northern CA Posts: 674	Russian SKS, because it was $89 in 1993 and I was young and poor.

July 31, 2013, 05:20 PM	#47
armsmaster270 Senior Member Join Date: November 25, 2008 Location: California Posts: 1,951	Remington 550-1 .22 rifle present from my grandfather when I graduated grade school. __________________ http://www.armsmaster.net-a.googlepages.com http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/f...aster270/Guns/ Retired LE, M.P., Sr. M.P. Investigator F.B.I. Trained Rangemaster/Firearms Instructor & Armorer, Presently Forensic Document Examiner for D.H.S.

July 31, 2013, 05:57 PM	#48
osbornk Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2012 Location: Mountains of Appalachia Posts: 1,598	Marlin 60. First and only.

July 31, 2013, 07:55 PM	#49
bcarver Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2007 Location: Jackson,Mississippi Posts: 838	first semi First semi I owned was a Remington7400 in 243 because that is what was given to me. First I shot was a Nylon 66.

July 31, 2013, 08:40 PM	#50
hlds54 Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 2011 Location: Martinsburg WV Posts: 174	ok guess I'll chip in since I started the thread. Mine was a war 10/63 which I just bought recently. despite what you've heard this is a really great rifle. very little mag wabble, no canted gas block, shoots great and has an awesome trigger. __________________ "Survival favors the prepared mind."