accurate and cheap semi-auto rifle (under $400)

[omegaspoon]

Hey guys I was looking for a good semi-auto rifle that was cheap and accurate. I was thinking about and ak-47, ruger mini 14 or 30, or a sks. I was also thinking about a cheap ar-15 but i'm not sure if i can find something thats is as accurate but cheaper.
I'm not sure if the ak-47 or mini 14 are accurate. I've heard good things about the sks though.
Oh and I was wondering if m1 carbine ammo were commonly found or do you have to special order them. m1 carbine was also my choice.

[rem33]

$400 should get a used Mini. or new AK,SKS. I doubt a AR

I have never owned a AR so I can't help you there.

The Mini 14 I bought new was a MOA rifle over the hood with the right loads.

I have had about 4 SKS's none were MO Paper plate except the Russian I now own.
My AK will Do 4 to 6 inches or so if I remember right. It has been a long time since I shot paper with it. It's a toy to hand city or Calif guys that come up for a visit. After a 30 round clip they always seem to be smiling as they hand it back.

[omegaspoon]

well I'm willing to pay a little bit more than 400 if need be. Like for an ar.
So are you saying that the sks isn't accurate and the ak is accurate. What was the distance you shot your rifles from. I'm not sure how accurate that is. And what kind of ak do you have?

[laytonj1]

Without a doubt, my SKS is the cheapest fun gun to shoot. If you are looking for accuracy (MOA or less) then buy a bolt action.

Jim

[omegaspoon]

well i'm not looking for something that is dead accurate like a bolt action rifle. I know that semis aren't as accurate compare to bolt but something that hit a target consistently at about 100 to 150 yards.
But I am thinking about getting a bolt action. what do you prefer more a remington or a mossberg. Maybe a savage.

[laytonj1]

My SKS will take out 2 liter soda pop bottles at 100 yards with cheap Wolf ammo all day long.
For bolt action rifles, well.... there's a lot of good choices. Personally, I have a Remington 700 pss in 308 and a Barrett 99 in 50BMG for those longer range stubborn soda bottles.:D

Jim

[RedneckFur]

In bolt actions, the current favorite seems to be savage. You might not find one under your $400 limit though, but you can get a stevens for that money. They are made by savage, but have a different style trigger. Otherwise, the accuracy is pretty much the same.

I dont own a savage, but all the reviews ive read, and all the savage owners I've met say that the savage bolt actions are so accurate its scary.

[Tom2]

Did you say military semi auto? Because perhaps you could find a used Remington semi auto rifle, sporting type, in the price range. They can be had in 308 or 3006 or other common sporter cals and they must be reasonably accurate, as, if they were only as good as an SKS or AK for accuracy, they would have been discontinued a long time ago! And I bet attaching a scope to that is alot easier than some milsurps! But I suppose they are designed for quick follow up shots, not blazing away till the barrel glows. The workmanship of the gun would be better than some of the combloc surps too. Lot better than a worn out beater M1 carbine that costs 700$!

[blume357]

with them. You need to spend a good bit more for a half a decent one I suspect. Around $400 you could go AK or Mini.... with AK... I'd check around and learn a lot about them first....

As for Ruger mini's... your call but I would stick with a stainless steel ranch model in either format. Most will hit a football at a hundred yards...but that's about it. The one problem with a mini-30 is 1/2 the high capacity mags sold out there are crap.

I'd stick with a $200-300 SKS.. personally I think the 'new' Yugos are the second ugliest rifle ever made... my personal favorite in SKS is a chinese 'paratrooper' model with short (16") barrel and a 20 round fixed mag.

[Noonan]

I have an SKS paratrooper model, paid $275 for it. I can shoot 2-inch groups at 50 yds from a bench rest. It is very fun and very cheap to shoot.

[rem33]

MOA, minute of angle apporxmitly 1 inch at 100 yards A one inch circle at 100 Yards or thats how all shooters refer to MOA.
YOU are not going get that with a SKS or AK. If that is the kind of accuracy you want go buy a bolt action. Start with a 223 it is easy on you and the pocketbook.

[essexcounty]

I happen to like ARs. But with your budget I would consider a Savage bolt gun. With practice You'll be amazed how fast how fast you can make that bolt fly. One of the greatest values are used Savage Package guns. I paid around $225.00 for one that showed hardly any use. They are often purchased at Wal Mart before hunting season and sold shortly after. Some people do this year after year. This has always amazed me. Essex

[biere]

I would research magazines for the mini 14 before going that route.

If you go sks I would buy an expensive sks in order to get one in excellant shape since that will go a long way in getting you better accuracy in my opinion. You want the whole gun in good shape or you can look for just a good bore and chamber.

I consider the ak rifle to be a 4-6 minute of angle rifle with wolf ammo. A lot of times you can get better accuracy if you use some of the hunting ammo that is now being made in 7.62x39. My biggest problem with shooting the ak accurately is the sights. But that is my problem and something I am always working on improving.

Over on arfcom they talk about building an ar for 600 plus the cost of the tools. You can buy the tools on that site used in the EE and resell the tools when you are done. I don't know if you want to get into building an ar though. Basically it becomes a game of watching the EE for the parts you need and waiting for the best prices.

The only semi-auto hunting platform I am familiar with is the browning bar that my uncle has. It is nice but very expensive. I don't know how good the remington and other versions are. I always considered them hunting guns and not built for lots and lots of shooting like a military mag fed rifle will take. Then again that is just my take on what I have read about them.

You might want to get a surplus 8mm or 7.62x54r bolt action if you want to shoot a lot. Mostly I think it depends on if you want to build up a new super duper bolt action with a big scope or not. You can find different quality in these surplus rifles as well. I just got a mosin nagant that was redone in a finnish armory, I think that is correctly stated. It was expensive for a mosin nagant but it is lot nicer than some of the cheaper mosin nagants I looked at.

My first bolt action was a remington 700 adl in 308 because I was not sure if I would later want all the aftermarket support that is out there for the remington 700. I got a good price on a new one because over the weekend some part time help in the gun store banged the stock up a bit and on monday the full time guy wanted the 700 sold because everyone who looked at the rifle saw and barely damaged stock and did not like that. It came with decent iron sites and I later on put a scope on it.

Overall I think it comes down to figuring out exactly how accurate you want to be and how important semi-auto or quick reloads are going to be.

[rugerdude]

WHAT?!?!?! NOBODY SAID SAIGA!?!?!?!

Okay, listen closely......you want a saiga! they are an russian rifle based on the AK-47 reciever and action.

They come in 3 flavors: .223, 7.62x39, and .308

They come in 2 barrel lengths: 16-ish" and 20-ish"

The .223's and .308's are said to be about 2 MOA on average (2" groups at 100 yards, which is very good for sub $300 semi-auto)

They can be converted to take standard magazines (ak for 7.62, and galil for .223) Also FBMG makes larger mags for the saiga, but they aren't cheap.

The price on the .223 and 7.62 versions are about 300 dollars, and the .308 with wood stocks is about 400 dollars.

www.saiga-12.com Go there and read, you will like what you find.

[MD_Willington]

Saiga, actually it is a Russian AKM, there are two types for export, regular AKM style in semi-auto & the sporter type we are familiar with here in the USA.

;)

[FirstFreedom]

Best bet for accuracy in that price range would be a used Remington 7400 / 740, in various calibers.

Beyond that:

Saiga or other Kalashnikov-style (.223, 7.62x39, 5.45x39, .308)

CETME (.308)

Used KelTec SU16 (.223)

[rugerdude]

Yes, AKM, my mistake. I'm used to saying AK-47 because most people don't know what an AKM is.

Silly stamped recievers and smaller indentation above the mag well.

[Feuer Frei]

"The only semi-auto hunting platform I am familiar with is the browning bar that my uncle has. It is nice but very expensive. I don't know how good the remington and other versions are. I always considered them hunting guns and not built for lots and lots of shooting like a military mag fed rifle will take. Then again that is just my take on what I have read about them."

Sorry to drift off subject, but is this true? Is there any reason, with proper cool-down times a semi-auto hunting rifle couldnt be fired rapidly with out damage? thanks

[rgates]

I been looking at Saiga's. Sounds pretty good for the price. I just recently bought an AK in 7.62 but that Saiga in .223 for $289.00 at armsofamerica.com is just about more than I can resist.

[MD_Willington]

classic arms is cheaper BTW...

SAIGA .223 CALIBER, 16.3" BBL......$239.95
SAIGA 7.62X39 CALIBER, 16.5"BBL......$249.95

Prices varified last week via telephone.. I want one...!

[omegaspoon]

Wow thanks everybody for the help. I think I have some idea now.
Just out of curiosity how much would a average to good ar-15 would be.

[rugerdude]

I've heard that it is possible to do it with a bare minimum of 500 dollars (if you watch for sales and stuff.....AKA get lucky)

However, you are more likely looking at 600-700 dollars for an AR-15 worth having. This platform will also give you outstanding accuraccy capability, but the questions is: Will you use it/need it?

It's fine if the rifle is a sub-MOA gun, but can you shoot it that well? I'm not trying to imply anything, I have no idea what your shooting skill are and I consider mine to be marginally okay, but it's something you should know the answer to before spending lots of cash on something you may not be able to utilize.

I'm going to re-suggest the saiga on the basis that if you spend the money to get a lower-grade AR, you could have bought a perfectly nice and accurate saiga, and lots of ammo to practice with.

EDIT:
Welcome to the forum feuer frei! Now you can begin learning about all the guns rammstein uses in the Ich Will video!;)

Oh, and a hunting rifle will be fine with short bursts of rapid fire, they are autoloaders and are thus desinged with the possibility of rapid-fire in mind. Now if you're constantly going to be doing mag dumps or bump-firing, I'll take a military rifle, but even then, I don't have any evidence that a hunting rifle couldn't do it just as well.

[stuckon308]

If you were in Canada you could get an M-14 for $400.

[Feuer Frei]

Thanks for the answer rugerdude and good catch on the Rammstein thing. Also, the TARD was hilarious.

[TomG160]

I'm happy with both Yugo SKSs I have. accurate enough for me at around 1.5 inches open sights at 50 yds, and around 3 at 100. Cheap to shoot still with wolf and ultra reliable..... My only complaint is that they're long (to me)... now I want (in addition) a chinese sks.
Tom

[mousegun]

U.S. Rifle, caliber .30, M1

CMP taking orders now for Greek return rack grade: $395

[rgates]

Thanks for the lead MD

You're right . Classic has the best prices on Saiga's I've seen yet.

[MD_Willington]

No problem rgates.

If you were in Canada you could get an M-14 for $400.


stuckon308

Yep you can from Marstar.ca, you can also get VZ-58's cheaper too...

Heck if HR1022 goes through, you guys back home in Canada will be able to get all kinds of cool stuff compared to us here in the US...

I'll attach a copy of the low down on HR1022 for you guys in Canada...