Thinking of buying a rifle

[Highpower]

(12-14-2015, 01:13 PM)Roadracer_Al Wrote: I also agree about the quality vs skill issue, however, there's definitely a floor level of quality which hampers the ability to have fun. I.E. jams, an inability to repeat.

I agree 100%. Very well stated Al.  

Quote:I was under the impression that 22 was the most popular round ever?!  What happened?  You're right -- the price for a box of 500 went up 10x from what I remember (as opposed to roughly 2.5x over the same time period for standard inflation).  Regardless, it's still ten cents per round compared to fifty cents for .223.  I'm using Cabella's to check pricing, I'm sure some sleuthing on the internet would yield lower prices.

What happened? It got even MORE popular! Due to the political climate (which will NOT be discussed here...) firearms sales in this country have increased exponentially. So have ammunition sales. The manufactures can't keep up with the demand and suddenly we are in drought and all the shelves are empty. I haven't seen a single box of .22 for sale in the local sporting goods stores around here for 4 years. And again, it depends on what you are shopping for. Top shelf, match grade .22LR ammunition costs me over $1.00 per round. And that the normal price - not the super inflated "hoarder" price.

.223/5.56 is a very popular round. It looks even better if you re-load your own ammunition.  I think it costs me around 14 cents a round to load my own. At least it used to.... I haven't had to buy any components for a long time now. .308/7.62 is also a popular choice for reloading. There will always be a source of empty brass casings for either to be found thanks to our "Uncle Sam".  

1234567890 is right about the Winchester 52 being the "grail" for a lot of shooters. It's an old school favorite but you will PAY heavily for the privilege to own one. They don't come cheap if/when you can find one. You can't go wrong with a Savage either, but the guys over at Rimfire Central have been praising CZ rifles for a few years now too. Never had the pleasure myself but I can vouch for their pistols.

My "grail" is one of my Remington 40-X rifles (circa 1963) in .22LR that took me a l-o-n-g time to get my hands on one (much less 2 of them).  It's in the same class as the Winchester 52. EXPENSIVE.