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I have a friend who is looking to buy his first rifle. He's still a kid (15) but can handle heavy recoil with no problem, so that's not an issue.

The problem is that he's buying it with Christmas money and won't be able to spend over about $250 and prefers under $200. I haven't researched bolt action rifles in a long time, but it seems every centerfire is over $300... are there other options? He doesn't really want a .22LR (22 Magnum minimum, but he prefers something larger).

I'm guessing his best bet is a surplus rifle of some sort. I know he can handle the recoil of a Mosin Nagant, but his dad isn't too keen on it (he thinks it's excessive for plinking, and he's probably right It's cheap though!).

Any ideas for a bolt (or even self loading) rifle chambered from .22WMR up for under $250? He could buy used too, so if you have one for sale let me know.

Thanks guys

EDIT: No, I won't be making a straw purchase for him

Academy has a bunch of Stevens bolt action rifles. They recently had them on sale for $200. When I asked they said they'd have them on sale again before Christmas. You should check. They come in some calibers that are nice for deer hunting.

Davey G wrote:Academy has a bunch of Stevens bolt action rifles. They recently had them on sale for $200. When I asked they said they'd have them on sale again before Christmas. You should check. They come in some calibers that are nice for deer hunting.

Nice, I'll give him that tip. Thanks!

I think the 17HMR would be a great round as well.

http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=c ... 01883-0017" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MOSSBERG 817 17HMR RIFLE
$159.99

Marlin bolts can be had for $279 or so. IIRC the model numbers are XL7 and XS7. The two I know of shoot very nice groups. Rant warning Will Robinson - I hate Marlins only slightly less than Savage, yet these models are OK rifles... perfect, no... but quite fine for the price... very light weight, accurate, weather proof, and cheap. The perfect rain rifle.

So for $280, plus $20 for cheap rings, plus $150 for an inexpensive yet decent scope and you are set.

.17HMR is an option. But along those lines, what is the cheapest ammunition available for them?

He nearly fainted when I showed him a few sites with .223 for under $20 a box (he had never heard of that since he only looks at sporting goods stores). I figure it would be the perfect round, with little recoil and relatively cheap and plentiful especially for a bolt gun. Unfortunately I can't find anything in his range...

Gmckinl, his absolute highest price is $250 and he really wants under $200 so he can buy ammo, otherwise one of those would be perfect.

He would consider a self loader too, so my immediate thought was an SKS, but they seem to be running over $250 as of late. Wish I still had mine so I could sell it to him...

+1 on the Stevens 200. Picked one up for my son in .270 for $239 on Black Friday at Academy.

Had a friend pick up a Marlin XR7 30-06 a week or so ago for $289 at Academy (regular price). Not bad although I had limited experience with it when we went to the range.

Watch, I imagine one or the other will go on sale in the next week or so.

Check for used rifles at the gun shop.

I have a friend of mine selling his Mossberg .30-06 w/ scope for $275

If he is interested PM me

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! I just got another email from him saying he had a long talk with his dad, who told him (finally) that he could buy whatever he believed would be the best value for the money. For the price, we both agreed that the Mosin would be a good choice since he'd have plenty of money left over even after buying a lot of ammo.

So on that note, I'm about to throw up a WTB ad for a pair of M44's or M91's (I've been wanting another one too). If that fails, I saw that AIM Surplus has an M91 for $80. Is that the best deal around?

$80 for a 91/30 is probably the best price going right now. I got mine from J&G Sales http://www.jgsales.com/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; a while back for that and I don't think they are getting any cheaper. At least, I haven't seen them cheaper anywhere else in a long time.

UpTheIrons wrote:$80 for a 91/30 is probably the best price going right now. I got mine from J&G Sales http://www.jgsales.com/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; a while back for that and I don't think they are getting any cheaper. At least, I haven't seen them cheaper anywhere else in a long time.

Okay thanks. I'll contact a couple of FFL's and see what I can find... I'd really like M44's but I can't find any at the major online stores, only M91's.

Davey G wrote:Academy has a bunch of Stevens bolt action rifles. They recently had them on sale for $200. When I asked they said they'd have them on sale again before Christmas. You should check. They come in some calibers that are nice for deer hunting.

The Academy ad in today's Austin paper had Stevens model 200 bolt action in either .270 or 7mm-08 for $199.99. Price good from 12/16 to 12/19.

Also has the Taurus PT101 .40-cal handgun for $299.99 for anyone who missed that Black Friday special.

they also have the marlin 795 for $109 with a $20 mail in rebate bringing it to $89. so... i just got my first .22

i know it's not what the OP wanted but it's still a good deal

MadMonkey wrote:

UpTheIrons wrote:$80 for a 91/30 is probably the best price going right now. I got mine from J&G Sales http://www.jgsales.com/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; a while back for that and I don't think they are getting any cheaper. At least, I haven't seen them cheaper anywhere else in a long time.

Okay thanks. I'll contact a couple of FFL's and see what I can find... I'd really like M44's but I can't find any at the major online stores, only M91's.

My buddy in Sealy is a FFL..he is the one that got my lot of Mosins shipped to me (I believe he will have the firearm shipped for $15-20) {PM me]


I recommend he get the 1" rubber buttpad and find some clips for loading...also remind him that Mosin ammo is corrosive and it is IMPERATIVE to wipe the bore and bolt face down within 15-30 min of shooting or the moisture of TX and the corrosive salts will rapidly turn the barrel into a fuzzy tube (I found out the hard way!!! I cleaned it but good grief it took 5x the effort to clean it up after it rusted than it would have just running 3x patches of water/windex/ammonia/Hoppes 9, 3x dry, 3x then oiled)

http://tinyurl.com/yzxuvek" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; <- one of many sites that has stuff for Mosin

WarHawk-AVG wrote:

MadMonkey wrote:also remind him that Mosin ammo is corrosive and it is IMPERATIVE to wipe the bore and bolt face down within 15-30 min of shooting or the moisture of TX and the corrosive salts will rapidly turn the barrel into a fuzzy tube (I found out the hard way!!! I cleaned it but good grief it took 5x the effort to clean it up after it rusted than it would have just running 3x patches of water/windex/ammonia/Hoppes 9, 3x dry, 3x then oiled)

All of it?? I thought there were sources for cheap non-corrosive 7.62X54R... am I mistaken?