The all around sportsman

[Harter66]

What if you were 21 again last week and you wanted to be the text book all around sportsman . Outdoor Life described the guns needed as a pistol of legal hunting description, a cheap to shoot probably 22 rifle , a big game rifle that the 22 closely resembles and a 12 ga . As a stipulation of this little game , you are married and have or expect Jr in the next/ last 12 months . Your job pays the bills , but entertainment is all but make a late payment . You have $1500 from last years tax return check and Ms misses camping and hunting .

So buy your loading, casting kit and guns .
You get to take everything you know today with you .
If you blow the budget your done and short .
2 shotguns
2 big game rifles
1 practice/rabbit class rifle
1 big game legal pistol
Reloading kit
Casting gear.

Go!

[kingstrider]

$1500 wouldn't buy much.

[Harter66]

Well let's see what happens , creative thinking and sacrificing aesthetics.

[rockrat]

Lets see, Fox B shotgun 12 ga ic/m, H&R single shot 12ga "long tom" for ducks/geese/turkey. Bout $250 so far. Marlin 39a, Rem 700 bdl 30-06, H&R 45-70, Ruger 357 convertable, about another $600. Leaves alot for the rest. When I turned 21 prices look cheap compared to today.

[paul h]

You should be able to get a decent used 12 ga pump for $300, bolt action rifle in 30-06 or similar for $500 with a scope and a Blackhawk convertible 357/9mm revolver for $400. That leaves $300 for ammo. I would forgo the reloading and casting gear, that can come down the road.

Sure it would be nice to through a 22rf rifle in the mix, but those are realistic used prices and using that last $300 for a rifle and having no ammo funds is foolish.

[firefly1957]

I started Loading 20 gauge with my own equipment at 14 years old at 15 i bought a RCBS jr press and started loading 30-30 . At 21 i was casting and loading 20& 12 Gauge 357 magnum , 38 Special, 30-30, 30-06 ,6 mm Remington varmint rifle, 12 ga,58& 45 caliber muzzle loader and had a couple 22 pistols and a rifle. Back then $1500 went a long ways today not so much! About the only thing i would like to have is to replace the "N" frame 357 Magnum i swapped for a Ruger Security Six SS .

[fatelk]

In some ways, considering inflation, guns are cheaper than ever. That is if you don't mind used, inexpensive, and entry-level guns. A friend showed me a Savage 30-06 he said he paid $279 for, new, with a scope. It's quite accurate and he likes it. It doesn't compare to a nice blue-steel-and-walnut model 70, but it works fine. I've seen some very inexpensive pump shotguns on the shelves lately (new) but I don't know how good they are.

.22 rifles can always be found pretty cheap. Reloading and casting gear can be scrounged up for cheap if you look around for good used stuff, and then there's Lee. The handgun would be tough for me. The good deals I've seen have been automatics, such as police trade-in Glocks and such for around $300. I'm very partial to a S&W model 29 though, myself, and they certainly don't come cheap.

[starmac]

Well I reckon I was the all American sportsman going by that article.
Married, check
300 savage, check
44 mag handgun. check
44, mag ruger carbine, check
22 ruger, closely resembled the carbine, check
12 gauge, check
Lee whackem and stackems for the 300 and 44, check

All of it was considerably less than 1500 back then, but if I needed to I could fill the list for 1500 or less in todays dollars too, there are plenty of used bargains out there and economy rifles are pretty cheap new.

[runfiverun]

I know I can make a 30-06 do anything I want from rabbits through moose so all I need is a 12ga. shotgun. [I just paid $299.00 for the new model 1300]
the rifle would be bout whatever I could find in the 5-600 area.
that leaves $600 for a couple of molds, a 20 lb LEE casting pot and A LEE push through die.[$175]
some once fired brass, a die set, and a used press of some sort should leave me just enough money for a couple pounds of powder and some primers. [$250]
the other 75 would have to go to a scale of some sort unless I could get it with the press.
I might even save a bit on a new low rent plastic rifle with a passable scope.

it would be pretty tight getting everything together in that first year but the second refund check the following year would give me enough to start using everything effectively in the field.

[Harter66]

I looked around some and found brand new Rock Island 12 ga at $226 MSRP . My local enabler can get me into them out the door for that . With Lee a guy can be loading ammo and pouring bullets for $200 . That's $650 . Buds shows a Savage Axis 308 $280 . That's $560 ,610 that's $1260 . That leaves $240 . $32/1k primers , $50 /100 cases , $80 for 2# of 4350 and 1# of Unique . That leaves $80 to get a case of shotgun shells .

Since we get to keep our smarts and skills ,I have 4 rifles that are custom made 3 are Mausers and real dollars out of pocket are less than $200 average. There are some really amazing rifles out there that can be had for about $200 that will shoot better than most operators ,like the Savage 325/340s . I've heard tell the 30-30 has killed a couple of deer and a half dozen pigs . Ive had them in 30-30 and 222 and the little Bator bullet W/O it's check would be a real squirrel/rabbit/coyote wrecker . I made a score not long ago for a pair of shotguns . I got a store branded early M500 and an H&R single for $140 and sold the single for $60 that gets me up to 680 for 3 rifles and a shotgun . 880 with the Lee kit . I know where I can get an FFL bought M12 50s vintage modified choke for $250 , 300 otd . 1180 that leaves 320 .
At the Big Reno Show I gave $129/100 for Privi Partizan 30-30 . $140 for a case of Fasteel . That leaves $60 which should get 3 boxes of 222 .
Of course 320 would buy 2# of 4895 or 4198 and 1# of Unique 1k each LRP and SRP and 100 each new brass and a case of Fasteel . With enough left for the 6C 225-55 and a 12 pack at the tire shop .

[MaryB]

Pair Mossy 500's used for $500, Used Savage Axis in caliber of choice $250 each for another $500, Ruger 10/11 used $125ish, HiPoint 45acp $120 used, Used loaders or Lee whack a mole sets $100, lead ladle and an old scrounged cast pot $25...

[jonp]

Why do i need 2 big game rifles and 2 shotguns?

If im really on a budget id be like my grandfather who grew up during the great depression or a number of my friends now and have one of each.

If im really cheap and just looking to feed my family id get a NEF 243/20g/22lr combo which are still floating around.

An EAA Windicator in 357mag for pistol

Lee loaders for each
stainless steel pot and ladle from walmart for lead and a mold for each
spend some money on powder and primers
take whats left over and buy some traps for a shortline

If im really really on a budget i get a NEF in 45lc and a 12g barrel/22lr barrel with a 45lc pistol and mosey into home depot to get stuff to make black powder then stop at walmart for the pot and ladle. Get used lee molds on ebay and get busy.

Left over money again for traps or maybe some mouth calls to go after coyotes and sell their fur for other things

If im really cheap that is

[Harter66]

Ms wants to hunt with you .

[dverna]

I would counsel the young couple that they need to rethink their lifestyle. Instant gratification is the way they have been raised but a poor way to live and build long term financial independence. Jr. is more important than having fun hunting together.

Buy what is needed to protect your family and put food in the freezer. If they live in the city, hunting is not a cost effective way to feed the family unless you make day trips to hunting areas and not burning a tank of fuel.

Here in Michigan, a 12 or 20 ga shotgun with interchangeable chokes will be effective for hunting anything except elk which are normally taken at longer ranges. But elk tags are not easy to get anyway...so non issue. Add a slug barrel if wanted.

A .357 pistol is ok for home defense, can be used for game up to deer, and can be shot less expensively than a .22.

Next add would be loading and casting stuff for the pistol.

Then a .308 with dies, molds and components.

Don Verna

[Blackwater]

I lived that life early on, after I was married and out of the Navy. Used gun shopping was a way of life then, and ONLY when I found a real deal. I had a shotgun, so only needed a couple of pistols (.22 & a large caliber), a .22 and a "big game rifle." I chose the M-77 Ruger, and finagled a way to get it. It was an '06, with Weaver 4x - std. fare in those days, and it always served any purpose I had for a deer rifle. Got a used Ruger Mk I .22 and a Ruger Bhk .357. Not much I couldn't do, world wide with that combo. I had an old Rem. Nylon 66, but it wasn't all that accurate, even after I shimmed the barrel to make it shoot significantly better, so the last thing I did was trade that off, I think for a Marlin M-99 M1 carbine. Then I was set for just about anything that came up. Casting bullets was a must if I wanted to shoot much, and the .357 wound up being my constant companion, simply because it really shot well, and was so much easier to carry. I carried the Ruger Mk I to the river, usually. Didn't often feel any need to shoot much more than snakes, but occasionally, when the water was low and the fish weren't biting, I'd drift and ease around and shoot gar, dogfish, and trash fish. Gar always offended me because when a group moved in to my fishin' hole, the fish would often stop biting. I hated that, and transferred that hate to the gars. The M-77 was a real tack driver, too! And the little Marlin auto was very accurate as well. I couldn't tolerate a rifle that wasn't really accurate, nor pistol either. I wanted to learn to be a real shootist. Can't say I ever quite got as good as I aspired to, but I got pretty darn good - good enough that I never got embarassed shooting with anyone else, though I did get beat. There's always somebody better, if you seek them out, and shooting with them makes YOU better. I like that in a shooting partner!

I think I'd still be served with that combo, or something similar. Just wish I could find the .22 ammo I wanted, and that my guns liked now! Today, we take whatever ammo we can get, and "make do" with it. That kind'a keeps my lips pooched out a bit, but it's still fun to shoot ANY .22, always! Sure had a lot of fun and did an awful lot of shooting and hunting with those guns - more than I do now with many times that many guns and plenty of loading components! I wouldn't be 21 again for all the tea in China unless my health and energy came back with it!

[Harter66]

Maybe theyre in Pueblo Colorado or Los Animas?

I did endow them with sense enough to sit on a tax check for 9 months .

My best efforts bring them up just short of the goal .
I also understand too well the kids are 1st . 30 yr of child rearing under my belt and with any luck at all it won't be a 24/7/365.25 gig any more in just 12 short yrs .

The ultimate goal with this is to demonstrate that some folks can't just get a different rifle if this 1 doesn't shoot the pet loads that shoot in every rifle worth having. My kids grew up hunting from the time they could make the walks . I have been gifted a lot of gear over the years too. Most of it at a price of personal debt that there is no way to avoid .

Some folks are at the other end , there aren't many folks on here under 30 compared to the 40,000 or so members . In any case they just can't spend the $80 for the RCBS,Lyman , NOE etc mould for 1 particular rifle that will some day too soon go to the nice,nephew, grands ,greats ,kids or the box boy at the Ralfs on 3rd and Sycamore. It doesn't matter if you have 75 guns if each 1 is earmarked with a memory for a particular heir if you need to make it shoot first .

Obviously they need counseling , what idiot would take their wife hunting ...... What kind of a woman would want to go hunting ? Why would she encourage such a money pit hobby ? Leads terrible stuff it'll turn you into a toad and make babies with with 9 toes per foot.

They probably drive a hippy wagon or heaven forbid camp in a station wagon . Please just play along have a little fun with this . Maybe if the couple were 40 and had a 14 and 16 yo and last years tax check was free for all money after the bullion and the last house payment were made now that stocks are back up the 401 is over a million again .

[dverna]

For those on a tight budget, a .22LR is a poor choice as a practice/rabbit rifle. Ammunition is expensive, so they cannot do a lot of shooting.

An air rifle is very inexpensive to shoot. Pellets are readily available as well. It will teach you everything you need to learn to be an excellent rifle shot. A good one will be more expensive than a run of the mill .22LR but just as accurate to 50 yards. Spending an added $100-150 on a quality gun will be recouped within a year of practice shooting vs using the .22LR. For hunting rabbits, it may be marginal and range limited, but for serious meat hunting the shotgun will get the job done.

The other option is a Rossi .357 rifle and use downloaded .38 for cheap practice/rabbit and loaded with .357 ammo adequate for deer hunting at closer ranges. A much better option than a "cheap" .22 IMHO. And it would be a companion gun for a .357 revolver.

Don Verna

[runfiverun]

I would have loved to have got a $1500 tax return when I was 21.
seein as how I only made about $4500 a year back then it would have went a long way's.

anyway you have to start somewhere and if your gonna start you might as well have something nice.
my first deer rifle was a 93 or was it a 95? mauser 95... now that I think about it.
it wasn't what any of us would call accurate but it would kill a deer if I got close enough.
I later bought an arisaka rifle that had been converted to 30-06 with the original barrel still attached it wasn't all that accurate either. [but that was due to the oversized barrel]
it still managed to scratch down a couple of deer.
I could today make both of those rifles shoot a whole bunch better and do it cheaper than I could waay back then.
only that knowledge cost me a whole bunch more to acquire than just buying a rifle and a die set.

[shdwlkr]

Lets see when I 21 I was in the army, parents had to care for my 100 rifles and shotguns I left behind to serve my country. Don't think I had $1500 in the whole bunch, firearm were cheaper back then. Lost most of them in a nasty divorce and have been thinking I should get back into firearms they don't divorce you, don't nag you, don't put you down, don't get upset if you ignore them, and most of all they don't lie to you.
One rifle I wish I still had is the first one dad bought me a mossberg mdl 342k, dad has been gone for awhile now and it would be nice to have something he gave me as a 12 year old kid.

[ole 5 hole group]

Knowing what I know now? Takes the fun out of doing everything wrong the 1st go around.;)

In today's world, I would get a 24 to 30 pound casting pot with rails, a couple great molds, a progressive reloader both metallic and shotgun. I would then purchase a well made, beautiful 12 gauge semi-auto or over & under and if I were so fortunate as to have received great "deals" on those items - if I had money left over I'd look for a Remington 700 in 308.

That's it - I'd wait until next year's tax return and turn that Remington 700 into a switch barrel match grade rifle and purchase whatever camping gear was needed to keep the Misses happy. That would require saving a little during the year also.

With that budget, might take me 5 years to accumulate what the Misses & I "need" for our outdoor activities.;)

No way would I go "economy class" 1st time around again - that is the expensive route long term. Same can be said for hand tools.

[paul h]

Exactly, applying the what I know now I'd get a few quality arms and go about hunting.

Big difference between the all around sportsman and the budget gun tinkerer.

[starmac]

Right today you can get a scoped (cheap I'm sure) rem 700 adl for the sum total of 350 bucks after rebate.
You can also get new wood or synthetic rem 870 for 249 bucks after rebate.
A ruger 1022 can be had for 199 bucks.
These are local prices here in Fairbanks, so a guy can be set up to hunt anything his little heart desires for 800 bucks new. I am sure these prices can be at least matched, if not beat anywhere in the US.

If I was looking myself, I would go a different route and used.
Right now in the classifieds there is an interarms mark x scoped 06 for 350. I would prefer it over the new rem.
There is a pre 64 model 94 30/30, for the asking price of 400, that I would likely rather have myself.
A buffalo classic for 375 that I keep threatening on calling and makeing an offer, and I DO NOT NEED ANOTHER 45/70.
Multiple shotguns in the 200 up range.

If a guy needs to set up for hunting and has a 1500 budget of 1500, there is several ways he could manage it and be well equipped as far as needs go.

[MaryB]

For 20 years I got by cheap, Ruger 10/22 and a Remington 870 Express put meat on the table for 6 months of the year! 12 gauge was good for deer with slugs, pheasants, ducks, geese... the 10/22 put many a squirrel in the stew pot along with lots of rabbits!


Knowing what I know now? Takes the fun out of doing everything wrong the 1st go around.;)

In today's world, I would get a 24 to 30 pound casting pot with rails, a couple great molds, a progressive reloader both metallic and shotgun. I would then purchase a well made, beautiful 12 gauge semi-auto or over & under and if I were so fortunate as to have received great "deals" on those items - if I had money left over I'd look for a Remington 700 in 308.

That's it - I'd wait until next year's tax return and turn that Remington 700 into a switch barrel match grade rifle and purchase whatever camping gear was needed to keep the Misses happy. That would require saving a little during the year also.

With that budget, might take me 5 years to accumulate what the Misses & I "need" for our outdoor activities.;)

No way would I go "economy class" 1st time around again - that is the expensive route long term. Same can be said for hand tools.

[GhostHawk]

First off I don't try to do it all in one year.

Remington 870 and Ruger 10/22 gives me my widest options.
Next year would be Pistol and casting gear. I cast for years with a kitchen stove, a cast iron pan and a lyman dipper and a couple of molds.

Third year would be the Big Game rifle. Knowing what I know now it would probably be a lever action in .35 rem or .356/358

Reloading my main press is still the lee hand press. Just takes time and patience and a little imperial sizing wax when resizing.

[jmorris]

If I were 21 again I might have other things on my mind but then again I already had most every thing I really needed by that age anyway.

Couple .357's, .22's, 45 and 9mm pistols. 12ga 1100, .22lr/20ga O/U for scatter guns, .22 rifles a 30-06 for anything else.

From raising calves when I was young And not having any bills, I was pretty set early on. Once cars and girls came into play I wasted money on them instead.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Well... when I was 21 I owned a 223 bull barrel, a ruger m77 in 7mag, a mossberg 12 gauge a ruger 10/22 and a ruger single six which I sold to buy gas after junior came... when I herd junior was on the way I saved every last penny and ended up spending $8000 on the delivery, I waited until I was a little better off in life to spend any more on guns and I'm glad I bought my all around sportsman's get up when I was in my mid teens not after I found out junior was on the way.

[bob208]

by the age of 21 you should have a .22 rifle a shotgun of some sort. i had a 514remington 16ga. stevens and a bubba no.4 Enfield. at 21i bought a ruger Blackhawk .357. loaded with a 310 tool and cast my own bullets.

[SSGOldfart]

Take care of the boss she is what your world goes around, the rest will take care of it's self might take a few years but you'll get there
And$1500 was a retirement fund when I turned 21:coffee:

[Mk42gunner]

With $1500 to outfit two people; pawnshops and garage sales will become your entertainment, maybe auctions.

2x singleshot shotguns ~$150 ea

2 rifles probably store brand or milsurp ~$250 ea

A bolt action tube fed .22 $150

A 4-6" double action .357 for ~$400

So far I'm at $1350 and it would be hard to setup to cast and load for two calibers for $150. I would wait on the big game legal pistol.

On the other hand, I could go by my parents house and pick up the guns that I left there.

Robert

[starmac]

You guys have it all wrong, he only needs one each rifle and shotgun.
Think about it, he is 21, she has a bun in the oven, it will be pretty eaasy to put another bun on when that one is done. If he plays his cards right he will have a few more tax returns comeing before she needs outfitted, by then he will have upgraded and can hand his down. lol