For the beginner hunter

Choosing your first firearm for hunting is a very crucial moment, because the variety that the gun market can provide is truly enormous. There are also a lot of opinions and advice that can confuse and push you to a choice that will disappoint you later. Let's try to figure out what you really need to pay attention to when choosing your first hunting rifle. In short, in our opinion, what you need to look at is the quality of workmanship, caliber, fit and comfort, and you also need to understand exactly for what purposes you will use the firearm.

In fact, the first question is how you are going to use the firearm. Perhaps you want to try your hand at deer hunting or you are planning to take a small gun for hunting game, or maybe you even want to purchase a universal firearm that will serve you not only as a hunting rifle but also as a firearm for self-defense, someone may choose for themselves firearms with a goal to learn and do not have the confidence to become a hunter. Therefore, you need to seriously approach the issue of choice. Some guns are more versatile, some are designed for specific purposes. For example, a 12 gauge shotgun is suitable for hunting deer and big game, it is powerful enough, but it can also hit a small target such as a waterfowl, a rifle with a 30/06 caliber can only be used for big game. Also, do not forget about the legal aspects of the use of firearms, you should always take into account the rules for the use of hunting firearms in your state. If you answer these first two questions for yourself, then, although it is still vague, the idea of \u200b\u200bwhat exactly your firearm should be begins to emerge.

  The next thing you need to pay attention to is, of course, quality. In recent years, the quality of firearms has increased a lot, but this is true if we are talking about accuracy at short distances, but if we talk about the quality of execution, then everything is a little more complicated. So, if we are talking about rifles, then we can distinguish four main price categories: cheap up to $ 400, in the middle price category $ 400-700, expensive 700-1000 and high price from 1000. At the same time, the manufacturer does not always provide good quality, offering pay a lot of money for a brand, but still in each of these categories you can find a suitable option. speaking of low-budget rifles, it is better to give preference to simple systems, of course. Single-shot shotguns in this segment will have the best finish and are safer to use. Budget bolt-action rifles are of low quality finishes, despite the fact that everything may seem solid and reliable on the outside, over time, such firearms can greatly disappoint you. If you have no shooting experience, then turn your attention to .22 caliber, these pistols are inexpensive, have low recoil and are unpretentious, but if you have experience, then such a pistol will not be enough for you, in this case, try a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun. In the middle price range, the quality goes up significantly, and here you can already try to pick up a bolt-action shotgun or a lever-action rifle for yourself. It probably won't be an even better gun, but it will still meet all the basic requirements for hunting. Among the expensive rifles, you can pick up a rifle with a name, or just a good rifle, but if you spend a little more, you will have a gun in your hands that can serve you for many years, with high-quality finishing materials and well-executed firing mechanisms. Some hunting rifles cost $200,000 and are luxury items, but for $1000-2500 you can get yourself a wonderful gun made of walnut wood for example and having amazing performance. By the way, a shotgun can be perfect as a first firearm. This type of firearm is perfect for both hunting and self-defense, or if you suddenly want to shoot cans with friends.

As for fit and comfort, everything is simple, you must understand that the firearm that you take should be comfortable for you. Very often, people come to the store in full confidence that they need some particular model of a pistol or rifle, but during the purchase process it turns out that a completely different model is convenient for them. Therefore, you should not choose your firearm via the Internet, the gun should lie flawlessly in your hands, only in this case it will bring you real pleasure. In the past, the only people who knew how to choose the right firearm were gunsmiths, but now you can easily find this information on the Internet and study this issue. Fitting is especially important on a shotgun because the stock must support the correct sight picture. When buying high-end shotguns, often you will receive a special kit that will allow you to adjust the fit of the shotgun in your hands properly. On rifles, typically the only adjustments to fit that need to be made are the length of the drawbar and the height of the comb. Some shooters have shorter arms, or a smaller or larger head than the average person, and this can affect the position from which you aim.

  Speaking of caliber, for a beginner, it's best to turn your attention to low recoil all-round calibers and stay away from large calibers because of their strong recoil. Shooting at a high level of recoil can even cripple an inexperienced shooter. If we talk about center fire rifles, then 30/06 is a fairly large caliber, it will be more difficult to master, so it is better to pick up something smaller, for example, .308. This cartridge can take almost any game in North America with the exception of big game like bear or elk. If we talk about shotguns, then we can recommend 12 gauge, it is powerful and it is easy to find cartridges for it. 20-gauge is also good, but it will have a shorter range and less spread of the shot, although the difference will be insignificant.

Well, let me summarize, we will repeat that it is important to pay attention to five factors when choosing your first firearm: where you will use it and what you will use it for, quality, fit and comfort, as well as caliber. Remember that the shooter finds the gun, not the other way around. If you are seriously puzzled by the question of buying your first gun, then allow yourself to spend a little more time choosing, chat with someone among your friends who has experience with firearms, go to the range and try to shoot from different types of firearms, looking for the one that will be as comfortable as possible for you, pay attention to how this or that gun lies in your hand, how you feel the recoil. And then your chances of finding a gun that will delight you for many years will increase and you will find yourself a true friend who can give you many happy moments.