Best starter rifle under 500 dollars

jneihouse · Post by **jneihouse** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 6:48 pm

Okay heres the deal. 'Bear dropped by the office this afternoon and we were both pouting cause we missed the Regional in Benton, AR today and we got to talkin. Lots of new shooters are wondering what to buy, how much, and where. And, in spite of what conclusions you may draw from the pictures of the rifles posted here, not all silhouette shooters are independently wealthy. So, with that in mind lets put together a list of starter rifles that will see a shooter through his developmental years in silhouette shooting. Since it's my post I set the guidelines. Your candidate rifle has to be readily available (no pawn shop one time buys) cost 500 dollars or less and meet hunter rifle rules so the shooter can shoot both classes. Simple enough. Oh, and to verify price you should be able to give a link to one for sale to the public (an auction site like gunbroker.com). And the rifle must be "competitive" whatever that means, right out of the box. No modifications allowed, no bedding, no barrel swaps, no aftermarket stocks........This should be interesting.

Kitty

unkmike7 · Post by **unkmike7** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:24 pm

jneihouse wrote: Your candidate rifle has to be readily available (no pawn shop one time buys) cost 500 dollars or less and meet hunter rifle rules so the shooter can shoot both classes.

Kitty

Sometimes the night before a match Kitty will leave his rifles in his Jeep overnight. They are legal in both classes and would cost under $500?? Other than that I don't were we would find one?? Not to mention ammo....Hey! Wait a minuite! He leaves that in the Jeep too!!....

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:26 pm

Is this rifle, scope, and mounts for less than $500 total or just the rifle?

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:53 pm

As I understand the rules, this is just the rifle.

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:55 pm

BlauBear wrote:As I understand the rules, this is just the rifle.

If it's just the rifle, that's easy. Take a CZ 452 Varmint with an aftermarket trigger or trigger shim/spring kit, or a 453 Varmint with the trigger adjusted so that it won't function as a set trigger. Done. You'll have about $150 leftover from 452 w/ spring/shim kit or about $50 leftover from the 452 Varmint to start saving for a good scope. In both the 452 and the 453, the Varmint barrel profiles give a better heft to slow the wobble down than the American or Silhouette models. The Varmint stocks also have a nice palm swell and have more wood in the stock should you decide to reshape it later. If BKL rings are used (again, cheap but good) then there will be enough weight left over for even fairly heavy scopes.

The next purchase I would suggest is a Weaver V16 w/ 1/4 minute dot reticle. At under $300 when it's not even on sale, it's about perfect for a new silhouette shooter to learn the game with and good enough to keep up with them until they decide to get a higher power variable or fixed power scope later. True, it's a bit off-topic for your $500 rifle question here but the combo would give a new shooter a great setup that would last for quite a long time.

There's also a decent chance you could get an Anschutz 64 sporter for $500 or under fairly easily if you kept local shops checked for a couple months. I'd give the nod to one of those over a CZ given the option, but you said no pawn shop specials.

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:10 pm

Easy answer Jason! Dig a little!

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:23 pm

Nothing to dig into. I try to make getting into silhouette as easy as possible for new shooters, including offering to install the trigger kit on their CZ 452 or adjust the tweak the trigger on a 453 if they want. That's about all I have to do. It shouldn't be complicated. With a CZ rifle, BKL rings, and a decent scope in their hands, they're hooked and start saving up to give money to Marv, Mark, or Evelio.

Oh.. and I usually add in the little items like two extra magazines, a kitchen timer, a decent range bag/box, a notebook and pencil, and a couple bricks of decent ammo to the new shooter shopping list. Yes, I seriously have a list I can hand out. I usually donate at least an open bolt indicator and a couple boxes of good ammo to each shooter I get hooked, too. Wow, I sound like a drug dealer...

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:28 pm

Uh Huh - You and Kitty. "Hey kid, first taste is free..."

_Shorty · Post by **_Shorty** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:46 pm

Yeah, CZ 452/453 Varmint gets my recommendation, too. I am lovin' my 453 Varmint

jneihouse · Post by **jneihouse** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:58 am

C'mon folks, dig a little. There are others........Remember, no tinkering or aftermarket parts including trigger kits......

Kitty

Bob259 · Post by **Bob259** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:48 am

I hope Bear isn't looking for us to say the 'R' word....

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:14 am

Bob259 wrote:I hope Bear isn't looking for us to say the 'R' word....

Actually, that has been discussed! A Remington 504 can be had for about $400, and a good one will out-shoot a CZ452. The trick is to get a good one.

jeff59 · Post by **jeff59** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:42 am

BlauBear wrote:
Bob259 wrote:I hope Bear isn't looking for us to say the 'R' word....
Actually, that has been discussed! A Remington 504 can be had for about $400, and a good one will out-shoot a CZ452. The trick is to get a good one.

But, how good is good enough? And how do you know before you buy it?

There are some 504s that will shoot sub MOA. Others won't consistently hit a ram off the bench.

Another choice from Remington would be the 580 or 581. They're pretty easy to find in the $200 range. Top it with a used Weaver KT-16 for under $200 on ebay. $100 left over for ammo and gas to get to the range.

Jeff59

_Shorty · Post by **_Shorty** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:43 am

So, what, you're asking if anyone makes a silhouette rifle already set up to shoot silhouette that you don't have to do anything to except shoot it? I had to set my trigger to 2 lbs 2 ozs, does that count as tinkering? And surely you can answer your own question if you have others in mind to compile a list with. But as far as I'm concerned, I got the best rifle for the price bracket. My Tasco scope, on the other hand...hehe. Actually, it's been doing the trick for over a year now and is still bang-on repeatable, so, I'm happy. Wish I had a better reticle...

Now, at the top of the scale...is anyone going to be saying "c'mon, dig a little!" after an Anschutz 1712 is mentioned a few times? ;) For the price range I think you'll have a very hard time beating the CZ.

jneihouse wrote:C'mon folks, dig a little. There are others........Remember, no tinkering or aftermarket parts including trigger kits......

Kitty

jneihouse · Post by **jneihouse** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:38 am

Just trying to stimulate the thinking process, not attack anyone's choice of rifle.....How about an Anschutz 1416? 64 action sporter....Or how about a Marlin 39A topped with a good scope? Unusual, but a nice handling sweet shooting little rifle......There are others out there....

Kitty

Best starter rifle under 500 dollars

Best starter rifle under 500 dollars

Re: Best starter rifle under 500 dollars