Rifle or shotgun?

Ooof, this is a tough one, so I'll be just lay it out straight - buy both ;)
 
Millie, I would have to agree with the Fool and BP. A good .22 will keep expenses low and offer you the chance to get a bunch of trigger time. You get quality time shooting and lots of it. As you are already seeing with your handgun training, you get better with time!
 
Also consider what your range allows you to shoot. If you have 100 yard max a 6.5 creedmor may not make sense. With shorter distances the rimfire makes even more sense. No sense buying a 800 yard gun if your range is 50 yards and you’ll hunt at 100 yards and closer.
 
Also consider what your range allows you to shoot. If you have 100 yard max a 6.5 creedmor may not make sense. With shorter distances the rimfire makes even more sense. No sense buying a 800 yard gun if your range is 50 yards and you’ll hunt at 100 yards and closer.
My current range only goes to 25 yards.
 
My current range only goes to 25 yards.

Then you need another place to shoot to train for rifles. Even with a 22lr that won’t help you much. IMO you need a 100 yard range at minimum. You can mess around with smaller targets and such, but at some point you need a little bit of distance for rifles.
 
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Millie do you recall us talking about how you would eventually get an AR? An AR can take a deer just fine. It is versatile. I do NOT recommend building your own AR for your first gun. We see lots of home built AR's that are Jam-O-Matics. Buy a quality AR first. Flat top upper. Decide on your optic. Lots of people here will let you try theirs at Billy's or somewhere else i am sure. If you make your way to Apex again you can shoot a bunch of different ones. That is my two cents.
 
Millie do you recall us talking about how you would eventually get an AR?
I do. I was, at the time, just looking at rifles as something to try because I hadn't shot any. Now I'm looking at them as something that could get me some food!! lol.
 
Millie, I would have to agree with the Fool and BP. A good .22 will keep expenses low and offer you the chance to get a bunch of trigger time. You get quality time shooting and lots of it. As you are already seeing with your handgun training, you get better with time!
I'll find Dad's eventually....it's around here somewhere. lol.
 
I do. I was, at the time, just looking at rifles as something to try because I hadn't shot any. Now I'm looking at them as something that could get me some food!! lol.

If you end up getting an AR-15 remind me know closer to hunting season and I will loan you my 6.8SPC upper if you want something with a bit more ass than .223/5.56. That said a .223 with a decent bullet will hammer deer.
 
The Next time you are here we will get you behind 12 and 20 gauges with appropriate hunting ammo You can shoot single barrels, double barrels pumps and semis til your heart is content.
Then we'll do the same with rifles of hunting calibers. Single shot, Bolt, and Semis. Come prepared to shoot and leave All "Yeah Buts" in Wagram.
 
The Next time you are here we will get you behind 12 and 20 gauges with appropriate hunting ammo You can shoot single barrels, double barrels pumps and semis til your heart is content.
Then we'll do the same with rifles of hunting calibers. Single shot, Bolt, and Semis. Come prepared to shoot and leave All "Yeah Buts" in Wagram.
Ok, you just tell me when you're ready for me, with my butt left in Wagram! LOL.
Should be an interesting day!

(I also want to start getting a lot of pics of you guys, especially our friend who IS NOT going to Texas! I have a lot of room on the SD card, and extra batteries for the camera.)
PS tell me what ammo I need to bring, ok?
 
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#1, you need lots of money. There are bunches of stuff you need

357 revolver, 357 lever action rifle, 243 Browning BAR, 22lr pistol, 22lr rifle, a good old Rem 1100 LT20.

See, lots of money!!!!!!!
 
Dad's .22 rifle is in the house, but I have no idea where, and I have a revolver that shoots .357 and .38. Whew, saved some cash there already!
Let me know and I’ll bring my 6.8 SPC AR that you saw at the range. Very accurate and almost no recoil. Excellent deer medicine!!
 
I have that .243 ready the next time I see you
243 is the most under-rated hunting rifle out there. Old ladies and Youth find out just how good it is. The reason I have one is that you can set it up with a 100 yard zero and shoot it as far as you are able, within reason, without worrying about bullet drop.
 
I recommend you locate your family heirloom .22 rifle and put in regular range time.
The skills you develop with this rifle will serve you well when you hunt with another rifle.
This is most certainly true. It's the secret to maintainin' me own Rifleman Man Card.
 
243 is the most under-rated hunting rifle out there. Old ladies and Youth find out just how good it is. The reason I have one is that you can set it up with a 100 yard zero and shoot it as far as you are able, within reason, without worrying about bullet drop.

I had a 243 just for targeting shooting once. I really enjoyed that round and rifle. I’d buy another one someday. Easy to find ammo too.
 
AR platform ‘d be a good choice.

They’re good rifles. If you go with an upper chambered for 5.56, the recoil is next to nothing and lots of good ammo choices. Plenty-o-parts to be had. Modular design and not difficult at all to switch out parts for repairs/upgrades...and folks here have proven time and time again how willing they are to help. Provided you have good mounts that reliably RTZ, you can switch out a RDS for a scope easily. You have a good knowledge base here on CFF...there’s some good folks on here who know the platform backward, forward and sideways. With the market being what it is, you should be able to get/have one built for a very reasonable price.

Just my opinion.
 
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Excellent advice, to go watch other women shoot!
And I'm not fond of heights, so wasn't exactly thrilled at the thought of sitting high in a tree! I still want to go out and see what it's like, though.
Shooting is the fun part. Assuming you take one down (deer) then the real work begins. I'm not a hunter, tried a few times and never saw a thing. Hung out in tree stands and ground blinds 5 or 6 times where I knew they traveled at the right time of day (dawn/dusk) but I think I didn't get there early enough (probably should be in place 2 hours before) some of those times.

My biggest issue was trying to line someone up at any particular time to be ready to help me with the damn thing if I did get one, having no experience with the process. Finally gave up. Guess l'll never earn my red neck badge but that's OK, that's what I've got yall for. :D
 
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Ok, you just tell me when you're ready for me, with my butt left in Wagram! LOL.
Should be an interesting day!

Came in late on this one, but my opinion (worth every penny you are paying for it) is, practice rifle with the .22 until you get good with it and buy this to hunt:
https://www.carolinafirearmsforum.com/index.php?threads/rem-1100-lt-20-sporting-800.53197/

This is your all around meat gun. You can hunt anything from dove to ducks to squirrels and rabbits to deer. Or even pigs. Just feed it the right ammo at the right distance. A 20 gauge gas operated semi auto won't beat up your shoulder on a long practice session (or a day in a dove field) either. Change to an 18" barrel (easily done, takes about 2 minutes) and you have a pretty darn good home defense weapon to boot. Then do some intro classes with someone like @BatteryOaksBilly and you are ready to try a sporting clays course for some real fun!

Nothing against the AR pattern rifles. They are great guns, fun to shoot, incredibly versatile and addictive as hell, but you are never going to hit a bird with one and shooting an AR up in a tree after a squirrel, IMO, would be irresponsible. And a waste of money.

Now, If you want to hunt deer across a bean field, a shotgun ain't gonna work. Get a decent bolt action .243 as some others have said, or an AR in 6.5 Grendel or 6.8 SPC and practice until you can judge distance and know what your rifle will do. Then practice some more.
 
Gas guns are soft shooting. I'm used to my M590A1 pushing me around. First time I shot a buddy's 12ga 11-87, I looked at him & said, "WTF dude? Man, that's cheating." I'm too cross-dominant to be a wing shooter, but that is a pretty good argument for the shotgun.
 
For deer within 150 yards you may want to consider an AR in 300BLK. I think you shot mine (avatar) with the can at Billy's. It doubles quite nicely as a home defense weapon/truck gun, especially in a ~10" pistol configuration.
 
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