Need Help on buying my first gun

[FAL]

New to the forum, and was looking for some advice on a my first rifle. I am considering the Remington 700 SPS Varmint. Also looking at a Tikka T3 Light. Choosing between 223 and 308. 223 looks appealing, because its so cheap. Also, any suggestions for good scopes under 200 bucks to mount on the rifles. Thanks

I will be mostly using it for target shooting. Going to the range and what not. I don't think I will ever go deer hunting. Maybe some varmint.
Makes it sound like the 223 is the right choice, right? But my concern is the range of a 223

I would love to get a fal first, in fact that would be my first choice. The dsa ones are way to expensive and I dont know where else to get one. Any suggestions. Its gotta stay under like 700

Winchesters are little to expensive thanks for the advice so far. I am pretty sure I am going to go with the remington in 223, cause if i ever want to go deer hunting i will just buy another rifle!
Thanks for the input so far, i already have a winchester 101 20 guage shotugn, and a henry 22lr lever, this will be my first to actually "real" rifle. Love my winchester 101, blast clays on the first shot every time. Also have a bb gun and a pellet gun, so i am set with rimfire.

[eells]

welcome to the forum, first and foremost. now, what will you primarily be using your rifle for?

[AR_in_READING]

Sounds like you are headed down the right path. The recoil of a .308 vs. a .223 might be a factor. Not that that the .308 is a bruiser or anything but in a "light" rifle it might be uncofortable til you get used to it when shooting off a bench or in a prone postition. The recoil of a .223 is virtually nonexistant particularly in a varmint weight rifle. I don't have ballistics charts in front of me but I would bet my left pinky that the .223 shoots flatter. It won't take a dear without a perfectly placed shot at 300 yds but I wouln't hesitate to take a shot at a chuck at that distance. The .223 is very capable of 1/2 MOA groups at 100yds and with the rifles chambered in it and it's very light recoil, it's very easy to shoot it well. For what you plan on using it for, if it is your first rifle and you don't plan on hunting anything larger than a coyote, I would definitely go with the .223.

I recently picked up a Barska 3.5-10x40mm SWAT scope for my AR and it is crystal clear and rock solid. Illuminated mil-dot, sun shade, flip open caps and a 3rd turret parallax adjustment. I paid 169 at Cabelas (you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere). If you want to pay a little more you can go 6-18 or 6-24 if you prefer higher magnification. Still should be under $200. The only thing you will have to do is get a good set of 30mm rings as the ones that come with it are complete crap.

[gf45acp]

Howdy FAL, and welcome to the forum.
If you want mucho range then it's the 308.
BTW, if you are gonna spend for a good rifle, save up a bit and go with a good scope.
Also, how about an FAL for your first?

[jcabin]

get it chambered in 5.56 so you have the versatility. You can then use 5.56 and .223, even if you never use the bigger round, you always have the option to incase theres a SHTF situation. Thats about as much as I know on the rifle front, but its significant.

[AR_in_READING]

get it chambered in 5.56 so you have the versatility. You can then use 5.56 and .223, even if you never use the bigger round, you always have the option to incase theres a SHTF situation. Thats about as much as I know on the rifle front, but its significant.

I have been out of the loop for a few years so help me out here. What manufacturer offers a bolt action rifle factory chambered in 5.56 NATO? ... and what exactly is a "SHTF" situation?

[VariableFeedback]

I have been out of the loop for a few years so help me out here. What manufacturer offers a bolt action rifle factory chambered in 5.56 NATO? ... and what exactly is a "SHTF" situation?

Isn't .223 Rem. going to lose some accuracy in any rifle chambered for 5.56 NATO as compared to one chambered to .223 Rem.?

Re: SHTF - See Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans

[wirepuller]

idk of any 5.56 bolt guns, go with the .223 if the shtf we will not be under nato rules and we could use any round we would like to (JHP) much better selection in .223. I do think accuracy will suffer a very small amount using .223 in a 5.56 chamber

[Ophidian]

Remingtons are really nice, but don't discount Winchesters. I personally think they are a little "classier" and I have found that their actions are a little smoother right out of the box.

A good all around gun (target/deer etc) would either be the NATO .308 or a 30-06. Both have cheap ammo which is readily available and have very similar ballistics.

As far as scopes, in the 200 dollar range you can get some nice stuff, but if you bump up to 300, you can get some REALLY nice stuff. My suggestion: Nikon Monarch 3-9x42mm (this can be had for ~260 for the regular reticule). I actually just picked up a Monarch in 2.5-10x42mm with the bullet drop compensator reticule for 319 shipped).

[FAL]

Cool Opihidian, never thought about winchesters, always kinda saw them as a lever action, shotgun type company.