In Part I, we discussed how to get into the shooting sports. The necessary steps to 1. Become a lawful firearms owner, and 2. Be able to purchase a hunting license.
Now, you have your shiny new license in hand, and you have your PAL, which lets you go into any store, and buy that object of your affection.....a new, or even new to you, gun.
So you're at the local sports store, Bass Pro, Cabelas, Gun Shop, etc.....with your hard earned money, and in some cases, a weekends crash course in what guns are and how you handle them without shooting yourself, or someone else in the foot. Intimidating? You betcha.
Here is a plain talk strategy, and a bit of an advice piece, on the selection of your first gun.
1. Budget.
Let's have a frank chat about this.
Getting into hunting is not an inexpensive proposition. By the time you have both your courses done, you are likely to have spent $300+. Add the cost of hunting license, and you're upwards of $350, and you don't even have a gun yet. Before you go shopping, realize that you're likely going to want to spend money on some other hunting gear, as well as ammunition. If you are single, and independently wealthy...well that's all in your favour, but many of us have families, and spouses, who are going to make financial decisions as well. As a good rule of thumb, it's probably wise to budget $1000.00 start to finish...and that's at a bare minimum. After licensing, you'll have $650 with which to go forth and buy a gun ( or two) and some related gear. Do not neglect to factor in some of the equipment required to ensure that once you have your new firearm, you are in fact storing it legally. Soft case, and trigger lock as a minimum.
2. Need
OK. Need is a relative term. Unless you're living in the wilds, 100s of kms away from the nearest grocery store....need is a bit heavy of a term. Let's say "requirements".
As a new hunter, your first hunting experiences are going to be mixed bag. Likely you're going to be getting out on public land, or other areas, and very few new hunters start right into big game, before starting on birds, and other small game.
So, small game, birds ( as well as waterfowl), and the ability to go after larger game? That about sum it up for a "new hunter"?
3. One word: Shotgun
As sexy as centerfire rifles are, and as nice and cheap as plinking with a .22 is, if you are buying your first gun with hunting in mind, then it should without a doubt, be a shotgun. There are several options, but in my experience with new hunters, I have always recommended buying a pump action shotgun, usually packaged with several different barrels for different hunting opportunities. With the purchase of one shotgun, with a standard 26"-28" barrel with chokes, a shorter turkey barrel, and a rifled slug barrel with either sights or scope mount, there is very little you cannot hunt, at least in Eastern North America.
With a standard barrel, and removable chokes, you can shoot every variety of small game, up to and including coyote. This includes all species of birds, and waterfowl. If the option exists for only a standard barrel, and a rifled barrel, the standard barrel with full choke will certainly work just fine on turkeys. With a rifled slug barrel, your gun will be accurate out to 100M for larger game, such as deer and moose. Depending on your locale, there are also areas that have "shotgun only" seasons for deer. This will enable the new hunter to take advantage of those areas.
Mossberg 500
Both Remington, and Mossberg market their best selling pump action shotguns ( the Remington 870, and Mossberg 500) in multi-barrel combos, for just this reason. I will not debate the merits of a Mossberg over a Remington. Field and Stream Magazine did a head to head comparison a while ago, and both guns came out even. the Mossberg was given the edge, because at the end of the day, it made a better boat paddle. Both are also highly customisable. You can take either and with the amount of aftermarket accessories and goodies, you can take a simple, hunting gun, and make it into a short tactical, home defense, zombie killer, or any variation in between.
Remington 870
There are quite a few other manufacturers out there making pump action shotguns, and some are even sold packaged with different barrels. I use the Remington, and Mossberg as example only. The Remington combo with 2 barrels, and the Mossberg 500 with 3 barrels both retail for around $600CDN.
I won't get into the debate over 12 gauge vs. 20 Gauge. Both have their merits. Perhaps I'll open that up for discussion on another day.
4. Buying used
Do not be afraid to look at the purchase of a used gun. Many hunters buy these "Plain Jane" workhorses, and when they find themselves with more funds, they often sell them in order to upgrade to something a little nicer. Buy and sell pages, classifieds, etc are often a great place to find a deal on a gun.
Now, there will be many detractors on this point. There are many used guns out there that are on the market which only shoot 2 3/4" shells. During the "magnum revolution in the 1990s, there was a big push to market 3.5" shells. Ergo, many newer guns have chambers that accommodate them. As mentioned in a previous post, 2 3/4" shells are still responsible for more birds down, than 3" and 3.5" together. Do not be afraid of a decent deal on a gun with a 2 3/4" chamber. Besides that, 3.5" shells are brutal for felt recoil.
If you find you have enough money to buy more than one gun to begin with. A .22 rifle would be a welcome addition to any starting gun collection for the following reasons:
a: Ammo is cheap, this means you can shoot it a lot. Your marksmanship and ability to hit a target goes up exponentially with the amount of ammo you send down range.
b: They're fairly inexpensive, and fun to shoot. Little felt recoil means doing all that shooting wont punish you.
c: they can actually be used for some small game hunting. If / when the new hunter decides to possibly get into bigger game hunting more seriously, the little .22 will still be a valuable training tool.
The selection of a centerfire rifle is an altogether different conversation, and I'll save that article for a later date. Suffice it to say that guns are like potato chips...you don't usually stop at one.
Next: Part III - Now What?
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