I haven't bought a gun in a while and its starting to bug me. I've got about 500-600 bucks to work with.

I want a smaller caliber rifle. I've already got a Remington model 700 .270 lefty, which was handed down to me. I absolutely love it, but I want something a little smaller that I can use when mobbing around our ranch and the surrounding Forrest Service lands, and also for everyday recreational uses and possible smaller game hunting.

I was looking at getting a Weatherby .22-250 (~$400) and putting one of those Cabelas scopes on it ($100). Both have been getting awesome reviews and fall within my budget. This is if I can get them to custom make it left-handed.

Another friend of mine recommended a Ruger .204 rifle. Haven't looked into that one as much yet, but I will probably go to a gun shop and look at some different options.

It needs to be left handed.

Any particular suggestions?

 

.204 is a nice choice. But if you want a varmit/ plinking around gun thats tones of fun deff. find a nice AR15 or anything in a .223 cal.

 

I think a .243 will do everything you're asking, with easier ammo availability than the .204 Ruger and maybe the .22-250.

 

I love my remington 22-250, its a great flat shooting gun. However it sounds like one of these http://www.stagarms.com/index.php?cPath=13_21 would be perfect for you. All of the ones on that page are left handed. Plus you can have a hell of a lot more fun with a nice AR that you can customize to make just like you want it, than you ever will with a bolt action.

 

Heh those ARs are a little out of my budget and I doubt I can get those in CA. But that would sure be fun.

 

ohhhhh cali. you guys cant get any fun guns over their. So are you looking at a bolt action type of gun?

 

Oops sorry forgot you live in the anti gun state. I know what the msrp on their sight says but I know they can be picked up around here at gun shows for 700-800.

 

Yes most likely. A semi-auto would be awesome but i doubt I'll find one in my price range.

 

Just got an AR15 and I love it. We just found a bolt for it yesterday and my dad ordered an ACOG scope for it from one of his friends. I love my .17 HMR. Its a bit small. but really acurate and fun. Perfect for coon/varmit hunting.

 

You can get just about any gun you want in California. You will have to wait 10-days and are limited to 10-round mags. But it hasn't stopped from owning 3 glocks, 2 1911s, sig, HK, and a post-ban AR-15 and AK-47. They are limited to 10 round magazines, and you need to use a bullet button to lock the magazine if your Rifle has a pistol grip.

The real problem for you isn't just the price, but availability of AR-15 complete rifles, and even parts. Their is a national shortage on all AR-15s and components for a build.

Another good choice in the $500 range is the Keltec Su-16. Again you will be limited to 10-round magazines, but since it uses a rifle stock, you won't have to lock it in place.

 

Thats a nice looking rifle, fits what I'm looking for well. I can't seem to find any info on a left handed version though. I'll have to call them sometime this week to find out.

 

Barret M82

 

I owned one before my AR-15, it's an good rifle for the price. Plenty of custom parts, and if you don't want it to look retarded with 10 round mags, they sell 10 round mags the size of 20/30 mags.

It folds for easy storage, holds two magazines in the stock, and uses AR-15/M-16 magazines. It also has a built-in tripod, but I removed it and replaced it with a compact forend, similar to this one.

 

A 22-250 is superior to all the calibers suggested so far, minus the .243 and your .270....

The 17HMR and 204 Ruger are great rounds if you don't want to shoot more than 150 yards or so.

The .223 is OK, but it is ballistically inferior to the 22-250.

The .243 is more of a barrel-burner than the 22-250.

Don't expect awesome repeatable accuracy from a $100 scope. Typically, a great scope will cost as much or more than the gun you put it on, unless you are buying a custom rifle or something along those lines.

 

I agree completely. I have a $400 Luepold on my .270. That gun was handed down to me, it hadn't been shot in almost 20 years. I took it out to sight it in, and without adjusting anything i put 10 rounds through a 1" radius at 100 yards.

My friend recently put that Cabelas scope on his gun and its pretty nice for the money. Just something that can hold me over until I can afford a nicer scope.

I'm still strongly considering a 22-250. I'm going to go look at/price out some guns once i get a little free time, maybe this weekend.