Great shooting on a shoestring budget

Hi all,

From having worked as a mod/admin on a few shooting forums now, I've seen and answered all kinds of questions. A lot of em are from people like me. Folks who would like to have a couple of guns around that shoot lots of holes in targets, and not their wallets. I appreciate tough, working guns a lot, since I find them more valuable than their price tags might suggest.

So here's just a few of my picks for guns that give you the most bang for your buck. These first four are made by Norinco in China, and are available from Marstar.ca



Tokarev Type 54: This is a Chinese copy of the Russian TT-33 Tokarev sidearm from the second world war. It features an eight round magazine and uses the hot 7.62x25mm round. It's a very snappy little bullet, and a great penetrator...Which has it's pros and cons. Like most Russian firearms, it's rough around the edges, but runs like a tank. The pistol sells for $180 and the ammo goes for $225 per 2280 rounds. You literally can't beat that in centerfire ammo.

The great 1911A1, in all it's glory. Maybe the bluing and machining isn't as pretty as a US made gun, but you can buy one and slick it up to custom specs and still equal the price of buying a new Springfield, etc. 45 ACP might not be the cheapest round in the world to shoot, but it sure is one of the most effective. The Norinco 1911A1 retails for $325

Another classic, the M14 battle rifle. This has to be the best centerfire rifle deal in all of Canada, and won't be around forever. These rifles are very comparible in quality to USGI rifles, and the only shortcomings I've seen on them are cosmetic. People have been workin all kinds of mods into them, or just shooting them out of the box. They seem to average 1.5 to 2 inch groups, but I have seen one shoot 1 MOA consistently with a simple gas port shimming. Marstar is expecting another shipment soon, but be warned...rumour has it this one might be the last. The M14 goes for $399

Departing from military firearms now, here's a Mossberg 500 Persuader. The tried and true Mossberg 500 shotgun is just as reliable and smooth as a Remington 870 or Winchester 1300. The Persuader model features a 20" Imp. Cyc. chamber and an 8 round magazine tube. You can get one at S.I.R. Mailorder for $275

Henry 22lr Lever Action: Everyone needs a good 22! Whether it's for pest control, teaching a new shooter, mastering your own technique or just having a blast, rimfires rock. For the same price, you can find a Ruger 10/22, but you have to cycle the action of a Henry to appreciate how smooth it it. Aside from the slickness and the classic styling, the wood is unbelievable. They are using some awesome cuts of walnut on these stocks. The only drawback to it is a chunkyish plastic front sight, but it can be replaced. Even with it on, it's a great shooter to within reasonable limitations of a 22lr with iron sights. S.I.R. Mailorder has these for about $280

By no means the only deals out there, these are a few firearms I find you can really have a good time with and be happy to own. Honourable mentions would include an SKS, surplus Lee Enfields and Mosin Nagants, and Ruger Single Six revolvers...But hey, might as well save those for another installment!