For your first rifle, how do you decide what caliber to go with?

Posted 14 Aug 2017.

I chose 7.62x54r.

1940 Tula 91/30, with no fancy modern thingamajigs, rails, or optics. (Source: author)

Before anyone who has never fired a rifle before has an incandescent lightbulb of 1.21 gigawatts’ of “that’s a great idea” go off over their head, let me clarify a bit…

I purchased this rifle towards the end of my military service. I have fired a lot of rifles over the years, but had never owned one due to either location (Hawaii) or finances (“Ramen noodles for dinner it is… again”). However, I was torn on which purchase to make for the celebration of 41 years’ worth of tenacity. What kicked me over to the wonderfully cheap (back then) world of Soviet military surplus rifles was my fascination with history, the desire to subject my shoulder to repetitive abuse, and my appreciation of this particular rifle was something that I came across a few years ago:

A lot of factors go into someone’s decision to purchase their first rifle, and a lot of what has been written by others in this answer thread will be valuable in making the best decision.

For me, it was the simplicity of maintenance, cost, and historic significance that were the key deciding factors. Until the sanctions hit, I could go out and run 80–120 rounds through the rifle every time I went to the range for about the quarter of the cost for the same quantity of 5.56 or 7.62×39. After all, frequent practice is good, yes?

Range, lethality, and accuracy were secondary, but not too far behind. Because I can go the range so frequently (see “cost”), I can work honing down my ability to engage man-sized steel plates at 400 yards a lot more often (and effectively) than the inevitable “AR fratboys” that show up and miss at 100 yards (criticizing the shooter, not the platform… relax).

The ability to accessorize to the nth degree of “tacticool” has always been at the bottom of my list. Accessories work for some – not for me, as I can probably buy another 440 round spam can for the price that I have seen guys shell out for a bipod that does not help their marksmanship… at all (again, see “cost”… and againcriticizing the shooter).

It’s up to the individual what works for them and what makes sense/is worth the investment. Tag along with someone going to the range and find out way fits you.