AR or Bolt Action?

[YoungGunLover]

Thanks for all the responses guys!!! Lots of great answers and seems like the decision is just getting that much harder. Right now I'm leaning towards going ahead and buying a bolt action right now and then getting an AR towards the end of summer since I'll have a regular income over summer vs. being at school. And if I don't seem to like the bolt action I'll just trade it in, cut my losses, and get the AR.

 

[patience0830]

Thanks for all the responses guys!!! Lots of great answers and seems like the decision is just getting that much harder. Right now I'm leaning towards going ahead and buying a bolt action right now and then getting an AR towards the end of summer since I'll have a regular income over summer vs. being at school. And if I don't seem to like the bolt action I'll just trade it in, cut my losses, and get the AR.

The bolt action for a fellow with a reloading fascination and a penchant for wringing out the most accuracy sounds like a match to me. What you don't spend on the AR, you'll use up on specialty reloading tools for a while. The good thing is, your ammo will be less expensive in dollars. Not necessarily in time, though. The bolt action will also make you shoot fewer rounds and probably learn more per round than the AR will. If you're like most youngsters, you have a shortage of $ so a rifle that lets you turn money into noise at a slower rate is prolly a good thing.

If you buy a Savage 10 action you can upgrade the bbl easily in the future with a modicum of knowledge and a couple of specialty tools. I'm a fan of the Accutrigger too.

There are more accessories and upgrades currently available for the Remington 700 tho.

 

[MikeDVB]

I'll go against the grain and say start with the bolt. If you have an interest in reloading and accuracy a bolt action fits in nicely. I can't argue against the AR crowd on many points mentioned, and certainly an AR can combine accuracy and utility. I find more enjoyment and accuracy with bolt actions. Bolt actions fit well when you are striving for accuracy, taking your time with each shot and recording as much information as you care to. Semiautos are more likely to encourage faster shooting with less attention to each shot. To each his own. Good luck.

I went with the AR in 5.56 first as it's a home defense/shtf weapon. My next purchase is starting to look like a bolt-action .308 possibly.

Thinking about getting a 300 Blackout upper to put on an SBR'd lower + Supressor for home defense at some point... Would love to still be able to hear if we ever had cause to use it.

 

[Zoub]

30 years ago when I was in college I bought a Remington bolt. It was a great way to relax at the range and learn reloading. Since you are shooting for accuracy, not volume, a bolt and reloading are a great combo to start with and good for hunting as well. I would Fox hunt at night in winter to get off campus.

I would also burn hundreds of rounds through a Ruger MKII at each range session. I probably shot 10-15k rounds of .22lr easy in that gun in 2 years. Good skills development and cheap.


If you buy a bolt in .223 you will learn the caliber well before you buy your first AR and they will compliment each other well.

 

[BKExpress]

I started in rifles by buying an AR, then two then 3... With that being said, reloading for and shooting bolt guns with a high level of precision is absolutely hands down the most fun for me. Everybody's different though.

You'll own both soon though so toss a coin and get to shooting!