r/canadaguns • u/YDpr99 • Apr 12 '26

Buy recommendations First Firearm!!

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Hey everyone,

Just got my PAL and starting to plan out my first few pickups. Curious what you’d recommend as a solid starting point.

Right now I’m leaning toward a 12 gauge semi-auto as my first since a few of my close friends are into skeet shooting and hunting, so I figure that’s what I’d realistically use the most right away.

That said, I’ll probably end up adding a .22LR at some point for cheaper range time, and I’ve also been thinking about eventually getting something like a .308 Win for hunting down the line with a little target practice —but not sure if that’s jumping too far ahead.

For context, I grew up going to the range with family (mostly ARs and pistols), but obviously things are a bit different now. My main focus at the moment is target shooting, with some interest in getting into hunting.

Would love to hear what you started with and what you’d recommend for a first setup in Ontario.

(And yeah, the photo is just for attention—no real connection to the question 😅)

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u/KalashnikovParty Apr 12 '26

hm not gonna say that would’ve been the first thing to come to mind when thinking of first guns, but still it is a vibe 

For a semi auto 12 gauge i suggest saving up a bit and getting an actually nice one. A300 or if you are a bit more patient going for the 1301 mod 2

1

u/YDpr99 Apr 12 '26

I’ve heard terrible things about the A300 that’s why I’ve looked at the Stoeger m3000 my friends who have massive and expensive collections recommend the Stoeger for the price and performance with quality

If I was going to go really nice I’d probably be looking at spending around 2500$ but I feel like that’s a little extreme as my first firearm and shotgun

2

u/KalashnikovParty Apr 12 '26

If you are spending that much get the 1301 for sure. I’ve fired my friend’s 1301 mod 2 and believe me it’s worth every penny. Most semi autos are kinda mediocre anyways so might as well get something that’s really good. Most semi autos are over 1k anyways

1

u/YDpr99 Apr 13 '26

Don’t love how the 1301 looks tbh

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u/KalashnikovParty Apr 14 '26

there are a lot of after market parts for it if it looks weird out of the box

2

u/Scary-Detail-3206 Apr 13 '26

I own a Stoeger m3500, I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the platform. I’ve had lots of cycling issues with target loads and the build quality isn’t great. You really do get what you pay for with firearms.