r/canadaguns • u/Random_Reddit_User_5 • May 12 '26
Buy recommendations Buying a .22
Everybody on the internet is saying to get a .22 because it is easy and cheap to shoot. But honestly, what can you do with a .22? Plinking and very small animals. Am I looking at this the wrong way? My FSC instructor sayed to get a .243 because its relativity cheap to shoot and still powerful. And another friend told me to get a 25-06 but its ammo hella expensive. Please fell free to give me another point of view.
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u/Vituperate250 May 12 '26
To me, firearm purchases are all about purpose. I have a handful of "full power" rifles for historic value (a Lee Enfield, a Swedish Mauser), but every other firearm I own is motivated by plinking, even my .30-30 and 7.62x39 rifles.
Do you want to hunt? Get a firearm or two in a cartridge that suits what you want to hunt, and to some extent your stature.
Do you want to shoot for fun, i.e. plinking? Start with a .22, maaaaaybe a .223/5.56. .357 Magnum and other large pistol cartridges are also great to shoot in rifles, and the ammunition is relatively inexpensive.
The other use case for .22 is practice, practice, practice. Getting good at shooting requires repetition, and .22 is the cheapest you can possibly shoot short of someone else buying the ammo for you.
Do you have another purpose? Buy firearms that suit whatever your purpose is.