What do you look for when buying a new rifle..?

[TattooedGun]

If you were to be looking for a new rifle, what are the key ingredients that you would like from it...

Do you look for style over substance first and foremost?

Perhaps you like functionality over performance?

Accuracy is king, or flawless cycling?

A thread in the Lantac Sub Forum asing about accuracy led me to ask the question, what do you, personally, look for when buying a rifle.

For me, its Accuracy first and foremost. Is what I'm aiming at going to get hit by this rifle, or is there a bigger than average chance that I'll miss because of the inherent inaccuracy of the rifle?

After accuracy it's looks, does it look the part. does it look how I want it to look?

Thirdly it's functionality. I'm not a speed-competition shooter, so the way that it functions matters not to me, provided it doesn't take stupidly long to reload (muzzle loader anyone) then it'll do.

With this list in mind, I realise it's subjective, as I'd really like a No.5 Jungle Carbine, which let's face it, isn't going to be as accurate as an AI in .308, but it would be fun all the same.

So I guess, what would your requirements of a rifle be...?

[dave_303]

For me it has to be interesting in some way or another. Whether it be a milsurp with all matching numbers, or a rare(r) model or just something you don't see on the firing line that often.

If I am buying a 'modern' design then it depends on purpose, for practical competitions obviously it comes down to function (though as always it is a little bit different to what is out there then even better, hence why I bough the ARX160 over the M&P15-22)

[Blackstuff]

Depends on what its going to be used for. E.g. an IPSC mini-rifle only needs to group 2-3" at 5-25m, so precision accuracy isn't an issue, where as reliable functionality is paramount. On the otherside of the coin if i was lobbing lead at 1000m a slightly awkward action could be forgiven if the accuracy was spot on.

In general though my order of those is;

Functionalilty - If it doesn't work like its supposed to, then its a paperweight
Accuracy - Appropriate to the use
Aesthetics - OBVIOUSLY it has to be 'black', but other than that, meh. Good looks are always a bonus though tongueout

[BestDrugDoc]

Thumbhole or pistol grip are my preferences.

Has to look good.

Shorter barrel the better.

Good ergonomics.

Runs on reasonably priced ammo!

[snayperskaya]

For me it has the be interesting and a bit different from the norm and as accurate as it can be for what it is/was intended for.None of my rifles were designed with sticking X number of rounds through the same hole but all are as accurate as they need to be.They have to function flawlessly which they do and the Dragunovs are certainly a bit different from the norm and certainly stand out at the range when it comes to looks.The other thing is it has to be Russian!.

[bigfathairybiker]

Lots of recoil, fun, looks.

Mark

[Les]

I normally go for looks first. I'm not talking about showroom 'looks', but "has it been looked after" looks. I know that a wipe over with an oily rag will hide a lot of sins, but you can normally see beyond the obvious if you know what you're looking for.

Accuracy is a must - but it's not something that you can normally check instore, or in someone's back garden, so some sort of return warranty is also a must.

General 'feel' at the shoulder is also on the list. If it doesn't feel right, and it can't be altered, then I walk away, no matter how much I like it.

Price is also a consideration for me. I don't have enough money to waste on overpriced guns, so if I can't get it down to what I think is a fair price - for both of us - I'll walk away.

[ovenpaa]

Accuracy, repeatability, function and form. Obviously this is totally down to the discipline to be shot and for me things are only truly interesting beyond 1000 yards so I need a rifle capable of reliably getting beyond this distance, is light enough to carry and robust enough to deal with the UK and Scandinavian climates and can take the occasional knock.

[phaedra1106]

Accuracy, fit and I must like the look of it. If it's a centre fire rifle cartridge then the ability for it be downloaded to use indoors at 25m would be an added bonus.

[froggy]

Obviously it depends on the job the tool is supposed to do but reliability is a huge factor for me, ie : if it does not go "bang" when I want, with what ever ammo is available, it is not a gun for me.