best rifle/shotgun?

Not sure that I'll get into the fine sport of hunting, but I'd like a good rifle and shotgun for varmint control. Don't want to buy a "bad" gun.

Of course, I plan to take a gun safety course.

Anybody have good recommendations for good guns?

Something that's good, reliable, and easy to clean and oil.

I like the look of the older, wood stocked models.

I've only tried them once, but Remington makes a special cartridge for the .30-30 called the Accelerator. Typical rounds in this caliber are 150 or 170 grain, but the Accelerator uses a 55 grain bullet. With practice, you could probably use both types of ammo for medium range varmint extermination and deer hunting. Be sure to check your state and local laws. When I brought this up in another discussion a while back, some seasoned shooters informed me that the Accelerator cartridges are banned in some areas and are possibly on a list to become illegal.

I like all the suggestions that have been offered here. The best idea is to find a reputable gun shop (NOT Wal-Mart, K-Mart, ooboomart, mart-mart, stupor-mart, etc...) and tell the salesperson what you're looking to do and what your property is like. The salesperson should know what's legal to use in your area, and what would be a good choice to suit your needs. You're likely to have a certain cartridge or two suggested, then several choices of rifles or shotguns. Once you're down to picking between brands and models, you can ask others which ones they have and like, and which you should avoid.

Good luck!

My favorite shotgun is a Stagecoach model 12 guage, side X side, with twin hammers and twin triggers. It is a Rossi
and my Browing over & under Citori.
Rifle...264 Win. Mag on a Mauser 98 action, great deer rifle.
.223 cal for varmits. And always the timeless .22 for plinking
Newest favorite is the .17 cal, shells are not much lagrer than a .22, shoots flatter and faster than lighting too.
Hope this helps,
John A.

For a shotgun, a pump by Mossberg, Winchester or Remington will do just fine; 20 or 12 gauge.

For a rifle, I'd recommend a centerfire bolt action rifle. Winchester, Remington and Savage all make good rifles, as do many other manufacturers. You mention that you'd like a wooden stock. Bear in mind that most new rifles will have a plastic stock, and for good reason: Plastic stocks shoot more consistently than wood. There's nothing more frustrating than getting your rifle sighted in and then a month later find out it's shooting several inches off of zero because the stock swelled.

For caliber, the choices are bewildering and very dependent on what you use it for. .223 Rem is the lightest I would go. 22-250 and 220 Swift more lethal, good for coyotes. 243, 6 mm Rem and .25-06 are more versatile and will handle deer. Anything larger than 25 ca. is considered a "big game" cartridge. Note that all center-fire rifles have incredible range; even .223 is shot competitively at 1000 yards. The bigger the caliber, the longer the range; remember your neighbors.

A .22 rimfire rifle is nice to have around, but pretty much ineffective for all but the smallest varmints.

Popular guns I would avoid: Ruger Mini-14 (poor accuracy) .17 HMR (expensive ammo, won't do anything a .223 can't do better)

You need to really think alot about the varmint problem before taking any action as there's always the "other" side to look at. You think you cure one problem when in reality you can create another varmint problem of a different type that may be worse than the orginal problem.

Kinda hard to beat the Winchester or Ruger brands for a typical out of the box great shooting weapon.

You might want to read up on the 300 winchester short magnum or the 270 remington short magnum as both have a very short trajectory drop over long range, like 8" ? at 500yds. Both would be an excellant varmint cartridge.

T_Bone

As for shotguns, I would go with the Remington 870 Express Magnum. It will likely NOT appreciate in value, EXCEPT to the owner. That gun is a classic that is as reliable for shooting, functioning, or paddling a boat. You truly cannot go wrong with that gun for farm use!