I will say it with my dying breath: The best cheap guns are used guns. Go to a gun store that has a lot of them and you will see scores of firearms that some mad, sad, worthless, foolish fool has sold for no good reason. Provided it is in good condition, you can then get a non-cheap gun at a cheap price, or at least a greatly reduced price.

The thought of a single-shot holds no fear for me, but I have no experience with the Handi-Rifle. My advice to cash-strapped students is to inherit a lot of money while you are still in college. That will save you the degradation of having to work for it, and will allow you to live a more rewarding life.

+ 1 on the excellent advice to go find a used rifle.
I'm 36 and to date I have purchased exactly one brand-new centerfire rifle in my entire life.
This is partly a function of my socio-economic class (extremely low) my innate miserliness (extremely high) and the fact that I appreciate older guns that may have a little backstory to them.
You can walk into any gun or pawn shop and find racks of nice older rifles at bargain prices.
I was looking for a donor action not long ago and came across a pristine 1974-vintage Remington 700 ADL in a pawn shop. I offered an insultingly low price and walked out the door with it.
While I really had no desire for either an ADL or a 7 mag (I just wanted the action) it turned out to be such a nice gun I decided to keep it intact.
I can now put good glass on top of it and still come out ahead money-wise of most of those horrid package guns sold over the discount store counter.

The rest have been purchased used

I have a NEF single barrel in .243, and I think it is a nice gun for the funds, but Dave P. does make a good point about used rifles.
If one does some homework on retail gun values, and buys it from a reputable gun dealer, some very fine used guns are worth looking into.
I had found a used Rem.700 in .338WIN MAG, with a mounted 1.5-5 power scope for an asking price of $450. Now, this gun looked "used", in the hunting sense, but seemed to function nicely.(The dealer's gunsmith also looks over each gun to verify it is in good working order, as well)
I came close to making a bid on this rifle, until I found my .35 Whelen 700CDL which out the door was a tad over $750.In this case, I always wanted a .35 Whelen so that came home with me instead of .338 Mag.

I have found lots of great deals at pawnshops. It's mainly a matter of keeping your eyes open, visiting a lot of shops and being patient. And most pawnshops offer layaway plans if you need them. Sometimes, you can find deals on new equipment. This last Christmas, I saw Remington 700's and 710's at a local Wal-mart "clearanced" for under $300.00. The clerk didn't know why they were clearanced and the Wal-mart in the next town didn't have them at this price. They weren't advertised so it was just dumb luck to find them.

Most used rifles are indeed good deals. I have personally bought dozens for one reason or another over the years. Normally I drift to the used rack at the gunstores before glancing at what I consider to be mostly ho-hum new ones. I would caution the buyer to check especially the barrel of any caliber which might be routinely utilized for varmint, particularily prairie dog, shooting. The cost of a replacement barrel should be considered prior to the purchase. Generally the larger the cartridge the less the gun is fired...unless you are one of those recoil impervious guys like my kid. Don't buy one of my old guns.

Dave
I've told and retold the story of my .30-06 M70 here before, suffice it to say I agree that very good guns can be found on the used rack at attractive prices.
Will say though, one of the first centerfire rifles I ever fired was a Savage 340 also in .222 Rem, a dandy weapon it is; decent trigger, acceptable stock, wearing better glass than most people would say it deserves but it shoots well enough to make that scope worthwhile.
I have been looking at that NEF as well as the Rossi (yes I know; "Mr. Buy American" himself looking at foreign made weapons) combination gun to put in my stepson's hands in a year or so. Kinda think I may hold off there and just get him started with the .30-30.
Cheap guns may be the only workable solution for some people but usually you do get what you pay for.
SA

Would my $400+ remington in 30-06 be considered a cheap gun?

I have noticed that most of the gun shops in my area have priced their used inventory only marginally lower than the new stuff.

What exactly are we referring to as cheap rifles?

The reason I ask is that I have had positive experiences with three of the cheaper guns on the market right now.

I have a Tikka T3 Lite in 308, and while the gun is admittedly not much to look at, I do not think I could find a gun that is anymore ideally suited for hunting. It is light, just about the right length, and more than accurate enough for hunting.

My father has a Weatherby Vanguard in 270, and it is one of the more accurate production rifles that I have shot. I think this is primarily due to the fact that it has a 24 inch barrell.

Finally, I purchased a Stevens 200 last fall in 270, and while this rifle is about the ugliest thing I have ever laid eyes on, it seems to be sufficient for hunting. This rifle consitently shoots 2 1/2 or less three shot groups at 100 yards. While I know this is not stellar performacne, I think it is adequate for a hunting rifle. I think I might be able to improve these numbers somewhat if I was willing to spend time and money developing a load specifically for this rifle, so far I have only shot the rounds I developed for the aforementioned Vangaurd.

Mark, anyone who would sell plasma to buy a shotgun or take out a loan to finance a dog is a man after my own heart.

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I used part of one of my legion of student loans to buy my first retriever. It took me a good while at 8.5% to pay her off...

I think that if you go out looking for a cheap rifle that is exactly what you will come home with, a cheap rifle. Shinny and new is no indicator of quality. I will always look for a used gun first. If you keep an open mind and know what to look for you can really find some deals. Gun shows, true gun shops (not chain stores that sell guns)and estate sales are great places to find top quality at bottom prices. If you find a used Browning it is still a Browning. Always examine them closely for major problems but keep in mind that often a little TLC will have an older gun looking very stately and give you a nice conversation piece. I have repeatedly used my great grand dads shotgun to out shoot friends using brand new top of the line guns.

Short of inheriting money while still in school at the very least beg borrow or steal firearms from relatives... this has always worked for me. "Yeah Grandpa, don't you remember you said I could just keep that old Winchester Model 12?"

I was going to say just how cheap is cheap and then Gary listed some excellent arms for what I consider cheap. The Vanguard's pretty too, in a California sort of way. Nothing wrong with the Handi-Rifle, either. I have a hunting buddy who switched to it in a .22-250 this year when Tennessee changed the rules to allow all center fire cartridges and his is scary accurate. Cheap scope too, but we both shot less than a 3/4" group at 100 when he first sighted it in... of course I have never seen an inaccurate .22-250 for some reason.