Recommend a gun for my son

[Guest jimboro]

My 10 year old is ready for his first rifle. I am thinking a .22 bolt action would be best but wanted to post here for any recommendations for or against that idea, and maybe some specific models to look for and which to stay away from. Thanks for your time.

[TripleDigitRide]

Ruger 10/22

There is an endless supply of aftermarket stuff for the 10/22.

By the way, this is what I chose for my 10-year-old daughter. A pink one.

Edited September 19, 2009 by TripleDigitRide

[Garufa]

A .22 Bolt gun is a great way to start. If your local WalMart sells guns you can get a Savage MK II for $120 or something like that.

With a manually operated gun the kids can learn much more and it is easier to keep an eye on them when shooting. Safer and more educational in general.

With that said, go ahead and plan on a Ruger 10/22 or Marlin 60 in the next couple of years. Then the bigger guns.

[Oh Shoot]

A .22 Bolt gun is a great way to start. If your local WalMart sells guns you can get a Savage MK II for $120 or something like that.

...

Echo that suggestion.

Dick's might have one around that price, too.

- OS

[SavageSig]

Yup, third that suggestion. A bolt helps slow down a new shooter and encourage them to aim carefully without being painfully slow like an air rifle you have to pump 8 times to shoot. I have a Mark II F I got from WM for 115 and the only thing holding me back from tighter groups is the trigger. With bulk Federal 550 she'll shoot a quarter at 50 yards and a softball at 100. Not as tight as, say, a CZ452, but considerably cheaper.

[xd shooter]

I will 4th the motion fro Garfa.

I gave my son a 10/22 with a scope. It is a great gun, but I wish I would have gotten hin a bolt gun with iron sights to start with.

Marksmanship it easier to teach when they don't have the option of quickfire.

They learn to make the shot count, or at least I did.

[glockster157]

Bolt guns are great and I think autos are to ammo hungry. I personally like the lever guns for a good compromise between speed and deliberate aimed shooting. You have the larger capacity of the autos but you still have to work the lever between shots...lots of fun too. I have 3 CZ452's and a Marlin 925 but when I get bored with grouping and want to really plink I break out the Marlin 39 or I used to have a Browning BL22 also.

[Guest Bluemax]

woops

Edited September 20, 2009 by Bluemax
Not surewhere I was going with that

[GoVols]

.22 bolt action for sure. Safer to teach/train and is easier to train for great shot focus to make every shot count as mentioned above.

Have fun!

[Guest Straight Shooter]

Hey jimboro-

I really believe that a bolt gun,preferably a single shot,would really be the way to go. A nice new Savage,with the peep sights,or a classic old gun like an old Winchester or H&R or the like would be great. Teach SAFETY,sight alignment,sight picture,trigger control,ect,ect,all the basics.Emphasize HITS over rounds fired. Yall will have a blast.

Good luck,and let us know how the young un is progressing.

[GLOCKMEISTER]

RUGER 10/22, he will use it the rest of his life. If you get anything less you will wind up buying it anyway in the future.... book it

[Guest c.a.s.]

Marlin 39A.

Best of both worlds. You can teach him with single-shot, and then you don't have to buy another gun to graduate from it.

[Guest Bronker]

First off Jim, a big thanks from all of us for passing our sport on purposefully, and deliberately. The next generation of young'uns is our guarantee of its future. Great job!!!

As was mentioned here, my son started on a Henry Lever action .22LR. Has enough 'live action' to hold his interest, but mechanical enough to teach sound principles of safety, marksmanship, and technique. I love shooting it too!

It was a seamless transition from the Red Ryder BB levergun that has slayed many a coke bottle as a wee lad prior to the Henry!

[Guest .45]

+1 for a lever-gun...

[Paletiger13]

Check Bass Pro, they seem to have alot of specials in the paper for .22's. And Welcome by the way. Charles

[I_Like_Pie]

Here is how to make that "first gun" something special. Spend a little more than usual along the lines of a Ruger 77/22, CZ452, or Marlin 39a. Buy it for him to shoot at this age...it will still be "yours" but his to shoot under supervision any time they can recite to you the 4 rules (or 5 or 6 whatever you want to teach) of firearm safety.

-When they turn 14 or 15 they may have too busy a life for a while to shoot much...and that will be OK. That well thought out purchase will be a great "gift" when that 18th birthday rolls around to bring forever memories of the time spent learning to shoot with dad.

Slight edge for the bolt actions above the 39a because you can get a 1 round mag so that starting out you can hand them 1 round at a time and have them load it up. The repetition will allow plenty of opportunity for good gun handling skills. He will grow up and it will still be a great gun. The 10/22 is good, but it is easy to develop the bad habit of barrel blazing rather than thoughtful and accurate shooting.

This is my plan for my child...but your mileage may vary.

Edited September 19, 2009 by I_Like_Pie

[56FordGuy]

I'd vote for a non- semi auto. I started shooting with a Remington 572 pump action .22. Still have that rifle, and still love it. Like others have said, it makes it much easier to focus on proper aim and other basics with a slower- shooting rifle.

Once he gets the hang of it, I'm sure you'll be moving up to a semi-auto. But the cost difference, in my opinion, is negligible. If it takes even a year for him to be ready to move into a semi auto, you can get a new 10/22 for about 200 bucks. That's only $16.00 a month if you start saving now.

[Sidinman]

I started my daughter out with a Henry leveraction. Then we got the ruger 10/22 a year later, she has become quite the little shooter. She is 15 now and a month back I took her out and let her shoot the .223,she liked that alot. Main thing is to teach the safety thing and it will be alot of fun for the both of you. Just watching them progress is fun.

[Good_Steward]

That's tough. The Marlin 983 .22 Mag is a great little bolt rifle, gun tests mag rated it A+, and I love mine. The model 60 and 10/22 are great little semi's though. I like the tube fed mag better, and I don't think your 10 year old will care about all the add ons. If you do go with a tube fed gun, you can cut down old, or cheap, aluminum arrows, drill a small hole for a cotter pin at one end, fill it with the tube capacity, and viola, a Marlin 60 speed loader. Any way you go, .22's are impossible to beat as a first gun.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Good_Steward

[Guest flytens]

+1 Ruger 10/22

[gregintenn]

My ten year old has a Cricket 22 bolt action single shot 22. He is about to outgrow it, but still loves shooting it. I do too. My younger son got one yesterday for his birthday. We've been out shoooting them this morning. I love those little guns. I'd suggest you peruse the used gun racks at gun stores and pawn shops and find him an old single shot bolt action like a Remington, Winchester, Savage, etc. They make a great first gun.

[Guest Mugster]

You were out shooting today? Its so wet up here the frogs are trying to get in to watch football.

Get him a 10/22. Thats what everyone wants. I got mine when I was 13 and rebarreled it last year I think. I'd recommend getting him a pump up pellet rifle first. Probably 12-13 is about right to issue a .22, imo.

[gregintenn]

Probably 12-13 is about right to issue a .22, imo.

Did I mention he got it for his sixth birthday? Of course he isn't to touch it without adult supervision. I think he did really well with it. Time will tell if he continues to. One can never start too early engraining firearms safety into a child's mind. The first time he hit the bullseye, I saw the biggest smile on his face I've seen in a long time.

[R1100R]

My Daughter has a Savage Cub-T and my Son a Rossi Youth combo. You have to look at stock size too it you want the length of pull to be correct. It also depends on the size of the child. Both of these rifles you can get adult size socks for later on. I don't know how many times I have seen a young one at the range with the stock up under his arm looking over the barrel and the head cocked to one side.

[Guest Mugster]

Did I mention he got it for his sixth birthday? Of course he isn't to touch it without adult supervision. I think he did really well with it. Time will tell if he continues to. One can never start too early engraining firearms safety into a child's mind. The first time he hit the bullseye, I saw the biggest smile on his face I've seen in a long time.

Well, its not really his rifle then. Which seems pretty reasonable at 10. From what I know of it (which is minimal), once I started bush-hogging the pasture, my dad decided I was responsible enough to own a .22. He taught me how to drive the truck about the same time. So that seems like a reasonable benchmark. In an emergency, if you'd let your kid drive you to the ER, they probably can own a .22. If not, better wait.

I bought my own 12ga at 15 from target of all places, but, we were farm boys. I guess its a little different for the city people. Hell I knew a couple guys my age that got married when they were 16.