Posted on 06/25/2006 2:59:07 PM PDT by ThePythonicCow
My 17 year old son would like to learn to shoot a gun.
I used to shoot a .22 rifle as a kid, and had to qualify once a year with a handgun in the military, many decades ago. But since then I've not used a gun, and we've never had guns in our house.
There is apparently a good gun range nearby in Livermore California. I'd like to sign up my son and myself for a beginner's class. I think that means I will need to first purchase a gun.
What gun would be good for this?
I'm not even sure if it should be a rifle or pistol.
A possible secondary use for this gun -- I am hoping to move out of this leftist town, once my son leaves home in a year. My wife intends to move to Berkeley, and I'm looking fondly at west Texas. I could use a good gun or two in west Texas, I presume. The marriage has already pretty well gone South, as they say.
Ruger 10/22.
-PJ
You might want to wait till after the class, do they
have rifles you can use? A little exposure will help you
in making a good decision.
Good luck and have fun.
Keep'em in the Black.
Sorry, couldn't help it....
I'm thinking more along the lines of something that shoots real bullets.
You'll shoot your eye out with that thing...
My son would like that one -- a little beyond our budget,
I suspect.
LOL
But seriously, my first gun was a single shot New England Firearms 20 gauge. Really cheap and you don't have to worry about him leaving unfired rounds in the gun. I think I was given that gun around the age of 8.
You can't go wrong with a .22 bolt action rifle. I have a CZ 452 Lux, which comes with decent iron sights (a rarity these days) but you can mount a scope easily. Good trigger too. MSRP is $350, but they can be had for less. Check out all at www.cz-usa.com
Here it is.
For a first gun, I'd get a .22 rifle. Cheap ammo, easy to handle with little recoil.
If your goal, besides basic preparation, is to go to the range and shoot
at targets then a .22 is a good place to start. They don't kick at all
and are good for getting folks used to firing rifles and not be jumpy about it.
From there, the possibilities are miriad.
What gun for a 17-year-old? Anything.
In a year or so, he may be a Marine.
MY first hunting firearm at age 12, was a single shot Winchester 16 ga. shotgun ( full choke ). My dad made me use it so that I would be sure of hitting my target because I only had one chance . Still use it today as it does a job on squirrels ( tree rats )that invade my garden .
Teen's handgun.......nothing that embarasses him...no small bore....!
Anything in a 45 or 357 will make him proud...
Rifle....an excellent quality 30-0-06 will one day be a hand-me-down...
My first gun was a single shot Stevens .20 ga shotgun. My dad took me hunting with it. I was taught gun safety. Afterwards, I shot lots of poor innocent birds, squirrels, rabbits etc. Eventually I stoppped decimating the local small animal population.
My next gun (always a Christmas gift) was a bolt action Mossberg .22 with a scope.
Start with a long gun, teach gun safety and responsibility. Later a handgun.
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