Posted on 12/08/2011 4:11:32 PM PST by smokingfrog
Not 100 percent comprehensive, but should get some ideas flowing. A good .22 LR rifle is probably the most important firearms purchase you can make for your child or even for yourself.
Ruger 10/22
Bought my son a Henry .22
My first firearm was a Remington 581 bolt action .22. I still have it, 43 years later. Nice little gun. Today, I’d be inclined to go with a Ruger 10/22.
And just ~$60 spent on ammo for same will allow the BATF and your local media to point out that you have an arsenal including thousand of rounds of bullets.
That Thompson Center single-shot looks like a sweet little gun for a youngster.
Family tradition going back forever here is to purchase a child who wants their first gun a .22LR and a .410 shotgun. Then they go hunting with the adults and older kids but don’t get to carry ammo at first. Yes, they are unloaded-gun-toting dogs until they learn how it’s done.
I think the first should be a single shot 410, but that should be followed up fairly quick with a single shot bolt action 22 rifle.
Depends what you are going to do. For sitting at the range and learning the basics of shooting I like the 10/22. A single shot is distracting when trying to learn to shoot.
However, I wouldn’t give a child a semi-auto to a brand new hunter. I used to hunt rabbits and squirrels with a Winchester lever action .22, great fun.
10/22 is no good for a little kid
I think a bolt action or the Ruger 10/22 is the way to go.
I would stay away from the tube fed magazine rifles like the Marlin 60.
Its a fine rifle but I don’t like the way you have to load it.
It could be a safety concern with a young child.
I always wanted my dad’s old Remington Nylon 66.
I vote for the 10/22 but it needs the extended magazine release on it. The stock release can cut you. . . personal experience.
Bookmark for later reading...
No one thought anything of a boy with a rifle back then. Being "raised by a village" then meant that your parents were responsible adults. One phone call of observed improper behavior meant huge trouble. By one's teens gun safety and responsibility were mostly a done deal. These days if a 14 year old was riding a bike with a slung .22 I would estimate 10 to 15 minutes before the poor kid was surrounded by cops and a helicopter overhead.
In my twenties I sold it to a friend and regret doing so to this day. As a matter of fact, every single firearm that I have sold I still regret. The only one I don't regret not keeping is the one I gave to my best friend as a gift.
As a gift, any good quality rifle will do. My only advice is that you make your daughter or son promise unconditionally that they will not sell or give away the weapon until after they retire.
I agree. I like the idea of starting them out with a single-shot or maybe a lever action and those Super Colibri .22 rounds.
The New England Arms single shots are also great starter rifles.
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