Either one works for me. Good choices.
Go with a 22 rifle. 22’s are vastly under rated as guns. I started my son off with mine when he was 8 and he did just fine. I’d stay away from pistols.
I meant to say that if he sold this .22 AR-15 clone, he could keep all his accessories for the piccatinny rails and use them on a full AR-15.
Go with the AR-15 and get a .22LR conversion kits.
Can plink all day for a few dollars and can move up with the same platform.
I am not opposed in agreeing your son should know how to use and own a gun but in just three years he will be 18, there is no point is causing additional angst with your ex-wife which will effect your son (and other children).
Sorry, not sure its worth it, there are many other items you could get him.
Talk to your son and send him through the local hunter safety program first, then select according to his interest.
Good choices as is a Ruger MK III. It’s a fairly traditional pistol but damned accurate for the dollar and very good quality
Get him a relic weapon like a Mosin-Nagant
I’d stay away from the pistola as well. My father bought me a Browning .22 lever action rifle. I love it. Does your boy have any interest in hunting? Maybe a shotgun?
I think they are easier to teach and learn the fundamentals of marksmanship. .22 ammo is cheap and you can get a whole lot more trigger time than you can get with a center fire. Starting with a bolt rifle and a SA revolver, he'll also learn the evolution of modern firearms, and the respective advantages and disadvantages of other weapons he tries and ultimately graduates to.
Again, JMHO.
You are being a jerk. His mother doesn’t want him to have one. It is one thing for you to take him to the range and let him shoot yours or theirs. You do not need to push her buttons by getting him one. When he is 18 he can get his own and meanwhile you need to respect her wishes and not push her buttons. No freakin wonder you are divorced. Your second sentence is “his mother and I have been divorced”... what is your problem? Get over yourself.
My honest opinion is to buy him reputable martial arts course rather than a gun — particularly a hand gun.
In the meantime, get a good plinking rifle and go out plinking with him. Take him to the range for pistol training. The time you spend with him will be more valuable than any gun you can buy — except for maybe a 50 caliber sniper rifle.
Why not start with a stainless steel, composite stock, bolt action .22 rifle. It will last a lifetime.
Beginners should start with NRA Certified trainingI would recommend training
from an NRA Certified Instructor
NRA Gun Safety Rules
Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot
Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use
Annoy your ex. Get him an AR with one of those .22 conversion kits. And tell the weenies on this thead to go stuff themselves.
He is your son, too.
I ask not because I care about your house rules versus hers, but it appears she is the primary custodial parent.
If you want to give your son a gun as a gift, one that stays at your house for him to hone his skills,under your supervision, that's up to you.
If you think giving a teenager a gun you know he must hide from his mother is a good idea, I think you need to ask for help as to why you would consider doing that, not what type it should be.
It can also be a lifetime possession. I still break out my first .22 from time to time, a 46-year-old Mossberg single-shot that I got at just a little less than his age. Still shoots as sweet as the day I took it home. Best of luck, and may the spirit of the season include ammo in the stocking!
My recommendation is to get him a .22 rifle. If you can find one, get an old Winchester bolt action with a magazine. This will teach him marksmanship, gun safety, and responsability. Get him a cleaning kit along with the rifle. I would use the NRA commands when he shoots. Especially the rule that no one goes down range when the range is hot.
I would stay away from pistols until he learns to always keep track of where the muzzle is pointing. Kids wave pistols around too much.
My kids love shooting a .22 and the .30 M 1 carbine. I would stay away from semiautomatic rifles for a couple of years. You might take him hunting starting with a single barreled 16 gauge shotgun.
The Ruger 10-22 is a well made firearm and dead nuts dependable. It would likely be a rifle your son could use till he has grandchildren.
Learning sight picture, breath control and trigger control is important to a foundation in marksmanship. It will carry over from 22s to literally anything he would ever shoot, hand gun, long gun, shotty, etc. And it is much easier to learn with a bolt action, but can be taught using something like a 10-22, or even a BB gun (I learned with a BB gun, 50,000 BBs and a basement “range”).
Handguns are fun, but difficult to use for learning the fundamentals. Plus the 22 rifle is a legal small game hunting weapon in most states.
As to your EX wife, let her teach tree hugging and sensitivity when she has custody, but you have every bit as much right to raise YOUR son as you see fit, and teach him your values.