Son's first gun

[79LumaCraft]

Looking to purchase my first gun so my 8 yr old son and his younger sisters someday can go squirrel and other small game/bird hunting. Any suggestions on what to get? Am considering a .22/.410 combo, but looking for your experiences, opinions, and suggestions on brands, etc.

[picksbigwagon]

Those single shots (410) will kick, as an adult you won't feel it, but a 50 pound 8 year old certainly will. I actually started my boys off (10 and 8) on red ryders. They have fun sitting in the woods "squirrel" hunting with me. I have a .22 from my father in law that they have shot but it is an adult sized rifle. I want to buy then a youth sized 22 and have been looking at the henry lever action 22's. I suggest going to look at those. they can shot 22lr's all the way down to 22 shorts. A friend has an adult sized one and the straight stock on the adult sized one seems small to me, but for kids in the youth model it would feel great to small hands.

We have had a very busy fall so I have not bought the 22's yet. Take a look at the henry's, FF and Wal-mart have the best deals on them (225-ish)

[Gordie]

I got the 20 ga/22lr and its a great combo but the 20ga kicks like a mule but I instaled a limbsaver recoil pad on it and and it tamed it down a bit.

I would go with the 410ga before the 20ga..

Another option is the 20ga/22rim/243 that way your coverd for deer hunting I also bought the 243/20ga combo and the 243 is an awsome gun to start with.

All the guys at the range said just how sweet that little rifle was..

Good luck in what ever you choose

[Ufatz]

If you can, resist the temptation to start a child with a .410. If you fear a single-shot .20 might have too much recoil, start them with a .20 pump gun, which will have far less recoil. Just load it with ONLY one shell.

Any serious shooter will tell you that a .410 is really a "masters" level shotgun, for people REALLY skilled with that smallbore. It has limited range and a small pencil pattern.

Yes.....yes.....I KNOW you can blast this and you have made 90-yard shots and you are totally GREAT at shooting and major cool on top of that....so save the stories fellas! Ha Ha!

If you want to shoot blackbirds at thirty yards with the SHORT 2 3/4 shells then be my guest. After all, that's what the .410 is.....a creation of the British for potting rook (blackbirds) out of trees.

Now I know most of you guys don't pay too much attention to us old dudes but I just GOTTA try to help now and then.

[HNTNBUX]

Both of my kids started with the smallest bb gun I could find at age 5. Then made the transition to a Ruger 10/22 off of a rest or shooting sticks. Remember its not fun unless you hit what you are aiming at. Also the report and recoil are minimal. Those double guns are heavy from what I remember as a kid and it would have been easier to shoot a regular .22 and that would be my first choice. My 12 year old daughter has made the progression through the years and is not recoil sensitive up to 3 1/2 inch turkey loads and slugs. Go slow and allow them to build a tolerance to the noise and recoil.

[highlife4me]

Other than the Crossman BB gun I got for Christmas when I was 8 years old, my 1st real gun was a 12 ga. 870 that I bought with my own money from a summer of walking beans and baling hay. Sure it kicked a little but I could use it on just about everything and I took real good care of it. I knew how hard I worked for it and what it meant to me. That was almost 30 years ago and I remember the day I bought it just like it was yesterday.

[79LumaCraft]

elwood--passed your 20ga/243/22 combo idea to a few buddies and they agreed. So I'll be watching gunbroker.com and local stores for deals in the coming months. Anywhere else any of you recommend I go to search for this gun and other firearms? My son shoots incredibly well with his BB gun--he's got natural talent, way more than I ever had as a kid. And he's excited to get out squirrel, pheasant and deer hunting to which I tell him, we're going to start small and grow as you grow. He's still a few years away from the bigger game, but excited to get him out in the forest to hunt next year.

[PurpleFloyd]

I bought my son a Cricket single shot .22 when he was 5 and he learned to shoot under my supervision with that until he was 7. Then he got a single shot break action .410 and he had 2 years with that shooting clay pigeons with an auto trap thrower that I have and then when he was 10 I bought him a semi auto Mossberg SA20 20 gauge. For him it was a smooth and productive progression and he is doing well now.

But as with any advise you have to consider that every child is unique and what works for one may not work for another.

But that SA20 youth shotgun is so light, easy to point and well designed that I would recommend it to any young shooter. He has already taken 4 deer and many dozen pheasants with it.

[Acemac]

hands down the best gun to teach proper gun care is a 22

[leech~~]

Both of my kids started with the smallest bb gun I could find at age 5. Then made the transition to a Ruger 10/22 off of a rest or shooting sticks. Remember its not fun unless you hit what you are aiming at. Also the report and recoil are minimal. Those double guns are heavy from what I remember as a kid and it would have been easier to shoot a regular .22 and that would be my first choice. My 12 year old daughter has made the progression through the years and is not recoil sensitive up to 3 1/2 inch turkey loads and slugs. Go slow and allow them to build a tolerance to the noise and recoil.

I agree, start slow, kids can get "Gun shy" just like a good dog if they have a bad first experience!

[harvey lee]

My Father was very careful with myself and my brothers. I hunted with a BB gun and pellet gun until I was 13 before I got a 22 or a .410. I thought at the time I had to wait way to long but I would agree now with my Father that learning to handle a dangerous weapon was the correct way.

My son did not hunt with a shotgun until the age of 13 if I remember correctly.

As an example, I hate to rain on anyones parade but today, it seems to me that a 10 year old hunting big game with a high powered rifle is way to young even with an adult for supervision.

Yes, I remember sitting by a tree waiting for a squirrel so I could shoot and hated waiting so long to carry a gun but safety always came first.

I believe a 410-22 combo would be a great gun to start out with for plinking, squirrel hunting or some smaller game. My father always said to learn to make the first shot count so it was a single shot for me.

I guess it was the smart thing to do even if I didn't agree at the time.

[Surface Tension]

As a typed my reply I reminisced of the progression of things and the good times.

My son started out with a BB gun. I believe he was around 6 years old which is long before you can take Firearm Safety.

I taught him how to properly handle a firearm with that BB gun and didn't let him use it without supervision because every time the BB gun came out we were continuing that safe and proper handling.

Before you get a youngster their first firearm you need to determine if they're a lefty or righty.

When I thought he was ready we stepped up to a youth 22 bolt action and an old 410 bolt action that I cut the stock down for proper fit. At that time I reloaded 410 and also had a 410 pump that I'd use for grouse and clay targets just because.

After he took his Firearm Safety and duck hunting on the horizon, I moved him up to a youth 20ga pump.

I loaded "light" 20 ga rounds for clays targets and he did that for a year. When it was time to duck hunt the heavy recoil for waterfowl loads didn't bother or should I say he didn't notice it. His first and present deer rifle is a 303 British.

I started him out on that with reduced loads and have moved up to hunting loads.

I knew eventually I'd be moving him up to a 12 just because it is what I shoot and we could move away from the 20 for good. He is a lefty and up till then all his firearms had the right hand safety. I opted for a Browning BPS.