My Son's First Pistol?

[DemolitionMan]

My sons (13 and 10) love going shooting with me and spending quality time putting lead downrange. My older son has a .22 Henry lever action that I bought for his 12th birthday. My younger son has an inexpensive pellet/BB gun that he enjoys, but he's definitely getting jealous of big brother.

My younger son often "borrows" the Henry or my CZ .22, not to mention my 1911's and .38. He is making a lot of noise about wanting his own .22 but isn't sure exactly what he wants.

The reason I'm writing all of this here is that he struggles with the length and a little with the weight of the .22 rifles. He's short enough that he has a hard time taking a proper stance with them. OTH I'm not eager to buy a "youth" version that he'll outgrow in a year or two.

I'm therefore thinking about getting him a .22 pistol. Judging by how much he likes blazing away with the .45, I'm pretty sure he'd like that and it would certainly be a lot easier on my wallet -- .45 ACP ain't cheap these days!

I have no idea who makes a decent .22 pistol though. I've never owned one so I don't really have any preferences, though I think semi-auto would probably be a good thing for him. I'd also want something fairly easy for smaller hands to operate and to do maintenance on -- I insist my sons help clean after we've had our fun.

So...does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[theturtle06]

Have you considered getting something inexpensive like a CZ pistol, and then getting the .22 conversion kit? Or a Glock then a .22 conversion? I can tell that you don't want to spend a bunch of money but that is something that can be done for, oh I'd say roughly, $400-500 if you get it used.

If you are concerned about him outgrowing a gun (moreso an issue with rifles) this will stop that from happening. Once he gets comfortable w/ .22, an easy swap to a full-size caliber.

 

[BoomKing]

A Ruger Mark III should work nicely, and it will be a fun gun to go out and shoot for not that much money for years to come.

 

[44 MAGNUM SHOOTER]

A Ruger Mark III should work nicely, and it will be a fun gun to go out and shoot for not that much money for years to come.

X2

Browning makes one just like it I believe. Buckmark Camper

 

[DemolitionMan]

Have you considered getting something inexpensive like a CZ pistol, and then getting the .22 conversion kit? Or a Glock then a .22 conversion? I can tell that you don't want to spend a bunch of money but that is something that can be done for, oh I'd say roughly, $400-500 if you get it used.

If you are concerned about him outgrowing a gun (moreso an issue with rifles) this will stop that from happening. Once he gets comfortable w/ .22, an easy swap to a full-size caliber.

That's not a bad idea, I hadn't considered that! Thank you.

Around $500 is a good price range. I don't mind spending $ for good quality but unless he starts showing an interest in competition I don't want to spend much more.

A Ruger Mark III should work nicely, and it will be a fun gun to go out and shoot for not that much money for years to come.

That seems like a good option also. How hard are they to field strip & clean?

I just took a peek at the Ruger site. I think my son might like the 22/45 -- he loves my Kimber 1911, so something that looks kind of like it and has a similar grip might be a good thing. From the description I assume it has the same action as a Mark III.

X2

Browning makes one just like it I believe. Buckmark Camper

Definitely looks like the same sort of thing, and the MSRP is similar. I wonder how they compare?

Thanks for your replies, folks. I have some time since his birthday isn't till fall but that means I have an excuse to shop at gunstores.

 

[Six Shooter Steve]

The Rugers are great guns< i have a few myself, but field stripping is a pretty complicated procedure with them. If it were me in your situation, I would want my son to be able to strip and clean his own weapon. I would opt for the Browning Buckmark. Excellent pistol, and alot more teardown friendly than the Rugers. But you cant really go wrong on either, they are great guns that will last for years

 

[mastery]

Get a G26, and the Advantage Arms .22 kit. Best of both worlds!

 

[joekoug]

I have a Buckmark and love it for general plinking. Way cheaper to feed than my Glocks.

 

[pinshooter45]

Get a Ruger!

A Ruger Mark III should work nicely, and it will be a fun gun to go out and shoot for not that much money for years to come.

I'll second that suggestion my brother has a couple of Marks and I love shooting them. Since he loves to blaze away thes are Ideal. I'll also suggest a Single Six, can't blaze away with a single action but boy it's accurate and still fun to shoot, my single six was my first hand gun as an adult!

 

[booey50]

how about a walther p22 i think you can find them for like $300, and they look awesome, was thinking about getting me one too.

 

[Jaredjosh]

I like the Walther P22. And It seems to me once you learn the correct way to strip and reassemble a particular weapon, cleaning is no problem. Practice makes perfect.

 

[dye]

Have you considered a Sig Mosquito? The feel and quality of a Sig and it definitely needs to be cleaned alot. After they get broken in, the are alot of fun to shoot. They also come in a target version with a longer barrrel and a weight.

 

[Coach]

Smith and Wesson 22A. I have one for my daughter and I to share for steel challenge matches and it was a great investment. We shoot the crap out of it and it runs very well for a .22.

Get a .22 and buy some mags and then get them shooting Steel challenge events. They will love it.

 

[Rey B]

Like Coach said, S&W 22A is usually about $200 and is the easiest to field strip I have found. Mine likes bulk Federal Auto Match and is very accurate.

 

[88E30M50]

We have a P22 and a Heritage Rough Rider 22lr revolver. My youngest has been shooting them since he was 11 and both have been very fun and easy to shoot. Either make a good pistol for a kid to shoot.

Another option is the 10/22 carbine. It's a pretty small rifle, but is still fun to shoot as an adult. I imagine most any kid over the age of 6 could shoot it without trouble and with a 10/22, the gun can grow with the kid.

 

[Wheezy50]

I'll chime in......

I picked up a Smith and Wesson model 22A a couple months ago and so far it rocks.

It's my first plinker/.22 pistol and i gotta say i'm impressed so far. It will feed CCI's without fail, and very few FTEs with the Federal Bulk stuff. I've got about 1200 rds through it so far and can hardly put it down, goes to the range every time i do. Resting on a bench it's no problem to put 2-3 mags in a row into a 2" bullseye

Field stripping/cleaning is a BREEZE!! Literally takes all of 1 min to take it apart or put together. I think it would be great for a younger shooter to learn b/c of it's ease. It uses a small plastic/rubber buffer inside that will need to be replaced eventually. Mines got over a thousand rds and isn't damaged yet. I'll bet it would make it 5000. Only down side is that the grips might be a little fat for a young shooter, i don't know for sure.

22A gets my vote!!

 

[JohnP82]

I have a Walther P22 and I really enjoy it. I have had it for several years now and couldnt guess how many rounds I have through it. With the price of ammo these days it by far gets fed much more than my other guns. The Ruger and Browning models suggested are also very nice. Good luck with your decision.

 

[theturtle06]

I was gonna suggest getting a used 1911 and then a .22 conversion kit but for something like that, you're looking at (minimum) $300 or so for the 1911 and then another $150+ for the conversion. You may be able to eek it out for less than something like a Glock+conversion or CZ+conversion. Those just happen to be two very affordable (and nice) guns. You can get new RIA 1911s for around $400 or so, but I am not sure offhand whether they are compatible w/ most .22 conversions. Some of the imported 1911s are not compatible with mass-made .22 conversions. Citadel is the only one I can think of off the top of my head that is probably NOT compatible. RIAs IIRC are cast off of old Colt machinery so they can use many normal 1911 parts. Someone please correct me if I am wrong as I am kind of hazy on that.

If he likes your 1911 that is the way to go! Something you and him can share for a lifetime.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Have you considered getting something inexpensive like a CZ pistol, and then getting the .22 conversion kit? Or a Glock then a .22 conversion? I can tell that you don't want to spend a bunch of money but that is something that can be done for, oh I'd say roughly, $400-500 if you get it used.

If you are concerned about him outgrowing a gun (moreso an issue with rifles) this will stop that from happening. Once he gets comfortable w/ .22, an easy swap to a full-size caliber.

CZ's unless bought used are not inexpensive. I would look at a Buckmark. You can go anywhere from a 4" to a 7.5" barrel. Mine will fire any brand of ammo I feed it. Honestly I would steer away from the P22, or Mosquito. They are both temperamental, and some with unresolved issues. My

 

[bman]

i have a ruger mk III, love it.