First gun for an 8 year old
Hello all, I am looking for a 22 rifle for my 8 year old. He has been shooting for the past 3 years, and I feel that now is the time to get him his own rifle. He is very responsible, and takes shooting seriously, so have no qualms about letting him have his own gun. We looked at several yesterday at the Bass Pro Shop in St. Louis, but don't know much about any of them. One I particulary liked was the Marlin single shot. Beautiful gun, bolt action. Can't remember the model (15ym, I think). Another one we looked at that fit him perfectly was made by a manufacturer I cannot recall. All I remember was that it was Brazilian. .22 single shot, breech load, but it came with a .410 shotgun barrel that you could use in place of the .22 barrel. Anyone have any info or knowledge of such a gun? And what would you experts here recommend as a good, solid, beginners gun. One that he can keep and use to start his son off with one day? Thanks a million!Brian Hayes
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The marlin gun you refer to is a very nice gun. There is another model out there called the Chipmunk which is smaller and would fit him nicely as well, but I forget who makes it. I learned to shoot at age 8 myself, using a Remington 33 my Grandpa owned. Bit large though. I'd go with the Marlin.
"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conference in 1899.0 -
The chipmunk is also by Marlin, both good guns but a word of advice. Get the longest barrel you can find, short barrels are noooo good for a kid. If you get a short barrel, and it has a sling, take the thing off, a kid can blow the back of head off! 0 -
I made the mistake of getting both my boys 10/22 Rugers, now don't get me wrong....the rifle is short and well suited to a younger frame....but it was too easy for the kids to hose down ammo faster than you could load it. They went through a case (5000 rounds) in one weekend. Later got them Browning 52B sporters, the bolt actions slow them quite a bit and were also great heirlooms for their collections. 0 -
Was it a Rossi, Have you looked at the Crickets, Henry makes a youth lever rimfire, and New Englang Firearms makes a rimfire, called a sportster in 22 lr and 22 wmr, you could always buy him a fullsize and cut the stock down, then it can grow with him, there are the chipmunks and I have seen a neat looking 22 rimfire that is a copy of the AR-15's and AK-47s made by KBI, branded armscor, and probally run in the $150 range, there are way to many to think, I still have my old Winchester 62 that was my grandfathers, my first gun and my favorite, and my first rifle I bought myself, a mossberg 380, bought it at a auto parts store, funny how times change. Goodluck and Congratulations, your son is lucky to have a father who will teach him about shooting and shooting sports, so many kids have no knowledge of or respect of firearms, My hats off to you.
Orphanedcowboy@msn.com0 -
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"START THE BALL ROLLING THERE, TECTOR"0 -
What you looked at sounds like a Taurus/Rossicombo gun with a .22lr and .410 brl. I have sold a ton of these guns and personally feel that they are of good quality. The guns seem to be weighted correctly and we have had a ton of delighted customers. The Marlin 15yn is nice as well as the chipmunk and another called a crickett. It sounds to me though that if your boy has been shooting for 3 yrs already , then the crickett would be to small for him. What I like about the Rossi also is that you can interchange barrels and dont have to go buy another .410 to small game hunt with. If you go with the Rossi you should pay anywhere from $129.00 and up , they also have a SS version which should be 169.00 and up.[This message has been edited by MFI (edited 10-13-2001).] 0 -
check out item#2224981 on gunbroker.com auction.my boy had one and he loved it. 0 -
I'd go with the Ruger 10/22. It was my first gun and I just bought one for my son. Mine is over 30 years old and never a problem. Get the best right away instead of up grading later at more expense. As far as the amo goes , lock it up with restrictions on how much he can shoot. I also suggest a trigger lock and instructions not to even look at the gun when you're not around. 0 -
That is a cool looking Savage, I think it would make and excellent first gun, and an heirloom to boot, wow..... and only a $150
Orphanedcowboy@msn.com0 -
I think the Marlin you refer to is called the Papoose. It's nice, but still feels like a cut-down full size rifle. I've found that a well balanced rifle is important when teaching little ones to shoot.Take a look at the Chipmunk, made by Rogue Rifle Co. I bought one for my son on his 7th birthday. These are more like miniaturized rifles, with excellent balance. His has a slender 16in. barrel, peep sights (easiest to train with), oil finished Walnut stock and is even drilled and tapped for a scope. These are single shot rifles, with a fairly heavy manually operated striker at the rear of the bolt and a rebounding firing pin. Nice and safe.I tried my son's rifle at the range and was ringing 6in. steel plates at 100 yds. using iron sites. This is a well built little rifle that I foresee him being able to teach his kids with.I think these are also marketed under the name "Davey Cricket". I've seen a lot of these with laminated stocks, too.You can see the Chipmunk at http://www.chipmunkrifle.com/ nunn over on the Gen Discussion board sells a lot of these. That's where I bought mine.[This message has been edited by Txs (edited 10-13-2001).] 0 -
http://gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=2227563 ends in a few hours, a rossi combo 22 and 410 was at $90 when I found it
Orphanedcowboy@msn.com0 -
Thanks orphanedcowboy! I have the high bid at $90, but that is below reserve. The one I saw in St. Louis was $129, so I won't go higher than $90 with having to tack on shipping and charges for having a dealer handle the transaction for me. I looked at the chipmunk website, and really like that little gun. Would love to see one in person. Also, very interested in the Savage 22/410 o/u that someone brought up. Been in contact with the seller about that one. One of my first guns was a Marlin 22/20 guage o/u and I still love that old gun. Anyway...I surely appreciate all the help and info. It has turned me on to a few guns that I had not seen, and given me a lot to think about it! Brandon (my son) is really excited. Me too! Thanks again. 0
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