My 9yo had surgery last week and really bucked up and handled it like a big guy.  SO, sounds like a good time for another gun.  This will be his first handgun (has a bolt .22, a lever 30/30, bolt .308 and an AR).  Thoughts on a first .22 pistol?  I'm thinking about a Ruger 22/45.  Others I should take him to look at?

Get the Ruger

Ruger is a good choice.  The 22/45 grips are a bit slimmer than the regular model, may help with a younger shooter.

The M&P22 pistol is what I bought, and I like it. Mags hold 12, barrel is threaded (just a $25 adapter required for suppressor), and it's very reliable. I didn't like the default sights though because the rear sight is all black, which I can never see when aiming at a black bullseye.

Ruger sr22

Whatever you decide on buying, make sure it comes with the barrel already threaded for a silencer.

Walther P22 or Ruger SR22. Fits a kid's hand much better than a a Ruger Mk.

Ruger SR22P.  Bought mine for a 9 year old granddaughter.  Good choice.  For what to expect, see:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_5_4/148288_Beginner_Level_Set_Up_Of_A_New_Pistol.html

+1 for Ruger SR 22

I went with a Ruger Bearcat for my 9 year old, but the 22/45 is a solid choice and can grow with ya.

Your 9 yo son has a 30-30 and a bolt.308


Im up for adoption if youre interested



First handgun should last a lifetime,

Ruger MKII

The Ruger Bearcat is a great size handgun for a 9year old and IMO is safer for a child of that age to shoot and to load than a semi automatic pistol.

Kids like things that are kid's sized.

This! My almost 6 yo daughter handles/shoots it very well.
( yes, I only load one round at a time, just in case)

She has a savage rascal that she is very proficient with as well

Browning maakes a scaled down 1911 in .22, I am thinking about one

Funny!  Yeah, he has a Winchester 94 30-30 that was made the "last year" they were going to be made - 2006 (his birth year).  I left the hospital and bought it when he was a day or two old.  He loves it.  Then, he wanted a bolt gun that was capable of shooting deer - so I got him a compact Ruger American .308 and make light loads for him.  He's spoiled (but so are his siblings!).

Another excellent choice.

I've seen several of both float thru our club.  I haven't been impressed.  Most have been very finicky.  Accuracy left much to be desired.  Of the two, the Ruger seems the better choice, but not by much.

Went through this last year with my 8 YO. Now your circumstances may differ from mine. I was looking for a firearm that my little guy could shoot in his fist three gun match (actually a two gun match as kids were ran on "modified course of fire" that did not include shotgun). If you are looking for a firearm to shoot from a bench under continuous supervision where an you are doing most of loading/unloading/manipulating the safety, then there are probably more options open to your kid.
  Three factors that seem to be the most challenging for kids in shooting/handling handguns: weight, recoil management, and ergos (small hands with controls that can be reached). Many stick with .22lr for kids. Makes sense, this helps with recoil management, and (usually, but not always) in firearms weight. The biggest challenge I found was in getting this in a package with controls could be reached.
  In the end I narrowed my choices down to three handguns: the S&W M&P22 compact, Ruger Lite 22/45, and the Ruger SR22. In handling the SR.-22 at a gun show it became obvious that a stiff recoil spring made slide manipulation a challenge. Additionally I had heard several negative reports of a heavy double action pull on the first shot (later I confirmed this for myself when my BIL purchased one). The Ruger Lite 22/45 weighed in well but the safety size was challenging to manipulate and the overall firearm was larger than the other two options. The S&W M&P22 compact had the lowest weight of the three and good ergos.
 
   I purchased the S&W. It had some drawl backs that I think will be less of an issue as my son gets bigger. Although easy to reach, the side release is hard to manipulate. Very hard. This was overcome by a relativity light recoil spring, as the rear of the slide can be pulled back to slingshot the side into battery. The beaver tail area sinks the gun into the hand. Good for those with medium (or larger) hands but this increases the reach to the trigger. I found my son compensating by not seating the web of his hand fully into the beaver tail area. This brought on the additional challenge of reaching too high on the trigger bow. With a hinged trigger this lead to occasional challenges in discharging the firearm as the pivoting portion of the trigger was not always being engaged. With practice he started engaging lower on the trigger and this seems to be happening less frequently. Again as his hands gets bigger, this will probably disappear.
 Running it through it's paces, the S&W's positives quickly became apparent: light weight, a polymer frame that seemed to soak up some of the recoil, quality sights, large positive safety, absolute reliability, but probably most of all it pointed very naturally.
 We started out just getting used to the recoil and handling of the M&P by informally shooting at horse poop in the pasture. Both boys were quickly on target and with each mag faster follow up shots quickly started happening. (Never underestimate the encouragement that comes to new shooters working on reactive targets)
 Sorry for the rambling post. This was my experience and YMMV, as all kids are different.

+1

Also consider the Ruger Single Six with both .22 & .22 mag cylinders for versatility.

Skip the p22 and other POS pistols and get him something he can pass down to his son.
A nice Ruger or Browning if you want a simiauto.
I got my boy a single six made the same year as his Grandmother to go with my Blackhawk.
We have matching vintage George laurence holsters so we can play cowboy action

If I were you id get a bearcat
great gun for you and your son
later get a "bigger" gun and keep the bearcat for you

I bought my son the Ruger Bearcat, single action great for teaching him. I am looking at the MK2 now that he's 13.

Im not really that keen on handguns for young kids because its too easy to sweep other people but like rifles for kids I would recommend a pistol that kids sized not a adult pistol made to fit a kid
also semi-autoa are ammo wasteful

/thread.


Then you can upgrade him with a suppressor when he gets older.  Plus the Buckmarks are so much easier to break down IMO.

It will probably come down to size and fit.  At 9 years of age small will be important as if he cannot grip it properly, he won't shoot it well and worse he'll develop bad habits.

Coming from the perspective of a shooting instructor, it's extremely easy for people to sweep other people with a handgun, even if they are very good with muzzle control on a rifle. Worse it's very easy for a shooter to sweep himself with a pistol and the only thing worse than your kid shooting someone else is your kid shooting himself.  

In that regard a semi auto pistol makes sense as it can be fired with a single round in the magazine. and it's easier to clear than a gate loading revolver.

A DA revolver would be my second choice as the crane again makes it easy to verify the loaded/unloaded status and a single round can be easily loaded and indexed.  That's a lot harder to with a gate loading revolver with recessed cartridge heads.  

But overall, you want to be very sure your son is ready to handle a pistol as the come with a lot more not so immediately obvious risks and breaking the rules is much easier with them.  If you of this route be sure to keep him very closely supervised.  


Semi auto possibilities:

The Walther PP is also a small pistol and you can find Manuhrin made versions in the $400-$500 price range in very good condition.   They will continue to rise in value and they are exceptionally well made  and are very accurate.  The DA trigger pull, like all PP series pistols is heavy, but that's a plus for a 9 year old.   The slide is comparatively heavy for a 22 LR semi-auto and the recoil is comparatively long, so a light spring is used.  That's a plus as he should be able to cycle the action with no undue effort and/or only minor coaching on technique.

The current Umarex/Walther PPK/S is much maligned due to the use of Zamak alloy, but owning both, I have to say that while the PP has the edge in accuracy and is finished to a much higher standard overall, the PPK/S is the better shooter overall and has some nice refinements, like a much more reliable magazine that will actually hold 10 rounds.  The DA trigger is horribly heavy, but the SA trigger is just as good as the Walther PP.  Just throwing it out as an option as it is much more available.
 
The Ruger Mk III is an impressive pistol for overall accuracy and performance but a 5" Mk III is 42 oz.  The 22/45 with a similar barrel is 32 oz and the 22/45 Lite is 23 oz.   I prefer the classic looks of the MK I, II, III pistols, but the weight factor suggests the 22/45 or 22/45 Lite.

The Browning 1911-22 may also work well for him.  It's an 85% scale 1911, available in both aluminum and polymer frame.  The compact model only weighs 15 oz.  Again, fit will be key, but from  size, weight, quality, and cool factor perspectives I'd take a close look at one.


Revolvers

Considering the size issue, the Bearcat is a good choice and it weighs in around 24 oz.   On the other hand, find the Bearcat is too small for comfortable adult use, so it'll end up being a safe queen or worse, being sold rather than passed down.  Even if it's passed down, it will be " that pistol dad hardly ever shot". And as a gate loading revolver, clearing it requires a lot more care.    

The SIngle Six is also a good choice, provided it fits and is not too much weight and he can reach the trigger comfortably.  It's smaller in size than the Blackhawk but follows the same layout.  They are rugged, reliable and accurate (more so with HV ammo than SV) and in the short 4 5/8" length they weigh 32 oz.  I much prefer the convertible due to the convertible cylinder, but also due to the lack of the really awful looking FO sights.  They also hurt the accuracy potential as while they are easier to see in low light, they interfere with a nice sharp high contrast sight picture needed for maximum target accuracy.  (If you get one, take a black sharpie and coat the rear face of the front sight element to give you a nice black front sight blade.)

As much as I like the Single Six however, the SP 101 in .22LR has a few advantages.  First and foremost it is much easier to confirm the revolver is in fact unloaded.  With a gate loading revolver like the Single Six, more care is needed to confirm the revolver is completely empty.  The 4.2" SP 101 is also fairly light at around 30 oz and it has small proportions that may fit a 9 year old.  WIth a Wolff spring kit the SA trigger pull is int he 3.5-4.0 pound range.

The S&W 317, Model 17 and Model 34 all fall in the same category, but with better quality and higher prices.  One of the kit gun models with aluminum or titanium frames keeps the weight down, but you need to ensure the gun fits his hand.  However a nice Model 34 would make a superb heirloom revolver.

Everything you say is true but that being said a friend of mine has a bearcat and we shoot it often ....... its a fun gun to shoot even for an adult but I do see your point and while your reasons make sense my 16 year old loved my friends bearcat because for him it was the right size and want small till he was somewhere around 13.........4 years on a gun is a good time and will pay for itself

I have never fired the 317 but I've heard its really too light to shoot well. I new model 63 is the perfect balance between size and weight but thats just an opinion I have

If one of parents in my kids' various clubs read this post they would probably think I posted it.  You covered much of what we cover when this discussion (regularly) comes up.  I'll defer to others who've spent time learning their way around the Umarex/Walther PPK/S because I haven't.  The Ruger semis are on balance heavier than I'd like for young shooters but they're workhorse guns and youth will be able to keep using them as adults.  Ruger Lite has promise but I'm still not seeing many youth compete with them.

Your assessment of wheelguns in pretty much consistent with mine.  I want to easily check the status of guns on the line and the Single Six and other single action only revolvers have a limit I really don't care for with lots of kids on the line.  Of course I wish they all were just a bit lighter.  If Ruger makes a SP101 or GP100 long barrel in 22LR (and at a tolerable price) it would be hard for clubs that teach youth not to consider adopting that as a "club gun".

The scuttlebutt is that this is coming later this year. As to the "tolerable price", that remains to be seen. I am excited about the possibility of it.