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Posted: 9/10/2004 3:46:48 PM EDT
I need to introduce my dtr (eventually 8 mo son too) to firearms. What is a good short reach accurate 22lr bolt action rifle?
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I got a Chipmunk when I was about 7. I still have it and will go to my sons in a couple years. The older ones are NICE. All milled steel parts NO plastic. Newer chipmunks I have seen have plastic sight bases and a cheesy plastic cocking knob. The older one I got has a beautiful walnut stock also.
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I agree with this one. |
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YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT KID!! AKASL |
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I picked up a Marlin 15Y single shot .22 for $75 for my now 6 year old son. He was 5 when I bought it for him. It fits him pretty well.
He's been eyeing the ARs in the safe lately, though... I think he is drawn to the EBRs... it's like the Dark Side of the Force. |
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BB gun
Cricket Marlin 15Y If he doesn't have a BB gun yet get that + the .22 and when you feel he's a safe enough shooter not to cap you accidentally let him use the .22... |
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On Monday I'll be building a .22LR M4gery for my 5 & 8 year old sons (collapsing stocks are great). I can't wait to see their faces... I'm doing it for the children .
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Yep, why break with tradition! Let Dad buy a a chipmonk and then hand it down when the times right. Has more sentimental value when it was Dad's gun then he gave it to me when I earned the right to shoot it. It's part of growing up and creating that parent child bond plus re-enforces the significance of how much responsibility comes with a firearm. Tj |
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+1 They work great w/ my kids. Mike |
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A 5 year old?
A squirt gun. Maybe around 8 he will be ready for something more. |
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I got both of my sons a CZ Scout last year for Christmas. Single shot or a 5 and 10 round mag.Take a look at one before you buy.
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How about a CO2 powered pellet gun? Your child should be wearing eye protection with shooting. I shoot a pellet gun with children all the time in my backyard.
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Try an Armalite Licensed Airsoft , I am getting one of the Classic Army M15A4 Carbines to get my 6 year old son "gun safe". Try Total Airsoft for your purchase, it is the best price and service I have found.
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I started my Daughter out with a Red Ryder.
a bit later, she moved up to the Rossi "Combo" (single shot, break action, interchangable bbls (.22lr/.410)) |
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+1 much safer than a real rifle.... can always graduate up later on, I'd say |
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I'd either get a Benjamin Sheridan BB gun or....
a Remington 700 Sendero SF in .300 Remington Ultra Mag.... *No wait*.... that'd be for me. |
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marlin 15Y was my first gun (age 5), now my 6 year old shoots it. next year my 4 year old will start. and my oldest will get a new rifle to call his own and the marlin will be passed down. when my 2 year old turns five he will get the marlin. every family needs tradition. |
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Henry Mini-bolt. Just got my daughter's back from Chameleon Weaponry after having it done up in a purty purple and pink. It got lots of looks at the range the other day.
Woody |
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I got my son the "little buckaro".... think it was a marlin. It is single shot bolt action with a very short youth stock, it was very accurate and has integral scope rail.
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My dad baught me a remington cowboy action single shot. At the time it was $20, 20 years ago. I still have it and it still is a blast to shoot.
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super soaker
.22 lr or .177 pellets when he turns 8 or so in a single shot gun |
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I started my boys with a BB gun - at 5 mine didn't have the attention span to be safe.
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I've always believed that recoil should be less than a shooter's weight (think about it for a minute), considering a 5 year old weighs what, 60 pounds? I would go no higher than a .416 Rigby (57.5 pounds)
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Lead isn't good for young children, so I would go with a BB gun (using aluminum pellets only) until he hits 12 or 13 years old.
Using only jacketed rounds wouldn't help much with the lead issues, since most of the stuff you are exposed to is lead dust originating in the primer, or at least that's what I've been told. |
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I was lucky enough to get in on a Chipmunk when they were still hand-made in Oregon. I bought it for my son on the day he was born. He started shooting it at 3 years old but all he could do was pull the triiger and hear it go "pop". By age 4 he had learned to cycle the action, load it and unload it. By late 4 or very early 5 he grasped the concept of open sight alignment and started hitting plastic 2 liter pop bottles at 25 yards. (Can you say head-shot?) ALL OF THIS IS UNDER THE CLOSEST SUPERVISION! He's just turned 9 now and likes my M4gery. He thinks the Eotech 552 Revision E is easier than playing Nintendo. |
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My son can shoot anything in the safe that he wants to. He was with me at the range one day saw my 7mm Rem Mag scope bite the bridge of my nose when I crowded the scope too closely and fired. I offered it to him as he saw the blood running down my face (he hasn't wanted to try the 7mm just yet) |
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I never had a BB for my 5 year old, so I had to go with what I had. I started with him watching me shoot my Glock, and moved to him dry firing it. Then proceeded to use a silenced Ruger 22/45 with my help and directions easily heard with no hearing protection (except the silencer). Now we are doing the Ruger 10/22 scoped @ 100 yards on steel targets. I can positively say with the smaller kids they really like reactive targets. Metal pings, balloon pops, cans falling over, that deffinitily gives them feed back when they do it right. The 10/22 is still too big for him, I hold the front end while he aims with the stock under his arm. So far my last trip home, he got 8 out of 10 steel @ 100 yards, not too bad. For play time I held the stock of my 11/87 while he "hip" fired it.
Every once in awhile I shoot a melon or like kind to show the damage it can do, and them associate it with our dog or friends, to make sure he understands what miss using it will do. Every two or three months I or my wife do the "gun in the open" test. I take one of my guns, completely unload and secure the ammo, put the magazine back in and leave it out to check his reaction. Normally what happens is he calls "Dad, is your gun loaded?" followed by can you unload it so I can practice? Not once, not ever has he even touched it without asking. I make sure to expose him as much as I can to firearms. The only time he frustrated/embarrassed me was at Walmart he came running up, huge body tackle hug, slamming his head on my CHL Glock. He immeaditily, before I could do anything lifted my shirt all the way up and loudly said "Ow I hit my head on your gun!" hey |
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EVERY time I see advice for a child's first gun, all I see is CRICKET & CHIPMUNK...
Before giving this advice, I MUST ASK WHY? These rifles fit the child PERFECTLY at their current age... It's True. HOWEVER, I'm of the opinion that a Marlin 15Y (or 15YN) would be a better choice. This is because the Marlin 15Y is a youth rifle, and has a more intermediate sized stock. This will work GREAT for children that are 5-6 years old. Yet the REAL BENEFIT is that the stock will STILL fit them very well until they're about 14-15 years old! The 15Y is a .22 LR Single-shot tack-driver out to 75 yards... I'm hanging onto mine, and will certainly be passing that down through the generations. When I was a child, I couldn't hit much past 50 yards with a chipmunk or cricket. But with my Marlin 15Y I could plink small steel silouhette(SP?) targets at 75 yards all day (with irons). |
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I remember when I was 5 or 6 years old, I almost shot my sister's eye out with a Daisy bb gun, I thought it was empty because I couldnt hear any bb's inside, luckily the bb hit her in the forehead instead of the eye
a 5 year old should only have toy pop guns or water guns, they just dont have enough common sense at that age. |
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Why not start them off with a BB gun first? Then graduate to a real firearm. I believe Henry makes a single shot bolt action that would fit small shooters... |
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