first pistol for my son? opinions welcome

[seeker_two]

How about letting him decide?

This....

I'll also suggest the Bersa .22lr.....its size and weight might be more comfortable to his size.... http://www.gunblast.com/Bersa-Thunder22.htm


....and, if he's more into revolvers, may I suggest the Ruger Bearcat?..... http://www.gunblast.com/Bearcat.htm

[Pawpaw]

.22 cal 1911, if his hands can fit around it.

And if not, Browning is making a scaled down 1911-22. At $600, it ain't cheap but I would expect the quality to be very good.

http://www.browning.com/products/catalo ... nt=1911-22

[seamusTX]

How about letting him decide?

At the risk of being provocative, we don't let little kids decide whether to brush their teeth or attend school.

I learned to shoot when I was 10. It was at least as regimented as Marine Corps boot camp (I can't say for sure because I never went to Marine Corps boot camp).

I can't remember anything else I did that summer, but I remember learning to shoot.

- Jim

[Running Arrow Bill]

I'm probably in the very minority on this. So...don't be offended...anyone... Just being the devil's advocate by an old guy...

I personally do not believe any pre-teen has any business having or using a handgun...even with supervision. And this also applies to those children aged 5, 6, 7 etc., who are shooting real guns. When I and my friends were growing up we had "cap pistols" and "rubber guns" and Red Rider BB guns...our dads would never allow young kids to handle & shoot real guns.

Seems nowdays, every dad wants their little kid to be "grown up" and a "buddy"... before their brains mature into good judgment, cause and effect issues, etc.

As impressive as kids are, all the peer pressure, etc., one never knows when even "good" kids can be led astray by their peers, school bullies, find and use a gun without supervision, take it to school for "show and tell", etc., etc.

Was it Clint Eastwood that said something like "If there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it..." ??

JMO

[seamusTX]

Do you lock your car keys in a safe? Cuz' kids take cars pretty often. I saw a story in the news a couple of weeks ago where a single-digit-aged kid was arrested several hundred miles from home driving to some family member's home.

I'm outta here.



- Jim

[v-rog]

gvb

[speedsix]

...my Dad had a Rem .22 pump loaded atop the kitchen cabinets all the time...would not take me out in the woods 20 steps to teach me to shoot...when he went to town, or out to mow, I'd take it down, load and unload it, aim...then put it back...I was 13 1/2 when he died...I knew his gun better'n he did...kids are smarter than we give them credit for...it would have been much better if I'd learned from him/with him...but I learned, nevertheless...the mystery and wonder are gone when Dad teaches...I taught my boys from about 5 the feel/weight of a real vs. play gun...what to do and not do if they ran across one...by 8 they were shooting...by 10 better than me...they have eagles' eyes...24, 22, 18 now and all their gun experiences have been good ones...I will go so far as to say that I kept the house gun in a lockbox till they'd shot it...then they had the combo, too...and woe to who comes to this house and finds one of them here...they've never been helpless and their mother, who din't want anything to do with guns, was well protected, and never knew it...

[michael e]

I have a SW22 was my first pistol, great gun and after shooting it so much it was worn out SW basically sent me a new one for free.
Have a ATI 1911-22 my current fav 22 pistol
SW 22 revolver, cant remember model sorry. Its 10 shot revolver . Fun and light trigger when shooting as SA
Heritage Arms SA 22 that was on sale for 99 at academy after thanksgiving a few years ago. Not a bad gun for the price.

[smtimelevi]

.22 bolt action rifle. Then onto a pistol once he's a bit older. Just my opinion.

[mdthrash]

I'm probably in the very minority on this. So...don't be offended...anyone... Just being the devil's advocate by an old guy...

I personally do not believe any pre-teen has any business having or using a handgun...even with supervision.

Fair enough.

My dad had the opposite philosophy, though - "gun-proof" me by removing the mystery and forbidden-fruit aspects of firearms by 1. teaching me how to check and unload them first and 2. allow me access to them whenever I asked, but under his supervision only and my first responsibility was to go through the check and unload sequence. Didn't take very long for the actual handling of a firearm to become nothing to get excited about, and I was never tempted to haul out one of his firearms due to peer pressure.

I've done the same with my 7 and 9 year old(s).

To the op - I purchased a Sig Mosquito for my boys. It has the look, feel and fit/finish of a "real" pistol, they can both rack the slide (which helps them be able to clear it in check/unload drills), and the magazines are easy (for them) to load. It runs flawlessly with CCI minimag.

For what it's worth, both boys routinely fire my various 9mm's (Sig 226, M&P Pro, Glock 19) without issue. I load 2 at a time, and let them take aim and fire.

[Middle Age Russ]

I don't know of any ranges in the DFW area that have a M&P 22 to rent?

I am not aware that the M&P 22 pistol is even shipping yet -- it certainly isn't in any reasonable numbers. S&W has shown the gun at trade shows, and it supposedly looks just like the regular M&P pistols, but does not have interchangeable backstraps and the fire control group is different as well. I have been very interested in seeing an example up close but so far no luck. I checked Davidson's and Buds online and neither have it in stock (Davidson's is a big distributor) so your chances of finding one to look at are pretty slim and even slimmer if you want to rent one.

As DA mentioned previously, we wanted a .22 pistol that operated just like one of the popular centerfire platforms, and the M&P .22 would be great since we already have M&Ps as EDC and fun guns. Since S&W has not released it in numbers, though, we looked at the following:

SIG Mosquito - slightly scaled down P226/P228, light recoil spring and mag spring (easy to load)
SIG 1911-22 - full size 1911 frame, light recoil spring and mag spring, manual of arms essentially the same as "regular" 1911, though stripping requires use of hex key. Rebranded GSG 1911 and uses the same mags.

Since it is full-size and has the same operation as a 1911, we chose the 1911-22, and have been quite happy with it. I would still like to get my hands on an M&P 22 when they are available, though.

BTW... there is an M&P 10 shot BB pistol (CO2) on the market that I have seen around for $50 or so. With a proper BB trap backstop it would make for a lot of fun even at home -- for you as well since you already have its centerfire counterpart. I have been having fun with BB/pellet guns for nearly 40 years since I was your son's age.

[v-rog]

bnm