# Looking for suggestions



## Fish (Jun 27, 2016)

My 7 year old son has been plinking with a BB pistol for a couple of years now and has become a pretty good shot with it. Of course all safety rules has been taught along with proper personal protective equipment. Yes I make him wear ear plugs and safety glasses anytime he shoots. I have been tossing around the idea of stepping him up to a 22 pistol. What is y’all thoughts on the subject and recommendations on brand, model, etc...?


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

I would ask him a couple questions that to him seem easy to answer. Based on his answers I would consider stepping it up. 

All people age differently.

If it were me I would wait till he was older but that’s me. I have no place telling you what you should do.

See if he’s ready is all I’m saying.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

I'm not at all sure about a handgun for a seven-year-old. I imagine they make pellet pistols for kids. They did when I was a kid, anyway.

I'll bet he would love a .22 rifle, though! Here's a link to an article with rifle suggestions that would fit your son nicely.

https://gothunts.com/your-kids-first-22-rifle/

Something about boys and rifles. They go well together. After all, squirrels don't kill themselves.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

If I may make another suggestion, I would go with a youth .22 rifle with a wood stock.

I enjoyed maintaining my rifle as much as I did shooting it. I think I used this product on the stock:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1006434771/birchwood-casey-gun-stock-wax-3-oz

I prided myself on a good-looking wood stock.


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## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

Denton said:


> I'm not at all sure about a handgun for a seven-year-old. I imagine they make pellet pistols for kids. They did when I was a kid, anyway.
> 
> I'll bet he would love a .22 rifle, though! Here's a link to an article with rifle suggestions that would fit your son nicely.
> 
> ...


I agree with Denton, Its big enough for him to have to hold with both hands and pay attention to the barrel end. Plus if you get a nice wooden stock model he can carve his name into the butt end under the buttplate and then care for the wood part of the gun, not just the metal parts. and learn to treat a gun not only like a weapon, but also a thing of beauty as well. A pistol is to easily tossed around, quick draw, toy like that I think a small child will be inclined to treat it like a toy.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Count me in on staying with a rifle for now. Hands guns are a different world and require a bit more growing up .


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

I have to champion the .22LR in a wooden stock rifle, also.

I have one, and I never felt the need to upgrade.


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

I would go with a revolver of your choice. Of course I would suggest a S&W 617 but a cheaper Heritage might be wiser. If it gets dropped or damaged your not out as much money. Could start him out with shorts and then work up to long rifle. 

He's your kid, so YOU know when he's ready. Heck I had 2 years on motorcycles by 7 years old and started using a 30/30 shooting deer at 10. Kids mature at different rates, age isn't a definite line to determine when it's time to move up.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Chipper, you're from Wisconsin. Heck, you could stop by my house and admit you were out of 30-30 ammunition for you lever action and my wife would probably hand you a box. "Wisconsin" is not the national average.

In fact, if you go into our northern Wisconsin area and ask about whitetail, a kid who is his school's crossing guard could tell you where the 8-pointers feed.

(Then again, if you had a Illinois plate on your Mercedes, most folks would tell you that Wisconsin whitetails have been extinct for over 50 years...)


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

I would say rifle first 22 ruger


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

1) Get him a good slingshot/wristrocket, he should have learned that before a BB gun, and ammo is free. He'll like that regardless of what gun You get him. Why: A) a BB PISTOL not a rifle?, B) is hearing protection needed for a BB/Air gun? Maybe, maybe not ROFL:vs_laugh: C) eye protection great:tango_face_wink:!!!

2) Too young for a 22LR now, and NOT a pistol, instead a quality pellet rifle, get one with opens and a scope, let him learn the opens first, then put the scope on. He don't need to shoot things now a good pellet gun won't take down. Might have to cut down stock a bit, not sure what youth models/stocks are out there? Also, pellets are cheap and air rifles not regulated in most states

3) When he settles in and can shoot, a 22LR. I'd suggest a Ruger 10/22 or a nice little Browning take down. NOT a pistol.

That is just IMHO, and he's You're Son. Also I don't know what the peckerhead gun laws are in AL?


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

I vote with those who say 7 is a bit young for a .22 pistol. A good progression in my day was: 
1. Weak bb rifle at age five. 
2. Hard shooting bb rifle at age 7 would work just fine. Try a daisy pump. 
3 Pellet fifle at 9. Not CO2 that gets expensive. Try a pump up or a springer to get his muscles built up. 
3. Single shot 22 rifle at age 12.
4. Single shot shotgun and deer rifle by 13. 
5. .22 semi auto pistol in High School. Ruger makes good ones for a good price. 
Kindly keeps us posted.


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## whitedeath81 (Mar 13, 2019)

7 is a good age for a 22lr. They can learn the fundamentals and have a youth rifle.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

I highly suggest you go out and buy the Smith & Wesson SW500...









Reward yourself with the SW500 for not having a douchebag of a Son and then show the SW500 off to your buddies at the range ASAP. Then clean the monster up and place it in your safe until your next hike in the Tetons or the next range day with your knucklehead buddies who only have 9mm handguns...:vs_laugh: But I digress!

Then ask your Son if he wants a Single Shot .22 Rifle and if he says YES (DUH!) assign him some chores or a "project" that is in addition to his normal chores and tell him once he earns HALF of the cost of a Used Wood Stock Single Shot .22 then you will match his HALF and together you buy it.

But ONLY after he can recite Col. Jeff Cooper's Safety Rules


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## whitedeath81 (Mar 13, 2019)

Got a 12 year a ar15


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## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

I agree with stepping him up to a .22lr rifle next. I started my two Daughters shooting a .22 Cricket at age of 6 and then stepped them up to a 10/22 and now they are fairly consistently shooting my 9mm JR Carbine carbine. They have both shot an AR15 a time each, but are not yet fully ready to shoot them regularly. Both already have AR15's.
My youngest, 11 is the shooter of the two. She likes to go and shoot with me where the older daughter, 13 is agreeable is shooting is "attached" to something else like a nice meal out, movie or some other bribery. My 11 year old has been shooting my 22/45 .22LR pistol as well and starting to get fairly decent with it.
Again, I suggest the .22lr rifle as the next step.


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## txmarine6531 (Nov 18, 2015)

7 years old is plenty old enough for a 22LR pistol. I "got" my first one when I was 4. Still have it 31 years later. A 1981 model Ruger Standard. First rifle was a BLR 308 at age 12, first shotgun was a Remington Express 12ga at 11. The key is proper supervision and TRAINING.


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## Fish (Jun 27, 2016)

I’m sorry I guess I should have added that he has been shooting rifles for a couple of years now. Started him out with the red rider and I was shocked at how accurate he shot very quickly. We then went to a 22 Cricket and again he was shooting very well within just a few shots only using iron sites. He kept wanting to shoot a pistol like daddy so I got him a CO2 BB pistol. He has learned it great, is adamant about safety, and sits and cleans it while Dad cleans his. I just picked him up a 10/22 and was thinking about the 22 pistol for his 8th birthday in December. Let me add to for clarification on all of this he only shoots anything supervised. I do feel he is too young to shoot unsupervised nor do I let him keep any in his room. ALL goes into the safe when not in use.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Fish said:


> I'm sorry I guess I should have added that he has been shooting rifles for a couple of years now. Started him out with the red rider and I was shocked at how accurate he shot very quickly. We then went to a 22 Cricket and again he was shooting very well within just a few shots only using iron sites. He kept wanting to shoot a pistol like daddy so I got him a CO2 BB pistol. He has learned it great, is adamant about safety, and sits and cleans it while Dad cleans his. I just picked him up a 10/22 and was thinking about the 22 pistol for his 8th birthday in December. Let me add to for clarification on all of this he only shoots anything supervised. I do feel he is too young to shoot unsupervised nor do I let him keep any in his room. ALL goes into the safe when not in use.


I'll tell you straight.

No matter how great and smart you think your son is, he is still young. You have to protect him from himself because he is still a child.
A pistol offers too many pivot points. Too many ways to hurt himself or someone else.

I really don't understand why you don't go the rifle route. There's nothing more beautiful than a child bonding with a rifle. It's more than a rite of passage. It's Americana.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

On the farm they start when they show interest, that is in shooting, welding, working all the same. By 10-12 they are likely out back with the 22 rifle on their own at times. next is hunter safety course and supervised hunting. Some were along that time line they are allowed to shoot 22 handgun but only on the range with an adult. As they age their actions determine when they are ready for a hand. 
My 13 year old Granddaughter got her first AR this winter , gift from me. Her dad decides when and were she uses it. She also started shooting the RPR 6.5 Creedmoore. She also took a Deer this year with here 243 Ruger.
Wisconsin law with hunter safety allows 12 year olds to hunt. You can take the safety course at any age by law. Then of course there is the mentor ship program.


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## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

Denton said:


> I'll tell you straight.
> 
> No matter how great and smart you think your son is, he is still young. You have to protect him from himself because he is still a child.
> A pistol offers too many pivot points. Too many ways to hurt himself or someone else.
> ...


Every young kid, is going to eventually have an as young buddy over who is less trained, less informed, and maybe your son wants to impress said young friend...cause he's one of those cool rebellious charismatic types.

There gonna be in the house one day...playing X-Box or some shit. Kids gonna say..."Man I'd love to see one of those guns for real". Your smart kid....who is thinking crooked at this point...cause all the girls fawn over little Johnny, and he sorta digs that and wants a little consideration through affiliation....says, "Shit dude...(Cause your not home and cussing makes him sound tougher)....Shit dude, I got a whole safe full of em!"

Now at this point, Johnny, the charismatic young David Karesh that he is, knows how to get a Fish to bite....So he starts reeling the line out...."Bullshit man, You ain't got no guns!" (Cause poor grammar is even cooler than cussing in Johnny's world.). Now the little Fish, has a choice....Either let it go or prove it....and he thinks to hisself that little Johnny ain't the type to let nothing go. (See how even the bad grammar has seeped into your son's world, while you're away?)

Next thing you know, Little fish has the door to the safe open, basking in the awesomeness of proving his manhood to his aspirational role model on chicks, and little Johnny already has his hands going for a gun. Off course the pistol is his first target, cause you can't quick draw a rifle. Wait, back up? How did Fish get the safe open? Oh wait, he does everything with daddy, including standing behind him as he opens the gun safe.

Next thing you know Johnny and Fish are in prison....Johnny calls him Fish sticks and trades him around the cell block for packs of smokes.

Don't let your son get tricked out in prison for Gawd's sake man!!!! What kind of father does that to his boy?


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## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

I bought a bb/pellet handgun a couple years back and it was the first handgun that my Daughters used. It could be a solid compromise for OP to consider.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Denton said:


> There's nothing more beautiful than a child bonding with a rifle.


Denton, it's amazing how close--and yet so far apart--you and I have become. I read this sentence, and I was 99% ready to agree, then I read it again. So here's my take:

"_There's nothing more beautiful than a child blonding with a rifle_."

No reason a young man can't take a pretty girl to the range...


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## Grinch2 (Sep 12, 2016)

When I was 6 my father got me two guns, my very first was a H&R topper 28 gauge, the other about five months later was a Ithaca 22 single shot falling block. To the local small game population I was like the bubonic plague, but since I could walk I was next to my father learning about guns. For me it was ingrained at such a young age, a gun was like a shadow, it depends on the individual. If I had to give my two cents on which particular gun, I would say go to the local gun shops get a $100 22LR and go from there. If you want your kid to have something really nice, get something and put it away then him work out the kinks with not dropping it/damaging it etc on the beater then bring in the nicer one.


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