Best handgun to teach someone to shoot

As far as teaching kid to shoot hand gun my daughter and granddaughter were
both taught with S&W m-34 Kit gun, 4". That said, they were already taught
to shoot a rifle with a little Stevens 15-y, bolt action 22. The rifle should be first.
When I croak there is going to be a cat fight over the old Kit gun. I use to put
balloons on sheet of plywood, like the dart games at carnivals. Started kids at
20', they loved it and kept them interested.
 
Teaching Gun

I've been introducing women and youngsters to handgun shooting for many years. Hands down the best .22 handgun for teaching is the S&W M&P 22 or 22 Compact. Recoil and magazine springs are light enough for those with limited hand strength and the trigger is smooth and predictable. The sights are large and distinct, the grip is properly sized to be grasped correctly and the external safety helps to re-enforce good safety habits. Plus the $300 to $350 price tag will not break the bank.
 
I'd second a revolver. Actually I'd recommend a Heritage revolver because they are good guns at a low price. You can buy them one so they can learn on their own gun. I have family members that own all types of guns and they got the Heritage as the first gun for my niece when she started. She's only 15 and is darn near an expert at this point.

http://heritagemfg.com/product_listing.cfm?cat_id=2

That said, Ruger's are great as well but may or may not cost more depending on local deals. You can't go wrong either way. If money isn't a major object I'd say do both a revolver and an automatic.
 
While not a great choice for children, my Hi Standard HD MILITARY type is a sweet shooter. Extremely accurate.
 
If you can find an old H&R 939 Ultra Sidekick grab it! It's what I learned on many years ago. 9 shot double action revolver with a 6" barrel, nice adjustable sights, wood grip with a thumb rest great for small hands, and a sweet trigger. I recently traded one away to my FFL who is going to keep it for his son to learn on in a couple years. .22 short long or long rifle. Do they even make .22 long anymore?
 
I generally use my Single Six to teach new shooters and allow those curious to fire a cylinder out of it.

I would hesitate to hand it to a very young shooter. I might cry if it was dropped. Not that it is especially expensive or fragile, but I really like it.

I have an H&R I picked up used for a C-note with some finish blemishes already on it that I would probably let a trained chimpanzee take a few shots with.
 
single action 22lr revolvers are excellent teaching tools, for all the reasons so eloquently stated above. heritage roughriders have the advantage of an external safety, which is important to learn since most semi-auto firearms that newbies will handle later have some sort of safety mechanism.
 
I wanted my boys to learn basic gun familiarity, so I started them on two different handguns. The Ruger SR22 is the best semi-auto 22lr on the market in my opinion, and has all of the features I would expect my boys to encounter on a wide variety of guns. I also picked up a cheap Taurus Model 94 in 22lr to familiarize them with revolvers.

Both have run flawlessly for hundreds of rounds, and are cheap to feed. If your budget allows, I recommend getting both a semi-auto and a revolver. If I was forced to only pick one, I would go with the SR22.
 
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