Starter Handgun?

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lizziedog1

New member
I have been helping my 14 year old grandson get into shooting. So far, so good. He is a good kid, he listens to and follows all rules of gun safety. So far he has been afield with me carrying rimfire rifles and single shot scatterguns. Now that the weather is getting nice, I want to take him on "nature" hikes. I always take some sort of handgun for this. He wants to take one too. My question is, which one?

I was thinking of either arming him with a single action .22 revolver. I figure it is a pretty safe action for a beginner. But then I was also thinking of getting a CO2 pistol for him to carry. God forbid should he make a mistake, but at least with the air pistol the consequences would be less. A .22 rimfire can drop a cow, an air pistol probably can't penetrate clothing.

I would like to have feedback from anyone here that has started a kid off a handguns. What do you start him with?
 
In my opinion, kids his age should be given a single-shot rifle and taught the safe use of it. A good choice would be the Ithaca Model 49 (22LR).

In my state, it is illegal for someone under 18 to possess a handgun, unless it is temporary while with an adult.
 
I would like to have feedback from anyone here that has started a kid off a handguns. What do you start him with?
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9mm Lugar – not saying it’s the best but that’s the 'smallest' I had at the time to start them off, my boys were about 11 and 14 then. FWIW it didn’t seem to hurt them any; they were shooting it better then me soon. In short-order they were using the Colt’s 1911 and GP100. The 11 year old preferred the Colt, his older brother the revolver. They’re still better shots then me with handguns, the little so-and-so’s.
 
This would be a good choice. S&W Model 617. 8 or 10 shot lightweight .22LR. Accurate, reliable and a very versatile "kit gun" for hiking, camping, etc.

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There is only one answer here. For the beginner, for training, for training the beginner: The Ruger Single Six. Single action, revolver, .22lr, easy to know and like. After he gets up to speed one the Single Six, there will be plenty of time for other guns. At 14 he is pleanty old enough to learn and know the rules of the road. Train 'em now and train 'em right. Be safe.
 
By the age of 12, I was trusted to go out by myself all day plinking and shooting varmints with a Marlin lever action .22 rimfire. I would load my pockets with a few hundred rounds of .22 lr and walk all over my grandfather's 600 acres. When I got thirsty and hungry enough I'd go back to the house.

Age is not really an issue, it is the individual's character. You are the judge of whether he will always practice the safety rules.

As to which handgun, I'd recommend a .22 rimfire of any dependable design. Mainly because of the cost of ammo. I have limited experience with CO2 handguns. The few that I used were so inaccurate as to be useless.
 
Ya know, I really like your idea of the pellet handgun for a kids trail gun. Cheap plinkin and quiet so as not to attract undo attention. He could shoot it all day and no one the wiser. The bang from a traditional handgun might prohibit practice time while in the woods. Heck, I'm thinkin I might have to get one for me to use while camping!

I started carrying my Red Rider while accompanying my dad on pheasant hunts. Killed more cans and birds than he did pheasants and had a ball.

Some people must have money to burn. S&W? Ruger Single Six? I agree they are both great guns but why the heck turn a kid lose with one is beyond me. .22's are great learning tools but think cheap and possibly used. Heritage's, H&R's, Iver-Johnson's, Etc. Don't buy him junk but top of the line ain't needed either.
 
an air pistol probably can't penetrate clothing
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This is not the case. An air pistol can be deadly and should be treated the same as any other pistol.

I would recommend a quality .22, perhaps letting him choose between a few models. A good .22 will last a lifetime, where a pellet gun would probably see very little if any use when he gets older. A revolver would allow the use of snake shot if that's a concern for the trails in your area. His trail gun should allow him to take small game if needed, which although a pellet gun can do, a .22 can do better.
 
.22

My first was a H&R SA .22 LR/mag. It was perfect, cheaper, accurate and a blast to shoot. I agree with the above poster, H&R, Ivers or even a Taurus 94. The heavy DA would make him use it in SA for a while, at least until he gets his chops up.
 
While the SA revolver isn't a bad idea, there is one thing that must be considered: due to it's gate-loading operation, a SA revolver can't be as quickly and easily identified as loaded or unloaded as the single-shot firearms he's used to. With a DA wheelgun, the swing out cylinder or break open action allows much faster and easier verification and/or unloading than does a gate-loading SA. A break-top .22 revolver like an old H&R Sportsman would be ideal because, like most single-shot rifles and shotguns, simply breaking it open renders it safe.
 
True. But for the long haul a top breaker frame is not as strong as a full frame gun like a Ruger for the obvious reason.
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In larger calibers this may be a concern, but .22's aren't exactly hard even on a break-top.
 
For a rifle - can't go wrong with a 10/22. Short, easy to handle and accurate

For a pistol - Ruger single six. Safety and ease of handling.

Those would be my choices should I get so lucky to have grandkids to teach to shoot.
 
Yea, I would agree, a .22 revolver maybe. Something modern that is drop proof. I have an old H&R that is a sweet little pistol, but it seems to have no hammer block safety or anything, you can make the hammer touch the rim by pressing it forward. So it is like a SAA revolver, you have to make sure you start out with no round under the hammer. Either a modern SA or DA revolver with the built in safety features. Easier for a beginner to manage safely, IMO. And still a "real gun" that is capable of target or game shooting just like it's centerfire brethren. You also got to consider the cost of ammo, and he could maybe afford to shoot .22 as compared to centerfire.
 
A 22 is a good if you want to look at some thing other than a revolver how about a Contender with a 22 barrel? Otherwise a Ruger single six or a good double action (at 12, I was carrying a S&W K 22,but things were different back then) Check the used market. Good luck and it is great that you are teaching the boy about guns and not just keeping them away from him as is the current school of though. Bill
 
My cousin died when a friend accidentally fired a BB gun in his direction which punctured his lung... it can happen.

For the purposes of safety and low recoil I'd also recommend a single action 22 revolver such as the Ruger Single six. It's a great gun, will last a lifetime and will still be good for him to pass down to his kids someday!
 
If you are satisfied that he understands safety rules I would suggest the Ruger Bearcat, Ruger Single-Six, or the Browning Buckmark pistol.

+1 to Hirlau that the Bearcat (and probably the Single-Six) have a certain "heirloom" quality. It would be nice to think that he might hand a gun you gave him down through the generations.
 
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