Buying a pellet gun for a 10 year old boy.

well, if I had a nephew in my care, so to speak, I might get him a pellet gun, a cheap one. However, I'm thinking a 10 year old is a ten year old. I don't think I'd be turning him loose with it, solo. I guess I'm thinking that way because if anything would happen I'd have to live with that al my life. All my kids learn to shoot with .22 at age 6 but never went without adult supervision til they were in 16 or so, depending on which one it was. 17 was the age for the rite of passage to deer hunt alone. Believe me letting them do that had me on pins and needles til they got home.

1200 sounds optimistic, but any pellet, properly placed, can do serious injury. I like my RWS model 34 - great for tree rats

At the age of 8 I was going hunting on my own with a .22 and bringing home squirrels and rabbits in season for the dinner table. Course that was a different era.

1200 sounds optimistic, but any pellet, properly placed, can do serious injury. I like my RWS model 34 - great for tree rats

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1200 isnt overly hard to achieve.....you certainly arent going to get that speed out of a 10-12 grain pellet........but its more than possible with a 5-7grain.

Is a .17 caliber pullet at 1200 fps as dangerous as a .22 round?

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dangerous in terms of energy transfer.....no, a pellet at most is going to put out 25 Ft-lbs
a .22lr is right around 90-100 ft lbs


but dangerous as far as shooting goes....absolutely......High velocity pellets, if hit in the right place, can be fatal.


would i call a .17 cal at 1200 FPS a "man killer".....well no......but it is capable of injuries...

...as long as proper care is taken, and someone who knows what they are doing is supervising.....there should be no reason to be concerned.

Years of age does not a;ways correspond with maturity. Some ten year olds are as immature as six year olds and some are more mature than 18 year old men. You know your nephew better than any of us and it sounds like you know guns and the risks that go with them well. My boys both had pellet rifles at ten years of age that were capable of killing small game, but they still had to be under my supervision(or another adult) when shooting them until they took a hunters safety course @ 12. It did not hamper their desire to hunt or shoot as far as I know.

Safety aside a 1200 fps. is going to be hard to cock.
Find a basic air rifle at 5-600 fps that's easy to cock and has a rifled barrel.
For what they are the "Industry" brand air rifles are a good deal.
You can get a break barrel pellet gun for $20 to $30.

He'll shoot his eye out.

But seriously, I think a kid at that age is responsible enough to have and handle a pellet gun. Just tell them that it is a big responsibility and that its dangerous when handled dangerously. But you know that because you're already on the high road.

If your brother is serving our country overseas, tell him "Thank you".

I shot a lot of air guns as a kid. In my opinion, BB guns are more dangerous than a break barrel pellet rifle. Even though they have less energy, BB's penetrate and richochet like crazy, and it doesn't take much energy to damage an eye. They'll also do more damage at farther distances to such things as glass windows. They also are typically hopper/magazine fed, and you can have those "oops, I thought it was empty," kind of incidents.

The only accident I ever had was with a very weak BB pistol, and it involved an unfortunate richochet and a very expensive glass door. My parents didn't believe me for years. They didn't think a riccochet could have done that much damage.

Just make sure in addition to the 4 rules, he knows to keep his fingers out of the bear trap.

You could also buy a break barrel rifle with lighter springs specifically for youths.

I would recommend a crossman pump pellet rifle.shoots around 550fps is easy to use and can kill a squirrel if shots are placed properly and in range.Which in my opinion is much more important than teaching him if he can see it he can kill it.Plus you can switch to bb for some high volume can killing events.

I got a Crosman 760 for my 10th birthday. I nearly wore that gun out over the the next 2-3 years until I graduated to a .22.

1200 fps out of a pellet is deadly. I have a 900-1000 fps pellet gun that I have killed lots of rabbits/squirrels with and a few groundhogs. Out to about 25 yards, a headshot does the trick.

Before you make any purchase, check out this forum.
http://www.straightshooters.com/

Cheap stuff is just that... the thread posted will answer all your Air rifle questions.
That said, I like my break barrel Ruger Airhawk. You can probably find one for around 99 bucks. Trigger break and pull are similar to a good .22 and you can mount a decent "Air Rifle" scope. Be sure any scope you select is Air Rifle rated as most scopes are not built for the spring forward recoil.

KKKKFL

He needs to understand the danger of shooting at hard surfaces at an angle. This principle is easily demonstraited on a pool table or by skipping a stone off a pond.

I'll second the inexpensive Crossman or Daisy BB/pellet guns. When I was 9 I got a 760 - the Pumpmaster, IIRC. Over the next several years I proceeded to wear it out twice over (literally - we rebuilt it twice). My best friend had a Daisy 880. Between the two of us, we shot tons of sparrows and starlings out of our barns and Purple Martin birdhouses, a couple dozen rabbits and squirrels, and a few snakes. They'll do the job if he does his.

These are good beginner air rifles. When Dad gets home, and if he finds his son an apt and safe shooter, wouldn't it be cool for Dad to get a "real" airgun or .22 for his son because he's been well trained?

Q

Jericho 941 said:

Thanks everybody. A lot of good advice here.

-buck460XVR
I really like the idea of sending him to a hunter safety course. I think that is what I will do for his birthday. He is a really low-key and responsible young man, and I think he really would enjoy it if they will have someone his age. I'll have to see what they have at my gun club.

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Jericho, I advise you to take the course with the boy, even if you already have. I went thru the course with both my boys, and I help with hunter safety classes. First it puts you both in the same page to start out. Second, it gives the boy someone to review the lessons learned after class and before the next class. Third, it should give you info on what's legal and what's not for your nephew. I said my boys both took Hunter Safety at 12. This was not necessarily by choice. In Wisconsin, one must be certified before they can even buy a license to hunt. Without a certification, you cannot legally hunt(unless you're an old fart like me that's been grandfathered in), because you can't purchase a license. Also here, a child cannot hunt by themselves until the age of 14. Until then legally, they must be accompanied by an adult....this includes hunting with an air rifle. As much as many of us grew up shooting tweety birds for practice, by ourselves at an early age, in many states this is illegal. Knowing what's legal and what's not goes a long way towards hunting ethically. I found that hearing this from an instructor or warden during class, then re-enforcement from dad or another role model, works best.

I applaud you Jericho, for all you are doing for your brother's son. A boy of ten needs a good male role model active in their life. I know your brother wishes he was the one that could be there, but he can live it thru you and will have a great place to pick up from when he gets home.

Jericho, I just got back into pellet guns. I shot them as a kid, and really enjoyed it. Now that I've got a few again, it is just as fun.

I bought a nice break-barrel "springer", a Stoeger X20. For a 10 year-old, it is going to be a LOT of gun. Cocking effort would likely be beyond him, not to mention the weight. They are heavier than 22 "powderburners" (that's what they call them on the airgun fora!) since the power source is carried with them.

Spring piston airguns are also a little difficult to shoot compared to other types because they recoil before the pellet leaves the barrel. One has to hold them loosely, with the forward hand under the balance point of the gun. Still, they are neat because all that is needed for a full power shot is the one break-barrel cocking action.

What happens with adults is that they look at velocity only, and buy a magnum springer airgun that is so heavy and so muzzle weighted that it is no fun to shoot, except from a bench. Then, the piston recoil is so hard, they're not generally that accurate.

For a 10 year-old, I'd recommend one of three guns:

a) AirVenturi Bronco. Spring piston, but 500 fps. Easy to cock, accurate, and compact size. This is 150 fps faster than a Red Ryder, and since it is a rifled pellet gun, also more accurate.
http://www.archerpelletguns.com/Air-Venturi-Bronco-air-rifle-p/py-2013.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RKSSd7RoJQ

b) Daisy 953. This is a single pump pneumatic, around 500 fps. So the aforementioned problems with the recoil messing up the shot is not there. It is also lighter, and has a 5-shot magazine. It is a repeater, but not semi-automatic. It is considered a training gun for target shooting. It has enough power to take birds. I have one of these in the mail. I'll shoot it down my hall for 10 yard competitions on gatewaytoairguns.org. (the equivalent of THR for pellet guns)
http://www.archerpelletguns.com/Daisy-Powerline-953-TargetPro-p/py-585.htm

c) Daisy 880. This is a multi-pump pneumatic. It was the first pellet rifle I shot as a kid. It is better than the Crosman models, because the pump arm is longer and has more leverage. The power can be varied from around 300 fps to around 700 fps. The neat thing is the variable power, the un-neat thing is that if you want the same power as the 983, it'll take 5 or 6 pumps each time. It will have enough power to humanely take birds, squirrel, and rabbit. This one even comes with a (crappy) scope.
http://www.archerpelletguns.com/Daisy-880S-Multi-Pump-4x15-Scope-p/py-497.htm

No matter which gun you get him, get him a scope too. A simple 4x32 Leapers Bugbuster will run about $30 and is a popular choice among airgunners. It won't look out of place on a lightweight pellet rifle like these. If he's good with open sights, he'll be FANTASTIC with a scope. Get one with a MilDot reticle. Since pellets drop so fast compared to bullets from a firearm, it will really help to estimate the drop at distance.

Skipped thru a lot of replies, so may have been said, but MAKE SURE safety glasses are worn while shooting whatever the young man uses.

Good search results at GTA:
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?action=search2

This one's especially good. I don't know if your boy is bigger or smaller than this guy.
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php/topic,5300.0.html

Even though the Daisys may be easier to handle on account of their lower weight and lack of recoil, this one may be better in the long run, because it has a wood stock and real bluing.

Whatever air gun you get, make sure he is going to be strong enough to actually cock/pump the thing! Got my little brother an air rifle last Christmas,
he had just turned ten as well, and he's still not able to pump it more than once or twice. And its one of the cheap ones from Wal-Mart...although I have to say I really like it...
Anyway maybe a CO2 gun would be best...

Avoid .177 caliber pellet guns that claim to shoot above 1000fps like the plague. I've had nothing but problems with them. What happens is that the .177 pellet is too light to cross the trans-sonic zone, from supersonic to subsonic, without greatly destabilizing the pellet and throwing accuracy out the window.

My first pellet gun was a 550fps break barrel Beeman .177 pellet gun. It was powerful enough to take out a squirrel within 20 yards and was terribly, terribly accurate. I could cock it all day long with ease, I was in the 5th grade at the time. I finally replaced the thing two years later with a Daisy 880, both are fine, and quite low cost, air rifles.

Not to mention that the Beeman comes with a pretty decent scope that's already pre sighted in from the factory.

My dad use to set me up at the fire pit where we burned trash. I was allowed to shoot bottles, cans, etc. Of course I was only 7. Good safety instruction is key. After I showed consistant gun safety skills he allowed me to head out around the farm shooting cow birds and starlings if I could get close enough....lol.
If you feel he's checked out ok with gun handling and firearms safety, I say let him have at it! Never hurts to just keep an eye on him now and then.
Pellet guns are loads of fun!!

First, lets go with what I can agree with you on...a single shot is absolutely the proper tool. as my Dad said: "when you show responsibility and safe handling of this Single Shot, then we can discuss a repeater,"

I got my first .22 (a single shot) that was all mine, and I was allowed to basically do as I felt fit for my 12th birthday. (Age means nothing here as I could not walk without assistance at 10 (polio)

From my memories of that time (over 50 yeras ago) I would say, that by myself I was safe and never did shoot anything I should not have (like the swallows in the barn That was a big no-no). When I was with some of the other kids we occationally did shoot at the swallows, but usually I would try stop them because of the holes in the roof would get the hay wet and make a mess when we had to feed it in the winter.

There were a couple times when a couple of my cousins wanted to shoot road signs. I said no and went home. so, what do those experiences mean today? Assuming he is not a troubled kid (the one that suggests shoot at the road signs)...I would allow that he could shoot when by himself, but with other young folk, only if there is an adult around?

Read this:
http://airgun-academy.pyramydair.com/blog/2010/07/buying-your-first-airgun/

1200 fps is a very high powered air rifle. Chances are, it might be too difficult for him to cock and too heavy to want to shoot or carry.

Something in the 500-600 fps range will be a lot lighter and easier to cock, carry, and shoot.

Also, eye safety is paramount. Shoot a pellet through a grape or hard boiled egg to demonstrate the damage it can do to an eyeball.

What's your price range?