The current Daisy 880 is nearly all plastic junk, compared to the 880 of even 10 years ago.
If you're willing to spend a bit, I'd reccomend a Sheridan multi-pump, bolt action single shot pellet rifle.
Almost all of the bb guns that are sold at superstores from Crossman and Daisy are junk. They're built like toys, and that encourages children to use them like toys.
If you're on a tight budget I reccomend going somewhere like
www.compasseco.com and getting one of the less expensive Chineese offerings. The low-end Daisy and Crossman stuff probably comes from there now anyway (just my guess), but the direct Chi-com stuff is at least real metal and wood, and at least built along the same principles as the better Beeman and RWS guns, and the higer end offerings from Daisy and Crossman you can't find in the stores.
I wouldn't let a child use an air rifle unsupervised unless I lived in a completely rural or semi-wilderness type of area, and only then, alone as another poster said, no friends, and only after a year or more of demonstrating responsible use. If it was even a semi-suburban area in nature, I'd probably allways demand to supervise because too many homes and other property is in the area.
If it's completely suburban neighborhood, with lots one acre in size or less, houses on all sides of you etc., I'd rather get him one of the less expensive airsoft spring-cocker replicas, and let him shoot boxes or paper cups in the garage or basment, or just get him a real .22 LR and make the commitment to take him to the range frequently.
Suburban neighborhoods are just to "tight" for air rifle plinking these days, both physically, and "poiltically".
