mr.t7024
Member
jakk280rem hit the nail on the head,good luck on your choice. BTW I have two rugers collecting dust, my preferred rifle is the Marlin 60.Cliff
I know at the time my boy was 12 he was growing like a weed....what fits him today may not fit him tomorrow.....just something to keep in the back of your mind....Keeping him in shoes was insane...seems like I bought new ones every week.Thanks for the suggestion, I will probably do that. I am a big proponent for making sure a gun "fits" you well. I am mostly concerned with overall quality since manufacturing has changed a lot since I was using such guns, and my familiarity is with other types of firearms.
I'm trying to keep it in the $200-$250 price range, but want to make sure it's money well spent. I figured those were pretty standard choices with generally good reputations in that group. If I left the decision I up to my son, he'd pick out the most expensive one "just because".
This the 500 series are solid well built rifles.I would be looking around for a Mossberg 45 as it obviously worked for you. That or a Remington 510, 511 or 512. Any of which can be had at a reasonable cost at a good gun show and as far as marksmanship will out shoot most of the new 22 rifles out there today and can be used for teaching good marksmanship skills.
As for new? The CZ as ColtPythonElete mentions.
Just My Take....
Ron
My question is: has he learned the proper basics of shooting already? Giving a kid...any kid a semi-automatic firearm for their first gun will guarantee: 1. that they will empty the magazine every time, and 2. They will not hit anything! The 10-22 and Model 60 are fine guns, but a bolt action, either single shot or magazine/tube fed is probably the best first gun, if teaching marksmanship basics is the goal, IMO.
I agree with others that as a first gun a light weight, magazine fed bolt gun is very hard to beat.
Tube fed guns are IMHO less safe than mag fed guns especially in inexperienced hands. If a round hangs up in the feed tube you can end up with a "hot" gun even if you believed it to be empty.
They are not. I never understood the hatred for tubular magazines. You typically get double or more the capacity than detachable magazines without an ugly protrusion, they're quicker and easier to load, they are readily topped off and you can't lose them. Been using them for 30yrs without a single problem emptying them but at the range, it's easier to just run them dry.Removable magazines are superior for almost all uses.
I think I've decided on the Savage MkII lefty bolt rifle.
Removable magazines are superior for almost all uses.