advice on a surplus pistol for kid

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Ratfood

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Hi folks, I want to get my son a pistol/revolver for his 9th birthday. We usually shoot at my inlaws farm and we shoot mostly for fun at 10-25 yards. (shooting soda cans, targets, and such). He usually shoots the SW .38 revolver or 9MM pt92 and he really likes both these guns but likes revolvers better. He hates shooting a .22 because it has no oomph/pow factor.

Our family has recently got into surplus guns. I looked at 7.62 nagant revolvers and Czech CZ-52 pistols. They both seem to be what I am looking for for him ( I think he would appreciate the history behind these weapons). Does anyone have have any firsthand experience on these weapons as to how easy they are to shoot or handle for a youngster? Is there anything I should know before we make a decision.

Thanks for any advice....
 
Hello
The Nagant revolver can have a heavy trigger pull and the ammo can be hard to find it is more of a collectors piece and a novelty.
The CZ is a solid pistol but ammo can also be a bit hard to find at times.
A few more options to consider are the Walther P-1 / P38 (hexagonal reinforcing lug) the police trade ins such as a Beretta 92 Glock or Smith & Wesson both in a service revolver or semi auto, many pistols have been stored allot and seldom shot.
www.aimsurplus.com
www.southernohiogun.com have your FFL order the 28 page montly flier
www.jgsales.com
www.cdnninvestments.com send for catalog
Pick up a copy of Shotgun news or The Gun List and see what it is he likes allot of good choices many for a fraction of their original costs.
Best of luck.;)
 
GUSTAV
"The Nagant revolver can have a heavy trigger pull"

Thanks, thats exactly the feedback I was looking for. He's a bit lankey so maybe ill stay away from that. I will also look into the other options you put forward.

If anyone else has any comments/suggestions please do say.
 
The Nagant has a beautiful crisp single action trigger but one of the most horrific DA I have ever pulled
Ammo is not that hard to find on line but it is a little expensive
There are cylinder that convert it to 32 ACP for about $30 or so

I believe it is AIM that says that 32 H&R mag can be safely shot through it and I think 32 S&W

The CZ52 has a large unusually shaped grip that takes some time to get used to
But ammo ois plentiful and cheaper than 9mm

As far as the pow factor
My friend calls them Loudenboomermitspitzensparkens

Very loud and very impressive light show when shot at night

PA63s can be fun after $10 worth of trigger work and can also be fitted with a .380 barrel

There is a new CZ that has just been designated a C&R that is either in .32 or 9mak
 
Sounds like you already have what you need in the .38 Spl revolver. If the one he shoots and seems to like isn't his, look around for a nice police trade-in Model 15. Quality, accurate gun that loves wadcutters and will handle loads right up to plus P--and do it for decades to come. No down side to them that I'm aware of, and lots of other people feel the same.

I gave my son a good one when he was about 14 and he loves it.
 
I bought an 4" barrel Armscor Model 200 .38 SPCL revolver recently and really like it. Only $159. It's nothing fancy but is comfortable to shoot and even looks nice.

I think CDNN still has a few of those 4" barrel Polish Gward revolvers for $179. They are .38 SPCL too. They are well built and beautiful guns. I think they were a prototype that never went into full production. I believe they only made about 5500. They're all NIB. I bought 3 of them.

Both of these guns are good quality for the price IMO.
 
Yes it is I just looked it up in one of Gustav's links
$199 doesn't seem to bad for a delivered to your door gun
 
Definitely the CZ82. Great gun and great accuracy due to the fixed barrel.

It has most of the options of new pistols; ambi mag release, safety, high capacity magazines and decent sights.

I paid $200 for mine thru AIM with holster and 2 magazines. Ammo is VERY reasonably priced.

cz82.jpg
 
I'd go with a CZ-82 too. Polygonal rifling and super accurate. And fits most hands like a glove. And when the import supply dries up you know where their prices are going.
And I'm kinda partial to the 9x18 round anyway.
 
I just bought a CZ-83 as well (same as 82 basically). I paid a little more than what AIM or anyone sells them for, but I'm in California, and the SF Bay area has high prices. I love the gun though, i can shoot it accurately and it points well so I can shoot it quickly. I got mine in .380, with my CA 10 round mags, normal mags are 12. The gun fits my hands well, and is built solid. It field strips easy for cleaning too.
 
I forgot to mention, mine was a trade in from the Czech Ministry of the Interior, I like the history aspect of some of my firearms. I bought a Glock 22 marked "San Antonio Police Department" Came with the tritium night sights. Its neet to have a story behind it.
 
Saw yesterday at gunshow a Cz-82 (actually a whole lot of them! unissued!) for (if I recall correctly) $190 each. They were very hefty, felt darn near indestructible, and you can get for $50 online a barrel in 9mm. If I could find it at a gunshow, I'm sure you can find it online :) (Wish I could remember what vendor that was; if I wasn't there to get a Saiga and on a vastly negative income for the year, I'd have snapped up at least one of those!)

timothy
 
Adding to the historic cool factor of the CZ-82 I personally saw Slovakian soldiers carrying CZ-82s in Iraq this past winter. It's historical role is still being written :) .
 
I think I have to agree with those recommending the CZ-82.Good, solid, and reliable, and 9x18 ammo is easy to find on the 'net and pretty cheap too at about $9 per 50rds.The Nagant revolvers are cool for thier ugliness and uniqueness,and they re cheap, but the original Russian target loads for it are pretty weak, so he might not like it as much due to ack of oomph/pow :).Also, the double action trigger require a come-along or winch to pull it.:) ammo isnt all that cheap a $14 per 40 rds, and I'm not comfortable shooting .32 S&W amo out of it like many others do..I'm just not comfortable firing any ammo in a gun it wasn't designed for, but lots of people do it without any problems,so I'm probly just being a flake.The CZ-52 is a really fun gun to shoot too.lots of "zip" at around 1500fps.Ammo has been easy to find on the interet for me, and its cheap at $9 for 70 rds.Either of the cz's sound like something you two wold enjoy, and the guns are cheap at about $200 for the cz-82 an d $125 for the cz-52.
 
Ratfood-

I own both a Nagant and a CZ-52 and I wouldn't recommend either.

The Nagant SA pull is ~10 lbs, and the DA is about 20. Yes, it's a beast to fire. After about 5 rounds, I get tired of dealing with it. Ammo is hard to find and expensive as can be, unless you substitute. Hard to get a grip on, not easy to shoot, in my experience.

The CZ in the original round is hard to control. Screaming fast, small round, not fun. Also hard to find, unless you order online.

Get him an old H&R or some such thing. Go to a gunshow, find an ugly POS in .32 S&W or some such round, and tell him to have fun. Ammo won't be as cheap as some of the others, but the classics are always nice. More oomph is fun for a short time, then it just causes a sore wrist and a headache. Stick to something smaller than a 9mm, if you want to have a good time.

Hope that helps.
 
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