Child's first gun

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jamz

jamz

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Time to start seriously thinking about a first gun for my 5 year old. Maybe this winter, or maybe for his birthday next fall. There hasn't been a thread about kids first guns in a while. :)

Here are my thoughts:

1. Daisy Red Ryder

Pros:
It's traditional!
Inexpensive
Palatable for wife
minimal noise, recoil
fits well
light weight
Can practice in backyard

Cons:
Inaccurate, maybe leading to frustration
toylike (plastic trigger, etc)
400+ shots might lead to ammo wasting habits

2. Some sort of youth model Pellet gun

Pros:
Minimal noise, recoil
fits well
light weight
can practice in backyard
accurate enough to be fun

Cons:
more expensive

.22 rifle, bolt action
Pros:
Real firearm (cool factor, This Is Not A Toy factor)
he'd have it forever, possibly
accurate=fun

Cons:
Noisy (noise sensitive kid)
can only practice if we drive out to a range or parent's land
wife might freak out @ 5-6 year old getting a gun


What do you guys think?

-James
 
I bought both of my boys Red Ryders on their 8th Christmas.
My first was a Pal at about 5 or 6

They were not at all inaccurate for what they were designed for.
At about 15 to 20 feet they were dead on except for my Pal and that's because I didn't know about drifting the sight, but I did learn about Kentucky windage.

Once I learned the holdover and hold left I could hit the woman on the Speigle catalog with consistancy.

The problem for me was cocking it.
But I could shoot it anytime I wanted in the converted garage playroom

I still have my oldest's RR and shoot it once in awhile for old times sake
 
Back before the invention of electricity my father bought me (us) a Crosman CO2 pellet gun, bolt action, with cocking knob. Advantages were a rifled barrel, deliberate sequence to load and fire, and no heavy-duty (for a little guy) cocking lever. The old man also believed that there would be less chance of richochet with the lead .177 pellets. We had an absolute ball with that gun in the backyard! Thus my introduction to shooting.

That said, a few years ago I bought my girlfriend's son a Ruger 10/22. I cut down a couple of extra stocks so he'd grow into the gun. We shoot it at a friend's range, and it's one of his favorite possessions. Since we live in San Francisco backyard shooting with a pellet gun is out anyway, and the .22 is actually cheaper to shoot.

Recently we took my Single-Six along on one of our forays...Woo Hoo! Watching this kid shoot is at least as much fun as shooting my own guns. :D

Hope this helps,
Jeff
 
I was thinking a Bearcat would be a good first pistol for my buddy's son. Get him some leather gear to go with it.

Course I kinda just want to buy a Bearcat.
 
Daisy Red Ryder
Single Shot .22 bolt gun.

These are both classics and "just what you do". Truthfully , the single shot .22 bolt gun should be the first gun to teach and learn. It is a "REAL" gun, those holes in cans , busted eggs "show visually" how serious this firearm is.

Many allow the use of .22 short, .longs and Long Rifle. The Short are quieter...then again good hearing protection lessens any perceived recoil - on any firearm.

Marlin makes a good one for instance. Many a person has too many memories shooting the one they got as a kid. Sure it "may" be kid sized ...every adult ( myself included) has been able to still shoot one...Must be the kid in all of us.

Proudest moment - when your kid, passes that gun you gave him to your grandkid.

The Dasiy you gotta have, I finally got me one at a age ~ mid 30's ...I wish I had the old single shot I learned rifles on...just a old borrowed gun of someone's else's...They held onto it until they got married and had kids some day.
 
i would go for the .22, my grandpa bought me one when i turned 4 or 5 and i still have it. the only time i got to shoot it was when we went to his property in prineville which was about 6 hours away but it gave me something to look forward to. With a .22 you can teach him how to clean the guns right too and he would probly be more carefull if he knew it was a real gun.
 
My oldest boy's progression-

5th Bday- Daisy "Buck" (Red Ryder too big for 5 year old arms unless he's an ape)

6th Bday- Davey Cricket .22

7th Bday- Marlin 15Y (should have gone this route first- better everything, much more accurate)

8th Bday- Red Ryder!

9th Bday- Ruger Bearcat

He's very good with the .22 rifles. Still needs lots of work with the revolver, but enjoys the challenge so far. My wife stopped freaking out a month before his 6th birthday.

I've for two other Remington .22 bolt guns for him to grow into.
 
I agree with Badger, but I'd recommend the Marlin 915YS, the stainless-steel version of the gun, so that kids who drag such things through the mud won't have to suffer too much damage to the rifle!


915YS.jpg
 
Get him both the BB gun and the 22.

Shoot the BB gun in the back yard and the 22 when you go to the range.

I got my son a BB gun at 4 years old. The 22 at 5 years old. Now at 6 years old he is shooting a 243.
 
My son is just now getting proficient with a BB gun. "It's a Daisy!"

He's really not capable of handling anything heavier. (He's just turned 5)
HE loves to shoot it and it's still fun to him so I'm not progressing him to rimfire until he's a little older.

Food for thought:

I've seen many a kid get burned out on an activity when they're started too young, be it baseball, soccer or shooting. The kids have a short attention span and if it's not new and exciting then they get bored quick and won't go back to that old activity.

If you want a shooting partner for life: don't force them to shoot, don't do it too often, don't start them too early.

Smoke
 
Smoke said:
I've seen many a kid get burned out on an activity when they're started too young, be it baseball, soccer or shooting. The kids have a short attention span and if it's not new and exciting then they get bored quick and won't go back to that old activity.

If you want a shooting partner for life: don't force them to shoot, don't do it too often, don't start them too early.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Shooting with the Boy is just one of lots of great things to do- I'm trying to fit it in between rock climbing, skateboarding and racing. ;)

The only thing that's making me think harder about it now is he's really taken a liking to shooting lately. I have an old, nonworking crossman air pistol that he never wants to let go, and he won't let me throw it out. :/

I think Scooterbear is on the money with getting both. If I can score that $25.00 Savage Youth model at the local wallyworld, it will be about half as expensive as the Red Ryder anyway! :)

-James
 
Don't dwell on this too much -- he's five, right? Nothing wrong with just having a blast with the Red Ryder -- I think you'd be more frustrated by the gun than he will. At this age, he just wants to enjoy shooting and isn't as obessed with the target as you are.

Another option -- the Ruger Single Six. It's just fun and it's a nice gentle intro into shooting. The Mark II -- if you don't mind cleaning it... :confused: I can't figure why it has so many parts. Easy does it... :)
 
Confession time...

I was in mid thirties before I owned MY very own BB gun. I bought a Red Ryder, and was excited, I bought all but one carton of BB's the store had...yeah I was grinning and clutching my gun ...

I Bwoke my Red Ryder :( I mean I really Bwoke it , my fault. I "thought" the lattice work and some hooks would hold it. I put it there because I was shooting off my back patio - I had a BIG back yard at the time.

The Dogs got to chasing some squirrels and ran into the lattic work , the hooks fell and so did my gun. I was sick, the dogs sensed it, whining and licking my gun.

I called Daisy and the person said " sorry to hear your kid dropped his gun". I was honest , I told him it was MY gun, my first BB gun. He replied "you are kidding?" I told him nope, I had a .22 revolver waiting on me to be birthed...never had a BB gun of my own.

Two Red Ryders crossed in the mail. My Bwoken one to Daisy - a new one from Daisy to me...with more BB's. NO charge.

<ding-dong> UPS Driver, dogs bark , I sign , box gets opened , dogs bark, me clutching grinning...out back we go , me and the dogs...

" You didn't cook supper" - wifey said [ oops]

" I was busy playing with the dogs" - I replied. Then she spotted the Daisy over the fireplace above the flyrod. She does that "head nod with THE look...I had to take her out to eat...

...but I snuck a To- Go order for the dogs and we played outside under the lights , with the Red Ryder....wifey watching some movie...

Don't have the wifey [ thank goodness] , miss the dogs [ sniff] still have the Red Ryder :D

I didn't grow up - I just got bigger - Art.

:)

I guess this is why I bought every BB gun and single shot I could for a bit there. The BB guns to teach shotguns as per Brister, the .22 single shot fo rteaching kids. I have no idea how many of these I gave away. I had the gun shop guys and pawn shop guys call me on bargains...

Yeah the folks thought I was nuts teaching shotgunning this way...

And yes I probably was more excited about the kids learning to shoot a .22 single shot, and had a bigger grin than they did when I said to the Parents in front of the kid - " that is YOUR gun now"....

I may not have kids - I know how to make 'em grin tho'.....
 
I just bought my 6 year old daughter her first gun this christmas... Ended up getting her a pink stocked, stainless barrel Crickett rifle. She was absolutely thrilled with the gun, and if everything goes well, I am thinking about a stainless Bearcat next year.

The wife, on the other hand, was less then thrilled about the rifle, but even she's starting to come around.... Wonder how the pistol will go over? :D
 
I also like the idea of both an air rifle and a .22. You know your son and what he is able to responsibly handle.

A couple of years ago I got my son a Ruger 10/22 as his first gun, he was 10 at the time. Like others have said, since we have to go the range to shoot (unlike when I was growing up in Indiana where we could go out in the woods whenever we wanted to shoot) it makes it something special that he looks forward to. He has shot my guns, but having one that is his very own gives pride of ownership and teaches him to care for it as his own.

Not long after that I bought him a Daisy Winchester 1894 air rifle. The bbs he can shoot in our yard, so he can practice whenever he wants to. Of course now he wants me to get a lever rifle that we can shoot at the range! We have pretty much decided on a Marlin 1894C.

Back to the question at hand, I am glad he has both as they serve a different function. Last year my father-in-law gave my son a Stevens over/under .22/.410 that had belonged to my wife's uncle. He is really excited about having his own shotgun. Good training and lots of practice have made him not only a good shooter, but a responsible gun owner. Admirable qualities for a twelve year old.
 
PRACTICAL SUGGESTION - 5 YEAR OLD's FIRST GUN(s)

1. His little arms might be "too short" for the Daisy Red Rider, so I'd go with the Daisy "Buck", which is better for his size. In fact, I'd get two of them. One for him, and one for his best buddy when he comes with you (and his Dad) to your local range.

2. Look on the Web for the Rogue River Rifle company. They make a single shot .22 that's just right for your son. It's called "The Chipmunk" and it's built with a short stock for those Little Guys with Little Arms (for now).

3. When he's a little older, get the Red Ryder from Daisy and the Henry Arms single shot .22.

EVERY time you go to the range, as I do, go over the Safety Basics. My son always tells me "Dad I've heard these rules a million times before" and I always say, "Yes, and you're going to go over them again -- every time you go to the range, right?? He nods, we do 'The Safety Lecture' and then we have fun shooting.

Have Fun - BE SAFE.
 
Last edited:
Nikon Shooter,
I just bought my 6 year old daughter her first gun this christmas... Ended up getting her a pink stocked, stainless barrel Crickett rifle. She was absolutely thrilled with the gun, and if everything goes well, I am thinking about a stainless Bearcat next year.
Click to expand...

My daughter got the exact same model for Christmas, and she was just born on the 21st!!! :cool:

My son, who turns 3 in January, got a Daisy "Grizzly" BB/Pellet rifle, with the Mossy Oak camouflage stock, for Christmas. I got the Grizzly because it looks more like a real rifle, where the Red Rider looks more like a toy to me. The Grizzly is in the same power level as the Red Rider, around 350 fps, but it can shoot pellets as well, and has grooves for a scope mount.

The front sight is a TruGlo fiberoptic red sight, which makes it easier for him to see, and keep on target. It is also a single pump, which is why I chose it over the other BB/Pellet rifles available. I don't care much for the 10 pump versions, they take too long to reload. I will admit, he is still a little small for it, and I have to help hold it and sight it, but he will grow into it... In the meantime, I get to show him how to use it properly!!! :D

He also got a Marlin Papoose before he was 2, but we save that for the special occasions... :D
 
Many years ago my buddy had a BB gun and we'd spend the whole day shooting. BB's were expensive back then.
I'd always wanted my own BB gun, my very own Red Ryder.

Two days before this last Thanksgiving I finally took care of that itch. I got the Red Ryder at 54 years old.

Wife thought it quite odd and couldn't understand and I didn't have the words to explain.

She shoulda been there then.

Vick

Yup, the Bearcat is on the same list.
 
I'm pretty much opposed to BB guns for kids. Too many treat them like they are toys. I think that kids should understand from day one that guns can and do kill, and not in some abstract if-you-hit-someone-in-the-eye-and-it-enters-their-brain way.

My first gun was a single shot thumb cocker that took .22 short, long, and long rifle. I highly recommend such a gun, but more importantly I recommend the sort of parental oversight and focus on safety that went along with every use of this gun for the first several years I had it.

Today, I would think very seriously about the combo .22 and .410 made by New England Firearms. They are cheap, versatile, and child-sized.
 
red ryder

i am kind of young still but my first gun was a red ryder. I loved it for shooting cans and things in the back yard. Great for just practicing. It really improves skills. Even shot it today, brought back quite a few memories.
 
My son, who turns 3 in January, got a Daisy "Grizzly" BB/Pellet rifle, with the Mossy Oak camouflage stock, for Christmas. I got the Grizzly because it looks more like a real rifle, where the Red Rider looks more like a toy to me. The Grizzly is in the same power level as the Red Rider, around 350 fps, but it can shoot pellets as well, and has grooves for a scope mount.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i also had one of the grizzly guns. I got it for christmas. I never knew the power of either until i checked about 5 or 6 years after i got it. I used the red ryder more for the fact that it had a very slight recoil as i shot.
 
Just make sure your kids have eye glasses, if they need them. I really wasn't interested in shooting until I was 14, because I couldn't see what I was shooting at. I seemed to always want a scope, and nobody could understand why I couldn't hit anything without a scope. When I changed the focus on the scope, it was like wearing corrective lenses.
 
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