I'm looking for a gun that my 7 year old son can shoot at the range with me. He wants to go to the range and shoot with me and I'd like to encourage it if he wants to.
First off, he's VERY responsible when it comes to firearms. He's been shooting his BB gun since he was 4. He has to tell me the firearm safety rules verbatim before he can even touch any of my guns (or his BB gun) and helps me clear them to ensure they are not loaded, etc. He's always asking questions about how it works and how bullets work, etc. I try to answer them the best I can to a 7 year old (my 4 year old daughter know the Eddie Eagle rules cold too-LOL)... He only touches firearms while being supervised by me and I've only had to correct him twice in the last year. I think he's getting tired of his BB gun and is ready for something else, and I figure a .22 would be the logical choice. I asked him if he'd want a pistol or rifle and he said he'd rather have a pistol so he can go to the range with me.
I think I have it narrowed down to a Beretta Tomcat, Walther P22, and Sig Mosquito. (My dad has a Ruger Mark III, but the grip is too big for his hands). We went to the range with some guys from work and my buddy let my son shoot his Sig Mosquito. He actually handled it a lot better than I expected (~5 inch group from 7 yards for a first timer). He had to pull back the hammer to shoot it, but everything worked out good. Looked at the Walther P22 at Bass Pro the other night and he was able to rack it and lock back the slide by himself, and said "it was easy-LOL". It seemed to fit his hand good too with the smaller grip. I figured the Tomkat would be another option due to the tip-up chamber and the fact that he wouldn't have to rack it.
Anyone have kids that shoot any of these pistols? What inputs do you have? I know some people think he's too young to shoot a pistol, but I wouldn't buy one for him to shoot at the range if I didn't think he was ready. I'd appreciate any inputs!
__________________
First off, he's VERY responsible when it comes to firearms. He's been shooting his BB gun since he was 4. He has to tell me the firearm safety rules verbatim before he can even touch any of my guns (or his BB gun) and helps me clear them to ensure they are not loaded, etc. He's always asking questions about how it works and how bullets work, etc. I try to answer them the best I can to a 7 year old (my 4 year old daughter know the Eddie Eagle rules cold too-LOL)... He only touches firearms while being supervised by me and I've only had to correct him twice in the last year. I think he's getting tired of his BB gun and is ready for something else, and I figure a .22 would be the logical choice. I asked him if he'd want a pistol or rifle and he said he'd rather have a pistol so he can go to the range with me.
I think I have it narrowed down to a Beretta Tomcat, Walther P22, and Sig Mosquito. (My dad has a Ruger Mark III, but the grip is too big for his hands). We went to the range with some guys from work and my buddy let my son shoot his Sig Mosquito. He actually handled it a lot better than I expected (~5 inch group from 7 yards for a first timer). He had to pull back the hammer to shoot it, but everything worked out good. Looked at the Walther P22 at Bass Pro the other night and he was able to rack it and lock back the slide by himself, and said "it was easy-LOL". It seemed to fit his hand good too with the smaller grip. I figured the Tomkat would be another option due to the tip-up chamber and the fact that he wouldn't have to rack it.
Anyone have kids that shoot any of these pistols? What inputs do you have? I know some people think he's too young to shoot a pistol, but I wouldn't buy one for him to shoot at the range if I didn't think he was ready. I'd appreciate any inputs!
__________________
