My son wants a .22 rifle

[Von Bickley]

Dennis,

I have the Ruger 10/22 and it's a very nice 22 rifle. Like any firearm, you must be very careful. When you take the magazine out, you still have one in the chamber DAMHIKT.........

If I get another 22 rifle, I will look seriously at getting a Henry 22 Lever Action. Nice looking rifle......

[Mac McQuinn]

I shoot a upper end Benchrest .22 rifle and have been shooting for 45 years. I personally feel a solid bolt action .22 such as a Savage or Marlin would fill the bill. Some companies make a single shot clip adapter which interchanges with the factory 5 shot units. Good tool for novice shooters. Rummage sales are sometimes a good source for a little used .22. Good luck in your search.

Mac

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
I have a Marlin/Glenfield model 60 that's going on a million years old and half that many rounds .
It's more accurate than it has a right to be.

I also have a very expensive Browning lever action that hs a horrid trigger.
It's been back to Browning and they fixed it up enough so that it's just this side of ok.

My wife has a Wincheter Trapper model lever action which you can't pry out of her hands.
What a marvleous little shooter!
(both the Winchster & the wife)

I'd suggest combining both WW'ing and the .22.
There's tons of used and neglected .22's on the used shelf that really sparkle with a little refinishing.
I've "fixed up" half a dozen or so over the years.

[Eric Larsen]

OK...it's only been many years since I've even been the slightest bit interested in a .22 caliber rifle. My son is 14 and he and I both feel it's past time for him to gain more experience with rifles. He wants to buy himself a .22 and I'm just trying to figure out what is the best rifle for the least amount of money I can get..either new or used...for him to see if he really likes a .22 caliber or not.

I do know he wants to get himself a deer rifle at some point in the not to distant future, but that's a whole different story there.

So what are your points, advice, and experiences.??

My dad found a .22 1950s-vintage bolt-action Remington sticking out of a trash can when I was 12-years old. He knocked on the door, and learned that the man's wife gave an ultimatum, "Me or the rifle."

So he was given the rifle and gave it to me for a birthday present. (I doubt you'll find a rifle in a trash can these days, that's completely irresponsible.) That was probably my favorite birthday. My first present was an 5-shot clip, then a small scope, and then the rifle, and then a brick of ammo. I doubt dad paid more than $10 back in the 80s for the lot.

But I still have it, and it's a good rifle (I don't need a scope for it these days). It's a great first gun for a teen, because the kick is non-existent, and the ammo is cheap. I shot thousands of water-filled soda cans at that age, and it was always a lot of fun.

It's a good way to teach a kid about gun safety, if nothing else.

[Martin Shupe]

I have a Ruger 10-22, and that's what I used to teach my son to shoot. At Scout camp, they used a Remington bolt action 22.

My son is 14, and does not own any of his own guns. I own the guns, and they stay in the gun safe unless WE go shooting.

He has a .270, that I bought for him to use. It will be his after I am gone, but it remains in the safe with the rest of the guns, except when we are going to the range or deer camp.

We shoot the 22 to work on his aim, and then check the 270 for accuracy right before deer season.

Dennis, I know I don't have to tell you this, but for everyone else out there, firearms instruction is best done with close supervision. Safety first, last, and always.

I know a lot of folks grew up going to the woods by themselves with a 22 at 8 years old. If you have a farm with 1000 acres, that's fine. In this day and age, I would not let my son do that without supervision.

When I was in college, around 1980, a guy in my dorm was killed by a little old lady while hunting on public land. She "heard a noise" and shot at it. Very sad situation, but it happens too often, IMHO.

My boy loves to hunt, and has a healthy respect for firearms. I am glad, and hope he continues to be safe.

[Joel Goodman]

I am part of the Ruger 10/22 fan club. I had one that I had Jim Clark put a bull barrel on and outfit with a target trigger which would shoot 10 shots at 50 yards into a dime sized hole --- sold it to my oldest friend who loves it. But a semi auto is inherently more dangerous so that's a call you need to make. If you could find a good second hand bolt action.....

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Oh, what the heck, my $.02 may as well enter the fray. I love the 10/22, but my first .22 was a Remington 581 bolt action. I'm really glad that I learned to shoot well with a "slow" rifle before I learned to shoot anything else. Having to take the time to manually run the action forces a better grasp of the mechanics of shooting accuratly IMHO. Think about it, you pretty much have to completely reaquire the target after every shot, which is also a lot more like deer hunting. Let the semi auto stuff show up a little later, after he really learns to shoot. Another benefit of the bolt action, it's MUCH cheaper to feed.

[Tom Veatch]

I'll side with Brent on this subject. A bolt action operated as a single shot is the proper choice for a first rifle. Someone mentioned learning to shoot as opposed to operating the weapon. You can't separate the two. Learning to operate the weapon is as much a part of shooting as learning the correct sight picture.

I would never put an autoloader of any caliber in the hands of someone who hasn't already developed a respect for rifles as a class of weapon and a full realization of how they must be handled and operated to prevent accidental discharge and the attendant dangers. It is far too easy for the inexperienced rifleman to forget that an autoloading weapon is still fully capable of being fired immediately after they've send a round downrange.

A single loading bolt action - or any single loading action, bolt or otherwise - forces a specific set of actions before a second shot can be fired. This places a full stop punctuation in the process and the activity of loading and chambering a round reinforces the realization that "This weapon is ready to fire! Do not point it at anything you do not intend to shoot".

[Eric Larsen]

A single loading bolt action - or any single loading action, bolt or otherwise - forces a specific set of actions before a second shot can be fired. This places a full stop punctuation in the process and the activity of loading and chambering a round reinforces the realization that "This weapon is ready to fire! Do not point it at anything you do not intend to shoot".

+1

A teen does not need semi-auto anything. He'll be happy to plink tin cans, any time, anywhere. When he has a few thousand rounds under his belt, he can decide what's best for him.

Although, if your son is a lefty, it would be nice to find him a left-handed bolt-action rifle. Mine was a righty (and I'm a lefty), and it pretty-much taught me the MEANING of patience. (It's kind of like swapping your fork and your knife in the old-school Emily Post etiquette manuals.)

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I'd look for a bolt action single shot.

I exposed my two daughters to guns very early. If you handed either of them a gun as little children the "boredom factor" would kick in first and they'd probably have other more interesting things to want to be doing. Then if they had to tolerate you thrusting the thing at them they'd first demand if it was loaded then not trusting your answer they'd breach the thing and drop the magazine out.

I never managed to get either interested in shooting for more than a few minutes at a time.

[Al Willits]

First question I'd ask is, is he going to keep and continue to use this rifle, or is it basically a starter rifle and will end up collecting dust?

Starter rifle I'd go with a single shot, rarely have I seen young ones who didn't want to make up for lack of accuracy by shooting more times at a target.

One shot, make it count.

If he'll continue to keep shooting it, I've had good luck with a 10/22 also.
I use it for plinking and prairie dogs, mine has a heavy barrel but for just plinking probably not needed, the other rifles in .22 I have that work well are Remington's, they shoot well and are reasonably priced.

Used might be a good alternative also.

Good luck.
Al

[Harlan Coverdale]

Got my 10-22 when I was about 14 or 15, and still have it and shoot it 35 years later.

[Ed Labadie]

I would take a look at a bolt action Savage with the accutrigger. So many firearms today have trigger mechanism that works like a HF adjustable wrench that got left outside all winter. Savage has cured this problem.

Face it, you can't shoot a gun accurately with a heavy creepy trigger. This will also tend to turn off a young shooter because they can't hit thier target or achieve consistent group sizes.

I've shot 10-22's and Rem. 597's with aftermarket triggers that aren't as nice as the Savage.

Ed

[Bob Rufener]

Dennis,

I am not going to voice my opinion regarding a first gun. I would recommend getting him enrolled in a hunter safety class as soon as possible. They do an excellent job of teaching people lots of safety concerns about use and handling of a weapon. In my state, it is required that anyone born after Jan 1, 1973 must have a hunter safety certificate to purchase a license.

[Ken Garlock]

Disclaimer: What I know about rifles you can write on the head of pin with a cold chisel. But that doesn't stop me from having an opinion/idea.

Recently I have been seeing ads on TV for Henry Rifles, made in New Jersey. They are a 100 year old company that advertises that their rifles are 100% American made. I don't know if they are good or bad, but they might be worth a look see.