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.