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what is the best handgun to star on at age 13?

Sonora Rebel

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Ruger MK III 'bull barrel' .22LR It's accurate and instills confidance.
 

Task Force 16

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I would like to also suggest a revolver in .22LR. Whether they start with a revolver or semi-auto doesn't matter as much as the cal. A .22 seems to be the best to start with less recoil. They can work up from there.
 

redlegagent

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I have a Taurus model 94 .22 revolver I've had my son shooting. Small grips for small hands and the heavy trigger pull helps offset accidental discharge. :)
 

squisher

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I might suggest really any single action .22 revolver to start with (I own a Heritage Arms Rough-Rider, FUN!).

I'd say an auto would be a nice second step, I don't know that I would start a first time young shooter with an automatic, unless that's all you've got I guess. A .22 wheelgun isn't all that expensive most of the time though.
 

neddis

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Sonora Rebel wrote:
Ruger MK III 'bull barrel' .22LR It's accurate and instills confidance.
I am a fan of this gun for beginners too. In fact, I train one occasionally to maintain descent shooting technique (not that I am that good to begin with, but I gotta keep what I got :) )
 

ed

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Bullseye Brooke (10) has a Walther P22.



Bullseye Brookie in the Basement
[flash=320,256]http://www.youtube.com/v/61eMyUcMqq4&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]



sbb.jpg
 

nova

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I first started shooting when I was around 12. I can't remember exactly what my dad brought for me to shoot, but it was probably his Ruger Mk1 .22. My mom also brought her .22 scoped lever gun for me to shoot. Not long after (within the same year) I was already shooting my dad's Gold Cup 1911.45 and my mom's .357 Python.

When I was 15 my parents got a Ruger P95 for me to shoot at the range as a Christmas gift...that was back when WWB 9mm was 9.99/100rds...

Now I'm on my own in the gun world with my own collection which won't stop growing no matter how much I try. :cool:
 

RaidersRule

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I got a Ruger .22 Mk II semi-auto for my 13th birthday. I've now got three other handguns to go with it, but it's one of my favorites. Has a manual safety, easy to load mags.

The first one I actually shot was a Glock 19C which wasn't bad, but it startled me a little bit the first time I shot it.
 

DenWin

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Go with something in .22, my dad started me on those when I was young (I think 4 or 5 yrs old) and I worked my way up from there pretty easily. I was shooting .45 with in the year, and even using some pretty big bore rifles by then, too.
 

squisher

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What's the construction on the bullet trap? Being able to punch paper in the basement would be handy!

I know its OT, and you can PM a reply if you want, but I had to ask :)

Thanks!
 

G20-IWB24/7

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Yup. A .22 revolver or auto is the best choice, depending on what the kid is interested in. You should start the firing with a single round in the gun, whichever you choose, to learn accurate firing. As the gal in the video illustrates, the Walther is hard to beat forseriouslysmall hands. My kids aren't shooting age yet (1 and 2), but my buddy's kids are, and his daughter who is 11 handles her P22 like a pro, just like Brooke. And because she knows autos, she'll usually be able to shoot, at least a little, of whatever he and I have going on his property. I've seen her shoot 1911's, G23's, G20's, Kahr 9mm's, Smith 9mm's, and a bunch of other stuff. She still favors her Walther though.
 

Alexcabbie

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I don't think a young man ought to be shooting a pink pistol. Or for that matter a little girl, either. Firearms are WEAPONS at the end of theday (and at the begnning of the day too) and dolling them up in Precious Pink seems to me to detract from the fact that they are alway to be taken seriously. I wonder what Jeff Cooper would have to say about this............
 

G20-IWB24/7

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Alexcabbie wrote:
I don't think a young man ought to be shooting a pink pistol. Or for that matter a little girl, either. Firearms are WEAPONS at the end of theday (and at the begnning of the day too) and dolling them up in Precious Pink seems to me to detract from the fact that they are alway to be taken seriously. I wonder what Jeff Cooper would have to say about this............

Ease up. I think Mr. Cooper would say that it's a shame that more parents aren't teaching their kids responsibility these days. The color of the polymer is frame of the pistol would be pretty far down the list of his things to gripe about. The girl in the video was following safe handling rules, and could hit what she aimed at. Seemed like she took it serious enough.
 

Alexcabbie

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Yer right. She was doing real well with safety and proper handling and didn't look to be a bad shot for a beginner. It's just - well, you wouldn't festoon a gallows with ribbons and bows. Pink just doesn't look serious, but maybe that's just me.
 
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