Best .22LR for a 10 year old

[pennys dad]

Marlin 795, Ruger 10/22, Savage. Many fun good learner rifles.

Make sure to take your son to an Appleseed he will learn Rifle Marksmanship from the best

[CSACANNONEER]

For a first gun, any non semi auto .22lr rifle is good. If you are interested in a higher end .22lr, I've got an old Remington 521J that I might be willing to part with. It's too clean to be a kid's plinking/field rifle. But, if your son wants a nice paper puncher, shoot me a PM and we can talk.

[dougncrew]

I have a savage single shot from when I was 5-6 years old and I have taught all of my kids how to shoot with it. Then I move them up to a 10/22 and then to a hand gun. Here is my 10 year old daughter at a sharp shooting event in AZ.
[IMG][/IMG]

[pdq_wizzard]

I am over 40 now, my Grandfather gave me an old single shot 22 when I was ~9ish. I still have that gun in my safe and just handed it down to my yougest son last year at Christmas hes 12, we have been shooting BB guns in the back yard for 7 years.

even though the 22 is "verry" small for me I still love to shoot it. I have put 100's of thousands of rounds down that gun, but man I still love it.

I would go with a single shoot .22, there is a Gunsmith in Granit Bay last time I was there he had 5 or 6 of the old SS .22's for under $100.
I don't think you could ever wear one out (I have tried).

just my .02

[Ape]

Make sure to take your son to an Appleseed he will learn Rifle Marksmanship from the best

BIG +1 to the Appleseed program!
It's great for kids and adults by the way. Lot's of good stuff to be learned from that program from "The shot heard round the world" to basic and even advanced rifleman techniques.

[raw24]

I agree, stay away from semi-auto .22's.

My son (8 next week) absolutely loves our GSG-5, but it tends to jamb and fails to fully eject spent casings from time to time. The 10/22 if very similar, but not quite as often.
Plus you have the magazines to deal with. He can never quite get them fully loaded, and some times doesn't get them inserted completely. causing more FTF/FTE.

My .22 dedicated AR is to heavy and big for him. But it doesnt suffer from the above mentioned problems.

Single fire .22 bolt action rifles are great learners and very accurate, but my kids get board fast, having to reload after 1 shot.

That's why the Henry Lever action I recommended in post #7 is your best option. Dont forget it will shot 3 .22 cartages. (12 rounds .22LR, 17 rounds .22L, 21 rounds .22S), It's easy for kids to load, and the fun last for more than just a single shot.

The Henry Lever Action is really a no brainier.

[Ape]

By the way...... As I and others have said, keep it simple and safe to teach the basics of rifle shooting and safety with a bolt action single shot. But don't worry about starting out with a basic .22 rifle. It'll serve you and your family for many more years to come. And the best part is you'll soon own 10/22's, lever action .22's and MANY other variations of .22's!
It's not something that will simply end with the purchase of one gun.
Especially if you get your wife out to the range with you. >22's are a GREAT way to get new comers involved with shooting sports. And I'd be willing to bet your wife will be grinning from ear to ear once you get her shooting one.

[BAGunner]

I don't understand the hates against semi-auto .22s. Using semi-auto you have more time to observe the sighting, squeeze the trigger, which are the important aspects, right? Shooting fast/slow is a personal preference, and the kid should know how to make every shot counts, that's orthogonal to bolt/semi-auto issue.

If the argument is that bolt action are more accurate, or more reliable, or that single shot is safer, I can buy those arguments. My point is you can still force the kid to stop and think before pulling the trigger every time, even with semi-autos.

[BAGunner]

Also what do you think about the lead poisoning? I read that "LEAD" are especially harmful for young kids. Considering the BB bullet, some .22LR are pure lead, and 50% of primer are made of lead, do you think the kids need more protection? I'm thinking along the line like "coverall cloth"/"wash hands"/"respirator" sort of things... or am I paranoid?

[Ape]

I don't understand the hates against semi-auto .22s. Using semi-auto you have more time to observe the sighting, squeeze the trigger, which are the important aspects, right? Shooting fast/slow is a personal preference, and the kid should know how to make every shot counts, that's orthogonal to bolt/semi-auto issue.

If the argument is that bolt action are more accurate, or more reliable, or that single shot is safer, I can buy those arguments. My point is you can still force the kid to stop and think before pulling the trigger every time, even with semi-autos.

I'm not "hating" on semi auto's? What I'm advocating is teaching a kid (or new comer) the "safest" way to shoot as well as teaching the basics in the best possible way. And using a single shot .22 is the best format to do both of those things IMO. You can't accidentally lose control of a single shot after making a single shot liek you can with a semi auto. If you have a jam or misfire with a single shot gun there's less risk involved in learning how to clear a jam or misfire IMO too.
It's also easier to teach the basics of grip, stance, site techniques etc... with a single shot. Partially from making each shot count and partially because of design.

Also what do you think about the lead poisoning? I read that "LEAD" are especially harmful for young kids. Considering the BB bullet, some .22LR are pure lead, and 50% of primer are made of lead, do you think the kids need more protection? I'm thinking along the line like "coverall cloth"/"wash hands"/"respirator" sort of things... or am I paranoid?

You're paranoid!
Don't believe all the hype out their in California about lead hazards from shooting. I, like many hundreds of thousands of people (if not more like millions) like me, learned how to shoot with all that "dangerous lead" and it never effected any of us. Unless of course you count the idiots who got shot! lol

[Sailormilan2]

USSG imports the Zastava made Z-5 in a Youth Version. Fair looking Walnut stock after a bit of work. Very nice bluing and metal work. Only plastic on it is the buttplage. Easily scoped, and comes with very good iron sights. IIRC, the trigger is non adjustable, though the adult guns have fully adjustable triggers. It might be possible to upgrade later.
I have 2 of the 22s, and one in 17HMR. Website photo shows the older Remington laminated stock.

http://ussginc.com/pdfs/USSG_2011_Z98_Z5.pdf

[pdq_wizzard]

Also what do you think about the lead poisoning? I read that "LEAD" are especially harmful for young kids. Considering the BB bullet, some .22LR are pure lead, and 50% of primer are made of lead, do you think the kids need more protection? I'm thinking along the line like "coverall cloth"/"wash hands"/"respirator" sort of things... or am I paranoid?

wash hands after shooting and don't eat when shooting, and don't put the rounds in the mouth.

the other two things that just paranoid.

[sd_shooter]

My two boys (6 & 8) get to shoot a Ruger Single Six and an M&P 15-22

Ruger
- Single action, it forces slow rate of fire
- Light trigger full
- The enjoy loading it
- Too heavy to hold at arms length, we shoot from a rest

15-22
- Adjustable stock, they use the shortest setting
- Easy to use in every respect, they love slapping in new mags :-)
- Even though it's polymer, it's still too heavy for them to pick up and we shoot from a rest.

I'm always right by their side when we're shooting.

[tpuig]

Sunnyvale has a nice covered range for .22's.

You've got a lot of options...

A pellet gun is a great idea to start. I bought a nice Gamo from the NRA store. Big 5 has a nice one with scope on sale now for $129...

After that, a nice .22 bolt, lever or pump (some good C&R deals out there) might be a nice choice. Anything that makes them pause and have to reload after each shot. That way they have to think about safety, setting up the shot, etc. instead of just pulling the trigger.

But then again, a 10-22 is a great gun, and you can pick up a used youth stock or one from Brownell's for about $85. After that, both of you can spend unlimited time and money building and rebuilding that thing over and over.

It's your kid, and you know him best. There's a lot of good advice here. If it's fun and safe, I'm sure he'll enjoy it.

[dwh100]

My two boys 7 & 10 both started with a Red Rider BB gun at age 5 and still enjoy them, At age 7 I started them with a Savage cub bolt 22, single shot (left picture)
at nine I got my older son a Henry lever 22 as he out grew the cub and the 7 yr old old now shoots it. No scopes just iron sights for now. Both love my Ruger 10/22 with scope and I let them shoot it once in awhile but I want them to be an expert with iron sights first and make every shot count. My older boy is almost ready for the 10/22 as his shot groups are there. I wish my eyes were as good as his!!!!!

They must have miss placed their safety glasses and hearing protection!

IMHO... besides the 4 rules, the use of eye and hearing protection are two of the most important aspects of this sport young shooters should be taught!