My sons first handgun.

[hstout1143]

My youngest son has just finished 8th grade and as a gift to himself he wanted to purchase his first handgun. He has always been good at saving money, he had money saved from his birthday in November and from Christmas. We came to an agreement where I would purchase it with his money and it would be his to use whenever we went shooting and when he turned 21 it would be his to do whatever he wanted with it. So then we went about discussing what he wanted and why. We talked about ammo prices and manufacturers. He had pretty much made up his mind already, he was really interested in the Walther P22. A friend of mine had loaned us one before and we both liked shooting it and he said that it would also be economical to shoot as well (smart kid , always thinking). So we went to our local store and he picked out a nice two tone model, black and green. We pick it up Monday after 7. I'll post pictures then.

[wv hillbilly]

i was in my 20s when i got my first pistol

[hstout1143]

I was around 28 when I got my first handgun, a S&W .357. I still have it, it's one of our favorites to shoot.

[jack404]

good for you , look forward to his range test and report

[gun runner]

I got my first pistol ( Smith and Wesson 9mm Model 5906) during the summer between the 6th and 7th grade about 13 years ago. Congrats, I hope he learns alot and to purchase many more weapons in the future!

[68c15]

my first one was pathetic. I was stationed in Ft. Benning and had a part time job delivering pizza and heard stories of guys getting robbed or worse. I bought a jennings .25 at a pawn shop. target practice was very disappointing but I actually saved my hide one night just by showing it.

[sting75ray]

I still have the first handgun I bought. I was about 9 years old and my Grandpa had a Ruger Bearcat and was letting me shoot it. Afterwards I asked him if he would sell it to me and he said for 75.00 it is yours. I ran to the house and dug the money I had saved all summer out of my dresser drawer and went back out and handed it to him. He never thought I was serious I guess and then he did not want to sell it. Dad was standing there and said "you told him for 75.00 it was his so I believe he just bought it" Grandpa never let me hear the end of it and he never offered to sell me another gun either.

[BlkHawk73]

Have heard mixed reviews on the P22 so hopefully your son gets a good one. My son's not too interested in handguns yet but loves 10/22's. Maybe a an idea would be allowing you son to buildup one of his own choice of components. Ours was a fun father/son project.

[Jayhawk9x19]

Awesome! Walther P22 was my first handgun too! Except I was 21 when I got it.

It's a good gun, I would like if it has a slightly larger handle, my grip sometimes rubs along the slide and prevents the gun from chambering another round. It's due for a good disassembly and cleaning though, getting a little gritty.

[soundguy]

it's a good idea to get a child a SPECIFIC gun for them to use supervised. that way they will build up skill on that particualr weapon and enjoy it more knowing that someday it will be theris. so much more than than just shooting someone else's gun. I'm teaching my best buds 15yr old to shoot. we hit the range about 1/month. she is a real tack driver. after shooting all my rifles, she liked my 30-06 the best ( mines a rem700 ). I found a nice savage 110 at a gun show and picked it up cheap. let her shoot it.. a tack driver as well. I told her.. that if she keeps at the shooting hobby.. keeps her grades up and has good conduct.. etc.. that when she turns 18, it's her gun. she's learning to clean and maintain it..e tc. for each holidy and b-day I get her pieces for her range bag.. like sandbags.. etc. already got her the basis.. ear and eye protection and a shoulder pad. thing slike sighting scope will come. by the time she hits 18 she will have a good range bag and a good gun that she is quite proficiet with shooting and maintaining. I have her save all her brass too.. maybee I can get her into relaoding too.

anyway. it's a good hobby to teach a kid. and teach them to be safe around guns..e tc.

kudos to you !

[BETH]

want to see pictures of u and him shooting

[Mr_Shamrock]

Great story - hopefully many years from now he will teach his son or daughter to shoot with the very same pistol.
I have had a P22 for a while and the only complaint I have is when my wife shoots it for a while and starts getting tired it will malfunction on her (limp wrist). She gets upset because I will then take it, clear the malfunction, and it always works for me.

[Buckshot]

My son is 10 1/2. He has had a Keystone Cricket for a couple of years, and just received a 20 ga. H&R single shot for completing 4th grade with straight A's. We also just picked up a Ruger SR22, which will be much easier for him to shoot than my Mark II, but for the time being it's considered a family gun and not "his" like the others. (He's a whiz with the Mark II, but it has a bull barrel and gets heavy in a hurry.)

The one thing that I knew going into handguns with him was that muzzle discipline would be paramount. Compared to holding and maneuvering a long gun, the short barrel of a handgun makes it SO easy to inadvertently sweep yourself or someone else with the muzzle. CONSTANT vigilance and frequent reminders will be the order of the day for some time.

[D.Mathews]

Originally Posted by Buckshot

My son is 10 1/2. He has had a Keystone Cricket for a couple of years, and just received a 20 ga. H&R single shot for completing 4th grade with straight A's. We also just picked up a Ruger SR22, which will be much easier for him to shoot than my Mark II, but for the time being it's considered a family gun and not "his" like the others. (He's a whiz with the Mark II, but it has a bull barrel and gets heavy in a hurry.)

The one thing that I knew going into handguns with him was that muzzle discipline would be paramount. Compared to holding and maneuvering a long gun, the short barrel of a handgun makes it SO easy to inadvertently sweep yourself or someone else with the muzzle. CONSTANT vigilance and frequent reminders will be the order of the day for some time.

Yea for a young kid it could start to get heavy but heck yu never know my little brother shot our marine corps friends kimber gold match .45 1911 by his self just fine lol He didnt hit anything but the effort was an A+

[doubs43]

Originally Posted by hstout1143

My youngest son has just finished 8th grade and as a gift to himself he wanted to purchase his first handgun. He had pretty much made up his mind already, he was really interested in the Walther P22. A friend of mine had loaned us one before and we both liked shooting it and he said that it would also be economical to shoot as well (smart kid , always thinking). So we went to our local store and he picked out a nice two tone model, black and green. We pick it up Monday after 7. I'll post pictures then.

Your son seems to have his head on straight and I expect he'll pass his P22 along to his own child... a family heirloom. I hope both of you enjoy it no end.

I was 5 years old in 1948 when my father let me shoot his 1929 Colt Woodsman. He was behind me, of course, and held my hands in his but I aimed and pulled the trigger... the first handgun I ever shot. It's also the first handgun my oldest son shot and the first that my oldest granddaughter shot. It's now my oldest son's pistol and will someday be passed to my oldest granddaughter for her children.

[Curlyjoe_99]

mine was a Browning Challenger III. Bought it for my 21st Birthday back in '85. still have it.

while i have no children, i have taught friends, their kiddos, 2 commisioned officers, a warrant officer, and more than a few enlisted soldiers the basics on it before we let them loose on the beretta 92s or other larger calibers. one range NCO let me sneak it to the qualification range with our pop-up targets. the 22 actually has enough impact to trigger the target's sensors that a hit was recorded.

[hstout1143]

Here are pics of his first handgun, I'll post some of us at the range next week.

[soundguy]

sweet.. and it's a walther of course.. so a great gun...

[Double D]

Keep it clean and it will serve you well. My wife has one and she loves it. They will give you some issues when they get dirty. Otherwise, good shooter.

[Zane71464]

Congrats with your son's first hand gun and his interest in shooting! (nice!)
I started my son out at about 5 yrs old with a .22 rifle and he
picked right up afterwards with a single six. He'll still grab the old single six and wanna take it out shooting when visiting..we have a blast, literally...lol