[dads81-DL]

My wife and I are thinking on getting our son , almost 12 years old, a reasonable priced firearm in April for his birthday. We mostly small game hunt,squirrels and bunnies,(although none have been harmed to date) and plink at the local range.

 

[dads81-DL]

Oops... I forgot to ask...... any suggestions ?

 

[SHOOTER13]

I'm thinking a nice bolt action Marlin in .22 caliber...

The .22 is light on recoil, makes each and every shot deliberate and thought out...

and you can easily teach him the fundamentals while having a great time as a family !!

 

[dads81-DL]

Any model preferences?

 

[akvs22]

I can't think of the model number but you can get a single shot, bolt action Marlin for around $200. or less.

 

[dads81-DL]

Thanks for the info. I know hes good at shooting the old bolt action I have. The only marlin I have shot is my old 81-dl and has a light smooth trigger pull. Do all marlins have such a nice pull? I have a Ruger 10-22 and it's trigger pull is a bit stronger. With the 10-22 my son pulls his shots to the right.... but dead on with the 81-dl

 

[Gumpy]

Your sons fingers are not as strong as yours so he will tend to pull or push one way or another when firing a stouter (is that a word?) trigger pull. To see if he is jerking while pulling the trigger, let him dry fire when he thinks there is a cartridge in the chamber. If he is jerking the trigger the barrel will move to one side when he pulls the trigger. Have fun teaching him the finer points of gun ownership, and accuracy! Ya'll will only be at this point in his life once.

 

[tahoe2]

Yup ! 22lr

bolt or lever doesn't matter, I would steer away from an auto for his first gun.
That's just me, I started with a clip fed bolt ( long ago) and did the same with my boy at 10 years old (now 15). I would give him one round until he mastered the loading and safe operation and proper shooting techniques, then I would give him two rounds. And so on, you get the idea. He has since mastered a pump shotgun/rifle, lever rifle, bolt rifle and revolver.
Get him the 22 and start a life of enjoyable shooting sports. Merry Christmas !

 

[SWO1]

I also started my grandsons out on a Henry single shot .22 when they were 6-7. Now at 12-14 they have advanced to shotguns, bolt centerfire rifles and both perfer lever .22s. My 8 yr old grandaughter is now on the henry. All things learned on it transfer to bigger and better things latter in life. A bolt .22 in a Marlin goes for just over 200 with an adjustable trigger pull.

 

[dads81-DL]

Well, for Christmas my son inherited his grandpas Marlin 89C . He's quit excited. The only problem is, the shell won't load into the chamber. It looks like the bolt does not slide back all the way when pulling it back.
It disassembles quite easy. And gave it a good cleaning. Inside the bolt,where the spring inserts,there is a rod that looks slightly bent. Could that be why it's not coming all the way back?