Need opinions...

[Dahliathemeh]

Better half wants to get the manly man a rifle. I thought to ask you all, what should he get? This maybe this year's Christmas present or next year's. So Michael will be 9-10.

[Grunt67]

For a manly man, my first thought was 45/70. But Michael at 9 or 10, maybe a 243.
JMO. He'll be thrilled tegardless.

[BrokenolMarine]

I started mine shooting pellet rifles, then single shot .22s, then bolt action five shot 22s. Up from that depends on what he will use it for. Just plinking? Lever action 22. Hunting... Depends on the game.

[Sir Henry]

I started mine shooting pellet rifles, then single shot .22s, then bolt action five shot 22s. Up from that depends on what he will use it for. Just plinking? Lever action 22. Hunting... Depends on the game.

I agree start pellets at 9. I think I was 11 when I received my first.22LR. My safety instructions was mom telling me not to shoot anyone.

[Sir Henry]

Better half wants to get the manly man a rifle. I thought to ask you all, what should he get? This maybe this year's Christmas present or next year's. So Michael will be 9-10.

Good to have you back posting.

[GFK]

I started mine shooting pellet rifles, then single shot .22s, then bolt action five shot 22s. Up from that depends on what he will use it for. Just plinking? Lever action 22. Hunting... Depends on the game.

I agree start pellets at 9. I think I was 11 when I received my first.22LR. My safety instructions was mom telling me not to shoot anyone.

X3. My thought, get the basics down without concern of recoil: stance, aim, breathing, trigger control.

[daytime dave]

A quality pellet rifle should do this year. The manly man will learn the basics out to 30 yds with iron sights. Add a scope in the summer. Graduate to a .22lr in the succeeding year(s) as he shows progress and manly maturity. Henry's H001 would be a good start. It's a great rifle. I'd steer clear of the youth sized rifles. One he can have and keep for a lifetime would be better and remember you both by much later in life. As previously mentioned, as he grows more manly, something useful in caliber, like a deer rifle, can be added to the line up.
There are plenty of us here who still like pellet rifles, which is why I suggest a quality one. It will need to last a manly man a lifetime. A suggestion is the Benjamin 397 (.177) or Benjamin 392 (.22). Add the pump pistol of the same caliber too, 1377 or 1322. Manly men need a sidearm too. All that pumping will keep an energetic manly man busy. Just my two cents.

[JEBar]

for a Christmas gift for our then 8 year old grandson, we special ordered a Henry BBS 357 .... Henry will do this for anyone who ask ... we had them stamp the rifle with the serial number of JACOB2016 .... I'd been working with him first on his Red Ryder BB gun, then on a family 22 .... no recoil issues with the 357 and he loves it

[Rifletom]

.22lr lever action rifle[Henry]. He and whomever else that shoots that lever action are going to really love a lever gun. JMO.
Model# H001 or H001Y[youth model].

[GFK]

Better half wants to get the manly man a rifle. I thought to ask you all, what should he get? This maybe this year's Christmas present or next year's. So Michael will be 9-10.

I received a BB gun for a couple of Christmas. My last one was a lever action. I liked it. It did not have the power of a pump. But, I did not care: cowboys did not have pumps on TV. Somehow, those BB guns got misplaced over the years. I think that it had something to do with my mother's Spring cleaning. Glad you are thinking about getting your manly man something. He will probably like it. As pointed out, a pellet gun is not a bad way to go. I am more than a half of a century, and I still take my pellet gun out from time to time. I also still like riding a bicycle. Some things just do not have an age limit.

[Ernie]

I got a pellet rifle and a bb rifle and a bow at 11. Still have both Crossman guns.

[Dahliathemeh]

Now manly man got a red Ryder a year or so ago. He has been shooting out of my back porch. He uses cans, water bottles and just about anything else. He's getting food with it too!
Told the better half it won't be one Henry he'll have to purchase, if he goes that route.

[Grunt67]

Aside from a Red Ryder BB gun, my first real gun was a little Stevens Crack Shot, single shot 22. V rear sight, blade front. Dad took me with him rabbit hunting, but didn't give me any ammo. Just toted the thing along. Later, he gave me one bullet, until he trusted me enough for more, then went by myself. I killed a lot of squirrels & bunnies with that little rifle. It finally got dangerous to shoot. It was a falling block design & got to where it wouldn't hold the shell tight enough & would swell the rim. Gave it to my daughter to keep, the house burned to the ground including the rifle. Nothing left but the barrel & receiver, all useless. Made me sick. Have no idea how old it was.
It served me well for years tho.

[BrokenolMarine]

My first was a bolt action single shot, that you had to pull back a knob on the rear to cock the firing pin on, and had a lever you flipped 180 degrees in front of that to block it from firing. A winchester if memory serves. It was a gift from my Grandfather, kept in His rifle rack at his country place, but shot only by me. Once he was satisfied I was safe, and we had moved out of the city, I was allowed to take it home.

Sadly, years later, it was stolen. I found one in a pawn shop and taught the kids to shoot rifles with it.

[Oldbrass]

BB/pellet for first year to teach gun safety, when "YOU" feel he's ready move on to an actual rifle. A bolt action 22 is ideal.

[Grunt67]

Now manly man got a red Ryder a year or so ago. He has been shooting out of my back porch. He uses cans, water bottles and just about anything else. He's getting food with it too!
Told the better half it won't be one Henry he'll have to purchase, if he goes that route.

I was pretty good with my old Red Ryder too. Better than the one I have now. Don't think they are as good as back then.
Believe it or not, when I first got to my unit in 'Nam ( 25th Infantry Div. ), we were taught to point shoot with the Red Ryder type
BB guns, no sights. We'd go thru the jungle shooting at stuff hung in the trees, etc. Amazing how accurate that is. I still do it with a BB or 22 sometimes, just for fun.
Your manly man will have fun with that BB.

[RanchRoper]

He can come with me to the range and make smoke with the long rifle... ....then you'll have to make him some deerskins to wear to school.

[Dahliathemeh]

He can come with me to the range and make smoke with the long rifle... ....then you'll have to make him some deerskins to wear to school.

As long as meat comes with those skins, I'm ok with that!!