Handgun for a 12 year old ?

[Jmann]

Son and I have been talking about shooting more and looking for advice on handguns . Can kids (12) shoot competition and whats the best gun / caliber ?

 

[3fifty7]

If rimfires are acceptable I saw somewhere Ruger was coming out with their lite (Pac Lite) version of a MKIll.

 

[Jmann]

Was looking at the Ruger MKs today also the Sig Sauer Mosquito .

 

[3fifty7]

The mosquito is notorious for reliability issues.
Ruger MKs or Browning Buckmarks are top notch rimfire pistols.

 

[headspace]

The mosquito is notorious for reliability issues.
Ruger MKs or Browning Buckmarks are top notch rimfire pistols.

This, on both counts.
The mosquito pistols are ammo sensitive for one, they seem to prefer CCI mini mags and stingers ok.
I also saw one with some firing pin issues.

 

[senseiturtle]

Buckmark or Ruger MK's if you want a tried-and-true target .22lr pistol. Beretta makes a nice one as well.


If you want to start corrupting him early, I recommend the Sig 1911-22 or the Colt equivalent.

This would be useful to train him to disassemble and clean a "formal" gun, so when he eventually gets a real 1911, he would know how to care for it.

 

[jonesnola]

My son started shooting a .22 at steel matches at 10. Didn't last long, he switched to a m&p 9mm within 3 months. Save your money, get a 9mm. He shot his first uspsa match two months before his 11th birthday.

 

[cookbon]

I heard that too but have not seen a release date.

 

[Leadfoot]

22/45 Lite's are already on the shelves. Jim's had one last time I was there.

The Sig Mosquito is the biggest P.O.S., even Sig hates them. (Was told this by one of their customer service peeps)

 

[Doctor481]

I'm thinking a nice Wilson Professional in 45.
At least tell the wife it's for the boy.

 

[Sin-ster]

At 12, like Robert said, a 9mm in Production Division for USPSA would be plenty fine. With proper technique, I don't care if he's the smallest kid in his elementary school-- shouldn't be a problem.

The other option, and it's a full blown one, would be an Open gun. The size, cost and noise of the gun aside-- they are by far the easiest to shoot well, especially for those lacking the size/strength of their adult counterparts. We have several regular lady shooters who run Open guns-- including a 12 year old-- with no problems. They eliminate a lot of the considerations by way of function that can trouble youngsters-- recoil management, multiple mag changes... aiming...

Obviously, cost'll be the issue there. Just how much do you love your son?

 

[returningliberty]

How about a gen4 glock 34 (with no Backstrap the grip is more than small enough for young hands) down load his ammo a bit to run well with a lighter recoil spring and have softer recoil.

The bigger gun will have more mass, making him feel MUCH less recoil when paired off with light loads and a light recoil spring.

Lighten up the trigger pull a bit too.

Total investment with good sights would be <$800. And he'll love you forever, not to mention grow up shooting the Same gun.

 

[Jesse Tischauser]

This young man isn't a big 12 year old and he's crushing it with a M&P.

https://m.facebook.com/JohnHughesCompetitionShooter?id=596486193696653&_rdr

 

[TomTerrific]

My 11yo granddaughter has been shooting her dad's .22 Ruger for at least two years and is pretty good at it.

Her interest is in archery, tho.

 

[mineralman55]

A .22 is never a bad choice for a first pistol. The new(ish) Ruger SR22 is fun even for jaded adults.

 

[Jmann]

Think we've narrowed it down to a 9mm . Looking at glock ,springfield and s&w .

 

[Sin-ster]

Think we've narrowed it down to a 9mm . Looking at glock ,springfield and s&w .

Unless it's gonna be a surprise, you might want to get him involved at this point to make the final decision.

The lot of pistols you just mentioned would all suit him well.

I'd actually give the advantage to the Glock overall, as the product support is going to be the best due to their popularity. Go with a Gen 4 if you take that route, as you'll have better luck with comfort (new backstrap options) and the mag release is infinitely better than previous Generations. They're also the easiest to work on, so if you wanna do some trigger part/spring replacement and what not, it's not gonna be an afternoon/evening of cursing as you learn how to tear down and reassemble the thing.

 

[Jman1911]

Unless it's gonna be a surprise, you might want to get him involved at this point to make the final decision.

The lot of pistols you just mentioned would all suit him well.

I'd actually give the advantage to the Glock overall, as the product support is going to be the best due to their popularity. Go with a Gen 4 if you take that route, as you'll have better luck with comfort (new backstrap options) and the mag release is infinitely better than previous Generations. They're also the easiest to work on, so if you wanna do some trigger part/spring replacement and what not, it's not gonna be an afternoon/evening of cursing as you learn how to tear down and reassemble the thing.

+1

 

[Jmann]

Yep son knows all about it . We stopped by a few stores this past weekend so he could get a feel for the gun size.

 

[Sin-ster]

If possible, you may see about letting him shoot an example of all 3 and decide which one he likes best.

I'd tell him to not focus so much on the trigger (or just ignore what he says about that) as you'll probably be changing it out dramatically anyway. Instead, how well he can grip it during the firing cycle, how well his finger reaches the proper interface with the trigger's surface, how well it handles in recoil, etc.

Strong chance you'll be swapping sights out as well-- most factories are junk by default. So another thing to not really take into account.

And as an aside, every last one of those guns are oversprung to Hell and back from the factory (all designed around 124 grain NATO hotness). Even if you stick to 115 grain factory-- regardless of brand-- you'll be able to change that as well and tame some of the violence of the slide opening and closing, making it seem like the gun is shooting softer. If you end up loading ammo, you can tweak it all the way down to make it as flat as humanly possible.