Have to get a revolver

another vote on the k frame, but just a 38. get him a lee loader too. for 350 bucks all he'll need is cast bullets, a little powder and primers.

Many years ago my first revolver was a Colt Trooper .357 and I bought a Lee Loader, a Lyman Manual, 100 Browning .38 Special cases, some 173 gr cast bullets, 500 Winchester small pistol primers, a can of 2400 and another of Unique to go with it. I learned that setting off a primer was possible with a hammer and punch, but like a mild electric shock would not knock the house down, (mother was not impressed) and tended to make one more cautious. It seemed to me at the time that the Lee hand die was slightly over sized, and there were some reloads that I could not chamber in my gun. This problem went away with the subsequent acquisitition of an RCBS Jr press and a set of .38/.357 dies.

Lee does make a nifty little C press for about $40 and this with a set of Lee carbide dies, a factory crimp die, and a good scale (not Lee's) would provide the young man with a secondary hobby that would compliment his interest in handgun shooting.
 
Many years ago my first revolver was a Colt Trooper .357 and I bought a Lee Loader, a Lyman Manual, 100 Browning .38 Special cases, some 173 gr cast bullets, 500 Winchester small pistol primers, a can of 2400 and another of Unique to go with it. I learned that setting off a primer was possible with a hammer and punch, but like a mild electric shock would not knock the house down, (mother was not impressed) and tended to make one more cautious. It seemed to me at the time that the Lee hand die was slightly over sized, and there were some reloads that I could not chamber in my gun. This problem went away with the subsequent acquisitition of an RCBS Jr press and a set of .38/.357 dies.

Lee does make a nifty little C press for about $40 and this with a set of Lee carbide dies, a factory crimp die, and a good scale (not Lee's) would provide the young man with a secondary hobby that would compliment his interest in handgun shooting.

i think the occasional pop/bang is inevitable with the lee priming system used in the lee loader- all it takes is to have the primer not centered( although there is a large spring loaded washer to hold it in place, and you get a pop/boom- it is a little disconcerting if you don't know how you did it-however, the loader i got in 38 super also said you had to LUBE the case in CASTOR OIL( YECCH) BEFORE RESIZING- THAT GOT THE CASTOR oil into your hands and everything tasted of castor oil for the next couple of days- yea, i know gloves, but what kid thinks of surgical gloves and reloading in the same sequence-
 
S&W model 17, .22LR.

It has a great DA/SA trigger, is very accurate, shoots all .22 rimfire ammo including CB's. A VG to EX 17 will cost you $350 - 400 and it will appreciate in value so if you sell it in the future you will at least get your money back.

I'd have to agree, a m17 or K22 would be an excellent start, with a 586 or 686 a great second.

When starting out it is so important just to shoot and shoot and shoot. You can get a heck of a lot more shooting in cheaply with a .22 than even .38 reloads.

He'll quickly (4yrs?) be entering the years that justifying spending $3 on a box of .22's versus ~$9 on .38's, means you have $6 left over for beer money.

That said, my first pistol was a 586 and I loved it, with no problems transitioning to a larger revolver since I did have experience shooting a friends .22 K22 and Single Six for a year+ at gun club.

But I stupidly sold it in University for... yep, beer money (what it amounted to anyway). :( Hard lesson learned though. Moral of the story kids: keep your favorite toys, you'll want them later regardless of current circumstances.

Best of luck to you and your son! Always great to hear of another youngster getting hooked on the sport.
 
Ruger GP100. .38 and .357. Good to grow with, cheap to buy and shoot. Durable as all hell, and you'll never outgrow it.
 
Don't bother with a Lee Loader or a hand press. They're extremely slow.

I would consider a Lee Turret Press to be a bare minimum for pistol reloading, with a good progressive press being even better. After all, you won't have much time for shooting if you have to spend it all putting together ammo!

I actually started reloading last year with a Dillon RL550B. I don't think that a progressive press is hard to master for a motivated individual. If you reload for handguns, you will probably eventually want a progressive anyway.
 
my first revolver, which i've had for about four months now, is a smith and wesson 24 classic (nickel- 44 spec). i'm really impressed with it, phenomenally accurate too.

i must be one of the crazies. recently picked up a cz97b and while it too is exceptionally accurate, i do not see myself using it nearly as much as my smith.
 
S&W model 17, .22LR....

x2 (or is that x.22?) He's a kid- he's going to want to do a lot of shooting, which will develop proficiency cheaply. Then in a couple of years or so he can graduate to a .38/357. (Or buy one of those for yourself!) Check out Armco; Gunnar is a great guy to deal with.

Shooting the bigger stuff is fun, though. I finally got my Restricted last year (silly me- why didn't I get it 20+ yrs. ago?) and my first purchase was a barely-used S&W 625, followed by a (very used) SA 1911 AI, and then a Ruger MkII target. I should be shooting the latter the most but I find that I like shooting that S&W so much....

:) Stuart
 
well. we don't want to send him RUNNING from the field- we keep those secrets about casting from moms good silver spoons, making powder from the barbeque, and knocking down firecrackers for the more experienced -

Huhhhh???? Whats this???Is the kid gonna be in the silver chest soon looking for components?? LOL


FWIW, the kid is big, and can handle the glocks and such without issue. He just for some reason, really likes the revolvers. My view on revolvers is that they are like fine bourbon while Glock-ish 9mm and .45s are like tequila. :evil:


Thanks again for all the great info and advice. I really appreciate it. I am going to the chilliwack show this weekend and will try to see if I can't spy some of the items discussed.


VV
 
Perhaps the experience will convert you and you'll find yourself drinking Earl Grey from a small china cup out on the patio with your pinky sticking out in a dainty manner while discussing the pros and cons of different weight wadcutter bullets that can only be shot from a dignified revolver and just how boorish those NASTY hollowpoint "things" truly are.... :D
 
Huhhhh???? Whats this???Is the kid gonna be in the silver chest soon looking for components?? LOL

Only if you have a vampire problem. :p

I am going to the chilliwack show this weekend and will try to see if I can't spy some of the items discussed.

Oh, oh... I'm glad I'm going out first thing tomorrow before you clean the place out.

Happy hunting.

:) Stuart
 
What camp cook said get him a good .22 LR pistol ,High Standard double nine or such (about 200 )and he will learn the shooting tecs.

He will be able to shoot 100 rounds a session(maybe 500) and not break the bank and learn shooting skills along the way.

Maybe you forgot how you learned(knowbody had those big pistols back then) and start him out on a 410 guage shot-gun(he'll thank you later)if you can hit with a 410 on game,then you can damn well move up.

It's hard to unlearn a flinch ,or bad habit learned.

Good luck Bob:)
 
first gun

he;ll get bord as hell with a 22 very quick . as one of the other posts said a gp100 say in stainless . strong as hell and the grip won;t be too big for him to handle . he can shoot power puff 38 rounds or light up the place with some magnum loads . he;ll love it .
 
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