Please suggest me an Air Rifle suitable for a 7 -8 yrs old

[dsaptarshi]

Hello Everyone,

I am planning to take my son with me and introduce him into 10M Air Rifle shooting (ISSF). My son is 7 yrs old and so far expressed his interest in shooting . The problem is whatever Rifle I have, is too big and heavy for him , ( I have a FWB-601, a FWB -124, Diana Mod 27 and a Vintage Tell in .177 cal) . So I am planning to buy a small rifle for him which will be light weight for offhand shooting and precisely accurate to start with. I dont want to invest a lot buying a match grade rifle, as at this point of time I am not sure whether he will be seriously continuing it or not, so dont mind getting a 2nd hand rifle and even break barrel or side lever version will work if not PCP. Only thing is he should be able to load his rifle and compress it by himself .

I know there are some made by Daisy (Apart from Avanti series) but i doubt how far accurate they are. I am not looking for a BB rifle , but a proper .177 cal air rifle having precission rifled barrel and can shoot .177 wadcutter pellets. He will be shooting off-hand (Probably without a Jacket, as I dont want to invest on jacket immidiately) So a light weight rifle with small size is what I am looking for. To start with I dont mind going with a open sight version if getting a peep sight is of too much problem, as he need to learn the basics first.

Any suggestion on model is most welcome. By the way I lived in India now , so it will be difficult for me , to arrange a model if its too vintage :)

Sincerely appreciating any help on this regard .

[jhmartin]

There is really only one air gun that is possibly suitable (without mod) for a shooter that young and small.

The old Daisy/Avanti XSV-40. PCP, lightweight and the trigger can be adjusted decently low. They are hard to find since they are such good guns and still command a price over $400. They will shoot one hole groups. about 6lbs

Today's closest rifle is the Air Arms T200, the same action in a (terrible for small shooters) different stock. If you don't mind cutting the stock down (It's way too long), then you can get there ... also a one hole gun. Not cheap at about $525. about 6.5 lbs, chopped, maybe 6

I have a few XSV-40's for my younger shooters, and for ones that are a touch larger I use a Daisy/Avanti 888. Uses a Lothar-Walter barrel and shoots one hole groups. Is a CO2 gun. Unfortunately again, the stock is too long for real small shooters and when you cut it down, it makes it pretty front heavy. My youngest daughter started shooting a chopped down 888 when she was 9 ... as she progressed she kept her preference for a gun that was front heavy. chapped about 6lbs

In a precision rifle ... the lightest that is out there is the Hammerli AR-20 at about 8 lbs. I don't know if this would be too big (I'm guessing yes) for your son now, but if you are ever at a larger match, Janet Raab usually gas some for display. This you would for sure want to do some physical hands on evaluation.

HOWEVER! =============
For a shooter that young ... I'd really recommend doing BB gun for a year or two ... they are now about $140, 3.5 lbs and probably a much better fit ... use it to get the basics down ... no fancy shooting gear -- so that you can see his body position better.
Then, move to a sporter air rifle, no gear at first and maybe a jacket as he's into it.
Finally, when he's strong enough and a bit bigger (probably at 9 or 10 years) move to a lightweight precision gun.
My guess is that if you toss him a too big, too heavy gun at first he'll quickly be looking for something else to do.

[caveman]

I bought a TAU 200 from Pilkguns (used) with a synthetic stock a few years ago for my then 9 year old daughter. It is light (7 lbs) with a short, 12” LOP that can be lengthened with spacers as well as an adjustable cheek rest. It will hold the ten ring and with the right pellets group 10.5s. The trigger is almost as good as a top end precision rifle. It is not legal for sporter class so she also has a Crosman Chalenger that is also a great rifle for that class.

IMO… The “entry” level precision rifles are great for “club guns” but I would not buy one for a personal rifle. Once you find out if they are going to stick with it you might as well bite the bullet and get them a top shelve rig because at that point the rifle becomes a small percentage of the cost of participating in the sport. The bottom line for me is the TAU has been a great gun for my daughter but soon I will have to “bite the bullet” myself! Come to think of it do you know anyone that has a good top shelf LEFT handed rifle for sale (I’ll be looking for a SB as well, she is using a Savage now)?

[conradin]

I am happy with the Hämmerli AR20. It is a PCP, very light. There are a gazillion of options you can upgrade, including the option of turning it into a laser only rifle. The cost is around a grand, but a second hand should cost around $700. It is arguably the cheapest high end PCP rifle available.

http://www.haemmerli.info/en/home.html

[GaryN]

Age tells us very little about your son's size.
For fit, what is his measured Length of Pull (LoP)?

All the junior rifles that I know of start at about 12 inches LoP and go up from there.

Shorter than 12 inches, I know of only the Diana 70 and the recoilless 72. I think the minimum LoP is 10.5 inches. But these have been out of production for a LONG time, so it will be difficult to find them.

[dsaptarshi]

There is really only one air gun that is possibly suitable (without mod) for a shooter that young and small.

The old Daisy/Avanti XSV-40. PCP, lightweight and the trigger can be adjusted decently low. They are hard to find since they are such good guns and still command a price over $400. They will shoot one hole groups. about 6lbs

Today's closest rifle is the Air Arms T200, the same action in a (terrible for small shooters) different stock. If you don't mind cutting the stock down (It's way too long), then you can get there ... also a one hole gun. Not cheap at about $525. about 6.5 lbs, chopped, maybe 6

I have a few XSV-40's for my younger shooters, and for ones that are a touch larger I use a Daisy/Avanti 888. Uses a Lothar-Walter barrel and shoots one hole groups. Is a CO2 gun. Unfortunately again, the stock is too long for real small shooters and when you cut it down, it makes it pretty front heavy. My youngest daughter started shooting a chopped down 888 when she was 9 ... as she progressed she kept her preference for a gun that was front heavy. chapped about 6lbs

In a precision rifle ... the lightest that is out there is the Hammerli AR-20 at about 8 lbs. I don't know if this would be too big (I'm guessing yes) for your son now, but if you are ever at a larger match, Janet Raab usually gas some for display. This you would for sure want to do some physical hands on evaluation.

HOWEVER! =============
For a shooter that young ... I'd really recommend doing BB gun for a year or two ... they are now about $140, 3.5 lbs and probably a much better fit ... use it to get the basics down ... no fancy shooting gear -- so that you can see his body position better.
Then, move to a sporter air rifle, no gear at first and maybe a jacket as he's into it.
Finally, when he's strong enough and a bit bigger (probably at 9 or 10 years) move to a lightweight precision gun.
My guess is that if you toss him a too big, too heavy gun at first he'll quickly be looking for something else to do.

Thanks a lot jhmartin. Yes I absolutely agree with your point of view, and thats why I am thinking to start with a BB gun initially. May be to start with Avanti 499 or similar. He definately will not like the idea or the rifle if its too heavy or uncomfortable to shoot.

Many of you mentioned about AR-20 , and yes its definately could be one of the choice . One of my close friend Joy, who happened to be the 4th Position holder in London 2012 Olympic in 50m Prone, using it for his son Adi , Adi is of my son's age. Here is a photo of Adi with AR20 taken during state championship this year.