Best production gun for a junior

[Northern Xtreme]

I am trying to figure out what gun to get for my Son to shoot USPSA with. He is going to be 10 and weighs about 90 pounds.

I am thinking it should be single stack or at least have a small enough grip that he can work the controls easily.

I think it should probably have a safety but it also needs to have a light enough trigger pull that he can fire it without disrupting the sights to much from pulling to hard.

It probably needs to be somewhat light so he isnt struggling to hold it up. I know this will probably mean dealing with more recoil but you cant have everything.

Right now he has been shooting a Ruger 22/45 with a short 4" barrel, and is doing very well with it. The grip is no problem, and I put a Volquartsen trigger in it.

He can shoot down a rack of plates at 20 yards with no misses, and he has good safe gun handling skills.

I was thinking production division, but maybe Limited 10 minor with a single stack 9mm would be the way to go.

Anyone got any good ideas for me, or any experience starting a youngster out in the sport?

[jkatz44]

How bout a M&P with the small grip insert.

Edited July 8, 2010 by jkatz44

[big_kahuna]

Let him try a few different guns and divisions to see what he likes.

I've tried to help pick guns for friends and family but they always seem to migrate to something else according to their own preferences.

I started my son on a 1911. He migrated to a Glock, then to an STI. He also dabbled a bit with CZ and M&P. He eventually tried a whole bunch of guns, and now shoots most of them pretty decently. I just asked him this question: If he could go back in time and had to start all over again with just one or two guns, which would they be? His #1 pick: 2011 with short trigger and grip modified for small hands. #2 pick: 1911, also modified for small hands.

I have coached several other shooters with small hands, and tried to observe their gun preferences... these shooters include my wife, daughter, other juniors and other females. There is no strong pattern of preference that I can detect. My daughter prefers my 1911 in 45 ACP , while my wife prefers revolvers . The other shooters use/prefer a variety of guns including CZ-75 SP-01, 1911, 2011, M&P, and XD.

[Sarge]

How bout a M&P with the small grip insert.

My thoughts exactly. I put the small insert in and my wife even said it felt small.

[RIIID]

Give the XD/m line of guns a hard look, the trigger can be set up to fit his needs.

Rich

[RePete]

I'm with B_K on this one.

Let the hand and mind decide what's good for him.

The M&P is a good start though.

[Dan Sierpina]

Another vote for the M&P with a small insert. You may want to take a look at a CZ that's set up for single action only. It has the thumb safety you desire, and will fit a small hand fairly well.

[Nemo]

My son Francisco started when he was 10 and he wasn't exactly big or strong. I started him with a Glock 17 but there were no M&Ps back then. I agree that an M&P with the small insert would be a good choice.

One thing I did find when mine were starting was that having them shoot limited capacity divisions(production or L10) wasn't as fun for them. If there were plates, stars or small poppers at distance, in the heat of trying to go fast they would miss more than an average experience shooter, had to do more standing mag changes and sometimes even run out of ammo. They would get a bit discouraged. Then I setup their 9mm glocks for limited minor and they started having a blast knowing they wouldn't run out of ammo as quickly, started having better stage times and feel more competitive and finally got hooked for life.

Give it a try. A limited M&P9 with magwell and extended basepads. 23 rounds per mag and high cool factor for the boy.

Good luck and successful shooting career to your son.

[Northern Xtreme]

Nemo, great advise, thats exactly what I have been thinking as I looked at the double stacks, I figure why not have him shoot limited minor and have less reloads to worry about.

I hope they have a nice S&W M&P9 at Kittery Trading Post this weekend, I will probably be bringing one home with me!

[Northern Xtreme]

Well I found an M&P 9 at the local gun shop and bought it for $425 out the door.

Hardly used and came with the hard case, grip inserts, and two mags.

Took it to the range and he could shoot it well, except I am going to have to put a lighter recoil spring in it for him because it was failing to extract, stovepipes, he didnt have the strength to hold it so it was getting a limp wrist effect, I put two mags through it fine. Funny that doesnt happen to him with my Glock 34.

Well now to get all the other goodies for it, guide rod, recoil springs, mags, holster, sights, etc.

Thanks for the advise guys, it was all very helpful and helped me make my decision, I hadnt even considered a full size polymer gun until you guys brought it up.

I know Sam thanks you!

[RePete]

Well I found an M&P 9 at the local gun shop and bought it for $425 out the door.

Hardly used and came with the hard case, grip inserts, and two mags.

Took it to the range and he could shoot it well, except I am going to have to put a lighter recoil spring in it for him because it was failing to extract, stovepipes, he didnt have the strength to hold it so it was getting a limp wrist effect, I put two mags through it fine. Funny that doesnt happen to him with my Glock 34.

Well now to get all the other goodies for it, guide rod, recoil springs, mags, holster, sights, etc.

Thanks for the advise guys, it was all very helpful and helped me make my decision, I hadnt even considered a full size polymer gun until you guys brought it up.

I know Sam thanks you!

Looking good.

One proud Papa.

[Northern Xtreme]

You know it!

[photoracer]

I agree the M&P would get my vote.

We have a 13 YO girl in my club who has been shooting for less than one year with an open class Browning Buckmark in Rimfire Open classes. She is about your son's size. She is not as fast as some of us older shooters but she seldom misses. Twice a year we have a sort of gunfight/showdown match with 2 competitors shooting side-by-side at first (or last as it depends on which side we start on first) a set each of 5 bowling pins then a set of 5 steel knockdowns with overlapping stop plates. 2 out of 3 runs wins and then you move on in double elimination (stock and open classes, shooters must download to the lower limit of the mag/cylinder capacity of the other shooter if a revolver shooter.

Her father picked her up her own S&W M&P Pro in 9mm and she got a weeks practice at the range. She managed to eliminate 2 adult men in the loser's bracket before she got eliminated. I shot her gun during the week which had the small insert in the grip and it was pretty good at double tapping even as a stock gun. I would shoot it with the small insert myself. I would have no problem using this myself if I didn't have my old 2011 Bul M-5 IPSC Limited in 9x23mm. I already like it better than my old Browning Hi-Power. As an aside her father (Glock firing 40S&W) beat me in the winners side and I then mowed down the loser's bracket to face him again in the stock final. He beat me in a closer match for the stock title. He shoots about 2k rounds a month of practice in all calibers while I shoot about 500 rounds a month in primarily rimfire. He shoots a lot of IPSC and IDPA matches while I shoot mostly Steel Challenge and Ruger Rimfire matches. We are both among a group from our club going up to PA to shoot a steel match this weekend.

[High Lord Gomer]

Very cool! Great times for you two ahead!

My 12 year old started with an M&P when he was 9. I would suggest trying this:

http://speedshooters...6P+9%2F40%2F357

It really helps them get a good grip on the gun and you'll likely have less problems with extraction.

While you're at it, I also highly recommend the Apex sear and firing pin block.

I don't know if it is too late or not, but also:

http://www.juniorshootercamp.org/

Edited September 22, 2010 by High Lord Gomer