sgtis108 Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 (edited) I am planning out a gun for my soon to be 9yr old. Here are my thoughts. Shorty 9mm (minor for the first few years) Cone comp Grip reduction Serendipity light magwell Low mount saftey He has been shooting for a couple of years. Mostly rimfire. Very accurate and safe. I want to start him in uspsa open. I might get a few years in before the girls get him. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks Edited September 28, 2008 by sgtis108 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Shorty and light weight, to me, tends to mean less stable. I'd go the opposite way with a new open shooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtis108 Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 My fullsize open guns are too heavy. I was thinking 9 minor wouldn't be to harsh in a shorty, yet still heavy enough to make 9 minor easy to handle. I was thinking somthing like the steel master, with a grip reduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlockSpeed31 Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 There is a EAA 9mm open rig on the classifieds right now. Those are fairly thin in the grip area for the smaller shooters, not sure about the weight though. My .02 worth. Or you could build a open Glock w/ a G19? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 +1 on the EAA, specifically because of the small grip size. The weight could be an issue for him though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD Niner Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 (edited) If you're okay with minor why not get one of the plastic Production guns? All of them are great and a reasonably inexpensive means to enter this sport. Their light weight would be easier for a younger Junior to compete with. Both the XD-M and S&W have small size grip inserts that would work well for a youngster. Any Open gun is going to be relatively heavy because of the high capacity mags with 20+ rounds, the optics and the beefy steel frame. At nine years of age he may not yet have the grip, arm and upper body strength to handle one of those yet. Beyond the much greater cost you may find that he gets frustrated when he can't consistently bring to gun to bear on the target. YMMV of course. Edited September 28, 2008 by XD Niner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelshooter Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Go with an open Glock. I built one for my 15 y/o daughter (5'3" and 115lbs) and she loves it! You can get a new or slightly used G17 for about $425, add a SJC convertible comp, a slide racker, mag well, 11lb spring, extended mag release and 3 mags with Arredondo extensions (23rds)for roughly $1200. It shots minor well, both handloads and any factory rounds you feed it. No jams, etc. Damn thing just runs, it is a glock after all. She likes the dot and can manage to safely navigate courses of fire, which is the most important thing IMHO. If her skills keep growing, I will look at moving her up to a full house open gun in the future, once done with the Glock, I am sure I can get most of my money back by parting it out. Let me know if you need more info, I would be glad to help out. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtis108 Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 He is a big 9 yr old. The tallest in his class. I sold an open 17 a few months back in the classified section. I built it with him in mind. The tigger was a long way out there for his hands. I was thinking of the SVI short flat. His finger will reach one of these. My SV has one. I want to stay with the S_I platform. I have a couple my soon to be has a couple and I've got the parts and rig. A SS grip would be nice. Those seem to be hard to find. He is shooting Steel right now with a S&W 41 with a 7.5 inch barrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyops Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 +1 with an open Glock. SJC makes an awesome G17 package. Light weight and very easy to manage. Your young shooter can shoot 9mm major or go down to shoot minor loads with a quick change of the spring. SJC guns are just fun and always run.... Take care, -Mike Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 +1 on the EAA, specifically because of the small grip size. The weight could be an issue for him though. +2 on going with a 75 over a 1911. Perfect for smaller hands and the all steel frame is a plus (without being too heavy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 He is a big 9 yr old. The tallest in his class. I sold an open 17 a few months back in the classified section. I built it with him in mind. The tigger was a long way out there for his hands. I was thinking of the SVI short flat. His finger will reach one of these. My SV has one. I want to stay with the S_I platform. I have a couple my soon to be has a couple and I've got the parts and rig. A SS grip would be nice. Those seem to be hard to find. He is shooting Steel right now with a S&W 41 with a 7.5 inch barrel If he can handle an S&W 41, he can handle the weight of a short, lightweight Open gun if it's done right. The SVI short curved is actually shorter than the short flat if you compare them. The center of the short flat is actually even with the center of a medium curved....surprised me when I compared. I think a short gun with a cone comp (go with a Ti cone if you want to save another ounce or so) and a Serendipity should be pretty light. Have you thought about something like a Doctor or other slide mounted scope to save weight? Stick with a small magwell and maybe don't bother with big sticks and it's going to be a pretty light setup....no real need for big sticks at that age. Heck, with 9mm minor loads it should have practically zero recoil and flip so that shouldn't be much of an issue. A couple years before he finds out about girls is a very smart idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huston in Austin Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Dawson makes a mainspring housing ( MSH ) that is shorter and allows the reduction of the rear of the grip. Of course you could just chop the plastic MSH and do the rear reduction without buying a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old john Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I shot the fl. open this year with a c class 12 year old and he shot a solid c score> On our squad was E Lawson GM who builds the Keal 9 shorties> The father bought one and this month at the nationals the now 13 yr old shot in the mid 70's beating many A shooters with ease> This jr. seems to be doing very well with a 9 shortie that is light weight and runs 100%. best of luck with his new blaster> old john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bret Heidkamp Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I shot the fl. open this year with a c class 12 year old and he shot a solid c score> On our squad was E Lawson GM who builds the Keal 9 shorties> The father bought one and this month at the nationals the now 13 yr old shot in the mid 70's beating many A shooters with ease> This jr. seems to be doing very well with a 9 shortie that is light weight and runs 100%. best of luck with his new blaster> old john any links to pictures of this Keal 9 blaster? I have a jr shooter that wants to shoot open, but mostly it's just the grip size being too big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I shot the fl. open this year with a c class 12 year old and he shot a solid c score> On our squad was E Lawson GM who builds the Keal 9 shorties> The father bought one and this month at the nationals the now 13 yr old shot in the mid 70's beating many A shooters with ease> This jr. seems to be doing very well with a 9 shortie that is light weight and runs 100%. best of luck with his new blaster> old john any links to pictures of this Keal 9 blaster? I have a jr shooter that wants to shoot open, but mostly it's just the grip size being too big. The few I've seen have all been S_I based guns...nothing unconventional, but very nice. Pic of Turtle's Keal Open gun: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=761491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomasterblaster Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 started mine out with a single stack super left over from the old days. fit great and mag changes didnt affect his score at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Weidhaas Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Limcat built my son an open gun at age 11 (he is now 15) on an SV frame. It is basically a shorty with hybrid bbl and steel 3port comp. Cal is 38sc and I just loaded minor for him initially. He cut and rewelded the thumb safety so it would be easier for him to reach. He also thinned the grip. Short curved trigger. He has had no problem shooting this gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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