Best Youth Guns: Choosing a Firearm for Your Child

I hold the opinion that the best way to reduce firearm accidents is for parents to teach their kids firearm safety.

The abstinence method doesn’t work. Educating your children about firearm safety and teaching them to shoot is a big part of parenting.

The thing is, you can’t do that with a Mossberg 590A1 12-gauge shotgun. Most firearms are not made for children and aren’t always safe or easy to teach youth shooters.

Youth shooters require youth guns, and today, we are going to dive deep into the world of these purpose-built firearms.

We’ll cover some of our favorite picks, as well as how to choose a firearm for your young shooter. So, let’s dive in!

THE QUICK LIST

1. Best Youth Shotgun

   Mossberg 510 Mini Super Bantam All Purpose .410

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2. Best For Very Young Shooters

   Savage Arms Rascal

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3. Best Beginner Semi-Auto

   Ruger 10/22 Compact

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4. Best Youth Handgun

   Sig Sauer P322

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5. Best Beginner Revolver

   Heritage Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy

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6. Best Centerfire Bolt-Action

   Ruger American Gen II .223 Rem

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7. Best All-Purpose Rifle

   Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport III

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Best Youth Guns Comparison Chart

	Action	Caliber	Capacity	Barrel Length	Overall Length	Weight	Length of Pull	Price
Mossberg 510 Mini SB All-Purpose	Pump-action	.410 gauge	2+1	18.5″	34.75″	5 lbs	10.5″-11.5″	$401
Savage Rascal	Bolt-action	.22LR	1	16.13″	30.63″	2.71 lbs	11.25″	$153
Ruger 10/22 Compact	Semi-auto	.22LR	10	16.12″	34″	4.4 lbs	12.5″	$273
Sig Sauer P322	Semi-auto	.22LR	20	4″	7″	17.1 oz.	N/A	$399
Heritage Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy	Single-action only	.22LR	6	6.5″	11.78″	33.4 oz.	N/A	$175
Ruger American Gen II	Bolt-action	.223 Rem	10	20″	41.25″	6.5 lbs	12″ – 13.75″	$519
S&W M&P 15 Sport III	Semi-auto, direct-impingement	5.56 NATO	30	16″	35″	6.5 lbs	10.5″ – 13.8″	$699

Best Youth Guns

1. Mossberg 510 Mini Super Bantam All-Purpose .410 – Best Youth Shotgun

Specs:

• Action: Pump-action
• Caliber: .410 gauge
• Capacity: 2+1
• Barrel Length: 18.5″
• Overall Length: 34.75″
• Weight: 5 lbs
• Length of Pull: 10.5″-11.5″
• Country of Origin: USA

For a long time, there was a distinct lack of .410 pump guns on the market. Mossberg has now fixed that problem.

The Mossberg 510 Mini Super Bantam offers youth-ready shotguns in youth-friendly calibers, with the small .410 offering being a great way to get youth into shotguns.

It has minimal recoil but can also be an effective small and medium-game hunting weapon. Trap and skeet are options, but the small spread of .410 means you must be a great shot to make it work.

Birdshot rounds are extremely soft-shooting, and slugs are easily manageable. You can even use five-pellet, 3-inch 000 buckshot to take medium game at close distances, but it has hardly any recoil despite being the most powerful round you can get for it.

The Mossberg 510 Mini Super Bantam is a very simple pump-action shotgun. The manual action helps ensure a reinforced degree of safety for follow-up shots, which you won’t get with a semi-auto shotgun. Working the action can be a visual and audio cue for a supervisor when the user is ready to shoot.

The Mini Super Bantam weighs five pounds, making it very lightweight. It features an adjustable length of pull that utilizes a 1-inch spacer to expand the length of pull. The standard LOP is only 10.5 inches, making it very comfortable for youth and smaller shooters.

As the shooter gets bigger and possibly outgrows the 11.5-inch LOP, they can swap the stock for a standard 500 model and get a longer length of pull.

The Mossberg 500/510 series has never been fancy, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s reliable, accurate, and well-suited for youth shooters. It’s a great way to get into shotguns, and it’s also affordable.

2. Savage Rascal – Best For Very Young Shooters

Specs:

• Action: Bolt-action
• Caliber: .22LR
• Capacity: 1
• Barrel Length: 16.13″
• Overall Length: 30.63″
• Weight: 2.71 lbs
• Length of Pull: 11.25″
• Country of Origin: USA

When my youngest asked for a rifle, I immediately went and got him one. I try to nurture any urge to shoot, so I looked at a variety of small .22LR rifles and settled on the Savage Rascal.

The Savage Rascal is about as simple as a gun can get. It’s a single-shot, bolt-action design that completely lacks any form of magazine.

The user must manually load each round. It comes with a fairly standard set of iron Sights and a generous peep sight—a smart move since little eyes might have trouble with tight peep Sights.

The Rascal is optics-capable, but you’ll need to purchase some form of mount, rings, and an optic. There is a small aftermarket that provides rails for red dots, which is the best option for younger shooters.

The Rascal has a short 11.25-inch pull and weighs only 2.5 pounds. It’s micro-sized and well-suited for younger shooters. The gun still has a 16-inch barrel, but it seems so bloody small. It’s too short for me but perfect for the kiddos.

We’ve shot this thing an absolute ton at home, and it’s a lot of fun. The single-shot nature makes these new shooters take their time, and it is very easy to clear the gun. There is very little to go wrong, and it is very reliable.

Accuracy—well, it’s nothing to brag about, but it’s good enough for the short ranges a new shooter will be blasting away at. It’s certainly minute of Coke can accurate.

The Savage Rascal has very little recoil and is the perfect starter option for shooters who might be scared of guns. It ushers young shooters in without recoil, concussion, or even all that much noise (you still need ear pro, though).

The Rascal is a great choice for introducing kids to shooting.

3. Ruger 10/22 Compact – Best Beginner Semi-Auto

Specs:

• Action: Semi-auto
• Caliber: .22LR
• Capacity: 10
• Barrel Length: 16.12″
• Overall Length: 34″
• Weight: 4.4 lbs
• Length of Pull: 12.5″
• Country of Origin: USA

The Ruger 10/22 is a classic American rimfire firearm. It’s likely the single most produced rimfire rifle, with millions manufactured. As a kid, I grew up shooting a 10/22, and it sharpened a lot of my skills.

The Ruger 10/22 Compact is a great rifle for a young shooter with little experience. It’s a semi-auto design, and it’s a rifle you can count on. The 10/22’s blowback action isn’t fancy, but it’s reliable and capable.

They don’t tend to be super ammo-picky, and mine even runs subsonic ammo reliably. The Ruger 10/22 is a fantastic option for getting a kiddo into competition shooting. It’s perfect for something like the National Rimfire League or Steel Challenge.

It is also available in various sizes and weights. You can find models built for smaller shooters, as well as models designed for adults. If it doesn’t fit, don’t worry; these guns are easy to upgrade and modify.

The Ruger 10/22’s popularity has opened up a massive aftermarket, and it’s easily upgradeable. If you want your kids to stay away from drugs, get them into upgrading firearms. They’ll never have the money to buy drugs.

You can easily add optics and change stocks, controls, and triggers to create a tuned-up rifle that excels in accuracy, speed, or other areas.

These rifles are also excellent options for small game hunting, such as taking rabbits, squirrels, and other pests.

The Ruger 10/22 is a forever rifle, a gun you can buy for the youth shooter in your life, and a gun they can grow up with.

4. Sig Sauer P322 – Best Youth Handgun

Specs:

• Action: Semi-auto
• Caliber: .22LR
• Capacity: 20
• Barrel Length: 4″
• Overall Length: 7″
• Weight: 17.1 oz.
• Country of Origin: USA

The Sig P322 is a semi-automatic .22LR handgun that incorporates all the features of modern handguns.

It’s got a rail, a 20-round magazine, and it’s optics-ready. The P322 looks and feels like the modern P365 series of guns but has all the benefits of a .22LR firearm, namely, very little recoil.

The grip is very thin, which makes it easy for younger shooters to grasp. The slide takes almost no effort to operate, and the gun has ambidextrous controls. Sig included a threaded barrel, so equipping a suppressor is easy.

Features like a manual safety are a nice touch, especially for new shooters, and the ability to add a red dot can be massively beneficial.

Teaching a kid to put a red dot on the target and pull the trigger is much easier than aligning iron sights. I taught my son originally on irons, but when we switched to a dot, he mentioned that it felt like cheating.

Regarding handguns, I taught my oldest with the Sig P322. He pursued the NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program and shot the P322 to get his Pro-Marksman Qualification.

The P322 does require a bit of cleaning to keep running, but maintenance can be a valuable skill for new shooters to learn. Other than that, the P322 is a great semi-auto handgun. It’s just the right size and shape for a solid gun for young shooters with more experience.

Check out our full review of the Sig P322!

5. Heritage Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy – Best Beginner Revolver

Specs:

• Action: Single-action only
• Caliber: .22LR
• Capacity: 6
• Barrel Length: 6.5″
• Overall Length: 11.78″
• Weight: 33.4 oz.
• Country of Origin: USA

If you have a shooter who’s completely new to guns, the Heritage Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy is the way to go.

I picked the Tactical Cowboy over the others simply because it has a rail for optics. Attaching a red dot makes the gun super easy to aim and shoot for less skilled shooters.

The Rough Rider series is a line of single-action .22LR revolvers. They require the shooter to manually cock the hammer between every shot. This slows the shooter down and adds an extra degree of safety.

Speaking of safety, this is one of the few revolvers that features an actual safety. The manual safety is located just behind the cylinder and blocks the hammer.

Being chambered in .22LR ensures there is almost no noticeable recoil. It’s fun and soft-shooting. It’s slow to reload and clear, but a little patience at the range is never a bad thing.

The Heritage’s plow-style grip means it’ll fit basically any hand. This classic revolver-style grip is a great option for shooters with smaller hands.

As a revolver, the Heritage allows you to load various rounds that won’t always function in a semi-auto. This includes CB cap rounds, subsonic loads, and more. Heritage also offers a .22 Magnum cylinder for $30 with free shipping, if you want to spice things up a bit while still keeping everything fun.

The Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy is also very affordable, and it’s not a gun you’ll grow out of. It’s always fun to play rimfire cowboy.

6. Ruger American Gen II .223 – Best Centerfire Bolt-Action

Specs:

• Action: Bolt-action
• Caliber: .223 Rem
• Capacity: 10
• Barrel Length: 20″
• Overall Length: 41.25″
• Weight: 6.5 lb.
• Length of Pull: 12″ – 13.75″
• Country of Origin: USA

Let’s move out of rimfire and talk about guns well suited for youth shooters with a little experience under their belt.

When stepping up to centerfire rounds, you likely want to stick to intermediate cartridges. These cartridges are powerful enough to hunt deer but light-recoiling enough so a youthful shooter isn’t getting beaten up.

The Ruger American Gen II in .223 Remington provides a low-recoil option in a bolt-action format.

This rifle features an adjustable length of pull, with the shortest setting at 12 inches, making it easy for shorter shooters to shoulder comfortably. It is also fairly lightweight and easy to hold up and on target.

An included Picatinny mount makes mounting optics easy. They also have a radial muzzle brake, which helps tame the already low .223 recoil even more. An excellent trigger also promotes good fundamentals and encourages accuracy. Bonus – it also takes standard AR-15 magazines!

If hunting is a consideration, .223 carries enough energy to ethically take deer with the right projectile selection. Outside of deer, it is easy money for hogs, coyotes, and other small to medium-sized game and predators. Be sure to check your local laws regarding minimum caliber restrictions.

If you’re searching for an accurate and affordable rifle or a beginner youth hunting rifle, the Ruger American series is a fantastic multi-purpose rifle.

7. S&W M&P Sport III – Best All-Purpose Rifle

Specs:

• Action: Semi-auto, direct-impingement
• Caliber: 5.56 NATO
• Capacity: 30
• Barrel Length: 16″
• Overall Length: 35″
• Weight: 6.5 lbs
• Length of Pull: 10.5″ – 13.8″
• Country of Origin: USA

Last, and perhaps the most controversial option, is the S&W M&P Sport III. You could stick any AR carbine in this slot, but the Sport III is a very common, budget-friendly AR option.

AR-15s are excellent options for younger shooters who have at least some experience. As shooters enter their teens, the AR platform becomes increasingly appealing.

Its feature set makes it an outstanding rifle for most purposes. Youth shooters can compete, hunt, or just plink with an AR-15.

The Sport III is a lightweight rifle with minimal recoil, making it safe and easy to control. It is also known for being quite accurate.

They also feature collapsible stocks, which make it easy to adjust the LOP depending on the size of the shooter. It’s also easy to add optics or iron sights.

On the M&P III, we get an M-LOK rail, which provides a good surface to bench rest the gun on. You can also mount bipods and numerous other accessories on the rail.

The AR-15 platform is ultra-popular with an inherently modular design. The aftermarket is humongous, and the options for customization are nearly infinite.

While an AR seems like a higher-level weapon, I think most younger shooters would easily take to it due to its awesome ergonomics, good accuracy, low recoil, and user-configurable design. A reasonable price of entry also makes it an appealing option.

Be sure to take a look at our full hands-on review and video!

How To Pick a Gun For Your Youth

Anytime you choose a firearm, you need to examine its purpose. Our main purpose is to find a firearm that your child can safely fire. With that in mind, you must examine what kind of shooting your little fella or lady will conduct.

Do you just want to teach them the basics of shooting? Or do you want to get them into a specific shooting style or hobby?

If you want to teach them how to hunt or shoot clay pigeons, then you have a specific task in mind and should shop around that task.

It’s possible to achieve both with one gun, but to me, it’s easier to separate niche skills from basic firearms training.

For specific tasks, you need to find a firearm adequate to that task and a firearm you can use to train a new shooter. Shooting clay pigeons requires a shotgun, but before kiddos can start shooting clay pigeons, they have to learn the basic functions of the firearm, firearms safety, etc.

Features To Look For

When it comes to features and design, we need to focus on the weight and length of a firearm. It needs to match your young shooter.

Kids come in all sorts of sizes. My 13-year-old is six feet one inch tall, and my 10-year-old hasn’t broken five feet yet. They are both youth shooters, but they have different needs.

One of the most important measurements to consider is the length of pull (LOP). The length of pull is measured from the rear of the trigger to the end of the stock. Most adults use a length of pull between 12.5 and 14 inches, depending on the firearm.

We likely want a shorter length of pull for youth shooters. Something between 10 and 12 inches usually fits most youth shooters. Adjustable length of pulls is a great feature to fit multiple shooters and to allow the gun to “grow” with the shooter.

Weight can be another feature you need to pay attention to. The firearm needs to be light enough to allow a younger shooter to hold the gun up safely and surely. Even if the young shooter can hold the gun, it might still be too heavy.

If the gun causes them to lean too far rearward to support it, it’s too heavy. If they can’t get a good Sight picture because they are wrestling with the gun, it’s too heavy.

I’m a firm believer that youth shooters can greatly benefit from an optics-ready platform. There is an army of people who say irons first, but we don’t learn to swim with handcuffs on, so why learn to shoot handicapped? Doing something the hard way doesn’t make it the better way.

Optics allow new shooters to succeed at a higher rate. If youth shooters succeed and get the satisfaction of hitting the target, they are more likely to continue shooting. You don’t want shooting to be a frustrating chore; it should primarily be safe, fun, and educational.

Finally, for the youngest new shooters, consider a single-shot or manual-action firearm. This comes with a greater degree of inherent safety and helps prevent a spray-and-pray mindset. A bolt-action rifle helps encourage new shooters to take their time and work on the fundamentals.

Meet the Experts

Pew Pew Tactical author Travis Pike wrote this article. Travis spent a lifetime shooting as a kid and later joined the United States Marine Corps, where he spent five years as an infantryman. He is also an NRA-certified instructor and concealed carry instructor. Additionally, Travis has thousands of articles to his name with a variety of publications and has tested countless guns, optics, and other firearm accessories.

Editing and adding to this article is Pew Pew Tactical Editor, Wyatt Sloan. Wyatt is an NRA-certified instructor with previous experience in competitive shooting, long-range shooting, and hunting. Wyatt personally owns over 200 firearms, many of which have optics, and has 10 years of home-based FFL firearm sales.

Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings runs our experienced team of reviewers. She is a National Rifle Association Basic Pistol Instructor as well as a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Jacki has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years. With 2,000+ articles to her name, she uses her professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards for Pew Pew Tactical.

Final Thoughts

Every kid is different, and they each have different needs. Luckily, there is a wide availability of quality youth firearms these days.

Our list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to youth guns. Only you can truly choose the best rifle for your young ones. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is teaching them how to properly and safely handle a firearm, regardless of what they are shooting.

Are there any guns you’d like to see on this list? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to check out our list of the Best .22LR Rifles for more fun and easy-to-shoot guns!