How about a quality air rifle instead? My father taught me sight alignment, trigger control and proper breathing with a high quality air rifle. I was able to practice in the backyard using a pellet trap, allowing me to shoot much more frequently. (Incidentally, the birds somehow learned not to alight on our neighbors' rooftops. :rolleyes: )

When it came time to begin hunting, he bought me a scaled down .50 muzzleloader, which I intend to pass on to my kids. That choice forced me to learn to stalk properly to within fairly short range (unlike my hunting friends who still can't hit anything without a scope) and really drove home the "one shot, one kill" ethos.

But then again, I'm just an Okie...

Oops, just read that you were looking for a rifle.

You might consider getting a surplus .22 target rifle from the CMP. You would need to join an affiliated club and have some proof of marksmanship participation. All the details are on the site. Our club has purchased several of the Kimber and H&R .22 target rifles for use in our Smallbore Marksmanship Program.

I personally recommend the CZ rifles for general use. They offer a "Scout" model that is scaled down for smaller shooters, and they also offer a "Trainer" version that has a longer barrel (24 inch I think) and has a full size stock. All of the CZ rifles that I have handled have been quite nice looking and have been very well built especially considering the price. If I am not mistaken, they run between $150 and $350. I also recommend the Browning Lever action .22 (BL-22) I personally have one and AM has one that I have carried untold miles and shot everything through with no malfunctions a pocket knife couldn't fix. The Brownings run about $300+, $300 being entry level, plain rifle and + being engraved, gold inlaid etc, etc.

The only problem with an air rifle in this country is that in order to get a good quality rifle, you will spend at least as much $ as a good .22, probably more. That being said, all the investment is up front, as pellets and compressed air are quite cheap.

In my experience, the CMP .22 rifles are very nice for the smallbore shooting they were designed for, but if I recall correctly, they are rather expensive for what they are. IMO anyway.

I would recommend staying away from a semi auto for a first gun, as they allow for near instant follow up shots. While I am a fan of instant follow up shots for some uses, basic marksmanship is not one of them. A bolt or lever gun will do everything you need one to do. Maybe go with a 10/22 later, just to play with and hang crap off of.

For what it's worth, I started with a little Beretta Tomcat/jetfire/bobcat/ whatever the hell they call their little pocket pistol with the flip up barrel chambered in .22.

Good luck, Sing out if I can help in some way.

Air.177,
how about Gamo rifles? They are well made (rather accurate and I practiced with one to save $ on ammo) and modeled after hunting rifles.
The spring (lever) model has more recoil than my friend Ruger .22
I think they are excellent for basic exercise (B.R.A.S. etc.) and rather cheap (<$250), not to mention the cheap pellets as you said.

I am not a great fan of ANY break-barrel air rifle, as in my experience, they never seem to close exactly the same way twice, causing the sights to be lined up differently and hindering accuracy. That's my take on them anyway. And concerning Gamo, The store I work for used to sell them and had TONS of returns and eventually droped the line because of this. Granted, the ones we carried were around $100, I was not impressed. For air rifles, I was referring to a side lever Pneumatic or a precharged compressed air rifles, both of which tend to be more money than your average .22. Also, any of the air rifles mentioned is going to be significantly louder than a .22 with CB caps or Colibris, for the "Raccoon" end of things.

Once again, the opinions stated above are those of the author and feel free to disagree with any or all of them.

Good times,
blake

Basic .22
 

Look over the Marlin Model 39 lever action. These guns are phenomenally accurate and reliable. Lever action lets you control the tike's rate of fire better than with a 10/22.

That pellet trap and smaller bullseyes worked great in the garage on ice storm days. :munchin Reminds the supervisor to stress muzzle direction too! Note on .50 muzzleloader: Nothing is more addicting than the smell of blackpowder smoke for hooking someone on hunting. :D

But then again, I'm just a Dad.