I kinda went through the same checklist when my wife was pregnant with our first son. I was thinking a good 22, but the I figured I had plenty of 22’s around and he would shoot my stuff to start with. I ended up with an 1894 Marlin in 357. It has many positive attributes.
It can be shot with light 38’s for 2s like recoil and noise.
The carbine holds 10 rounds of 357 magnum, nothing to sneeze at for home defense.
At the time, it was newly deer rifle legal in IN.
Useful for CAS if he ever gets into that sport.
The lever action should be legal in any state he might move to in the future, even commie states.
And, of course, it’s a quality rifle that will serve him well for his whole life.
I picked it up before he was born, and then every year for his birthday and Christmas I would buy him a box of factory ammo and write the date in the end flap. Also picked up thinks like a receiver sight, sling, Lee hand loader, etc to go along with it. Now when we go shoot, we usually take mostly handloads but sometimes take a box of ammo from ‘his’ stockpile. It’s f7n to see how long it has been there waiting for him when we open it up.
It can be shot with light 38’s for 2s like recoil and noise.
The carbine holds 10 rounds of 357 magnum, nothing to sneeze at for home defense.
At the time, it was newly deer rifle legal in IN.
Useful for CAS if he ever gets into that sport.
The lever action should be legal in any state he might move to in the future, even commie states.
And, of course, it’s a quality rifle that will serve him well for his whole life.
I picked it up before he was born, and then every year for his birthday and Christmas I would buy him a box of factory ammo and write the date in the end flap. Also picked up thinks like a receiver sight, sling, Lee hand loader, etc to go along with it. Now when we go shoot, we usually take mostly handloads but sometimes take a box of ammo from ‘his’ stockpile. It’s f7n to see how long it has been there waiting for him when we open it up.