Our son was graced with a CO2 operated air rifle when he was nine or
ten, can't remember the brand but it was .22 caliber and was a
humdinger. He brought back lots of wild Rock pigeons and squirrels from
his hunting jaunts and also a pheasant once. What the heck a pheasant
was doing running around in a cow pasture in SE Texas I don't know. He
moved up to a regular .22 rifle when he was fourteen and got his first
deer rifle, at fifteen. I think it was a 6mm Remington, daughter's first
deer rifle was a .250 Roberts built on a Mauser frame with a store
bought barrel. I built both the deer rifles for them in my gun shop.
Alas, after they grew up they've never hunted again and I sold their
rifles for them. Seems they liked the money more than the rifles.

I got my first .22 rifle at age 5. A Winchester 1906 pump gun, could use
shorts, longs, and long rifles in it. Gave it to son when he went off to
college and sure as shooting, someone hit the trailer he was renting and
took that rifle and his Remington pump shotgun, not to mention his TV,
stereo and even a good bit of his clothing. That .22 was a really nice
gun. When I came home from the Navy in 1960 I finally plugged the barrel
at the back end, poured it full of mercury, then plugged the muzzle. Let
it sit a week and then poured out the mercury and all the lead that had
stayed in there for years and years. Sure did shoot better after that.

George