RE: Kids first gun
I got my first gun that I actually owned myself when I was 15. I bought it myself form weeks of lawn cutting and window washing. I still have it today. It is a Steyr Model 1903, made in 1909 and chambered in 7 X 57 and still one of the smoothest bolt actions I have ever felt. I am toying with scoping it and cutting and turning the bolt form its original configuration. At 50 I don' t shoot so good with iron sights like I did when I was 15-25.
I recieved my first gift gun when I was 16. Still have it also. It is a Stevens/Savage double barrel SXS 20 gauge. Handles 3" shells and shoots odified from the front trigger (forget which barrel that is) and full choke from the rear trigger. If i lost all my other guns today, but kept those 2, I' d still be set to hunt most anything cept the real big stuff.