It depends on the kid of course. If your child is safely competent with a long gun, then try them with a 22 pistol. Stay in close contact with them initially and make sure they maintain safe muzzle control. It is so easy for a new shooter to forget how easy it is to point the muzzle of a pistol in an unsafe direction.
My twins both started shooting my Woodsman at about age 7 after starting on a single shot 22 rifle. They are now 16 and good pistol shots. One of them really enjoys shooting and has no trouble with any handgun up to 44 magnum. (He learned to field strip my 1911 by age 8 and knows all about JMB
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