[BLUNTTrauma72]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ -zing!

[Jeff56]

Except none of that stuff is really necessary on a $100 gun.

Shessh there's one in every crowd. How about you let the OP decide whether an upgrade is worthwhile? Yeah people never spend more than $100 on a rifle as we all know. Big Shrek was talking about upgrades and how the Marlins didn't need many of them. I agreed with him that the DIP trigger was worth the investment. By your logic none of us should ever spend more than $100 for any rifle because that's obviously all it takes to build one. Marlin proved that. Anyone who spends more than that must be spending money on unnecessary stuff, right?

-zing!

More cat calls from the cheap seats.

[therewolf]

FWIW, I would let the youngster be a part of the selection process.

There are so many fine tube-fed, and mag fed semis out there, all I can say

is be sure you get a good brand name you trust.

If the 12 Y.O. involved prefers accuracy to speed, there are few nice

tube-fed bolties, also. I would be more concerned about proper trigger pull

(a little long would be better, to allow for future growth) than specific

brand names. YMMV, best of luck.

[Jeff56]

Good advice therewolf but I would make sure the kid knows which rifles will last a lifetime and which ones won't. I know that can't be predicted perfectly but some rifles are better made than others. That used to be more true than it is now but there is still something to it. For example a CZ is likely going to outlast a Mossberg. Both are fine rifles. One is just made to last longer. But cheaper doesn't mean less quality. One of the oldest rifles I have was a very cheap rifle. It was a single shot .22 Stevens. It has very few moving parts and a nice hardwood stock so there's very little to go wrong with it. I expect that rifle to be around when I'm taking a dirt nap and it was made before I was.

[Rick1967]

My son just turned 13 a couple of days ago. I gave him my old 10/22 a couple of years ago. He loves it. The cool thing about the 10/22 is the ability to customize it. You can start out with the plain jane model for about $200-$250. But then as time goes on let him make changes that he wants. My son has a folding stock, a bipod, and a 25 roung mag on his.