My father started me out with a .177 cal air rifle.
He set up a 15 yard range in the basement.
After I got the hang of that, he took me to the range to shoot his .45 Auto M-1911.
That did not work out too well at first.
Then he gave me the opportunity to shoot an M-14 when I was 12 years old. That was pure enjoyment.
I did not own a .22 cal rifle or pistol until I was an adult on my own.
In hindsight,
It is best to start off with a rifle or air gun of small caliber, then slowly work up the scale of rifle calibers before introducing a youngster to hand guns.
Check with your local ranges. There is one here in the DFW (www.ShootSmartTX.COM) area that is having junior leagues for that age group. The range gives instruction on shooting, supplies the gun (several variations/models), and stresses safety. They are running two sets, one on Mondays during the day and one on late Sunday afternoons. This would give you and your son some different guns to pick one that both of you can enjoy together. If you live in the country and have enough land to safety use a long gun that might be the best starting place, however, if you need to go to a range to shoot get a 22LR handgun as the first gun. I see lots of people doing shooting with their young sons and daughters, lots of time doing game shooting (like BattleShip). It is nice to see.
Thanks for the link! I went ahead and ordered the "Archangel" its very inexpensive. It will be a good starter gun for him, and Im sure he will out grow it in about a month.......