Thread: Selection of caliber for new shooter(s)

To answer your question directly regarding the .22
It is perfectly adequate for rabbits and possums. If someone had to design something from scratch to shoot rabbits and possums, they would design a .22lr cartridge or something very similar. Although it is not recommended, there are plenty of people that use it on goats and even deer.
One thing to note with the .22 is that it is not allowed to be used in forest parks or national parks other than a select few areas where permits can be obtained. You can only use centrefire rifles of calibre .222 or greater. So if you do decide on a .22 you will need to know some tame landowners who will let you shoot their rabbits/possums.

Now the main thing to consider between .17 and .22 is that the .17 is much more of a specialist caliber than .22. The .22 has less range but it can do anything inside 100 yds that the .17 can do and more. Unless you only ever shoot beyond 100, then the .22 is the better option if you have to choose between the two.
Ideally its best to have both but it isn't crucial. Prior to 2003 we all lived without a .17hmr and most people coped just fine.

There are plenty of cheap 2nd hand .22 rifles around if budget is a big consideration for you then I would vote for a cheap 2nd hand .22 and a decent centrefire of what ever calibre you end up landing on.
If you make the right choice for the centrefire you are basically covered for all of the rifle shooting a beginner could hope to get involved with.
As soon as you get into any sort of real level of shooting activity at the range or on rabbits, having a .22 will save you money and pay for itself. It will save you around $2 everytime you squeeze the trigger with a live round in the chamber.

I also concur with Bill999 that with the centrefire it is better to go bigger than a .223. Last century it took me about 8 months at the age of 16 to go from only using a .22 on rabbits and possums to moving onto bigger stuff. I think that was about average for the time, at least for my peer group, but that span seems to be much shorter now. Basically what I am saying is that once you get into it, you will find that you and or your son are probably going to be looking beyond rabbits and possums much sooner than you expect.