First rifle for children

A CZ 452 Scout would be an awesome choice and for some very close supervision plinking fun get this short stocked version of the Taurus 62 as well. Mom and Dad can scrunch up a little on the short stock and have some fun too. The only problem I have had with the Taurus 62 is the fact that I often look down at the bench and find that all of my ammo is gone :rolleyes:

Taurus62-5.jpg
 
browning

when I was a kid, my dad had numerous 22 rifles, and I liked shooting most of them. My favorite was a browning lever rifle. It had a 4-power scope, and it was really accurate. He also had a winchester 22 lever and it was not as accurate as the browning. He also had a savage 22 lever (notice the patern here.... my dad loved lever guns !)... I always thought the savage was ugly, and I didn't like shooting it. but it was accurate and my dad liked it (it was really old).

He also had some bolt action 22 rifles which I just hated. I could never get them to work right without jaming, or bending the clip.

I would look for a nice 22 lever gun... I think kids naturally understand the operation, and it is safer (in my opinion) for a kid because you can see the hammer. I taught both my kids to shoot with a lever rifle.

The single shot HR rifles in one of the earlier photos would also be a good gun for kids. But shooting has to be fun for a kid, and I would worry about keeping the kids interest with a single shot rifle.
 
the cz 452 in the photo, does it work like a shotgun? what i am asking is do you pump it like a shotgun to chamber the next bullet? I have never heard of a pump action rifle before. If that is what it is, wow. that is a great idea for a 22 rifle.
 
Deena,

The photo in sheffieldshooter's post is a Taurus 62. Yep, it works just like a pump shotgun and has a tube magazine. Used to be, these were gallery rifles used at county and state fair shooting galleries (how times have changed!) for people to attempt to win prizes. Different manufacturers then, though.
 
I really like simple bolt action rifles for kids - preferably single-shot. The reason is that the kid becomes intricately aware of what a cartridge is, how it feeds into the chamber, and what comes out of the chamber when ejected, what comes out of the muzzle, etc.
 
I'm thinking about a Marlin XT-22YSR youth rifle for my son this Christmas. It is a newer offering from Marlin. It has an adjustable trigger and I believe you can also make it a single shot rifle. It looks like a winner to me! Good luck in your search!

MarlinXT-22YSR4.jpg
 
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I bought my son a Rossi. It has barrels one is 22lr and one is 410ga single shot. That way thhe could have both to try.
 
I really like simple bolt action rifles for kids - preferably single-shot. The reason is that the kid becomes intricately aware of what a cartridge is, how it feeds into the chamber, and what comes out of the chamber when ejected, what comes out of the muzzle, etc.
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I'm in total agreement with this,,,
Except it wouldn't have to be a bolt action.

I absolutely love the H&R .22 Sportster,,,
It's a break-open action rifle available in a short stock version.

I read where a lot of fathers say their kids get bored with a single-shot rifle,,,
So they bought them a Ruger 10/22, a Marlin 60, or some other autoloader.

I find this rather saddening,,,
And it's certainly their choice on what to do,,,
I just believe that if a kid gets bored I'm not going to "cave in" and get him a semi-auto.

In my circle of friends who have families, I'm the "gun guy",,,
I'll take any parent/child to my club and let them shoot my rifles & pistols,,,
But the one thing I do not do is let the young kids start out shooting a semi-auto rifle.

They all want to shoot fast and furiously,,,
And I'm no curmudgeon who doesn't want them to have any fun,,,
But I don't start them on a semi, I keep them on a single-shot until they can hit something.

It might help that I'm also shooting a single-shot alongside them.

To those folk who say "Why waste the money on a single-shot when I'm going to get them a semi-auto later on?"

I reply, what's wrong with having two rifles?,,,
You can always peddle it to another young shooter's dad,,,
Or you can keep it so when they grow up you have a rifle ready for the grandkid.

Just my humble opinion,,,

Aarond
 
Hello tony101,,,

That Rossi is almost identical to the H&R I like so much.

My cousin's girlfriends son has one of those combo's,,,
When I go visit my dad (they live on his property) I take my H&R,,,
Me and the kid go out back and pop a few boxes of whatever cheap ammo I can find.

My Dad made a spring-thingie that throws a clay pigeon straight up in the air,,,
He's gotten fairly good at hitting them with the 410,,,
Unfortunately 410 is getting to be expensive.

All in all,,,
That .22/410 combo is a great set for a kid.

You chose wisely Grasshopper. ;)

Aarond
 
The CZ is a nice little rifle but I like the look of these 4 different Marlin youth rifles. I would only get a bolt action as a first rifle until they learn some basic firearm saftey, shooting form (to help with accuracy) ect.
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/xt/XTY.asp

Savage and stevens also make a number of nice little rifles and like the
arlin most can be had for around or a little under $200. I also like the idea of Stainless Steel for a first rifle.
 
This is me with the 22 bolt action single shot rifle I got for my 6th birthday in 1932 - it was tradition -

Jackatage6WhitmanNE.jpg


I tried for years to like bolt action but never was really fond of it. I also didn't like semi-auto rifles - my preference was (and is) lever action - second shot available but not loaded in chamber unless you do something to load it. My second rifle was a Winchester 94 (well used) in 32 special - loved it. Never felt comfortable to shoot at coyotes with the 22 - which I felt was not up to the job.
 
Any inexpensive bolt action .22 LR.

My first was when I "took over" my dad's Marlin Model 60 semi-auto, although he insisted that I also practice some with his old Targetmaster single shot bolt action .22 LR, which blew the Marlin out of the water in terms of accuracy, and made me think about the value of each shot rather than rapid fire.
 
My wife is going to be the final decision maker on this side of the fence (handguns are my job) but I am definitely agreed that both safety and good habit forming behavior are leading us to a bolt action.

We've looked at all of the options at least on paper, but haven't been to the store yet to actually comparison shop between the top contenders. At the moment the Cricket is taking lead both because of price and weight/size. Most all of the others are far heaver and all but a few are longer, and that's been an issue for both kids at the .22 shoots so far. While my daughter is stubborn enough to push her way past these issues if she wanted, my son is more likely to give up if things get too frustrating for him.

The weight is the main issue, as I know we could cut down stocks if necessary for length. It's hard to beat the 2.5 lbs of the youth model Cricket. In fact, I'm not sure any of the others come anywhere close.

Given that (A) we really want to make trips to the range an enjoyable expience and (B) if they are not, we'd prefer not to be out any more money than necessary, I think it's still pretty much settled that the first two will be a pair of Crickets. After that, who knows. We've definitely got a much better list for future research thanks to the folks who have responded so far, and they are going to grow out of these soon enough.

We're probably within a month of the purchase, and I'll post here whist we finally decide and what the results were after the first trip. Thanks to everyone who replied with advice and ideas!
 
My kiddoes get their first rifle at age 8, to take 4-H Shooting Sports (.22 rimfire rifle) with.... they pick their own rifle, and pay their own money (Birthday/Christmas/etc.) ...... the only requirements are that it must be a single shot .22 ........

2 have chosen a Marlin 15Y, one a Savage Cub, and the latest choice was a Marlin 15ys (stainless, fiber-optic sighted version) .......

Of the 4 guns, I like the Savage Cub (longer sight radius, ghost ring sight).... but it was not my choice.......

One point of advice: if you have multiple children, a single shot requirement is a good idea: 4 kids with single shots and reactive targets can burn through a brick of bulk .22 at alarming speed....... and even 2 kids with single shots are more than enough to occupy the full attention of a single adult ...... give them all 10/22's and you are asking for trouble .......
 
A 5.5 pound USGI M1 Carbine might be worth a look. The .30 Carbine round is very mild. The carbine is not an overwhelming long gun for children to shoot. I give one to my grandsons on their 10th birthday.
 
I think it's still pretty much settled that the first two will be a pair of Crickets. After that, who knows.
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You chose wisely Grasshopper,,,
Those Crickets will do you just fine,,,
More expensive doesn't always mean better.

Aarond
 
Just wanted to resurrect this thread with an update. We purchased our first Cricket last week. We actually found a Walmart that stocked them that wasn't too far away, and while the process wasn't perhaps as smooth as a dedicated gun store, it wasn't as bad as I'd read either. Certainly worth the $30 we saved from the next closed competitor, and we're likely to go back in a few months for a 10/22 Compact.

We got to take the rifle to the range on Saturday and I was quite impressed. Neither of the kids fired it all that much, but they'd also just come off 2 hours of pellet shooting indoors, so were kind of fatigued in general.

As an aside, they were using Crossman CO2 rifles at the pellet shoot, and seeing them wavering (even when seated) trying to steady those 4 pound rifles and having to sometimes double up fingers in the trigger (only after permission was given by the range master) just to fire the darn things makes me really glad we started with the Cricket and not one of the other heavier options. They will get stronger quickly I'm sure, but it's really nice to have a rifle that has no frustrations to load, lift, or fire when first starting out.

After they were done shooting, my wife (completely new shooter) took a turn while the kids and I wandered around the empty shooting bays collecting brass and exploring the range (this was our first family trip as members). We came back to find a ragged 3" hole where the center of the target used to be, and a couple of hundred more cases on the ground. I think she liked it. :-)

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase. It's an accurate little rifle given the price, well made and easy for anyone in the family to operate and carry. My daughter I think will outgrow it in short order though, so I expect that instead of getting a second one, we'll look at some of the larger options discussed above, if not jump right to the 10/22.

My son was a bit less enthusiastic, but he was also more tired after the CO2 shoot, and more interested in firing my Mosquito. Given how inherently unsafe that was, even with single rounds loaded in the magazine, I've probably moved up plans to buy them a Bearcat for handgun practice as well, but that's for another thread.

Now I think I'm going to go back and read over some of the suggestions here and start building a list of options for our second rifle, so that when budget allows, we have a good list of options.
 
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