Which .22 for a child?

I have three boys - 9, 6, and 3. I have slowly worked the 9-year-old up from a BB gun to a .22, and he now shoots a youth .223 pretty well.

When it was time to buy his first .22, I bought a Ruger American Rimfire Compact. I really like this gun, in large part because it has the replaceable stock modules. You can adjust the LOP (I believe 12.5" or 13.5") and also the comb height. We settled on the high comb, 12.5" module and it works extremely well for him.

Once you have a gun that fits, I want to echo the poster above who said that what you shoot matters a lot. Punching holes in paper was very boring for my son. But he really likes shooting cans, bottles, and metal spinners. I bought a spinning target for about $25 and it was some of the best money I have ever spent.
 
The extra money for a CZ is well spent, but the LOP on the scout is only barely shorter than the trainer stock.
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That's right, but check out one before you dismiss it.

If it's only about teaching her to shoot for a few years while she's little, then something like the smallish Cricket would work for that purpose until she outgrew it. With the Scout's semi-adult LOP, she could continue shooting it comfortably as she grew in her teens and young adult years.

I guess it depends on whether you see teaching her to shoot a .22 rimfire as a temporary "kid thing" she'll eventually get bored with, or as a lifetime hobby/sport that she'll enjoy and want to continue with as the years go on.

I started shooting my dad's single-shot .22 Remington at about 8 or 9, and still enjoy a day at the range a couple times a month with one of my 22s and a brick of ammo - except when it's squirrel season, because then I'm out hunting with one.
 
Henry Lever Youth. I'm telling ya, working that action is half the fun and something they won't get bored with for years to come.

When I was 6, Mom (reluctantly) bought me a Red Ryder bb gun. I wore that thing out and somehow even managed to fire it like The Rifleman, holding the trigger back while racking it.:eek:

I notice kids shooting single shot and bolt guns at the range, and frankly you can tell they want something more entertaining after a half hour.
 
My 3 boys had a very nice cricket. I rigged up a leather chord for them to cook it with ol cold days. When my daughter turned 3 she was begging for her own. So we did our homework and came home with a pink savage rascal. Imo it's a far safer and easier to use gun than the cricket. She still shoots it occasionally but they are on the ar bandwagon now.
 
agtman said:
That's right, but check [the CZ] out one before you dismiss it.
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Fair enough. I'll try to find one to have her handle.

I would like it to be small enough to allow her to use a bladed standing position, balancing the rifle forward of the trigger guard, resting her elbow against her abdomen.

boogershooter said:
...savage rascal. Imo it's a far safer and easier to use gun than the cricket.
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Indeed. If the point is to teach her to enjoy marksmanship, I wouldn't want the rifle to have traits, like a heavy trigger, that would frustrate her. An item with a normal functioning safety seems a better choice than a pulled plunger striker arrangement seems better for teaching basics.
 
My daughter was 10 when I bought her a sr22 rifle (10/22) and it has worked out great. The key as many have mentioned is supervision. I spent (and still do) a lot of time with her loading single shots. Learning to use the safety, empty rounds manually, load singles with and without the mag, etc. ... I usually end a session with a full mag and let her fire them however she wants. Makes it fun. Giving them reactive targets is also a blast. Cans that fall over, clay pigions, shotgun hulls, etc. If no one is on the clay range we will walk that before we start and pickup any unbroken clays for use on the plinking range.
 
Just an update:

We attended a show this weekend. There was not a single Savage Rascal to be found, which is what I was really there to have her handle and get. also no CZ youth rifles. We did get a Ruger American Rimfire compact. Though the LOP was a bit much as 12.5 inches, she liked the front fiber optic.

Four observations:

1. For about $20 a longer stock insert converts the LOP to 13+ inches.
2. The bluing is impressive.
3. It has the same closing effort as a new CZ, which is to say more than is optimal for a child. I am having her push the bolt forward then slap it downward.
4. The trigger is amazing right out of the box.
 
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My father-in-law gave my wife a 10/22 about forty years ago when she was a child. All these years later I have a blast with it and Butler Creek and Ruger extended mags. And it's still a very solid tool and weapon, so maybe think ahead.
 
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