.22 "youth" rifles

[durango]

I'm looking forward to getting my 2 daughters involved in shooting and am considering buying a .22 rifle specifically for that purpose. I remember my first shooting experience was a bolt action .22 and I fell in love immediately. It was a full sized gun but I must have been 12 or 13 at the time. My question relates to the kid-sized rifles I've seen advertized. Are they a better option for smaller kids and are they any good? The only one I've seen in person is a Savage youth .22 at WalMart. It felt like a good size/weight, but the bolt action seemed a little lower in quality compared to a standard rifle. If it shoots well that doesn't really matter so that's why I'm here. Does anyone have any experience with youth guns in general and the Savage (or any other brands you care to name) in particular?

Thanks

 

[AJ Dual]

Just a thought, but you could get one of those $50 Romainian .22 trainers, and cut the stock down in 1" segments, then screw them back on as the child grows.

If it will be a target shooter only, and not for field/small game use, the longer barrel and it's better sight radius will be an asset, and the rifle is still cheap enough that butchering the stock isn't a worry.

They're also accurate as all get out.

 

[larryw]

I've purchased two youth rimfire guns.

First one was a Henry Mini-Bolt. Gun is a single shot bolt action with open sights that is well proportioned for a 7 year old. It's light weight, easy to load, action opens/closes easily. Striker must be manually cocked after the action is closed for gun to fire. Extraction and ejection was 90%. Trigger was, being charitable, fair. Gun was reasonably accurate, although the sights were a limiting factor once the shooter gets the basics and wants to start mastering marksmanship. Gun has no means to upgrade sighting or add a scope without major (expensive) surgery). I recommend this gun if you want to train a child in basic gun handling and safety, but I think it will be easily outgrown if the child becomes a serious shooter. My son liked the Henry, but the sights and accuracy were frustrating him and his progress as a marksman. I paid $160 for this gun new. http://www.henryrepeating.com/minibolt.cfm

Next we bought a CZ Scout Youth trainer. Gun is based on the adult's 452 action with a shortened stock and barrel, and is well proportioned for a child, slightly larger and heavier than the Henry. Trigger is adjustable and very nice. Gun comes with a single shot follower and magazines (5 and 10 shot) are available for about $25 (!!); 5 shot sits almost flush with bottom of stock, 10 sticks out and can interfere with hand placement on fore end. Action on the CZ is tighter, especially when new, but does smooth up after a couple hundred uses (I put JB Bore Paste on the ramp and worked it for about 10 minutes, now its super smooth and easy to operate). Gun will fire when action is closed (no manual cocking of striker). Safety is tight, my son has a hard time operating it (he's real good keeping his finger off the trigger ), but should smooth up with use. Sights are pretty good. I put a Simmons 4X Mini-Mag scope on this gun ($29, incl. rings) and am able to consistently shoot sub 1/2" 5-shot 50 yard groups with PowerPoints and Thunderbolts. Yesterday my son hit straight strings of 11, 9 and 7 Chicken silhouettes from 50 yards. He (7) loves this gun and said he does not want to shoot the Henry any more, giving me permission to sell it (got $140). If I were to do it again and did my homework properly, I would have bought the CZ first. $170 http://www.cz-usa.com/_p/pdt.php?id=45

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/boltAction22/15YS.htm and http://www.roguerifle.com/ are two other options, but I have no experience with them outside watching a boy shoot a Chipmunk once. He was a big kid and was unable to cock the manual striker (like Henry) without really fighting with it, which created muzzle control safety problems on the range.

 

[hksw]

Like you, I wanted a rifle to teach some youngsters (my nieces and nephew). After looking around a bit, I went and bought a Marlin 15YN. Basically a Marlin 25 with the stock and barrel scaled down. About a week or two, I was at a gun show and noticed the CZ 452 Scout. Took a long look at it and found it to be much better built than the Marlin, at least visually and in fit and finish. Plus it came with a removable mag. All for not much more than what I paid for the 15YN. Had I to do it over again, I would have gotten the CZ. But, the Marlin worked as intended with a minor hitch.

My first niece was 8 yo (IIRC) at the time when I took her out along with a friend's daughter (7 yo). For me, working the 15YN was not a problem. For the girls, however, they could not work the bolt very well. They had to work on it to lift after taking a shot. This was the same for the 25N I also brought along just in case the 15YN was too small for them. To compare, I also had an Anschütz 1451 to shoot with and they had no problems at all working the bolt for that gun. It could be that the Marlins just need more range time to smooth out. I hadn't worked the bolt of a 452 but if it is anything like the workmanship of the gun, I'm sure it would be smoother and easier than the Marlins out of the box. The big hits of the day were, of course, the 10/22s. [Nephew and other niece are still too young to shoot, 3 and 2 yo, respectively.]

 

[larryw]

hksw makes an excellent point: the quality of the CZ youth gun is stellar. My son's was the first CZ gun I've purchased, it will not be the last.

 

[Chris Orndorff]

http://www.crickett.com/
http://www.roguerifle.com/

Two very similar rifles. My son's Crickett...was just the ticket

 

[durango]

Appreciate all the great responses. I had heard of a number of these rifles but not the CZ. It helps to know what other folks have had good experiences with.

 

[Khornet]

The old Stevens Favorite/Crackshot

is being made again. The classic boy's rifle, singleshot, falling block, exposed hammer.

Bought one made ca. 1889 for $90 for my firstborn. Bore shot, of course, from the blackpowder .22s of the old days. Had it sleeved, refinished the wood, and it's lovely and accurate. That's my daughter's rifle. My four boys have, respectively, a Marlin 15Y ( I agree about the tight bolt), an Ithaca Saddle Gun (singleshot lever), and old Remington singleshot bolt, and a new Savage singleshot bolt. There are tons of choices out there, and a good idea is to cruise the used racks at the gun shop or show. Used SS .22s are plentiful and cheap.

And CB longs are great ammo for raising kids. Quiet, good backyard ammo depending on where you live, comfy to shoot, but still real ammo.

 

[OEF_VET]

I'll throw in a second vote for the Keystone Crickett. It's a pretty decent little rifle.