Recommendations on a .22lr for 7yo girl

[PRazz]

I have seen the pink Crickets and they seem fine for a first rifle. I know what they are all about as I used to have a Chipmunk. Anyway I also came across this: http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/672/products_id/18965
I know it's not pink but I can refinish/paint it if necessary. It is about the same price as a cricket but comes with the .410 and seems like a better deal, 2 for 1. Anyone have experience/knowledge of the New England in the link. It is longer and heavier than the Crickets but she is very tall for her age(47") and may be the size she needs/will grow into.

a little background...

My oldest daughter is almost 7 and has recently started taking more of an interest in my guns(noticing I wear one, clean them, shoot, etc.) So we had a discussion about them. After telling her my own simplified versions of the safety rules and an analogy or two about why we use them, she was able to recite all this to her mother the next day. She said treat every gun as if it is loaded, keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot, always point it in a safe direction, and know what you are shooting at and what is behind it. I then asked her why daddy carries a gun and she said to protect mommy and me and my sister from bad guys and bad animals that try to hurt us. She then told her mom that wearing a gun is like wearing a seatbelt and that you don't get in an accident everytime you drive the car but you put it on just in case you need it.(good analogy I learned here and passed on to her, thanks whoever said it) She also told her mom that if she finds a gun here or at a friends house, not to touch it, don't let a friend touch it, and go tell an adult. I was suprised she remembered all this after one conversation. I'm glad/proud she is taking an interest and I asked her, pointing to my weatherby, if she would like a .22 like this one only her size and she said yes. I asked if she wanted one that looked like wood or a pink one, she said pink, of course. I've decided that for her birthday next month she is getting a .22 instead of a basketball setup. Time to get her shooting.

 

[mainmech48]

For maximum utility at minimum expense something like the NEF or Rossi/Taurus combo packages outfitted with the 'Youth" butt stock and both a rimfire and .410 bore or 20 ga. barrel is hard to beat, IMO. They sell bunches of 'em.

Either can be easily equipped with an adult-sized stock when needed, and barrels in a good many other calibers can be added at relatively modest cost later if you like.

I'm a big fan of simplicity when it comes to youngsters and firearms, and things don't get much less complicated than these. I also like the exposed hammer and having the manual of arms remain the same with every transition in style of shooting or caliber.

If you anticipate that your daughter will want to try hunting with you at some point, and she's able to cope with the additional size and weight, then it might well be your best bet.

NEF is the current manufacturer of the venerable H&R top break design. They are generally very 'basic' firearms, but well made using high quality materials, reliable, durable, and offering very good value for the cost. It's a proven design that had its start at the beginning of the last century and has served several generations very well.

 

[kcmarine]

Get the Rossi. It's easy to use, and even easier for her to learn how to clean on. A good rifle for a beginner.

 

[iamkris]

I just got my 10 year old son his first rifle, a Savage Youth Cub. I got it because

1) the length of pull is well sized someone of this age...about the same as Cricket
2) the Accutrigger is very nice...teach 'em early what a good trigger is like
3) the aperature sights are very nice...teach 'em early what good sights are like
4) Savage's have a reputation for being accurate

 

[PRazz]

I'm comparing the Rossi with the NEF and like certain things about both of them. Seems like the Rossi has more safety features and is ready to be scoped but is not available in .22, only .17 HMR. I can't seem to find anything that would indicate that the NEF pardner youth is drilled and tapped for a scope. Does anyone have one and know for sure. I want her to learn with the sites but wouldn't mind scoping it down the road.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

NEF Sportster Youth http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Rifles/sportster.aspx

Choice of rimfire calibers or you can get one receiver and three calibers through NEF's barrel accessory program.
http://www.hr1871.com/Support/accessoryProgram.aspx

Later on a grown up receiver can be ordered.

I have a grown-up version of the Sportster in 17HMR. It's a favorite of mine.



ZM

 

[M110]

http://www.henryrepeating.com/h005_minibolt.cfm


Henry mini bolt .22. My sons cubs scout troop used these at camp. Never mind he already had a youth model lever action .22 at home in my safe.

http://www.henryrepeating.com/h001y_leveryouth.cfm

Henry also has top notch customer service as well. Evan when you buy a used one.

 

[PRazz]

Had to throw that lever action in there didn't you. Damn this is gonna be a hard decision.

 

[Furncliff]

Marlin 915ys. Youth sized .22 bolt action. S, L & LR. 4.5 lbs. blue or stainless. Prices range from 150 or 160 for blue to about $170 for stainless. Spend a bit more for something like this and it becomes a part of the family.

 

[middlechainringguy]

Bravo!

Bravo to you and your daughter!

I just went through the same wonderful set of issues. I have an 8 year old daughter who also has a strong interest in hunting/shooting, and about 4 months ago we decided that it was time that she have her own .22. Here are my learnings:

1. Read everything that Pax has written -- on this forum or at Cornered Cat -- about kids and guns. She has both smarts and wisdom.
2. Keep in mind that your daughter's interest in guns is really, at this age, an interest in you. She knows that the rifle means daughter-daddy activity. So if you work it right, you get the perfect parenting two-fer: lots of time with your daughter doing something fun and difficult, and raising up a young woman with some important values and skills and a life-long hobby.
3. That said, my experience is that joining the local rifle club and getting her involved in the kids' training programs and competitions is a GREAT way to keep her wanting to go to the range.
4. Step up your own safety behaviors a notch when you're with her. She's learning from you all the time. Also, and this is obvious, make sure she has the right ear/eye protection. Oh, and I'd suggest that you clean her gun for her, to minimize her exposure to lead at this age.
5. If she's a lefty, get her a lefty gun. I'd do this even if she's just left-eyed. Take her to the gun shop or range and see which eye she uses to find the target. If she's putting the rifle up against her right shoulder, but tilting the gun so that she can site through her left eye, then at this stage she's probably left-eyed.

So which rifle? We got a CZ-452 Scout, http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=5, and love it. It's a highly accurate and reliable bolt-action (right handed only, though), which you can start as a single shot and then "upgrade" to 5- or 10-round mags as her skills improve. It also gave me an excuse to get a matching grown-up sized CZ-452, which has rapidly become my favorite go-to-the-range rifle.

Have fun!

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I have 2 chipmunks. Both have bull bbls. One is a .22 and the other is a .22mag. Due to their small size I can easily conceal on the dash of my truck. I can't begin to tell you how much game have fallen to these 2 rifles. Now when I got them the triggers were horrible, but I did a little work and got them running. The only plastic on them is the butplate and their quality of machining and blueing is outstanding. Truly a gun that can be passed down. Heck for a few extra $ they will engrave your name on it. They are deadly accurate, but due to their light weight and small size must be shot from a rest to get good accuracy.

 

[TimboKhan]

My buddy bought his niece a little pink cricket, and I thought it was pretty neat. It's a pretty standard little single-shot, but it's cute, it has peep sights, and when I shot it, it was pretty accurate. Not a big investment, either. Sportsmans Warehouse sells them in the 100 dollar range. I think it would be a really neat little gun for a seven year old, although you would definitly have to reinforce that it is not a toy. I like that it is tailored specifically to girls, and I am all for colors because kids like bright, happy colors, but there is a part of me that realizes that pink rifle might = Barbie play gun to some kids. A little extra vigilance in training should take care of that, but it is a concern.

A word to the wise, shooting with your kid is more than just teaching your kid to shoot. My dad and I have had our tough moments, but shooting is what kept us together, and now that I am older (and so is he) it has become the basis for a very good friendship with my dad.

 

[budney]

I got my six-year-old son a Crickett, partly because that's what was available at Gander Mountain, and he loves it. I admit that that little savage looks tasty, though.

--Len.