Rifle for my daughter....

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@Skylerbone - great pics of you & your daughter !


You make a very good point. I have a CZ 452 Scout & while its not as short as the little Savage , I adapted the way I hold it and it works well with its short stock. I use the irons.
 
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My vote goes towards CZ 452 Scout or Savage Rascal. I found the CZ before my daughter was even born.

I just picked up the Rascal since it comes in various colors. Rascal offers it in yellow, which happens to be my daughter's favorite color. I just picked it up last week. I like the Rascal since it offers color choices and it has accutrigger and it's light. Only thing I dislike about it is it's a single shot.

I like the trigger on the CZ Scout and the fact that you can shoot it as a single shot, or use the 5rd mag.


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Thanks for the consideration folks. I was curious as to what the thoughts may be as to getting her what she wants. I think we'll do a little more shopping. Great pictures too guys. Y'all have inspired me.
 
Quick story, my uncle took his wife car shopping years ago. Salesman asks her what features she wants in an automobile. Answer: "Red".

She didn't know what she wanted, she knew what it would look like. Some folks have different perspectives on what they want, kids in particular. Simply seeing a particular brand rifle that was appealing shouldn't discount all others which may or may not better suit her purpose.

I wish you both good luck in finding your daughter's first rifle, the day things "click" will be magical, for me, post #20's target represents that day.
 
My daughter (almost 16) just asked if I could get her a Bleiker for her next birthday :evil:

http://www.bleiker.ch/en/small-bore-sporting-rifle/bleiker-challenger-weltcup/

If you can spare the money, get something good enough and accurate enough to last and to keep the fun in shooting when they grow up. Weight doesn't mather too much because children shoot mostly of the bench IMHO, so they learn proper aiming, trigger, breathing and concentration, without having to worry about holding the rifle.

I used an old Anchutz 64 single shot match rifle with diopter sights to learn my children. (payed a 100 € for it)
 
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next follows a little bit of of-topic bragging by a very proud dad. If you can't stand that, don't read any further

Her Air rifle equipment has set me back 2500 € for the rifle, 1500 for the clothes, 1700 for the scatt training device and some change.
She ended around 40th in the Moskow qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.
She just qualified to take part in the world championship in spain in september and she is number 150 on the european international shooting list. Air rifle.

She will start training in Germany, by Heinz Reinkemeier.
22lr training will be in the company 2012 Olympic silver medalist lionel cox.

end of bragging
 
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That's worth bragging about, sounds like quite an accomplishment at any age.
 
I have to add my voice to the Savage Rascal. It's a quality rifle with their excellent AccuTrigger. The kids get to pick from 8 different colored stocks too.
http://savagearms.com/firearms/model/rascal

The CZ Scout is also a very good choice but at a higher price.

Unlike the past there are many good children size rifles available from most of the companies. Henry, Marlin, Mossberg and many others have good 22's for the kids... Like said above, let your daughter pick her rifle because she has to like it. (other than a Cricket)
 
Mokin;

Have you determined which is her master eye? You may be shopping for a lefty gun in the future. If her left eye is dominant, she'll do better aiming with it, and positive feedback is a much better motivator than lack of accuracy. When we found that my daughter was left eyed & switched her, accuracy improved a solid 10%.

In your current situation I don't think the gun matters too much, get her what she wants. But she should be using it with it shouldered to her master eye.

900F
 
I'm going to cast another vote for the CZ. It's used at Boy Scout camps nationwide, and was the first gun I ever shot. If it can stand up to the abuse for a few years of Boy Scouts beating up on it then it's more than adequate for a family firearm. The Savage doesn't sound like a bad choice either though.

Admittedly the Crickets are prevalent, and easy to come by (even used), but by far have a much shorter useful life as kids rapidly grow out of them. Before you know it you'll be looking for a Ruger 10/22 or Marlin 60 to replace it and keep something around longer. Heck maybe start with a 10/22 and pick up some of the single shot magazines and a youth stock for it. That way when they want something cooler, it's easier to change out to a different gun. This is also a very easy gun to work on at home yourself if you wanted to upgrade parts (like bolt hold open). I guess you'll spend as much as the CZ, but have something that will hold their interest even longer.

If I had to get a kid size rifle, I'd spend the money and take the 10/22 route, they'll enjoy it well into adulthood, and can tacti-cool the crap out of it when they become a teen if they want to spend the money. The only drawback would be that a young child may have a harder time with the spring resisted bolt of the 10/22 vs no resistance of a bolt action.
Ruger Single Shot 10/22 Mag
Hogue Youth Stock (Pink has been Discontinued)
 
Get what she wants, when she outgrows it sell it and again get what she wants.
Blasphemy, what if you have another kid or she has friends? Instead just tell the wife you need another safe to store them in.
 
Tried the 10/22 route, spent 2 years on a detour. Too long, too heavy and the reason I purchased the Savage Cub. That Savage is simply a Mk I (Mk II but in single-shot) with a short barrel and stock. Any shooter could appreciate that rifle for a lifetime. Savage does make a Mk IY (Youth) I believe which is another option but buying a Ruger, cleaning up the nasty trigger, fixing the bolt hold, swapping sights and still not have it fit, tiresome. 2 extra pounds of rifle is a big deal to a kid, I know grown men who complain about their shotguns after a day in the field.

The Ruger:

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The Savage:

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Went through the same thinking process a couple of months ago for my boys and decided on the Ruger American Rimfire Compact. Great trigger, nice action, shorter length of pull but adjustable with different stock inserts, and takes 10/22 mags. Doesn't come from the factory with peep sight, but Tech Sights are available for it. I had planned to put some on (have them on a 10/22 and they are great), but so far we've been shooting it as-is and have had a lot of fun.
 
SkylerBone said:
Tried the 10/22 route, spent 2 years on a detour. Too long, too heavy and the reason I purchased the Savage Cub. ....but buying a Ruger, cleaning up the nasty trigger, fixing the bolt hold, swapping sights and still not have it fit, tiresome. 2 extra pounds of rifle is a big deal to a kid, I know grown men who complain about their shotguns after a day in the field.

I guess that I've gotten my 10/22s cleaned up and a solid target rifle, I forget that out of the box they leave plenty to be desired, which is also a big part of the huge aftermarket selection. That probably has something to do with why I barely shot my first one for the first 3 years I had it.

Although I do agree that the anything more than the 4.5lb Compact 10/22 would be much for a child to carry hunting. But I figure most kids will be bench or table shooting (or prone from a blanket in a pickup bed if you're from OK), and likely won't have to carry the rifle much at all. Ignore my 10/22 idea and go back to the CZ.
 
I currently have seven grandchildren that visit me throughout the year. Recently, I got a phone call that number eight had been confirmed. They range in age from pre-natal to 11 years old, and are of multiple sizes and shapes. They are also of varied levels of responsibility and capability.

No one rifle is going to work. Over the years I have accumulated a Marlin 15Y, a Winchester Model 67A, a pink Cricket, a Red Savage Rascal, a TC Hot Shot, a pair of Glenfield Model 75 carbines, a Marlin Model 989M2, and a Glenfield Model 25. The last three Models are three semi-autos, and a bolt-action repeater.

So far, everyone has been able to be paired up with a rifle that fit them.

For their parents, I have a battery of Ruger 10/22 rifles. One of the parents already owns a pink 10/22, another a Marlin 795, and a third owns a Marlin 989M2.

For myself, I own, and shoot, a CZ Model 512. Or one of the 10/22s, or a Marlin Model 60, or................:)
 
Skylerbone, a local gunsmith sets up factory Ruger 10/22 triggers for $65.00. He can go as low as 2.5#. My 1973 version has been worked over by Mr. Shootthehelloutofit, and is also at just under 2.5".

Weight? The 1151 Ruger 10/22 has an OEM weight of 5.0#

The 13775 Savage Rascal is OEM at 2.66#

The Crickett Rifle, in synthetic, is listed at 2.5#.

The TC Hot Shot is listed at 3.0#.

The Marlin 915Y is listed to weight 4.25#.

The CZ452, seemingly a favorite, lists at 5.05#

The Marlin 989M2 weighs 6.25#.

The Glenfield Model 25 goes 5.00#.

The Glenfield, a shortened Model 60, weighs 5.5#.

I routinely scope the 10/22 rifle, so the scope mount provided is free. I have never changed a bolt- hold-open on one. To me, it was easy to understand how it worked, and use it. A couple of my later 10/22 rifles have the extended mag release, and the kids love it. The parents seem to be quite capable of manipulating the rifles bolt system, safety, and mag release without issue. I have a couple of synthetic models that are quite light, even with optics. I know grown men who think that an AR are too heavy by the end of the day. So what?

The ARs in question weigh about 7 pounds.

Let the shooter pick what they want. Worry about later, later.
 
As for the 'short life span' of the Crickett, keep in mind that they make adult-sized stocks. I just put one on my daughter's.
 
JR47, I'm not sure I follow. I've done all the work to the Ruger I bought, sure it's easy enough and I prefer the hold open as I often put it on the line for other shooters to plink with. My point about the 10/22 is that my then 8 yr. old simply didn't have the arm strength to squirrel hunt with it or more precisely to hold it at arm's length. Beyond that, the stock was not proportioned for a child making eye relief an impossibility anywhere but the bench. Simply put, it didn't fit where the Cub at around 3.75 lbs., with most of that weight at the rear thanks to a short barrel allowed him to bag his first fall squirrels last year. I've put the Ruger up for him and it will be ready when he is. If the Cub were still in production, I'd buy two more, give my youngest one and keep the other for myself. I've got plenty of .22s about but only 3 suited for small shooters and, in my case, none of those are over 4 lbs.
 
another vote for the savage

My 5 year old loves hers, and I went w/ the savage because it had all the same features as the cricket with the one advantage of the feed ramp.
When I was a kid I had the marlin, which like the cricket didn't have a feed ramp and was terrible to reload. I couldn't get a second shot on a lot of rabbits because of it, and wanted to spend the extra $20 for the savage to spare my daughter that.
YMMV
 
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