Teaching kids on a wheelgun

[WestKentucky]

I have daughters, and they have done well enough with a bolt action 22 rifle that I feel comfortable graduating them to a 22 revolver. I’m thinking single action seems most logical from a safety and functional stance as the hammer pull can be done with a hand and then tripping the trigger is accomplished easily enough. The thing I’m running into is that the guns are physically too large for most little hands. My single six is big but OK for the older but the younger is just built very small and it’s way too big for her. My intent is to buy them sets of guns so that when they are older then they leave home with the same model 22rifle that they learned on, revolver that they learned on, and probably 20 ga shotgun that they learned on, so cost is a factor but not a huge factor. What I buy I will buy in quadruples (have another baby girl coming this summer and of course Dad needs one too). I’m leaning towards Ruger Wrangler but I just can’t shake the idea of the birdshead heritage guns. Is there even anything else worth considering? Maybe buy a bearcat and graduate them up to a wrangler down the road because manual of arms is the same... basically.

 

[troy fairweather]

The only problem I see is the reach to the hammer, one thing I remember my dad Doing when I was young was to show the importance of keeping your body parts away from the cylinder. I was either his python or a 29 s&w he fired next to a tree, the bark blowing off was a quick lesson.

 

[ontarget]

I have both the Wrangler and several HRRs including a Birds head.
Either is a good choice but for a beginner I would recommend the BH Heritage.
It's hammer is easier to pull back and the loading gate is MUCH easier to open. The BH style grip is smaller too.
I would recommend also going with the 4.5 inch barrel. The ejector rod on the 3.5 is too short to fully eject the empties and I do have quite a few that stick as the cylinder fouls.
I really like the Wrangler too but small fingers will struggle with that loading gate. I was hoping it would lighten up with use but at the 500 round mark it's still very stiff.