.22 revolver suggestions

[dburkhead]

I'm looking for a revolver for my daughter. I thought about a rifle, but at the Gun show, she had a chance to try holding a Crickett and had some trouble with the weight. She can hold and pull the trigger of my old Jennings J22 (I let her dry fire it a couple times) but the last time I took her to the range (using a rental gun--Beretta Neos) a piece of brass bounced off the range wall and hit her arm. My bad. I should have had her wearing a jacket. She wants to shoot, but she's a bit scared of flying brass so I'm thinking revolver.

Can anybody suggest some reasonably reliable, fairly small, revolvers in .22 rimfire? My understanding is that, in a revolver chambered for .22 Long Rifle, you can also use .22 short and .22 long, which gives me some more options should she find even 22LR "scary" or be bothered by even that much recoil.

 

[theNoid]

For smaller hands and such, yet excellent quality gun...Ruger Bearcat...'nuff said.

Noidster

 

[researchdoc]

Noid got it right....
and yes you can shoot Shorts Longs and LRs in it.
I would just shoot low power LRs in it... cheaper.

 

[RandyB]

bearcat as mentioned. Another option is Rugers single six which with the dual cylinder would allow her to graduate to the .22 WRM

 

[dennis228]

Another vote for the Bearcat. Sturdy, reliable and small enough for a youngster to grip well, not too heavy (24 oz.) and easy to carry. Easy to shoot and aim with its four inch bbl. and the slow loading single action is a good way to develop discipline of making your shots count. Another possibility although quite a bit more expensive is the .22 S&W 317 revolver Kit Gun with the 3" bbl. For best value and practical features I think you can't go wrong with a Bearcat.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Yet another vote for the Ruger Bearcat. Retails about $350 around here, and will last more than a century with minimal care.

The Ruger Single Six is a great gun, but not particularly small, and the .22WMR option is only useful if she wants to hunt small critters with it some day. The Heritage Rough Rider is basically just a cheaper version of the Ruger (though the Ruger is still a better buy). There are a few SA and DA out-of-production revos by Hi-Standard, H&R, etc., but those are getting more collectible/expensive, and still not as suited to what you want as the Bearcat.

Good kids and Bearcats article:

http://www.gunblast.com/Stainless_Bearcat.htm

 

[Shade00]

If you don't require new, I'd suggest you take a look at an old H&R revolver. They made a lot of 6- and 9-shot .22s that are very reasonably priced now. I picked up a 9-shot Model 929 today for $120. It's in very good shape - the thing I like about it over the 922 and 622 is that it has a swing-out cylinder. The others have cylinders that pop out to be reloaded (at least to my knowledge).

 

[cerberus65]

For a little more than a New Bearcat you could get a used S&W. I hung out on the auction sites until I found a model 34 that was just what I was looking for. The SA trigger on the Smiths has definitely spoiled me!

 

[Pb_Slinger]

The Bearcat would probably be the best option, but the Single-Six is only slightly larger and has interchangeable .22lr/.22WMR cylinders for when she gets a little older and/or stronger. Of course I could just be biased because that was the first gun I ever fired and it was all kinds of fun!

 

[461]

Bearcat. I bought my daughter hers when she was nine, she's since moved on from shooting and I still love that little gun. I shoot the heck out of it and it should be good and broken in by the time I teach her kids how to shoot with it.

 

[loneviking]

Bearcats are nice, but expensive---about $400 around here, and I don't see 'em for much less on Gunbroker.

Heritage Arms makes a very nice 22 revolver that retails for just under $200. This little gun is a SA with an additional safety tied in too the transfer bar. When you cock the hammer, the transfer bar is still in place. The bar is dropped by pulling a lever to the left (as you're holding the gun) of the hammer. I've seen young shooters pull a hammer back, get their fingers tangled up in the trigger/trigger guard and pull the trigger before they are ready. I've also seen muzzles pointed the wrong way with the hammer back. This gun gives that extra safety factor.

 

[TAB]

I've always wanted a 617 10 shot smith.

 

[ruger4d4]

I second lonevicking suggestion. The Heritage single action is a great pistol for the money. I bought mine from a pawn shop for 100 dollars but it needed an ejection rod. Heritage had the ejection rod in my hands within 2 days after ordering. But you can never go wrong with Ruger so either is a great choice

 

[cliffy]

Ruger Bearcat and .22 Long Rifle

.22 Shorts are outlandishly expensive. .22 Longs are history. .22 Long Rifles are just right. .22 Long Rifle in standard velocity will rustle no one's feathers recoilwise. My daughter came to the range for the first time, and fired some
.22 Long Rifle cartridges, then opted for .44 Magnum reduced loads and she loved it. I doubt I could ever get her to return to .22 caliber plinkers now. My son's raging .454 Casull would be an entirely different matter. cliffy

 

[wjh2657]

Ruger Bearcat, spend the extra money. It's rugged, cute, and very low maintenance. Smiths (I have a 317) may be a little big for her hand. My Bearcat is the grandkids favorite short gun (Henry 1000Y Lever is their favorite long gun.)

 

[publiuss]

Bearcat. Bearcat. Bearcat.

 

[TrueBlueSam]

One more vote for the Bearcat. When she has grown a bit she will want a Single-Six, so start saving for that one.

 

[tubeshooter]

I think I might pick up a Bearcat myself. I always hear great things.

 

[SimpleIsGood229]

Any of Ruger's .22 wheelguns will serve you very well. Also look at the Bisley model.

Welcome to THR, Pb_Slinger!

 

[WAID]

I thought this thread looked familiar, I read it on rimfirecentral. A Bearcat is probably the best new option but you might be able to find lighter used guns. Probably need lighter if a cricket was too heavy. I've never seen a Bearcat under the budget you listed on rimfirecentral. That said it would definately be something she could keep and use the rest of her life.

 

[Handyguy]

For right now the H&R suggestion will get her shooting for about $150 and work quite well.

 

[woad_yurt]

If you don't require new, I'd suggest you take a look at an old H&R revolver.

For right now the H&R suggestion will get her shooting for about $150 and work quite well.

THANK YOU! Sometimes I feel like a lone voice in the woods when I mention H&Rs. Everyone is all "Single Six! Single Six!" all the time. I want an affordable DA and it's nice to see that there are some others out there who know about these guns.

If your daughter becomes an avid shooter, then you can dump some serious money into something more costly but those old H&Rs are very dependable, affordable, functional guns. They did make six shot DA Model 676 convertibles (.22LR/.22WMR) which are a real kick & lots of fun. If the barrel is 5 or more inches long, a .22 magnum has quite a power advantage over the .22LR and would make a way better house gun.

Any old H&R .22 will probably still be working when we're all dead and gone, too. That's why there are so many 50 year old ones still working just fine and why they're so cheap. There are millions of 'em still around, shooting away just fine.

 

[Shade00]

Here is the H&R 929 I mentioned before, alongside my S&W Pre-34. The H&R, at 1/3 the cost of the S&W, is every bit as fun. I do like the target sights of the S&W, but the H&R has it with 9 rounds. You can find H&Rs in good shape for $150 or significantly less ($120 for me), and I think they would make an excellent, cost-effective .22 revolver for a young 'un.