.22 Rifles & Youngsters

[sm]

I would appreciate the following assistance please.

What I would like is this thread to be a compliation of .22 rifles for youngsters.

Meaning anyone can view this thread, see a youngster of age, size , maturity level, weight range, and gain insights as to pros, cons, and insights from actual use from the youngster, and adults supervising - with Pictures.

Now I for instance like to start out with .22 single shot rifles, such as the Marlin ,or older Rem 5xx such as the 514.

If you have kids, or work with kids please provide the following:

1. Age and size of youngster.

2. Types of rifles used, with stock dimensions, features, etc.

3. Action type.

4. Ease of use for youngster, and that of Adults Supervising and teaching.

5. Problems for youngsters such as cocking handles, gun fit, sights, anything-etc.

6. Prices.
I hate to ask this, still I want folks to have an idea on what to expect prices to be for various new and used models.

7. Additional Comments, Suggestions, Links to firearm sites, Input Welcome etc.

8. Pictures! I would appreciate youngsters and adults having pictures to see.


Thread to be a Resource for youngsters and adults to use please. No bashing, instead if a youngster wants to send Grandpa this thread link for instance and "I would like one like the one in Post # ___.

Or a family has these posts in hand when they go to a gun store, they will be better informed.

Thanks!

Steve

 

[JLaw]

My son is almost 7 years old. He's a little taller than your average 7 year old, but not by much. For his 6th birthday we got him a Henry MiniBolt, which is a single shot, bolt action .22LR. It has good fiber-optic front and rear sights to learn to shoot with open sights. He must open the bolt, insert one .22 round, close the bolt and pull the hammer "bolt" back, then fire. When he got the rifle he had a little trouble pulling the hammer back, but he can now sit down to a long shooting session with no troubles. It's very accurate and easy to clean. I don't recall the exact lenth of pull, buy it fits youngsters well. The good things of this rifle were pointed out by my wise ol' uncle skeezix, which are a) it's stainless steel, thus no rust, and b) the kiddo only has one shot at his disposal at a time, so he won't be curious to see if he can make it fire almost full auto. As far as price, I think I paid around $150 for it.

Here's a link to Henry's page : http://henryrepeating.com/minibolt.cfm

And here's the lil' man having a great time...



JLaw

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I bought my daughter the exact same gun. I took her to the store when she was about 5.5 years and she was able to handle the gun. She could cock it, shoulder it and knows how to use earphones. I have not taken her to the range yet and she does not have the gun. I decided to wait till I was back from travel so we could go out as a family. I was not around on her 6th birthday and this is a father daughter sort of thing to me.

My daughter is taller then most, but skinny (lord knows where that came from).

I found the chipmunks had too hard bolt pull in my opinion, while they would probably be easier for her to load.

I will start her out in a few weeks with the gun and shorts then work our way up. The key is reacting targets so she has some fun with it.

By the way, I tried it out at the range one day. I was astonished at the accuracy of the little beast. The trigger is pretty good (better then my Rem 700's from the factory). The sights are set for about 75 yards from the factory. I had fun shooting rocks and dirt clods with it. Once you get the drill down it can be shot pretty quick from a sitting position.

 

[sniper69]

I bought my boy a Stevens 15a. It is a single shot bolt action 22, but for the price it is a great gun for learning with.

 

[erict]

I let my daughter shoot my .22lr AR last week after viewing another thread on this same subject. We got familiar with the rifle and most of it's parts. Then we did some safety stuff. I sat behind her and helped with her at first and she took off from there.

She absolutely loved it!!! she's 5 y/o BTW.

 

[hksw]

In the late '90s I had made a decision to buy a youth rifle to teach my nieces and nephew. I had ruled out the Cricket and Chipmunk as I thought they were too small for my then 6-7 yo niece (the oldest, the other two were too young to shoot - infant and 1 yo). Hadn't looked at the Henry. The other options, I felt, were also better built. The choice went down to the Marlin 15YN (now known as the 915YN) and the CZ452 Scout. I had examined the Scout before and was impressed by the build quality but at the time I made the decision, none were to be found and went with the 15YN.

Compared to the Scout (that I could remember at the time), the 15YN was quite a bit short in that area. The action functioned well for me, thought. The sight picture for an adult male (me) was difficult to acquire as the comb of the small stock is too high to line up the sights unless you look at them sideways a little bit. The comb is Monte Carlo and it is possible for an adult to get a good cheekweld at the lower section of the top of the stock but you give up stability as the butt is no longer touching your shoulder. (Needed to shoot it to zero it in.) For my niece, it fit well enough. She shot well keeping the rounds in a 5" circle (Shoot-N-C) without any problems. She did, however, have problems lifting the bolt after firing. (The Marlin cocks the stirker on opening the action.) I had to work the bolt for her a few times. One shortcoming of the Marlin is that the striker does hit the face of the barrel (but away from the chamber). The firing pin is stepped with the portion that strikes the cartridge a tiny bit farther back than the part of the firing pin that hits the barrel. This is to prevent the striker from pounding a burr into the corner of the chamber. The fact that the striker hits the barrel at all is not good, IMO.

I had let her shoot my beater 10/22 and the stock was justa tad too long for her but she liked it more due to the semi0auto function.

Earlier this year, after buying a couple CZ452 Varmints (.22lr and .17HMR) I had decided to get the Scout even though I had the 15YN. I was so impressed with the sample I had (very nice looking stock) I bought another to use as a teaching aid. (Couldn't stand the thought of the stock getting dinged up.) The differences between the Marlin and CZ is the build quility and the 452 is mag fed (repeater). The Scout does come with a single shot mag but the regular 5 and 10 round .22lr CZ mags will also fit. The comb of the CZ Scout stock is low enough for an adult to get a good sight picture with no problem. The action is a little stiff at first but smooths out with use, for me usually 100-200 rounds.

The CZ outshoots the Marlin. The Marlin, however, is about $50 less than the CZ.

Of the two, I like the Scout better.

 

[hqmhqm]

I started my daughter, who was 8, with the Henry .22 single shot which is a wonderful rifle. It is small, light, has great fiber optic sights, and by god it is one of the most accurate things in my cabinet.

She really liked my scoped 10/22 though, the scope makes it fun to see the hits on the shoot-n-see targets, or seeing the clays break at 50 yards on the berm.

I eventually got the Marlin 60SS tube fed, and a Browning BL-22. The trigger pull on the Browning is just a little too stiff for her to enjoy. The Marlin is comparable to the 10/22 but maybe a little too heavy for her, although she always rests the rifle on a support.

She tried my AR15 with the Ciener .22 conversion, but the stock is so long that she has to hold it in a kind of awkward way.

Here's a short video of her using the AR http://www.beartronics.com/images/MVI_5523.AVI , note the way she has to hold the stock.

 

[XavierBreath]

She was nine when this photo was taken with her purple Ruger 10/22.
She first shot it when she was seven.
The first stock she had was cut down for her and she preferred it.
She wanted the purple stock on it for this photo though.
She preferred to shoot for accuracy off sandbags, and I let her do it.
Price: $100 pawn shop Ruger 10/22 with scope and a $3 can of paint.


She got her first pistol for Christmas that year.
She still wanted to target shoot, and that was OK by me.
We kept the targets relatively close, 5-7 yards, and kept her success high.
That helped boost her confidence.
Pistol was a NRA Ruger MKII that I paid a bit much for new...($289 )
but hey, that's my little girl, right? and it's her first pistol from Daddy, right?

By 10 years old, she was using a Sears 20 gauge pump (a Mossberg copy), carving pumpkins.
She started to learn to shoot tactically.
She uses a cut down stock with a Limbsaver recoil pad, and a 18.5 inch barrel.
Price: $90 pawn shop shotgun. $20 recoil pad.


She now shoots a Star Model B. Price: $129

Things that helped her along:
1. I let her choose her equipment. I guided her, but let her choose. She wanted a purple gun, she got a purple gun. She wanted a pump shotgun like Daddy's, she got one.
2. I focused on safety first, then fun. If we went to shoot, I taught, she shot. In the beginning, I would load one round at a time for her.
She did not sit and watch me for an hour. If I shot at all, I shot at the same distances she did. I sandbagged a bit if necessary. I did not want her discouraged. We shot fun stuff. McDonalds toys, fruit, jugs of water, aerosol cans, etc...... This kept things interesting, but it also taught her what guns can do.
3. I taught her to clean up after herself and to clean her own weapons. This is not a chore if it is done with Daddy.
4. I always made sure, early on, that she got to ride horses, eat watermelon, or do something else fun as well that day.
5. I still keep her first target posted on my gun room door.

 

[bender]

Yesterday I bought my son a CZ Scout .22LR rifle. Its a smallish rifle, about 5 lbs, length of trigger pull 12". Its an xmas present.

My son's 8 going on 9, tall for his age. The Scout comes with a 1-round mag, but at the same time I picked up a 5-round mag.

My son picked it up at the gun show, and loved it immediately. The rifle is bolt action, 11mm dovetail groove. I returned to the show a couple hours later without my son, and bought it for him. $229 out the door.

 

[six4atd]

My 5 year old daughter has a Cricket (Keystone Arms) with a pink laminate stock & stainless steel barrel She loves it & has shot about 20 rounds with it (with me helping her hold it). I use Aguila .22 Colibri (primer only) 20 grain rounds so as not to intimidate her. These are not very expensive ($2-3 per box) and since they have no powder, only primer, they are as quiet as a pellet rifle

My 2 1/2 year old son also has a Cricket (black laminate) but he has not yet shot it...only held it & smiled!

I like these because most kids struggle to cock them by themselves until about age 6 or so. That means it doesn't fire until an adult cocks it & closely supervises.

 

[BrainOnSigs]

Another vote for the CZ452 Scout.

I bought one last year for my son's 7th birthday. It was just south of $200 for the rifle. I spent more on the Leupold VX-II 3-9x33mm EFR scope than the rifle. I took a slightly different approach than most by putting the scope on it right it of the box. I have seen too many kids at the range get very frustrated learning to shoot for the first time using the iron sights. Once a scope was put on the rifle they got jazzed up. He has time to learn the irons. I want to ensure his interest in shooting first.

The gun was very accurate out of the box. I used some Eley Tenex Ultimate EPS the first time out to see what it would do. I was very suprised at how quickly and accurately my son learned to shoot. The bolt is stiff to start but has slowly broken in to the point that he can manipulated the bolt by himself.

The rifle:


The kid before his first trip to the range:


Adjusting the rest like a pro:


Working the bolt:


Teaching me how to shoot :


His first 10 shot group after I sighted it in:


Me sighting in my new CZ452 Varmint....using jean pant legs filled with rice since the kid apparently believes that my $350 Sinclair International benchrest is now his :


Good family fun with some very accurate and reasonably priced rimfire rifles.

2 thumbs up for the CZ 452s!

 

[trainwreck100]

I'm gonna 1 up the Marlin single shot .22, that's what I learned on about 12 years ago (I was 6 or 7 then) it was full size, and had a manual cock (Glenfield Model 10) and I was big enough to shoot when I was big enough to cock it without help. It's still my favorite gun, and there is definitely merit to teaching with open sights...I took a moving coyote with the same gun at 150feet the other day...dropped him dead. The same went with the Colt .22 Targetsman, when I was big enough to slide it, I was big enough to shoot it. .22 is a good load too, it's plenty cheap enough (8.64 for 550 Federals) and it doesn't wear you out when you're little.

Greg

 

[hqmhqm]

I took a slightly different approach than most by putting the scope on it right it of the box. I have seen too many kids at the range get very frustrated learning to shoot for the first time using the iron sights. Once a scope was put on the rifle they got a jazzed up. He has time to learn the irons. I want to ensure his interest in shooting first.

I agree, my daughter was immediately frustrated with iron sights because she couldn't see her hits, even at 25 yards. With the scope, she can hit targets or clays at 50 yards and it is so much more fun.

 

[alamo]

My son is 5 and I'm thinking about getting him a .22 rifle.

I'm concerned though about how he might react to all the noise at the shooting range. It can get pretty loud out there and I'm not sure if I should take him now or wait a year or so. Wish I had a place to go where we'd be the only ones shooting.

Has this been a problem for anyone?

 

[bender]

my son's first trip to the range was (I think) when he was 7. and yes, he was surprised by the "loudness" of real guns... all he's heard before, was video games & TV...

he doesn't mind it though, as long as he's wearing hearing protectors...

 

[hksw]

When I took my niece out to shoot, well actually the days before, she was more concerned about other shooters inadvertantly point guns sideways towards other people on the firing line and getting shot. I had assured her that it was pretty safe and folks watch out for that and are careful about where they point their guns (this is at a private range). Luckily, when we got there, we were the only ones at the rimfire range. Had her wear the Peltor Tac7 so she was pretty well protected against .22 lr noise. Later on when she was a couple years older, the noise wasn't a big issue with her (again with the Peltor).

If you think noise will be a big issue, you can always double up with plugs and muffs to block the noise more.

 

[sm]

Humbled Thanks

To everyone that has posted already and to those that will.

Folks are reading this thread that are not members of THR - I sent this thread link to them. Kids are sitting with adults and learning, sharing, and gaining a lot of information.
Pictures are a huge help -

I suggest others bookmark this thread , and share with others as well.


XB - you get the blame this time buddy-
"See, you can paint a gun purple, that guy did it for his daughter".

Keep 'em coming, and again my humble thanks for contributing.

Steve

 

[mrcpu]

Great day at the range with the kids...

I'm going to post 2x, once for my youngest, 1x for my oldest.

TO answer the asked questions:

1) 9, female, tad small.
2) Henry minibolt.
3) Bolt, but the minibolt has to be loaded by hand for each shot, and the cocking lever pulled.
4) THe minibolt keeps things from getting too fast, you have to stop and think, it takes time to load and such, so there's no craziness. Plus it's small, very light, and she can shoot it standing, or we bench shoot most of the time.
5) It took a couple tries to get the hang of the cocking lever, but now it's routine. The only issue is that when you open the action, make sure you open it quickly, so that the casing gets ejected, otherwise you have to "pour" it out.
6) I think I paid 180 for it.
7) For my 9 year old, who is a little impetuous, it is perfect. Manageable, single-shot, lightweight, fun little rifle.

 

[mrcpu]

Great day at the range with the kids...

And for the oldest:

1) 11, tall. Too tall. Needs a brick on her head tall...
2) Marlin 980s. She shot an old semi-auto marlin of mine, and put 7 in a 1" center from 30'ish feet her first time. So we wanted to get her something with a longer-than-usual barrel so that she'd pick up a bit more accuracy. A CZ was just out of the price range at this time until she shows she's sticking with it.
3) Bolt, with a 7 round magazine.
4) Very easy to use. She's like a machine with it. It's a tad fore-heavy, so she's lifting some light weights now, and bulking up...
5) I was going to get the Henry accu-bolt for her, and the salesman talked me into the Marlin. Certainly nothing wrong with the Henry, but we really like this Marlin.
6) 169, plus we bought a scope but it isn't mounted yet.
7) This is our first time outdoors, we did a lot of indoor stuff during the winter. We bought a set of those 3"/2"/1" spinner targets so the kids get some feedback right away with the hits, and I'm really happy with those. They like making them flip. We'll probablyh pick up a dueling tree here pretty quick.

The targets are hard to see in these pictures, darn cameraphone, but they're just past the little dip, rise in line with the 2nd picture, about 1/5th the way down from the top of the pic. 3 horizontal dots.
If you look in the left lane, closer in before the little dip, you can see her sister's target set from the above post...

 

[redneckdan]

I don't have kids, heck, I'm not even married yet....but since I'm involved at the university pistol range I see a lot of new shooters. I agree with the above poster who immediately put the scope on the rifle. Proper position and trigger squeeze are hard enough to master, by removing iron sight alignment from the equation its easier for new shooters to master the other parts of shooting. Once they are compent with the scope, most will want to learn how to use irons.

 

[Avenger29]

1. I have a sister, 12 years old, short, very short arms. See notes on this below*

2. She does not shoot, she has little interest except for airsoft.

3. I would suggest a bolt action. Bolts are going to be the easiest to find and probably the cheapest. Semi-auto encourage sloppy shooting. Semi-auto's could be possibly more troublesome, especially with the inexpensive economy ammunition used. Bolts are slow, reliable, and accurate- perfect for a beginner's rifle. The bolt can also be removed for safekeeping, thus disabiling the rifle.

4. Unknown. She doesn't shoot much, like I said.

5. A stiff bolt or hard to pull striker is going to be difficult for them to use. I suggest a regular bolt action rifle in a youth size if possible, and make sure it is smooth. A regular bolt action will work just fine (I think having to pull a striker is stupid).

6. Prices.
Savage is going to be one of the most economical. They are pretty good rifles. A basic savage bolt can go for around $100 at Wallyworld, if I recall correctly. I don't see many used .22's around here for a good price. Most of the pawnshops around here are overpriced. Well used guns cost more than new guns at these shops.

7. The kid needs to go to the store and pick the rifle, working the action, checking the fit. This is probably not a good idea to gift a rifle before trying it. Give ammo and accessories for gifts instead. Use reactive targets for fun and variety. Make them clean their own weapons. After all, they need to learn. Keep ammo in stock constantly. When I started shooting, the thing that really annoyed me was having to remind Mom to get more ammo. Of course, more times than not, she would completely forget it. The day I turned 18, I was finally able to buy my own ammo and I started running through it like it was going out of style.

*For some, such as my little sister, even the small stocks such as those on a Cricket have too long a LOP. In that case, you have to trim the stock yourself to fit. She is short and has short arms. She could hold the rifle, but could not get proper stock/head alignment to use the sights.

 

[ACP230]

My kids started at age six or seven with a single shot air rifle.
I think it was a Crosman Competition Trainer. Lots of safety training before shooting. They all knew the rules about guns and could recite them on demand.

In a little while they moved on to my Ruger 10/22. At first it had peep sights mounted on it. Later I put on a scope, a heavy barrel, and a different stock. In the beginning it was always single loaded. That can be done with any repeater, of course.

 

[Sniper X]

Jlaw, nice pic of your son, and nice choice on the rifle, but you may want to switch him over to lefthanded shooting now as he is left eye dominent for sure!

 

[Sniper X]

MArlin for a 10 year old

Oh, and my 2 cents.

Subject shooter, Me!: When I was 10 I bought (with my Mom signing for it) a Marlin Golden 39A with my very own lawn mowing money from a whole summer. It was a fantastic, beautiful accurate gun and shot great for me. Making rabbits dispatch at 100 yards on the move easily. It fit me too and I was average height. I sold it when I was 12 to buy a Colt Dimondback....but that's another story!

I saw last week two canidates that were COOL!

Henry youth lever gun, and the slide action version....way cool! Like a shooting gallery Rossi.

 

[scurtis_34471]

I bought my 9 year-old a Ruger 10/22 carbine. The 13" pull is a hair longer than ideal, but manageable. She has no trouble loading or operating the rifle and has demonstrated good, safe handling when doing so. Its not that hard to field strip and I've been teaching her how to clean it. I chose the 10/22 because there are a gazillion after-market products that will allow the rifle to grow with her as she gets physically bigger and developes her shooting skills. For example, I can put a nice target barrel with a Hogue overmolded stock in a few years. If she remains interested, I can add an after-market trigger when she reaches the point where it will make a difference. Its a great little gun.