Lever action 22's

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SlowFuse

SlowFuse

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This morning my 9 year old daughter got up and said she wanted to go with me to the range. I go maybe twice a month but usually by myself, this was a surprise. A little background; she has never expressed much interest in shooting and I've never forced it. She is however safe around firearms of all types. She has helped me reload a few times and expresses interest in cleaning them and learning how different actions work, just not shooting.

So, I put my handguns and rifle I planned on taking back in the safe and grabbed everything that I thought would have light recoil. I realized at that moment I don't have enough 22's! Anyways I had a Savage Mark II, Glenfield 75 and a Browning BL22 for rifles and a Colt Woodsman and a K22 for pistols/revolvers. Also grabbed a pardner. 410 and an 1100 .410. As I was putting everything in she pretty much dismissed the handguns and shotguns and zoned in on rifles so I figured save those for another day and we took the 3 rifles.

She tried the Savage, didn't like the scope but could stay on paper at short distances. Didn't like the Glenfield, also scoped but also did fine with it. Mentioned she liked cocking the other after each shot and the auto was boring. I took the scope off of the Savage (quick release) and she still wasn't crazy about it. But the BL22 pulled her in, she loved the lever action. She shot 3 boxes of 50 through it before we had to head home. This is pretty much all she has talked about today. So...

I'm looking at youth sized lever actions. I see there's a "Micro Midas" model of the BL22 for around $550 and a Henry youth model for about half that. Any others that I should take a look at? Im sure the Browning will be a quality piece, any experience with the Henry?
 
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The Henry H001 got me started on lever 22's ... This was back in 2005, I think I paid $219 for it brand new at Walmart. After 4-5 years the fascination started to fade but only after building up a small collection of them, some over $1,000. Now I'm down to just a single Marlin 39A that I rebuilt/restored, however the Henry Silver Boy has really grabbed my attention lately ... It's a sickness I hope I never recover from :D
 
Lever actions might be the most addictive things on the planet ;)

A base model Henry 001 is a great " bang for the buck " 22 . I have 2 Henry Goldenboys ( 17 HMR and a 22 mag ) and while they are more pricey than the base model Henry the fit and finish are great, their actions are smooth and they are very accurate.

My Marlin 39a my favorite of all my 22LR's, and perhaps my favorite lever centerfires included.

The lever action bug has followed me for over 50 years. I love working the lever between rounds. It is a bug that cannot be cured by by bolts , pumps or semi's :)

Get her a good 22 lever that fits her and smile as she enjoys it.

Congratulations, Tentwing
 
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Not for her yet, but my fav rifle may be my 1894 in 44 mag. My .357 (both inherited from my FIL) has a little hang up with some ammo, so it can't be my fav...but I've heard of guys who shoot everything through theirs...that might be a good 2nd rifle in 3-4 years.

Enjoy your girl! Mine is 2.5 can't wait to take her out...my boys were prob that age (9) too when we started going together...

Greg
 
I have an H001L, the carbine... Great little .22. She'd probably need the Youth model, both for LOP, but also to get the smaller loop. I have no complaints, it's killed a lot of squirrels.
 
I still have the first rifle my dad bought me back in 1975, a Winchester 9422 XTR. It was a hit at the range for all three of my kids when they started shooting.
2qvw07b.jpg
One of my friends had a Marlin 39A and we would swap guns back and forth when hunting when we were kids.
I like the Henry rifles but just can't seem to warm up to them. I guess the Winchester has something to do with that.
I also have two of the ITHACA M-49 lever actions. They are great little single shots.
 
Isn't it amazing what a child likes and doesn't like?

We took all three of our kids to shoot "real" guns for the first time about three years ago. They all had plenty of experience with BB guns.

And each one of them had a very specific gun that they liked more than all the rest!

Our son (the oldest) was more interested in my Beretta 92FS than the rest, though he did have fun with the Remington 870 and latched onto my Marlin 782 bolt action .22 magnum.

Our oldest daughter absolutely HAD to shoot the Remington 870 and handled it quite well for her size/age. But she really latched onto my AMT Automag II, in .22 WMR.

Our youngest daughter latched onto Mommy's Savage Mark II F bolt action .22 LR and refused to switch.


Here's what I'd recommend:

Everybody here has given excellent suggestions. But, having seen your own daughter express her opinions on various firearms, I'd highly recommend taking her out with you to look at various rifles and see what SHE thinks.

No doubt, she'll latch onto what Daddy got for her very own...but for her to be an actual part of this will be a memory she'll also carry for the rest of her life.

Involving her in the selection process will also help cement her interest in firearms and shooting. It will be HER gun that SHE and DADDY picked out and the bond will be priceless.

At that point, your responsibility will be in keeping her stocked with .22 LR for the range. Or squirrel hunting. Or varmint hunting. Or competitions...
 
Sounds like we have some shopping to do. If mom agrees... shouldn't be an issue.

I think she would like having the smaller version of my rifle (browning) but I'm not sure how hard that model would be to find in stores. I like the idea of her seeing what else is out there for herself. Thanks guys.
 
My vote goes to a Henry lever too, mines been totally reliable, and get's shot more than any other rifle I own...

DM
 
+1 Henry. While I do not own one I have handled and fired a couple and they have the smoothest actions I have ever felt on a lever gun.
 
I would go with the Henry too. My son originally wanted a Taurus .22 pump action but changed his mind when he saw he couldn't mount a scope on it. He thought about a Henry lever action but didn't care for the tube feed for loading ammo. Finally settled on a Remington 597 to which I added a scope once I saw how good he was with just the iron sights.
 
I have both guns you mention here, but I've only gotten as far as photography last week.
Have not fired either yet, but some preliminary impressions:

The Henry Youth is still a heavy gun.
It's very smooth.
It SHOULD be quite accurate.

The Browning Micro is so light & svelte it even tempts me to keep it, but the deal-killer there (for ME) is that it can't be easily taken down for a good cleaning.
The action is just a bit stiff outa the box.
The positive, besides light weight, for a littler & younger critter is that short-throw lever.

If you can tolerate the cleaning issue, that'd be my recommendation BETWEEN THE TWO SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED, in her case.
If she can handle the weight, the Henry'd be a great choice, too.
Denis
 
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I think that if I could afford it, I'd have a new BL22 (youth model) under the Christmas tree come December 25th.

If you haven't handled a Henry, they are very smooth and nice lever action 22's. My sense is that they are not quite the rifle that either the Browning or Marlin 39A are.

The discontinued Model 9422 Winchester is a fine lever action 22 rifle.
 
I'm looking at the length of pull on these models. The standard BL22 LOP is 13.5", the Henry H001U (youth) LOP is 13" and the BL22 Micro Midas is 12". Is 1.5 inches on length of pull a major difference?
 
For a smaller-statured shooter, 1.5 inches in LOP can be very important, especially in a levergun.
Denis
 
I have both a Henry lever and a Henry Pump in 22lr. Both great guns. Everyone who shoots them usually ends up with a grin on their face. But you can't ever go wrong with a Browning if it fits her well.

Aren't some of the Henry's available with a short stock that can later be replaced with a longer one? Or am I thinking of a different brand? Might be worth a call.
 
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SlowFuse, that's a great picture! Looks like she's having a terrible! time. :D

I too love leverguns. I have them chambered in .30-30 (an old '94 saddle ring carbine), .44 mag (a stunning Miroku Browning '92), .357 mag (two, actually; a Marlin 1894CS357 and a 16" Rossi 92), and .22 mag. That last one is a Henry H001M, and I think it was $449.00. I don't purchase many new firearms, but this was one I wanted for plinking and some camp varmintin'.
 
I love my 22WMR Golden Boy. But the heaver octagon barrel would be too heavy for a youngster her size. The standard .22 would be better for her.

How about buying the Henry youth model and get the extra set of normally sized wood for when she grows a bit later. Same gun I think. The youth model will certainly fit her better now, and the wood change will let her shoot it later too. Hang on to the extra furniture. Another Grand Daughter or even Great Grand Daughter might use it! Good Luck with your choice :)
 
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