My Daughter wants a rifle

[archerben]

I have friends who have bought both Cricketts and Savage Cub .22 rifles for their kids. The Savage Cub is a little more expensive, but it comes with the accutrigger and is by far the superior rifle. The problem that we've noticed with the Crickett is that young kids often have to use two fingers to pull the trigger because it is so stiff.

 

[BrewCityProp]

Thanks for the suggestions, going to Gander with her to see what fits best in .22

 

[Threejs]

Sometimes you can get the savages on sale. I picked ours up at dicks sporting goods for just over $100 about 6 months ago.

 

[raginrednek]

henry

henry lever from waaly world. cheap, accurate, feeds longs and shorts. i love it with cci cb caps.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Henry Mini-bolt!

My 6 year old daughter started out with one and her first 13 shots were bullseyes. Scaled for a child, can handle cb's, shorts, longs (why?) and long rifle 22's. Great trigger pull. Stainless steel and quite accurate. I was shooting it at 100 yards and did quite well from sitting. One can easily hit a gallon milk jug with open sights.

 

[mustanger98]

My sister and I both learned on an old single-shot .22LR... it was really too big for us at the time. I was eight and she was four when this started, so when I was ten and she was six, she was getting real good with it. Over the last fifteen years, she's had a way of shooting as well as I can.

I've seen the Crickett and the Savage Cub. Between the two, get the Cub. That said, Marlin and CZ also have youth models. The CZ has a single-shot adapter you can put in in place of the magazine, but on a crankbolt, I really don't see what difference it makes. The kid'll hafta work the bolt and rebuild the shooting position each time anyway.

 

[jklinstein]

Pick up a Henry Mini-Bolt before you put your money down on another model. My kids started shooting it when they were 7 & 9 yo and are still lovin' it when 2 years later. It's stainless and synthetic, so they'll be using it to teach their kids in a couple of decades.

 

[deadkenny]

Everyone 'needs' a 10/22 at some point. Easy enough to switch the stock to an aftermarket to fit if necessary.

 

[middlechainringguy]

Faced with the same set of issues, we decided on a CZ-452 Scout at age 8, and we (all) love it.

One caveat -- if you get a bolt action (as I did and as I'd recommend), make sure that it's left handed even if your daughter isn't, but is "left eyed". Otherwise, she'll have a tough time lining up the sights.

 

[mustanger98]

My sister and I both are right-handed and left-eye dominant. I taught myself to shoot left-handed. My sister finally learned how to close her left eye. We both learned on a right-handed crankbolt. Althought some rifles are awkward for some left-handed people, they're generally more ambidextrous than most folks think. I still shoot rifles left-handed... that includes some right-handed crankbolts.

 

[MudPuppy]

I got my son a Rossi 22/20 gauge. We're doing some dove hutning again this year.

I don't recommend a repeater for a first gun, for a few reason. I think it'll improve marksmanship if they get one shot at a time, and I think its much, much safer.

We have an air rifle that we use often in the garage. But its mine and is a nice older european spring air type. I wouldn't let a kid "play" with a bb gun anymore than I wuold a 22 or a 30.30. But having the airgun gets us city folk way more trigger time than we would otherwise. Its so dang hard to find a place to shoot and hunt that I think the antis could just stand down and let it run its course...no passion for the heritage and it'll be as rare as candle making and hide tanning...

 

[jkingrph]

Start her out small and work up. There is an article in the latest issue of Sporting Classics about an 11 year old girl taking a large brown bear using a 375 H&H. Article apparently is written by her and is a fun read. Entitled , "A bear for Fern".

It just shows that given the desire, younger folks can handle big guns.

 

[mustanger98]

Start her out small and work up.

That's the point of starting any kid out with any .22. Not all kids are born recoil junkies.

 

[nvshooter]

Gun for a girl...

I'd get her the 22. She is aware that guns can be dangerous if used irresponsibly. When my brother and I were in our teens, we used to play war with BB guns. We had a pair of lever-action Daisy Model 94s which I bought without our parents' knowledge. We would put on our ski goggles and go at it. Let me tell you, those things hurt when they hit you right in your assets. We would have never used .22s to play war...

 

[jkingrph]

That's the point of starting any kid out with any .22. Not all kids are born recoil junkies.
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She did mention the rather stout recoil, so they installed a muzzle brake.

 

[bamabluesman]

marlin model 99 M1. Don't make em any more but millions of them out there. Sure there are some in the pawn shops. New look at a 10/22 carbine. Both are small and easy to handle. The marlin is a real tack driver. Been shooting it since I was 6 and still carry it every time I go plinking.