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Yet even more buying advice sought!

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IdahoFarmer

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How old are the boy scouts in question? Are they all already acquainted with long arms?

I think that the long, long, long (and somewhat heavy) M91/30s would overwhelm younger kids. Hell, the Mosins would probably be taller than some of them, depending on age! The kick of x54R, relatively mild as it is, would also not be good for kids new to rifles.

I would probably vote SKS, since the mild kick of x39 out of the already heavyish Yugo is closest to a .22, which is what my friends and I were slated to learn on in the scouts.

Depends a lot on the kids and their experience, of course. Experienced, older shooters will have no problems with the Mosins. Plus, they'll learn good cleaning techniques with the corrosive ammo, etc... I assume so, anyway.
 
The main advantage of the Mosin Nagents is more kids on the line and less waiting. Also... at $70 each I feel like I should be buying 100 of these suckers.

Generally speaking, are Mosins good guns or throw aways? Why are they $70 each? Is it that they are available in huge quantities or is it that they are on the garbage side of the equation?
 
They are $70 each because about one zillion were made and the US is one of the only countries in the world that alows it's citizens to buy milsurp guns.
 
My Mosin 91/30 is my favorite gun, I honestly have more fun shooting with it than any other gun I own. At 80 years old, definitely not a "throw away gun", they are tough as nails! Yugo SKS is a blasting gun to me, the boys would probably be better riflemen with the Mosins.
 
I would say.. none of them actually.

I worked at a boy scout summer camp for 3 years as a shooting sports instructor, we found that the best rifle to teach boys on is a ruger 77/22, for a few reasons

-Bolt action, that way you always know exactly how much ammo a boy has. ex: before everyone brings up their brass, we have them lay the rifles down bolts open. With the wide ruger magazine, we can see right through the action and know the rifle is empty.

-Wide magazine, for the previous reason, and because there is no fumbling with magazines in young, inexperienced hands. We give them 5 rounds, and they load them one at a time, since the action is wide open, it is exceptionally easy, even for large adult hands.

-Accurate, those rifles have seen literally 20,000 rounds through each one, being cleaned once a week, and are still accurate.

-Reliable, the worst thing that can occur to a new shooter is a jam, thus single shot, no magazine. Plus if the brass does not eject, the wide open action, and wide magazine cut out allows you to push the cartridge case down, off the bolt.

-Easy to clean, again, very open action. I would have one boy clean the action, one clean the barrel, and one clean the bolt, then switch have a new boy oil the bolt, and the same for the action.

-22LR, coupled with Remington thunderbolts... need I say more?

These rifles are expensive, but you get everything you pay for and then some
 
Mosin Nagants are good rifles, but 7.62x54R recoil might be too punishing for kids, especially if they're inexperienced shooters. Something to think about.
 
If these rifles are to be used for official Boy Scout activities, there are several rules in place that will limit your choices. Here is a quote from their website:

Rifles

1. Breech-loading rifles will be single-shot, bolt-action of the .22-caliber rim-fire type only. They may be chambered for the .22-short or .22-long rifle, but not for the .22-WMR rifle (which uses a more powerful cartridge). Air rifles are also permitted.
2. Semiautomatic rifles will not be permitted.
3. Repeating rifles having a tubular magazine will not be permitted.
4. Repeating rifles having a removable clip-type magazine will be permitted but must be used as single-loaders.
5. All rifles used in BSA shooting sports shall have a trigger pull in excess of 3 pounds, and shall be tested with a 3-pound weight or scale at least once a week while in use. If the trigger mechanism is activated by the 3-pound pull, the rifle should be immediately removed from service.
6. Shooting safety glasses and ear protectors must be worn on the range.

All training and shooting activities must be supervised by a currently NRA-certified rifle instructor or coach who is 21 years of age or older.
 
Forgot to mention, have you factored in ammo costs yet? for 22LR's $20 for all the boys to shoot for a few days, now how much shooting can you get with the other centerfire rifles?

I don't imagine you want to charge the boys too much for ammo, so for a few bucks each(or taking money out of your troops general account), you can give them a nice introduction to shooting, and they will have a blast (no pun intended)for how much ammo costs these days, the 77/22's will be cheaper in the long run and will pay for them selves quickly.

Only trouble is finding some with open sights, ruger now only makes them with no sights. I managed to buy a used one for $400 with sights, so a little more expensive than the Yugo SKS, but worth it. Plus few people want to part with their 77/22's.
 
ya don't want to use centerfire rifles for new shooters that is the fastest way to lose them, and it makes learning proper shooting technique 10 times more difficult. why would ya even consider starting kids out by instilling recoil related shooting problems at all? Start a new shooter with any rifle that has recoil and instead of them learning proper trigger control they get a recoil flinch ingrained right from the beginning........


This is why ALL instructors start new shooters with the good ol .22 lr
 
then of course, you could take the "grey area" route and take the boys shooting with what ever you want to, say have a troop shoot, and go as a "group of friends". Allowing them to bring their 22's. Though you could not buy rifles for the troop with this purpose in mind. My troop is considering this option so that the boys can bring their firearms to the local range, but we still are going to make sure that there are NRA certified rifle instructors present.
 
I'm looking to equip a small army (boyscout merit badge). When not "on duty" these guns will be held in case of teotwawki or invading zombies
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Been in Idaho long?
a farmer?
I was born on a farm here.
Our kids grew up over the hill from you in Horseshoe. They sure seem to see guns in a completely different light, daughter killed a elk at about 16.
Last I checked Idaho was a zombie free area.
 
Ha. Mosin being fired by 12 year old Boy Scout. How far do you plan on walking to pic up his detached arm and shoulder that have been blown off by the recoil?
 
Ha. Mosin being fired by 12 year old Boy Scout. How far do you plan on walking to pic up his detached arm and shoulder that have been blown off by the recoil?
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Not to sure about boy scouts, but my 13 year old has been shooting the old 06 since he was 9 (target shooting), killed his 1st deer with it at 11 and killed his 2nd with his uncle's 7mm mag at 12. My 10 year old killed his 1st 2 deer this year, 1st with the ole 06 and the 2nd with his uncle's 7mm mag also. My daugther who is 12 shoots the 06 also. Now I haven't shot a Nagant, but several people have told me they are not on par recoil with either the 06 or the 7mm mag. My 1st choice for the scouts would be buying several marlin 25's, but if they are familiar with guns then the recoil should not be unmanageable.
 
Thanks to all for the feedback. This is not a sanctioned scouting event... but more of a group of friends as mentioned gathering together for a shoot, who also happen to be scouts. They are 15 to 17 years of age so I think recoil will be less of an issue then if they were 12... however, the point is well taken. A few 22 rifles are looking good.

Thanks to all for the feedback.

Eliphalit... yup, Horseshoe is right around the corner. We don't expect too many zombies here... that is until California starts to fall into the ocean. ;)

Farmer
 
I would go with a .22 they are light, no recoil, not very noisey, should last forever and if you have $900 you could buy a bunch of them and a ton of ammo.
 
Not sure if it has been mentioned but I was thinking that the BS's had issue with semi auto's as well as caliber size due to their insurance or something. That said if...I would think the $200'ish price tag (sometimes less) of the CZ 452 Taine's and/or 452 Scout models would be a perfect option. The Trainer, while having the European hump-back style stock, has some of the best factory iron sights in the business (dove tailed for scopes though if desired). You can also through a ghost-ring on it as well for very little money. BTW, that hump-back stock is nearly perfect to the throw with iron sights. Additionally it and the Scout (shorter barrel and stocked version) both share the same receiver and trigger (adjustable) as well as magazines. The Trainer comes with a 5 shot while the Scout comes with a single shot adapter...both interchangeable. I recommend the latter for teaching Boy Scouts and can be picked up for $20'ish a piece. Oh..admittedly the Scout comes with a bit inferior rear sights, bu it might be still nice to have one or two around for the smaller statured Boy Scouts. Barrels are rated at 250,000 rounds, but I have never heard of any shooting them out...even in competition. Finally, the .22 LR is where we all learned our riflemanship and accuracy as well as where we all start out. It also seems that eventually it is where we all return or re-discover a ball of fun again. They will definitely allow you to teach the discipline, skills and marksmanship while also providing lasting memories, fun and lifelong skills. Just a few thoughts.

Good luck
 
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