Youth .22LR

Which youth .22LR

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HM2PAC

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Jul 21, 2007
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Location
Maine, USA
I am looking for a single shot .22LR for my children. My son is 5 and my daughter is 7.

They both have an 11" Length of Pull.

The top contenders at this time are the Savage Cub Mini-Youth and the Chipmunk/Cricket rifle.

I am not adverse to other options as long as they fit the child. My daughter is a lefty, so anyone that knows of a lever that is appropriate please speak up.

Thanx,
HM2PAC
 
Henry makes a youth lever, which would be great for both left and right hand.

http://www.henryrepeating.com/h001y_leveryouth.cfm

I didn't know till I grabbed that link but they make a youth bolt too.
All are probably fine little guns one thing I don't care is some come with peep sights, which I never cared for but that is a personal thing. I never could shoot a good group with peep sights or ping shotgun shells like with a good V-sight.
 
for teaching young shooters i like break action single shots like the n.e.f. both my daughters (now 4 and 8) were trained w/ that rifle. both have now graduated to bigger and better things (oldest daughter went from the n.e.f. to an ar-15 to an m1 carbine, and she finally worked her way up to a bolt 300 wsm w/ soft handloads... she's a lefty, btw. youngest daughter hasn't made it past the ar-15, yet).

i got it home, took it apart, hit it w/ some primer and pink krylon, and they love 'the pink gun'.
 
Taurus M-62 Youth Carbine
Tube magazine
Pump action (cool shotgun racking sound)
Top safety
Break down
22lr only, but very reliable

I have one and it's a hoot. With the short stock it can still be enjoyed by an adult. It's built tough and has good accuracy
 
Marlin Little Buckaroo. It's a bit heavier than the Chipmunk or Cricket, but it will last them a lot longer. I shot one from about 8 to 15 years old (towards the end, I needed a buttpad to extend the LOP a bit). Very well built, accurate rifle.
 
This is another option - my Rem. 581 is a magazine-fed bolt action, but it came with a reversible kit to install which will plug the mag well and make it a single shot. That way you could keep it a single shot while they are young and then remove the kit to give them mag capability when they are older.

Obviously the 581 is an older model, but maybe new bolt actions come with these kits. If not, then 581s can be had cheap. Maybe 541s have the kit as well.
 
 
CZ Scout. Got my son one when he was 6, and he shoots it like a champ now that he's 8! I like shoot it too! It is extremely accurate!
 
CZ Scout is an awesome little rifle that is simply a scaled down adult rifle. Very good quality. About $220 around here. For lefty's look at the Steven's favorite. It's a falling block single shot design. Very cool.
 
Don't buy a Cricket.

My Kids (girl - 8, boy - 5) have a couple of youth .22s. One is a Henry Minibolt. It's stainless w/ black furniture. Shoots great. The other is a Henry youth lever-gun. I don't know the model #, and I'm too lazy to go downstairs and look. Both are awsome. If one kid is a lefty, and you're getting one gun, I can very highly recommend the Henry lever.
 
From Mossberg's 2008 Catalog:

half-pimt.JPG
 
I have an original mfg Chipmunk from Medford Ore so I voted on that since mine has been trouble free. I've never messed with the crickett. I'm sure the Henry version would be servicible also. I had the Henry youth lever gun and it was servicible.

Expect a child to outgrow a small single shot .22lr fairly quickly though I'd say. Single loading a pump or lever might be a more versitile firearm and more fun once shooting skill is developed.
 
HM2PAC said:
Thanx for all the replies so far.

Smitty, what about the Chipmunk makes it unsafe?
Click to expand...

I feel that the way the Crickett / Chipmunk rifles are designed to operate is unsafe.

In order to use the gun you open the bolt, place in a round, & close the bolt. Then to cock the gun you pull back on the plunger on the back of the bolt in order to compress the firing pin spring. Simple so far, right???

Now, lets say your child doesn't shoot the gun and needs to uncock the rifle, on the Crickett you have to, take the safety off, hold the plunger with one hand, then PULL THE TRIGGER ON A LIVE ROUND!!, it's not hard to do as an adult, but think about a child doing it with sweaty hands...

The reason I know about this issue is, we has some of these rifles at our Boy Scout camp and we had it happen, luckily the gun was pointed in a safe direction and there was no harm done, this is IMO a huge design problem. Needles to say, we don't have the Crickett rifles anymore...

Don't take my word for it, go find one in a store, cock the gun (on an empty chamber), and try it, then think about having a child do it, I know my kids can have attention lapses at times (and they're perfect :D)....
 
I feel that the way the Crickett / Chipmunk rifles are designed to operate is unsafe.
Click to expand...

Do the Cricket's have a safety? The child could select safe, put the gun down, and notify an adult. Who in turn could slowly let the firing pin down.

Will the bolt open when it's been cocked? Could you just remove the cartridge?

I'm trying to remember how the single shot Remington model 52, that I learned to shoot with worked. Because I don't ever remember not shooting the gun once it was cocked.
 
Here is a link to the Crickett owners manual:
http://stevespages.com/pdf/keystone_crickett.pdf

Page 9 of the owners manual states:

Uncocking the Rifle. Making sure the rifle is pointed
in a safe direction, grasp the cocking piece with
your thumb and forefinger and pull to the rear. At the
same time, with your other hand, slowly pull the trigger.
While holding the cocking piece and pulling the
trigger, allow the cocking piece to slowly move forward
until it stops.
Click to expand...
 
As an uncle that has purchased many youth .22s, I recommend the Savage Mini-Cub, the Marlin 15YN and the CZ 452 Scout. All excellent weapons. The CZ 452 Scout made such an impression on me that I purchased one for myself.

Why not take the kids to the store and see what they like best?

I purchased the Henry youth lever action for a 6 year old nephew. It was still too heavy for him but he will grow into it.
 
El Tejon wrote:

Why not take the kids to the store and see what they like best?
Click to expand...

I've tried that. At this time my son is enamored with a Mosin Nagant that someone painted up in winter type camo. He goes to it each time we are in the store.

The stores out here don't have much of a selection. I usually have to order what I want.
 
Might I suggest a bolt action box magazine fed repeater such as the Armscor 14Y. A great rifle, all steel and wood. hoot well, holds up better than most (mine is still perfect), and fits kids around 7 years old well. I know you asked about a single shot, but herein lies the adaptability of a bolt action repeater, you can load it to be a single shot. Just hand them one bullet at a time, and do not load the magazine. When they are ready to move on, you do not need to buy another rifle that is a repeater because you already have one.

Alll the best,
GB
 
I'll join the CZ scout guys. I got one for my son last year (9yrs old). He loves it and has gotten very good with it.

(didn't take him long to want something bigger though)
 
Mag fed bolt guns are a good idea. I'll look into those.

The CZ seems to have everyones attention, I'll have to check those out.
 
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