Kids first 22

[TradLife406]

My oldest daughter is about to hit five next month and I'd like to get her a small 22. Kinda looking at the Henry Mini Bolt

Anyone have any experience with these?

I see Savage has a couple as well. I want something that will last for all my kids and their kids.

What scope options are there for these little guns? Maybe just get a red dot and keep it simple?

Anyone gotten their hands on the Ruger Precision 22? I wonder how short that stock can get sucked up.

Doesn't CZ make a nice one too?

She's already pretty good with her bow and she's probably safer around guns than most adults!


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[Yukon Cornelius]

My oldest daughter is about to hit five next month and I'd like to get her a small 22. Kinda looking at the Henry Mini Bolt

Anyone have any experience with these?

I see Savage has a couple as well. I want something that will last for all my kids and their kids.

What scope options are there for these little guns? Maybe just get a red dot and keep it simple?

Anyone gotten their hands on the Ruger Precision 22? I wonder how short that stock can get sucked up.

Doesn't CZ make a nice one too?

She's already pretty good with her bow and she's probably safer around guns than most adults!


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I love our mini-bolt. I love it enough that I sold My daughters chipmunk to buy her one (I’ll give it a girly paint job). My 4 year old son loves his and he can actually hold it to shoot.
I use it on grouse as well since I’m able to pick up the fiber optic sights with my eyes.
I’m not putting a scope on their guns. So I can’t help you there.

 

[Gorp2007]

I'd recommend skipping the scope and getting something with a simple peep sight to teach fundamentals.

 

[Steel Rain]

I just bought a pair of Savages for my twins. No range report yet.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I went with the 'ol lever action for my daughters first .22 (on her 9th birthday). I've always had a soft spot for levers and I'm hoping my daughter acquires the same weakness.

 

[EastMT]

I bought my son the savage youth 22 when he was 2 days old. He will inherit the unfired 1976 Winchester 9422 my dad bought for me at 2 days old, and a golden boy octagon NIB. The 9422 started me on my love of levers and wheel guns. I plan on buying him one of the youth model lever guns before too long.

 

[cg2737]

I started out both of my sons with "Crickets" from Keystone Arms. Both had a simple peep sight.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I probably should have bought her a youth model but they didn't have any in stock and like the idiot that I am, I waited until I was headed home from work at 7:30pm, on her b-day, before I remembered to get her something. My bad. Oh well, she'll grow into it.

 

[N2TRKYS]

My first .22 was a Remington Nylon 66. It's been a good one.

 

[super]

My daughter (going to be 12 next month) absolutely loves my Savage MKII BTV. I've got a Nikon Buckmaster on it with a Harris Bipod. The keys for us are a good scope with a roomy eyebox, so its easy to get a good view down the scope. Adjustable paralax so her cheekweld can be iffy, but still accurate. Thumbhole stock means repeatable cheekweld and no distress getting back on target. Bipod (this is a big one) means she doesn't need to hold the rifle. Even a Marlin 60 with a rimfire scope was too heavy for her. That Savage may weigh 3 times as much, but she only needs to hold the butt of the stock on a clenched fist. I have the 6"(IIRC) bipod.

We shoot in a field, so I just back up my truck or lay down a mat if the grass is short. I think the biggest thing is that the gun needs to be accurate and shootable. My daughter would shoot for a few minutes before, but when she was hitting those 1 1/2 to 3" spinners at 55 yards she spent an hour baking in the sun. I had to make her come into the shade and cool off. I never knew that lower lip could stick out that far without falling off.

Bottom line? Get an accurate rifle that they can handle, targets that give instant feedback, and enough ammo that you get to shoot a few too.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

10/22 carbine our compact whatever they call it.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I waited a bit longer. Kids were 8 and 10 before we started shooting.

- Red rider lever action BB guns at 10 yards
- 22 marlin lever gun
- ruger American bolt action with a short stock insert
- moving to 10/22 this summer

in truth the marlin lever was for me as much as them. The ruger American is worth a look. Basic but accurate and functional. I will scope if for them at some point as a hunting rifle trainer.

If if I had one it would be the 10/22. These things are just a straight blast to plink with.

 

[tyeager2964]

My son is 6 and has been shooting the savage rascal for 3 years now. I feel that the safety makes it a better choice than the cricket as it is identicle to a regular bolt safety and will transfer to the 243 he will get this Christmas. Crickets safety is spring activated at the end of the bolt.

I also like that I can remove the bolt so I allow him to be in charge of his rifle. He keeps it cased in his room while i keep the bolt locked in the safe.

I drilled the peep out a little to make it easier for him when he was 3. He can hold it and shoot off hand as well as learning to shoot sitting, kneeling etc. It is accurate enough to shoot cans at about 20 yards right now and when I put a smaller peep in it shoots decent at 50 yards. It is also drilled for a scope mount but the rings and scope are to high for him currently to be able to use well

I would say that any gun you get your kid should fit now so they can carry it and use it. You can always buy the next size up whem.they grow. Getting a gun to grow into is ok but wont be the easiest to learn proper mechanics and safety with today. I also think everyone should learn the basics of open sigbts.

 

[paxamus]

When my oldest turned 8, after a long time with a B.B. gun, I got her a 10/22 and dropped it in a Magpul stock so I could adjust the length. Stuck it on a cheap bipod and topped with a red dot. She was ringing steel quickly. After a bunch of range trips, I let her try my scope- now she has a scope on her and wants to start hunting!



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[Gorp2007]

I'll be a voice of dissent regarding the 10/22. I've got a 10/22 and it's awesome. My younger cousins all learned how to shoot with their 10/22s and the problem is that a semi-auto doesn't require any time to think between trigger pulls. So they basically got really good at shooting a 22 as fast as possible. My daughter's 3 and I'll probably start her with a Savage Rascal and then move to a Ruger American Rimfire. It uses the same 10/22 magazines without the temptation to lay down suppressing fire at the range. She can get a 10/22 when she's old enough to buy her own ammo.

 

[MattB]

My daughter's first rifle was a Cricket. You can scope them too. Nice and light for the little ones.

My daughter is now 10 and struggles a bit with then weight of a Savage Mark II.

 

[KJH]

My two kids started at about 4-5 with Cricket. I put a scope for one and a cheap red dot for the other. It was perfect for their size, safe, and easy for them. The downside is they outgrow them fast. They moved to an older bolt action single shot with a cut down stock, and that worked well. Now they like bigger levers and semi-autos.

For an inexpensive starter .22 that is bigger than a cricket, but still shortened, the Rock Island Armory makes a inexpensive bolt action magazine fed .22 youth model (Model M14Y). The last few I had came with a 18.5" threaded barrel (unexpected). They sell new for about $110-$120. Its not a high-end rifle, but fits the interim need perfectly. If I were in the position today, I'd go this route. I have several friends who bought these recently for kids/grandkids and all felt like it was a good value for a short time in a kids shooting career.

 

[TREE ‘EM]

Savage rascal is about the most user-friendly youth rifle on the market. Factory sites are plenty adequate and there is no wrestling with a cocking knob for small hands. Accu trigger like all of them is fantastic. It’s hard to beat the price point either.
I bought one for my youngest son when he turned five and he has taken hundreds of squirrels and comes with it over the past six years.

Ruger American bolt action is another good option. With replaceable modules to adjust the length of pull, he won’t outgrow it. I bought one in 17 HMR for my son‘s eighth birthday and it shot better out of the box then my 77/17.

 

[jorgensen.travis]

I like the telescoping stocks for kids. Even youth stocks are too big for a lot of kids. This is a picture of my son at 4 years old shooting our 10/22 with an aftermarket stock. When they were young, I used 22 LR CB. They don’t make much noise, and aren’t enough pressure to cycle the action. Turning the 10/22 into a single shot.

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[howl]

At five there are difficulties for most kids with operating actions and shooting offhand. An AR type shot from a rest with the stock adjusted all the way in was good. Scopes were a challenge because I was never sure they understood how the view was supposed to look. We never had trouble using iron sights.

Keystone has a nice quality youth .22 in their 722 line. That's what I'm buying as they get big enough to handle a rifle on their own. The gun comes with good quality iron sights, so there's no need to add weight with a scope. And the magazines are easy to use. AND they'll cycle Aguila Super Colibri. Those quiet loads are more agreeable to a young shooter.