Youth 22 - experience, thoughts, ideas?

spittinfire

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So I pulled a couple of 22s out last night and my 4 year old daughter expressed interest. She wanted to shoot right then and there but it was dark. I want to get her into shooting but I want to use something that actually fits her and she can maneuver.
I’ve never been a fan of the Crikets, they seem poorly made so I found a Savage Rascal. Anyone have experience with these? How did you like it? Did your child outgrow it quickly?

The other thought I had was to find something like a Marlin 20 or 25(I love Marlins), buy an extra stock and cut it down to fit her. Even with a cut stock it will be longer then the Rascal and a little heavier but I know she could grow into it and use it for years, really a lifetime.

Guys who have been through this before, what has your experience been?


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I LOVE the Savage Rascal. Started my boys on it when they were 4 & 6, they still shoot it today at 9.5 & 12.

What I really like about the Savage is that mechanically it’s a real bolt gun. It operates normally without the plunger deal you have to operate on the cricket.

It is accurate to boot. Good aperture sights and tapped for a scope rail if you want to go that route.
 
the Rascal is an excellent starter single shot, and you're right about the Cricketts, they're bottom barrel US manufactured junk IMO akin to the Heritage revolvers. Sure they work, but it ain't an heirloom likely to be passed down.

The peep sight on the Rascal is useable even to hunt with, and the gun will shoot CB shorts which is what I recommend for beginning young shooters so there's hardly any noise, recoil, etc.
 
So, I have and recommend the Savage Rascal as I mentioned above....but....wow, that CZ looks like a sweet option.
 
My daughter still shoots her Cricket ( she's 18 now), cause "it's pink". Yep. So, think really hard about getting her something pink or purple or whatever girly colors you can find. Stuff like that matters to them, a lot.
She'll shoot ARs and everything else ( she's a natural with an M1 carbine), but she likes to shoot the "pink gun".
 
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Enjoy your range time with your young lady, both my daughters did not have an interest and that is OK with me.
 
Loved the Rascal and it’s a great little rifle.

If I had to do it over again, I’d recommend searching out a rifle that can easy be upgraded as your child grows. My son had a very limited window with his Rascal since he is growing like a weed. He’s upgraded to a 10/22 but this time I used one of the Ruger stocks where I can swap out the butt spacer and comb height to keep pace with him
 
If you love your daughter this is what you’ll buy. :D

https://cz-usa.com/product/cz-457-scout/

Dang it. Now I want one. For the kids, sure, it’s for my kids.
I learned on my dad’s old single shot bolt action .22 that he bought when he was a kid. I may wind up using that but I really like the modularity and threaded barrel on this one.
 
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Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'm leaning pretty hard towards a Rascal, my daughter has requested pink. I'm thinking the Rascal has the most to offer for the money. The CZ looks awesome but I think I'd have a hard time handing that off to a 4 year old. I've got 3 girls I'm hoping to teach to shoot so there is a chance I'm going to buying 3 of these.

I'm now trolling for another Marlin though....a 15y.

@Ikarus1 I had a 795 a few years ago and you're spot on about them. I just didn't want to start them off with a semi auto, I want them to learn how to cycle a weapon first.
 
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'm leaning pretty hard towards a Rascal, my daughter has requested pink. I'm thinking the Rascal has the most to offer for the money. The CZ looks awesome but I think I'd have a hard time handing that off to a 4 year old. I've got 3 girls I'm hoping to teach to shoot so there is a chance I'm going to buying 3 of these.

I'm now trolling for another Marlin though....a 15y.

@Ikarus1 I had a 795 a few years ago and you're spot on about them. I just didn't want to start them off with a semi auto, I want them to learn how to cycle a weapon first.
You can always let them manually cycle CCI quiets through a semiauto action...they wont cycle it by themselves and they're also very mild and tame rounds
 
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'm leaning pretty hard towards a Rascal, my daughter has requested pink. I'm thinking the Rascal has the most to offer for the money. The CZ looks awesome but I think I'd have a hard time handing that off to a 4 year old. I've got 3 girls I'm hoping to teach to shoot so there is a chance I'm going to buying 3 of these.

I'm now trolling for another Marlin though....a 15y.

@Ikarus1 I had a 795 a few years ago and you're spot on about them. I just didn't want to start them off with a semi auto, I want them to learn how to cycle a weapon first.

Not totally relevant but here’s a story. When my daughter was little I got her a purple little kid fishing pole. She told me she wanted an adult fishing pole for Christmas the next year. So I grabbed a basic rig that would fit her skills. She opened it up Christmas morning and cried like a crazed lunatic. Funny in hindsight. Moral of the story is don’t listen to little kids. Teach them. They have no clue. Guns are adult toys. Don’t dumb it down to their level. You are the boss in this area.
 
Dang it. Now I want one. For the kids, sure, it’s for my kids.
I learned on my dad’s old single shot bolt action .22 that he bought when he was a kid. I may wind up using that but I really like the modularity and threaded barrel on this one.

I don’t need another CZ, but the threaded barrel Scout might be really fun.
 
You can always let them manually cycle CCI quiets through a semiauto action...they wont cycle it by themselves and they're also very mild and tame rounds
+1

I have four semi-autos that cycle Quiet-22 ammo:
1936 Remington Model 24
1951 Remington Model 241
1954 Higging Model 31
1980 Winchester Model 190

Also, leverguns, like bolt guns, work with everything, near 'bouts. The Henry Youth models are nice!
 
I found an extra stock for one of my Marlin 60s that I’m going to cut down and see how that goes. Either load one at a time or use subsonic ammo and go from there.
I’ll keep trolling for something for her while I gauge her interest a little more.

Thanks for all the help guys!


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@spittinfire

Are you shooting at the house? Denver isn’t too far away. If you want to start her on a suppressed compact Ruger American Rimfire and CCI SV, let me know. :cool:
 
@spittinfire

Are you shooting at the house? Denver isn’t too far away. If you want to start her on a suppressed compact Ruger American Rimfire and CCI SV, let me know. :cool:

Thank you for the very kind offer. I might bring her along just so I can have an excuse to shoot it. I'm going to start her shooting at the house and I hope to take her to The Foothills Complex if she does well at home. We can shoot a little bit here and 22 doesn't make much noise so I think we'll be ok. If she wants to try a pistol I've got a single six that I think will work well.
 
Thank you for the very kind offer. I might bring her along just so I can have an excuse to shoot it. I'm going to start her shooting at the house and I hope to take her to The Foothills Complex if she does well at home. We can shoot a little bit here and 22 doesn't make much noise so I think we'll be ok. If she wants to try a pistol I've got a single six that I think will work well.
I have a handful of semiauto 22 pistols with silencers too. :D

M&P compact might work for her.
 
I got my stepson a Remington 514 for Christmas and have had as much fun with that rifle as he has. It is a very accurate little gun even with CB Shorts.
 
Interesting this came up now. My grandkids (3, range in age 7 months to 6) will be spending some time with me this summer and just about decided on the Savage Rascal. Never thought about the CB rounds.
 
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