.22 For 7 Year Old Daughter & Wife

Hi All,

thank you so much for the thought out responses. Based on the feedback I think I will go for a bolt or break action with a red dot to begin with. If possible, I'd like one rifle that they both may be able to start with. That may be asking too much. Does this narrow down the pack at all?
 
As I research the same thing I realized that;

I don't like the break barrel of the Hotshot; I've never had one and I'd rather have my son learning on an action he's more likely to use as he progresses through the guns so bolt or SA but as his 1st gun; bolt it is. That said, I do like the look and design of the stock.

The Scout is 50-100% more expensive than the Rascal, depending on retailer, and that's before buying a $30+ mag when it comes time to progress to a repeater.

Savage Rascal it is for me and I'll be happy to sell and upgrade when the time comes.
 
DANGER DANGER DANGER... I'm sure your situation is slightly different than mine. A few years ago I started buying gems for my child (not for me of course). Went through the safe on Easter, and my 10 year old has as many gems as I do now.

When I used to shoot with the g/f I got in the habit of finding rifles in pairs (his' n' her's). For the young 'un, I try to find gems either tiny to start with, or gems I don't wrestle with the conscience while cutting down. If you cut a stock, save the remainder so it can be added as they grow.
 
bollox said:
Make sure you handle one first. They don't #### with the bolt, you have to manually pull it straight back and it can be heavy for 'lil ones.
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Not too worried about the cocking, she'll only be using it while I'm there for quite a while. I like that the Crikket has matching adult sized stocks available for later on too.
 
blasted_saber said:
The Savage Rascal is tiny. Its not a good gun for your wife to learn with. Maybe pick a Rascal for your daughter and find an old Cooey in good shape for your wife.
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How long do you think your wife is going to be lovin' the single-shot .22 anyways? Do you have any .22s currently that she could try, rather than buying one specifically for her? Then if she likes it she can get her own?

If shes anything like my wife, she'll get about 10 rounds off before she decides she wants to try something bigger.
 
I picked up a Cricket for my oldest about 2 years ago. He was 7 at the time. I really like the pull the bolt back to #### feature for young shooters its very simple and easy to understand. I picked it up unfired at a local auction for $150. The stock is really short on the youth models so it will likely be pretty uncomfortable for your wife to use. It's been very reliable and a good gun so far.
 
I'm all for the Cooeys ...but I think if its for both a little girl and a woman , you should look at something with a telescoping stock as their LOPs are going to be different . That would mean something like an SR22 or a Mossberg 715 ( is that the one ? ) .
Really though , if you want one rifle for both , you will need something with an adjustable stock .
If it was me , I'd get the adult a Cooey ( love my Cooeys ) and the child something like a Cricket or Rascal , as others have suggested .
 
I've been helping out with my club's Jr .22 program for a few years now. The kid's universally prefer the shorter kid's length rifles over the adult size options just because they fit their smaller frames. This really shows up when the smaller ones are shooting the full length rifles because to get their eyes anywhere close to the rear peep sight our rifles have they need to lay over the shoulder stock. This being from prone which we use in this programme. But seated isn't any better. When we shoot outdoors on the regular range the smaller kids with the long shoulder stocks end up with the stock sticking out under their armpits to get their heads close enough to the peep sights. Needless to say this feels VERY awkward for them.

But then again the older shooters we have end up all scrunched up if they try to shoot the youth size rifles we have. And that's not good either.

So I'd strongly suggest that you get TWO rifles. A single shot in the proper fitting youth size stocks and barrel for your little one and a proper adult size for your wife.

And to avoid the "ready to go again" issue with a semi auto I'd also suggest that both of these rifles be bolt action. A single shot Savage Rascal for your daughter and a Mark II repeater for the wife. I suggest the Rascal to avoid the hard to pull cocking knob on the Cricket and similar.

I think the TC could be a great youth rifle unless much of the shooting will be done from a bench/table. In that case the break action gets to be very cumbersome and the young one could end up waving the barrel around when opening and closing the action. Again the bolt action is a better option to avoid this since the rifle can simply rest between shots while the bolt is cycled.

Depending on what the wife likes shooting you might want to look into some options to the basic bolt platform. A lever action such as a Henry H001 could work out really well. And of course any .22 she can shoot will also be something you can shoot. So there doesn't need to be "his and hers". But you would likely both enjoy a little variety in your rimfire rifle styles. So one nice bolt action, a nice semi and a lever Henry would make for some good sharing at the range.
 
As I said before, bolt is great but I'm guessing most of the people who suggest bolt either shoot semi auto as well or don't shoot much. I have my grandfather Cooey and I love the gun. It's perfect to learn on. However you can't put a RDS just a normal scope. I second a RDS. Great for youth to learn.
The main thing people are saying is you need two guns. I disagree. A collapsible stock that is light will work just fine for both your girls. Also it's about money plain and simple. Do you want to buy two guns and then buy a third gun when your daughter gets abit older? Do you want to buy only one gun, thinking it might not get used that much and save your money.
As you know, shooting can be addictive for some. So if you go bolt action, my guess is a semi auto would be in the near future, thus another gun to buy.
You really have a tough decision. Atleast they are interested in shooting!
 
BCRider said:
I've been helping out with my club's Jr .22 program for a few years now. The kid's universally prefer the shorter kid's length rifles over the adult size options just because they fit their smaller frames. This really shows up when the smaller ones are shooting the full length rifles because to get their eyes anywhere close to the rear peep sight our rifles have they need to lay over the shoulder stock. This being from prone which we use in this programme. But seated isn't any better. When we shoot outdoors on the regular range the smaller kids with the long shoulder stocks end up with the stock sticking out under their armpits to get their heads close enough to the peep sights. Needless to say this feels VERY awkward for them.

But then again the older shooters we have end up all scrunched up if they try to shoot the youth size rifles we have. And that's not good either.

So I'd strongly suggest that you get TWO rifles. A single shot in the proper fitting youth size stocks and barrel for your little one and a proper adult size for your wife.

And to avoid the "ready to go again" issue with a semi auto I'd also suggest that both of these rifles be bolt action. A single shot Savage Rascal for your daughter and a Mark II repeater for the wife. I suggest the Rascal to avoid the hard to pull cocking knob on the Cricket and similar.

I think the TC could be a great youth rifle unless much of the shooting will be done from a bench/table. In that case the break action gets to be very cumbersome and the young one could end up waving the barrel around when opening and closing the action. Again the bolt action is a better option to avoid this since the rifle can simply rest between shots while the bolt is cycled.

Depending on what the wife likes shooting you might want to look into some options to the basic bolt platform. A lever action such as a Henry H001 could work out really well. And of course any .22 she can shoot will also be something you can shoot. So there doesn't need to be "his and hers". But you would likely both enjoy a little variety in your rimfire rifle styles. So one nice bolt action, a nice semi and a lever Henry would make for some good sharing at the range.
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Excellent advice - pretty well what I was gonna suggest.
Unless your Daughter and wife are close in size, buy each of them a rifle of their own.
Take the two ladies to your local gun shop and get them fitted for the two rifles you are going to buy. Nothing like an ill fitting rifle to turn 'em off forever. Spend more $$ on the wife's as that is gonna be her rifle, maybe forever. The Daughter will outgrow hers, get a Savage Rascal.
My wife has to put on shoes to hit 5 ft. so finding a 22 that she is comfortable meant going out and trying some on. Settled on a Savage Cub ( early Rascal basically ) which she loves and I find it fun and accurate to shoot too.
In maybe 2 more years I'll be taking our Grand Daughter out in the bush with the Savage to teach her. Kinda hoping when she goes back to school after summer at the cabin with us that when the Teacher says "And Pearl, what did you learn this summer" she pipes up "How to shoot and skin squirrels, head shots on Grouse .........." as the Teacher faints. :)
 
Im not a big fan of the idea of an exposed hammer (TC Hot Shot for example) for teaching a child to shoot. I know new adult shooters who couldnt safely drop the hammer on a levergun, I would not feel comfortable with a child attmepting to do so.

The Rascal is a great gun for kids to learn with. Zero complaints from this father.
 
my wife uses "our" paddle stock 77/22. bought her a cz scout when she broke her arm............ still uses the ruger, the 25 rnd mag is the deciding factor.........doesn't want to reload when the pdogs are up. check out the new ruger american youth. uses 10/22 mags,,,and comes with a clip on stock extention


ht tp://www.gunsandammo.com/reviews/ruger-american-rimfire-review/

luck
cal

ht tp://ruger.com/products/americanRimfire/index.html

ht tp://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-American22.htm

ps: now that I think I can afford it , I'm looking for a little more bling for her in the form of a browning buckmark target rifle .......... yes it's for her!
 
Looking at the BMR, try to handle both the target and sporter. I found the sporter feels better, topped with a Weaver 3-9 ao classic it's a sweet gun.
 
Hi All,

just an update. I went into Wanstalls today just to get my daughter to shoulder some rifles and they had a pink Savage Rascal up on the wall. It was the first one she shouldered. Also, I checked prices before I went it and they seem to have the best price on it around. It was $179.99. Needless to say, I walked out with one.

Also, as soon as I got in the car my wife said, you bought her a rifle and you didn't even buy me one yet......two rifles it is. I think I might get a 10-22 for that cause.
 
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