22 rifle for CAS Buckaroo

COREY

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Well I took my 10 year old daughter to a CAS match last weekend and she loved it. Now she wants to shoot buckaroo class. Thing is I need to find her gear.

I found her a Colt Frontier Scout to start (eye out for another one), but I also need a lever 22 and a 410 shotgun.

I have little experience with 22 sized western guns, let alone those that are sized for someone that is only 4'6" tall. Does anyone have any recommendations on a lever 22 that will be short and light enough for her, but good enough quality that it will not fall apart? Love to get her a Browning BL22 micro midas but they ain't cheap and they do not come up used very often.

Thanks im advance for any help you can give me.
 
Henry makes a short barrel, big loop lever version. You may have to shorten the buttstock for her. I haven't heard too many threads complaining about Henry 's rimfires. $400 to $450 before taxes and shipping? Unless you find a used one. Mossberg Bantam for the 410 if pumps are allowed.

Jim
 
The Henrys are great, and take shorts, presuming your shooting steel. They use an aloy receiver but are of very good quality and are reliable. There is also the Marlin 39m but good luck finding one of those. I prefer it as it has the same lever throw as my 1894. For another pistol Ruger produces the wrangler in .22 which would work or a Bearcat. I dont see why you cant download your rounds for her unless the revolver itself is too large. Also if you look around Im sure a .410 sxs can be found easily although they are rather expensive not sure why the premium for .410. I would actually avoid 20ga as depending on the gun they can have a lot of kick. Good on you getting her into cowboy. Round here its becoming an old mans game even though its about the best thing you can do with your clothes on and Im 41!
 
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Mossberg is a pump and will not work for cowboy action shooting unless it is a 1897,which they never made in 410 the time know if.

I am not familiar with the rules of CAS. BUT I did say IF pump actions are allowed. If it just SXS guns, I have a Stoeger coach gun in 20 Ga that has been perfectly reliable. I use it for small game hunting. A 410 in the same version might work. Again, you will probably have to cut the buttstock

Jim
 
Get her a Henry mares leg in 22. Then get a full stock. I love mine. Very light, short. I would imagine a young person would love it.

Sorry mine isn't for sale.
 
Do NOT get anything with a big loop.

Shooting a lever gun fast means trimming away any risk of lost movement in the fingers. And that means you want only enough room for the fingers and no more than that. In fact a big function of the usual padding added to a lot of CAS rifle levers is to remove the lost travel as much as to reduce the bruising on the back of the lever fingers. With the idea that as much as possible of the finger movement should move the lever any sort of big loop is going to be a significant disadvantage.

If you go for Henry I'd say go with the basic H001 model with the round barrel. That round barrel is a lot lighter than any of their octagonal barrels. That makes the front weight a lot less and for a youth to hold up so she can focus on fast and accurate shooting.

The shoulder stock will be too long of course, unless she is quite tall, But any smith or even yourself if handy with tools could cut it down and install a new butt plate to suit her. And keep the piece that came off to put back on at a later time.

The new butt plate can be made from any hardwood. It's only there to save the edges of the cut off stock for later when you add back the cut off piece anyway. And wood will be fine because to help with a steady hold to the shoulder the usual fix is to add a butt cover of leather that has the butt end as the flesh side of the leather. And often that flesh out rear piece is laced with leather lacing to the side wrap around. The leather lacing again helping to get a more stable hold just that much more than the flesh out end cap. And that leather butt cover protects the temporary wood butt cap just fine.

I use my own Henry H001 for some rapid fire fun in the local speed steel matches. I even manage to beat the odd semi. Even shot quickly it never fails. And it lasts for a long time between cleanings. Like up around 10K or so.

For a shotgun the only pumps allowed under the current rule book are Winchester 1897's. And I'm pretty sure those don't come as .410's. The following is in the rule book for Buckaroo....

Side-by-side, single shot, and lever action centerfire shotguns in .410 caliber and
28 or 32 gauge are allowed within the Buckaroo Category only

I notice it says that lever action shotguns are allowed but the only one I find is the big frame and heavier Henry. Plus being a lever doesn't help much since none of the shotguns can have more than two rounds at any time in them. So the usual option is either a slick working single barrel with an ejector or a side by side.

From a quick bit of checking it appears that the Scout is a smaller frame than the full size 1873. If so then a good companion if you can't find another Scout would be a Uberti Stallion which is also a smaller frame and likely on par with the Scout. If her hands are really small and even the Scout is a big fit for her than have a look into the Ruger Bearcat. It's quite a bit smaller than even the Stallion and likely the Scout.
 
Thanks BCRider, I was looking at the Henry, but had my apprehension over a lever in the low/mid $400 range. They have a youth model with a shorter barrel; less muzzle weight and she does not need the extra barrel for sight aiming of mag capacity for what she is going to use it for.

Now just need to free up some more money for her. She wanted me to sell a Ruger SP101 to help pay for all of it, but if I can get rid of a guide gun first I will try to keep that as well. Kids ain't cheap, but still cheaper than of she was in hockey :)
 
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What about yourself and wife? CAS events are strongly about family and friends. And handling and shooting the variety of the style of guns involved can rapidly become addictive. Your daughter's interest might well turn out to produce a major shift in your gun population :D

For myself it turned out that for long arms I found myself shifting away from semi auto (I had three overall) and more to single shot and lever rifles in a number of calibers. I now do not own any semi auto rifles of any sort. But I've got around 12 lever rifles in rimfire and center fire and a half dozen rimfire pump actions. And I enjoy them all far more than the semis.
 
My wife tolerates my shooting habit, and I am happy for that. I am all set already. I have a brace if Ruger NV Bisleys and Uberti 1881s with 1860 grips. Weird thing is that are neither set are matching calibers, but it does not seem to bother me. I also have a Miroku Win 1873 and a Rossi 1892 for rifles, and a Baikal 12 gauge and a Huglu hammered coach gun. Hammers slow me down, but they are so cool I could not pass it up.
 
I've got a Henry Golden Boy Youth model. Had the adult size and it had a too long LOP for me.

Great little rifle for the "Buckaroo" in all of us!
 
I shoot CAS and watch our young shooter (Dead Eye ####). 12 year old boy. He uses Ruger single,sixes, a Henry 001, and a Stoeger Coachgun in .410.

The little Henry is smooth as glass, accurate, and fits very well. The Stoeger is a solid sxs but, being new is very stiff to open.

I would recommend the Henry (not Mares Leg) and would recommend looking for a .410 with an ejector. CAS rules allow a single shot to have an ejector. But have a hammer. Stay away from 20 gauge as their recoil is more than lighter load 12 gauge.
 
^^^^^^ Thanks for that info.

May have a location on an Stoeger Uplander Youth in 410. Barrels are 22" but has a shorter LOP and a recoil pad (if a 410 actually needs one).

I think I will be getting a Henry for her. Same shop that has the 410 has an Evil Roy Frontier. Has everything she would need, including a good set of sights (only complaint I can find about the Henry is the sights), but it does have the big loop. Maybe somebody would want to trade levers if we end up with it.
 
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