Best .22LR for introducing youth

I got my son a cooey 39 for his 6th birthday.
He needed help cocking it for a while and The fidgety loading slows him down.
He is a crackshot to 50 yards now on those old iron sights.
So much so he is already plinking steel at 300 with my grey birch and yesterday, went 10 for 10 on an 8” plate at 300 with my CZ457.
I started shopping for a PRS rig for him a couple days ago which I guess will be his 7th birthday present.
Going to need to be lighter than the CZ MTR so thinking a standard 457 for now and do a match barrel upgrade when he thinks he needs it.
 
The 457 scout seems like a good option for me, building up from that action over time.

Does anyone know if its drilled and tapped like other 457’s?, CZ’s website te just mentions the 11mm dovetail.
 
Dave_D said:
The one they’re most comfortable with.

I have a 9 year old. More then big enough to shoot my Henry lever 22 (and other 22s but he’s only tried the Henry and the rascal)
But much prefers the rascal still.
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This exactly. Far too many guys start their kids with guns that are simply too big/heavy to hold and handle properly. I’ve seen this discourage so many youngsters over the years that it now drives me nuts seeing it.


They’re kids, who’re likely more than happy playing with dollar store plastic guns at home. They really do not care one bit what brand is on the gun or how much you spent. Or if it’ll impress dads buddies…

Stay small and light with something that can take some abuse. Something dad won’t really care about out when it gets dinged up.



Single shot bolts are excellent for safety reasons, simplicity, cost, and teaching to make shots count as it forces slower rate of fire.


Remember that positivity is key to getting them hooked so you want to minimize all possible “bads” like accidental fires (semi), damaging the gun, missing (too heavy to handle) or a ticked off dad.


Savage rascal are awesome and I often use the kids for hunting. And I’m over 6’.

Red dot make it super easy for them. Again, keeping it positive by eliminating the frustration many new shooters have with riflescopes and increasing odds of hits.



And don’t forget the reactive targets like eggs, balloons, chalk, etc. Fun = they want to go more.

All 3 of mine started shooting when they were 3. Learn from my mistakes ;)
 
Beeron said:
The 457 scout seems like a good option for me, building up from that action over time.

Does anyone know if its drilled and tapped like other 457’s?, CZ’s website te just mentions the 11mm dovetail.
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Not sure about that model, but I have a 457 with the dovetail rail. MDT makes a very good Picatinny rail for that.
 
old303 said:
Not sure about that model, but I have a 457 with the dovetail rail. MDT makes a very good Picatinny rail for that.
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Funny but ya, I forgot that.
I have that rail on my 457 now.
I guess I conflated the aftermarket pic rail with a tapped receiver in my mind.
Area 419 makes a good one too
 
Thanks for all the input everyone. I found a new-to-me Savage B22 with iron sights. We'll try this one for awhile and see how they take on to it.

Hope you're all having a good summer.
 
.22LRGUY said:
I'm always reluctant to suggest Cooeys because I've bought sold a bunch of them trying to like them.
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I agree... I have seen many Cooeys that adults have problems using. I would not recommend a Cooey to anyone for actual use... and I have worked on hundreds of them. There are far better rifles out there.
 
I wont let my kids shoot a cooey, eye-pro is more standard now then when i was their age, but i had a case rupture on an old cooey and got an eyefull of gasses and debris when i was their age which still affects that eye today, i'm good, you couldn't give me a cooey lol
 
I don't understand this single shot hand feed each round mentality. I taught both my kids using a 10/22 and before the bans an AR-15 with red dot and a 22 conversion kit. I gave them a rest for the front end and they shot from a bench. They quickly got bored of shooting paper and they loved shooting small steel targets and discarded empty shotgun shells. They wanted to hit the targets and they were not dumping rounds.

They learned the fundementals quickly and I increased the distance gradually. After a couple sessions they wanted to shoot .223 out of my AR and were hitting human head sized rocks at 100 m with red dot and 3X magnifier in no time.



When they got bigger and could manipulate a firearm easier I introduced them to bolt action magazine fed rifles.
 
I second the idea of making it fun. My youngest "graduated" to a Savage Mk. II after a few outings with his Rascal. As long as the gun isn't a complete lemon, pretty much anything single shot or manually repeating in 22lr will do. Maybe look for something not too heavy.

It's by far more important to set up fun, reactive targets. Spinners and gongs make them want to shoot again and again. snakes and ladders is also great.
 
There's 3 vintage Winchester rifles perfect for teaching young shooters. All 3 are single shot rifles requiring the pulling back of the firing mechanism to kock the action.

1. Winchester 1902
2. Winchester 1904
3. Winchester Model 67

The Model 67 is the one my son learned to shoot with. The 1902 and 1904 are quite a bit smaller rifles with shorter barrels and perfect for smaller children but he soon moved up to the longer barrel 67. All 3 rifles are excellent for teaching gun handling and gun safety.
 
One of the things that I did with my daughter to attract her to shooting is we shoot games togeather. Race to the finish line taking turns shooting. Battle ship excetra.

We shoot them at 25 yards and she shoots off a bench with a bipod and bags. To make it fair I shoot standing unsupported. It makes it fun for both of us and just challenging enuff to challenge her but not so much so tk frustrate her.

Additionally when she does well or even beats me I offer her a treat be it ice cream on the way home or a trip to the dollar store for a cheap toy, or a few bucks added in her piggy bank.

My son is just starting now and he struggles more with the concepts and fundamentals than my daughter did. BUT he is MORE enthusiastic about getting to go and is now excited he has the same gun as dad (finally found a 457 Scout).

We now have 3 youth sized rifles. A rascal, a somewhat custom 10/22 take down and the CZ 457 Scout. All three have there place. The rascal is accurate and incredibly light but the iron sights are not easy for little ones to grasp I find and the stock size and shape are not the best for a scope so I may put a red dot on this one soon, the 10/22 is now my daughter’s favorite. She enjoys not having to cycle the bolt and having a magazine made her happy. It has taught her restraint as shooting faster and not focusing on all those important “slow” fundementals means DADs going to win cause she misses more. And the scout we JUST got but having sighted it in myself it promises to be the most accurate precise option we have but it’s comparatively heavy when put beside that rascal. It also lacks a sling swivel sadly to mount a bipod.

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guntech said:
I agree... I have seen many Cooeys that adults have problems using. I would not recommend a Cooey to anyone for actual use... and I have worked on hundreds of them. There are far better rifles out there.
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Just one of those guns, you have to own one to be a Canadian gun owner. But yes, I had a few that spat hot gas/carbon at me.

Fat thumbs always catches the extractor and come back from the range with a cut thumb trying to load it.
 
I've tried a few different ones with the kids.
They're not really interested in my full sized bolt actions after trying them once.
But they both like the Savage Rascal. I bought my daughter a pink Cricket. That was a big mistake the trigger was bad enough to bring her to tears as her younger brother had no problems hitting the targets at 25 yards but she could not hit them at all. (yes, it was the trigger that was the issue too hard and gritty for little fingers) The day was redeemed after she took her brothers Rascal and was able to hit the targets too.
 
You can always shoot a short stock but one too long is always a pain...
My main rimfire gopher gun as an adult was a CIL/Anschutz with the stock cut to 12 inches and the barrel at 16 inches with a little old Bushnell 2-7 Rimfire scope. It was so handy from the truck window in any position you need to scrunch into.
 
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