So today I took my Five year old Son out shopping. I had promised this quite a while ago and he was very excited to get his very own, first gun. Originally I was looking for the Henry Mini Bolt, but availability seemed to be an issue. I did have a chance to handle the mini but not with my son, It felt pretty good but something about it just seemed 'off' too me. My backup plan was the Crickett. After holding one and working the bolt My son turned to me and said "I don't like it." I had to respect this decision coming from a little guy that really wanted a gun. The crickett is well sized but feels $100 dollars cheaper that the price tag that was on it. The Savage Cub action was too stiff and overall still too big for him. One salesman even tried to upsell me to a .410... Still not sure what he was thinking. I had all but given up hope as we hit the third and final gun shop in town when we bumped into the HOT SHOT .22 by Thompson/Center.
As soon as he saw it his eyes got big And I could tell he was in love. He proved to me that he could open the action and #### the hammer by himself. SOLD! we went straight to the range And he got the safety lesson and started figuring the gun out.
I had never heard of this little rifle before today but now I am totally sold on it. Lightweight, this break action is easy for The Proud little Gunnut to carry and manouver and a usable Length of pull for a 5 year old. It is at the limits of his reach now but, It is wearing a 1 inch buttplate that I intend to replace with thinner piece. It also has a spacer that can add length as he grows. The controls are well proportioned for small hands. At this time he is using both hands to pull the trigger guard/lever to open the action and two thumbs to #### the hammer but it works well for him and he can do this safely and while keeping fingers away from the trigger. The controls are fine for me to work with ease although the grip area is definately small for an adult. The spent casings are lifted partially out of the chamber upon opening the action. this makes them easy to grab or if you point the barrel up, a quick shake will drop the brass clear of the gun. It has a decent peep sight on it... I think... I have virtually no experience with peep sights but I could hit clay pigeons easily at 25 meters and even managed a hit on one at 50 meters. I consider myself an average shooter so those results where impresive to me. The gun feels solid, the break action locks up nicely and balance is very good. It seems like a perfectly scaled down version of the T/C encore breack action.
I'm sure the Realtree AP Camo finish adds to his excitement all the more. It also comes in pink camo for those little girls. I guess what I'm saying is, If you are looking for a junior sized .22, Seriously consider the Hot Shot. My Son Summed it up when he was showing the gun to his mom after we got home from the range. ~~"It's the best gun in the whole world!"~~
As soon as he saw it his eyes got big And I could tell he was in love. He proved to me that he could open the action and #### the hammer by himself. SOLD! we went straight to the range And he got the safety lesson and started figuring the gun out.
I had never heard of this little rifle before today but now I am totally sold on it. Lightweight, this break action is easy for The Proud little Gunnut to carry and manouver and a usable Length of pull for a 5 year old. It is at the limits of his reach now but, It is wearing a 1 inch buttplate that I intend to replace with thinner piece. It also has a spacer that can add length as he grows. The controls are well proportioned for small hands. At this time he is using both hands to pull the trigger guard/lever to open the action and two thumbs to #### the hammer but it works well for him and he can do this safely and while keeping fingers away from the trigger. The controls are fine for me to work with ease although the grip area is definately small for an adult. The spent casings are lifted partially out of the chamber upon opening the action. this makes them easy to grab or if you point the barrel up, a quick shake will drop the brass clear of the gun. It has a decent peep sight on it... I think... I have virtually no experience with peep sights but I could hit clay pigeons easily at 25 meters and even managed a hit on one at 50 meters. I consider myself an average shooter so those results where impresive to me. The gun feels solid, the break action locks up nicely and balance is very good. It seems like a perfectly scaled down version of the T/C encore breack action.
I'm sure the Realtree AP Camo finish adds to his excitement all the more. It also comes in pink camo for those little girls. I guess what I'm saying is, If you are looking for a junior sized .22, Seriously consider the Hot Shot. My Son Summed it up when he was showing the gun to his mom after we got home from the range. ~~"It's the best gun in the whole world!"~~
