Ideas for starter rifle for a young child

TT1900 said:
Best advice I received when I asked a similar question was to involve my daughter in the process and listen to her input. Keeping them interested is the primary goal when they’re young, and letting them have input goes a long way.
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This is good advice.
How they feel about the gun is the most important thing.
Perhaps pride of ownership for you is all about quality, accuracy, reliability, pedigree, whatever.. but for them could involve something as simple as a pink stock. Let them choose, even if for some reason you don't think it's "ideal".
 
Got my young lads a rascal couple years ago when my oldest was 7. I made the mistake of getting the heavy barrel, doubt it makes much difference as it's a single shot.. And while it's a nice little unit with a sparc II red dot on it I feel I should have gotten the lighter barrel because the heavy doesn't come with iron sights. Feel I should have gotten them proficient with use of the irons first is all.
 
I see several good options. New would be the savage rascal. Used options offer the old Cooey single shots, plus sometimes the Rossis come up affordably. The H&R comes too expensive. Easier to find anything like these things used on auction rather than by retailers, which widens the options but makes it a sight-unseen purchase.

I like any of these, and after the kid grows older they’ll still have a great backpacking/camp rifle.
 
Single shot 22 with a long sight radius, no scope. Cut the stock off in 1 inch sections and save them to add back.

I started shooting at 4 years old, had my own single shot BSA with peep sights at 6. Used that for 10 more years.
 
My kids have tried both the Rascal and the Cricket.
The Cricket hands down has the worst trigger on any rifle I have ever fired. Very gritty and fairly heavy.
Accuracy is reasonable on both. There is a small Mossberg 802 that you can buy single shot mags for as well as larger mags. My brother inlaw bought that for his kids. seems like a good 22.Henry makes a youth single shot which I understand is better than either the Savage or Cricket but I have not tried personally .
If you've got the budget it is really hard to go wrong with a CZ
 
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Joe Amorosi said:
I learned on one of those old single shot bolt action Eatonia (Cooey?) .22's
Cheap gun, cheap ammo and a great way to become familiar with how guns work
Tons 'o fun. That kid will never sell that rifle and use it to teach their kid and grandkids with it
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I used the same gun to train my kids at 4 & 6 years. The thing I liked about it was that even though they could load a round and eject the empty the bolt had to be manually cocked and it was too stiff for them to do without my help. Even though we try to teach kids guns safety, at that age the curiosity factor might overcome common sense that an older child would have. If they were physically unable to #### the gun, even if they could load it there is no risk involved. It might not be appropriate for an older, more responsible child of say 8 or 10 but I liked the extra safety margin it provided for very young kids.
 
homslice said:
My kids have tried both the Rascal and the Cricket.
The Cricket hands down has the worst trigger on any rifle I have ever fired. Very gritty and fairly heavy.
Accuracy is reasonable on both. There is a small Mossberg 802 that you can buy single shot mags for as well as larger mags. My brother inlaw bought that for his kids. seems like a good 22.Henry makes a youth single shot which I understand is better than either the Savage or Cricket but I have not tried personally .
If you've got the budget it is really hard to go wrong with a CZ
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I looked at all 3 of the kids rifles you mentioned, and went with the Henry for my kids. They were all around the $220-250 price point then, and it seemed like the best option. It felt the least you like, had a decent trigger, and better sights than the others. And on the plus side, it's just barely big enough that an adult can hold and shoot it too. The shop I was looking at them all at also had a Thompson center mini rifle that I haven't seen again anywhere. It was truly mini in every way, I could barely get my finger inside the trigger guard.
Kristian
 
I bought my oldest son a Henry lever youth when he was 7, he had been shooting bolt .22s for 2 years.

My oldest daughter got a Savage Cub with laminated wood stock.

My youngest son got a Rascal but grew out of it in 6 months and moved to a mk2 in 17hmr. The Rascal currently lives at my neighbors for their 2 boys to use.

My youngest daughter had no interest in having her own .22, she said she's waiting for my Colt AR to get released from limbo.

The other 3 all tend to pick bolt guns out of the rack when going shooting. I'd like to think they appreciate the importance of accuracy over volume lol. Might have something to do with my rule of load your own mags if you want to shoot. Not sure.

Not to say they don't also like mag dumping into trash, who doesn't?

I do agree with the idea of starting them out with a simple manual of arms and working on basics. Shooting can be frustrating for new/young people when they aren't familiar with how a firearm works.

And to add one more thing, just as important to use something like a reactive target. Balloons, soda crackers, clays, anything that gives them easy feedback to keep them interested.
 
I chose a Savage Rascal, started with a standard version then opted for the heavy barrel "Tactical Version" for a couple reasons: 1) added weight to help keep it steady (shooting standing off a rest, kids are all young so not doing offhand yet" 2) the extended bolt handle is a lot easier for the kids to work (again, young kids right now) 3) Down side is no iron sights but I decided to drop a red dot on it and am glad I did because the kids like shooting a lot more when they can hit things and the iron sights were a little bit of a struggle (again young kids--and yes and I want them to learn irons but that can come later)

My brother opted of the 10/22 option with his kids (as mentioned above by someone else) because it is a single shot if you only one round in mag, you can find cheap stock so cutting one or two to different lengths to fit small kids isn't a big deal and then you just put a different stock on it ( cheap and plentiful) and you don't have to buy a full size rifle when they outgrow it.

And I'll repeat the above, reactive targets and keep it fun. Stop when they are still having fun so they want come back to it. Keep it safe ,teach them the 4 Rules (my kids have to say them before they can touch a gun even at home. A shot timer can be a lot of fun even for kids, my 8yo loved it at the last range session
 
With the sudden surge and flood of small 13" barrel magazine fed bolt 22LR guns under $300, I think they would be great kids guns that will grow with them.

I got my grandson a Henry Mares leg and put on a full stock.

He loves it, he's a bit clumsy with the lever, but he's not complaining.

He likes that he doesn't have to load every 15 seconds.

Over the years with my kids I've also had a rascal, crickett and mini bolt but have long ago sold them off....( I can't imagine what my file at the rcmp firearms program looks like)

Liked the crickett a great deal but disliked the plastic cocking knob.

Nothing to dislike about the mini bolt.

The rascal suffered from light strikes and just had a low quality dollar store feel to it.
 
I've made sooooo many mistakes trying to find kid friendly guns.

I went with a lil badger. Big mistake. Anything with a hammer is too difficult for lil fingers to manipulate. Goes for shotgun singles as well. Accidental discharges are terrifying but with kids, holy jeezus fk, I still sweat thinking about it. Muzzle control FTW.

Tried a single shot cooey, can't remember the model ATM but you had to manually pull back the bolt; perhaps the Ace. Same problem as above.

I grew up with the cooey 60 so of course there had to be one in the stable and that was my "winner" with kids. I am still in love with that rifle, but LOP was a problem for small frames. I'd cry a little if I had to cut down a cooey. It wasn't that big a deal as kids prefer bench over offhand and I let the smaller ones sneak it into their armpit rather than properly into their shoulder. (already feeling the flames, I'd teach the proper stance, but in the name of fun, I'd let the tiny bodies override me)

NO SEMIs. You'll never be able to grab it out of their hands in time if there is an operator or mechanical "malfunction". Also not a fan of levers for kids as they have a tendency of swinging the muzzle around while struggling to reload, and they're much slower on a bench.

By the time I'd made almost every mistake in the book my boys & their friends were big enough that LOP wasn't really an issue. They grow up quick. Scoped Marlin 60 ftw once LOP isn't an issue. Marlin 795 was their favorite once I trusted them with a semi.

Sorry, I can only tell you what not to do. I regret not having went with a purpose driven gun like the rascal. Also don't discount the red ryder. Like SKS's most are mid, but some are exceptional; ammo is cheap and all that matters is the smiles (and teaching safe handling which can be done with a bb gun, and I don't sweat watching them struggle with the lever as much). Plus you can shoot it many more places than a 22 - so more smiles.

(EDIT: one more plus for the Red Ryder, some parents don't have firearms experience, so are frightened about what they don't know. The RR is a christmas story toy so I can get into the hands of children with overanxious parents allowing me to teach safe control to those that would otherwise have zero exposure to proper handling.)
 
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Get yourself an old single shot. Cooey, Savage, Winchester 68 if you can find one. Lop a couple inches of the back of the stock but keep the piece you cut off. Then as they grow you can drill in some wood dowels and glue the piece back on so they can enjoy shooting the rifle they learned on in an adult length. You can make a decent butt pad out of a trimmed down mouse pad.
 
guntech said:
Single shot 22 with a long sight radius, no scope. Cut the stock off in 1 inch sections and save them to add back.

I started shooting at 4 years old, had my own single shot BSA with peep sights at 6. Used that for 10 more years.
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Come to think of it, the Thompson/Center Hot Shot may be a contender (no pun intended).
Very sweet little gun (T/C single shots are excellent streamlined designs), very easy and straightforward to operate and clean, adjustable LOP, and comes with decent peep sights out of the box.
Only real negative is that in order to mount T/Cs mini-Encore weaver rail, you need to remove the rear peep sight. I have one of these as a little backpacking .22, and either this or a Chiappa Little Badger is what I'll probably get my kid before graduating them to full-size guns.


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safehunter said:
I went with a lil badger. Big mistake. Anything with a hammer is too difficult for lil fingers to manipulate.
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Interesting point. But I ran around with a double action cap gun when I was very little (I guess these are non-PC now) and never had a problem with the hammer.
But I just tested and the Little Badger hammer requires a little bit less force to operate than the T/C Hot Shot. And optic mount on it w/o losing the sights is simple. LOP adjustment is non-existant but perhaps can be accomplished by pulling off the buttplate and cutting the two metal 'arms' of the stock shorter (there is a sizeable 'straight' area so you could probably lop off about 2-3" of LOP, albeit this mod would be permanent).

If your kid can't operate the hammer perhaps a hammer extender would make it easier?
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My old Dad was right. Cooey Model 39 to start. Single shot AND you have to c**k it (nanny won't let me use the actual word). Very accurate (especially when he fired it). Lots of time to get a repeater later on. Definitely not a semi auto. But then he never owned a semi auto, ever, or a scoped rifle, being a depression-raised bush kid who only needed one shot and knew how to stalk game.
 
Honestly, I thought the bold text, taking the lords name in vain and explaining that I've gone through accidental discharges involving hammers and pull back bolts with YOUNG children would have had an impact, but the next two recommendations are 1) hammer & 2) pull back bolt

Incompetent or corrupt I cannot tell which.

With so many better options why take a chance?

My last remaining son has a Cooey39 (not the ace, my bad) as a truck gun. Great gun, accurate, lightweight and the bolt slides out very easily making safe storage trivial. I've also watched his fingers slip pulling the bolt when he was a preteen. Click, not bang that time but I'm up @ 4am reliving it and thinking of your children making the same mistake because you CBA to listen. Thanks for that. Not helpful. Cooey60 has a self cocking bolt. And a bolt safety. Or you can do what I did 40 years ago as a preteen hunter and leave the chamber empty until a grouse pops up and then cycle the bolt.

I've also seen the hammer drop accidentally on the lil badger while pulling it back. Bang that time. End of smiles all round. Children afraid of firearms. Parents freaking. I've also seen the hammer drop accidentally while trying to uncock it. Click. Whew thank god. Let's put that one away. Hammer extension is a fair way to mitigate the issue but it doesn't eliminate it.

This thread is for YOUNG children. They do not have the finger strength or dexterity of teenagers. If you are insisting on a hammer (big mistake but your freedom to redo my mistakes) take your child to the counter and have them c**k and lower the hammer two dozen times, a fraction of what would happen on a range trip. If that's trivial for them fill your boots.

NO HAMMERS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
NO PULL BACK BOLTS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
NO SEMIS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

One more plus for the red ryder - It's extremely light weight so the toddlers can manage it offhand better than most if not all.

(Edit: c**k not ****)
 
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