Need Your Opinions .. Youth Rifle

jt_trouble

jt_trouble

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
124   0   1
Location
KB6
Hey all,

I was recently in Tbay at a shop called GMK Armory and I noticed some youth rifles on the wall. And I was hoping to get some advice on what to purchase my daughter for her first .22

The choices I had were the two that were available ...

Savage Cub
TC Hotshot

The Savage came in bolt action, peep sites and pink, as well as thumbhole.
The TC was break open and black with peep sites.

Anyone have kids or have tried these out yourself? Both had the same sticker price of $270.00 off the shelf. I figured that the TC would have been more expensive but it wasn't. And surprisingly enough, my daughter never went for the "pink" Savage. Which I thought would have been the selling point for a young female shooter. She liked the TC Hotshot better and that is the one I was leaning towards. It's lighter than the Savage and you can purchase adapter plates for the stock to make it longer.

But .. I wanted to hear some opinions on both before I go back and grab one.
 
choices

I thought about getting into one of those child gun sizes for my guy when he was 6, but then he tried one of the many 22's we already have. Just moved the scope back so he could see into it better. He only ever shoots off the bench so gun weight wasn't an issue. When he was older and wanted to carry some thing in the woods a 4.5lb Nylon 66 worked just fine.
Unless you are going to have a bunch of kids that will shoot this rifle in the future, I wouldn't bother.
A bud of mine got one for his 4 year old son, dad never had time to show him how to shoot it, now his boy is 7 and the thing is like a toy in his hands. FS
 
Have you checked out DnR Sporting Goods? They have a wall of rifles as well, but them seem to be kindy pricey. Never know though, could be a gem in there for a decent price.

How old is your daughter? Just starting shooting?

I would think the one she finds more comfortable would be the best choice...
 
I got my daughters the Savage Cub with the pink thumbhole stock. They love it and have become quite accurate out to 40m, but they also love my 10/22 with the tapco stock.
 
My daughter is 8 and is just starting shooting. She tried my Savage 93 in 22wmr but it was to long for her in the LOP. And my SR22 is too heavy .. lol. She liked the T/C one and I myself like the always "safe" option (That was the only turnoff about the Cub that I didn't like) At least with the Hotshot it could be chambered and won't go off until you #### the hammer back.
 
If she likes one over the other then that is your first clue. However the TC might be a little tricky for her being a break action. I had the pink thumb hole cub for my daughter, It was a very nice rifle but the comb of the stock is way to high for the peep sights and made them near impossible to use. I put a red dot on for her which sat over the bolt too much making it hard to load.
My advice would be the savage cub with the normal stock which has a good drop and makes the sights usable.

Have you thought about modding a cooey single shot to suite her? She could paint it or whatever to her hearts desire. You would also have the safety feature your looking for and save some cash for ammo.:sniper:
 
I would for sure go with the Savage. Make sure it has an AccuTrigger as that will make the trigger pull much more manageable for a youth, while still being safe. They can be adjusted down to 2.5 lbs out of the box, but with some tweaking can get down to a pound if desired.

Use the Savage Gun Finder, and check off the boxes for Youth, and AccuTrigger. It will show you what they have. I would go with the Mark I GY as it is heavier, and likely to be more accurate. The Cub is short and light and would be easier to handle but potentially not so accurate. The GY is also drilled and tapped for a scope. Note that the photo for the GY is wrong at the Savage site. It shows the Mark II which is the repeater version of the same thing.

Also if you are going to shoot targets, be kind, and get her some SK or Eley target ammo to shoot. Bad ammo can make you look like a poor shot, when you are actually not.
 
I strongly recommend that you check out the Henry Mini Bolt. Two grandchildren use Mini Bolts. They love shooting them and I am very pleased with the results.
A very well designed little rifle for the young shooter.
 
I own a CZ 452 Scout (not pink). It costs only a little more than if that than the other rifles suggested here. Can be switched between the single shot and 5/10 repeater in seconds. Uses the fantastic CZ action and a hammer forged barrel. Decent iron sights. When the child outgrows it you can shoot it. I bought the rifle for me 5 feet nine inches 200 pounds 50 YO. If you read around you will finde as many adults (certainly many small framed females) shoot these as youths. It is incredibly accurate, inexpensive, high in quality and weights about 4.5 pounds.
 
bluebell said:
I strongly recommend that you check out the Henry Mini Bolt. Two grandchildren use Mini Bolts. They love shooting them and I am very pleased with the results.
A very well designed little rifle for the young shooter.
Click to expand...

Thats what my daughter has, and they have great fiber optic sights, well balanced, and quite accurate.

That being said, keep in mind the Mini Bolts are very small(I believe the smallest of all youth rifles) , and with my daughter being very petite, it was the easiest rifle out there for her to handle.
 
Thanks all for your input on this.

So after a bit of research, the Henry Mini Bolt is going to be a close second to the TC Hotshot. Both are nice and light and am what I am looking for for my daughter. There are other kids in my immediate family here that can benefit from whichever I choose once she grows out of it.
 
I just picked up a Marlin 915y for a grouse gun.

I just wanted something real compact and light to take on the quad and it was cheap.

I paid less than 200 bucks for it and it is pretty dam. Accurate at 25 with irons.

The feature that i like is it has a feedramp in it so you dont have to actually guide the bullet into the chamber just drop it in the action and close the bolt. This was the big difference over the others especially the henry. Also you have to manually #### the henry each time after closing the bolt. Good for kids though but it is also very short.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom