Savage Rascal

AB3006

AB3006

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Just bought one at Cabela's for my 10 year old. Also some scope mounts, though I'll get him shooting with the peep sights first.

I have a 4x37 scope left over, that I will mount on it eventually. Any suggestions as to the rings?

What about ammo for practice: invest in some better stuff, or go the freedom bucket way?
 
I bought my youngest son a Rascal for his first rifle. The stock was not very ergonomic for a new shooter, and even worse for an adult, but he powered through. I think I put a 2-7 Leupold on it for him. He grew out of it quickly, moved to a MKII heavy barrel.

The Rascal is currently being used by my neighbors sons (5 and 7), it's a pretty easy rifle for young hands to use. If you are familiar with the MKII the Rascal action is a simplified version that is very user friendly. Important with young/new shooters imo.

Easy to make safe, easy to make ready.

Never really spent much time testing ammo in it, I mostly gave him CCI mini mags to shoot and spent a lot of time putting up reactive targets like clays or small balloons.

Reactive targets worked well for me when trying to teach my kids to shoot, letting them see hits was important. Precision is good, and it came over time as they shot more.

But to keep them interested and set the hook I started with bigger targets that gave them feedback. My opinion, but more important than how accurate the ammo is in those early stages.

I don't really know anything though, just what has worked for me.
 
Good idea with getting the peep sight used first. I think they are a much better option to start on than an open sight, but that's just my opinion (which doesn't mean much).

As for ammo, I'd probably just start with bulk stuff, especially if it's with the peep/open sight. As suggested above, reactive targets are a good idea, and if you are shooting close range (around 25 yards or in), the small edge in accuracy you'll gain with higher quality ammunition isn't really worth it. Get your son to get comfortable handling and shooting the gun before picking up the better ammunition. But yet again, that's just my opinion
 
The peep sights on the Rascal are a little odd. There isn’t exactly a definitive aiming point on them it’s sort of a use your own imagination kind of a setup.

Hopefully the holes in your Rascal are drilled straighter than mine. They were so crooked that a scope couldn’t be possibly be sighted in. In fact I would have needed over 100moa of shims to sight it in.
 
Don't believe Cabela's that their "Proprietary Rings" are all that are available.
you will have very short mounting opportunities.
Weaver make a long one piece base and cheaper.

The peep sights are poor to learn on.

As a ten year old, my granddaughter had already outgrown the Rascal and was shooting her dad's Browning T-Bolt.
She has been shooting my Cooper JSR at 100 metres and has recorded two 100's in the same competition.
 
horseman2 said:
Don't believe Cabela's that their "Proprietary Rings" are all that are available.
you will have very short mounting opportunities.
Weaver make a long one piece base and cheaper.

The peep sights are poor to learn on.

As a ten year old, my granddaughter had already outgrown the Rascal and was shooting her dad's Browning T-Bolt.
She has been shooting my Cooper JSR at 100 metres and has recorded two 100's in the same competition.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warnings! I will take these into account. I specifically wanted a single shot for the next little while. Agreed that he'll have outgrown it after a few goes, but he also needs to keep calm and focus, and the single should be good for that. Also, this is his first rodeo, so there's that.

The scope bases are Savage branded, so I assume any weaver-style ring will clip onto them as needed.

Why are the peeps poor to learn on?
 
The one thing to consider with any 1-piece base on the Rascal is that you are single loading the gun, and thus the base could be in the way of that.

The peep sights are stupid IMO. They work fine once they're dialed in, but zeroing them is a pain in the ass because of the weird way you have to adjust them, particularly the way the elevation adjusts.

All things considered, the Rascal is hard to beat for a kids first rifle IMO.
 
AB3006 said:
Thanks for the warnings! I will take these into account. I specifically wanted a single shot for the next little while. Agreed that he'll have outgrown it after a few goes, but he also needs to keep calm and focus, and the single should be good for that. Also, this is his first rodeo, so there's that.

The scope bases are Savage branded, so I assume any weaver-style ring will clip onto them as needed.

Why are the peeps poor to learn on?
Click to expand...
A rascal to stay with a single shot is not a great learning event.
Of course you know you could get yourself an Anschutz 1710 with a single shot adapter.
Assuming that all Albertans are rich . . . LOL!
 
Here's my hot take of the day:

The Savage rascal is a rip off and a throw away gun.

For the price of a rascal you can get any number of good used bolt action 22s. Any bolt action 22 can be a single shot, just remove the mag. A normal sized 22 will never get outgrown, fun for the whole family.

If you're really set on a kid sized rifle then I'd recommend starting with a bb or pellet gun, you can shoot in your own yard and teach them proper handling and sighting at a fraction of the price.
 
Many Savage Rascal models are affordable, and Savage makes left-handed models of the Rascal, and Rascals can found just about everywhere. The CZ 457 Scout can be very difficult to find in stock, but - in my opinion - it does offer a lot more than a Rascal.
 
Bought one for my nephew last month and just got him shooting with his. He's taken to it extremely well and loves that little gun. He's a smaller kid for his age so it's a perfect fit until that growth spurt finally kicks in for him.

The sights are a bit of a pain to adjust for sure, but once you have them set in, he'll be nailing targets in no time. I've zero'd his rifle at 75 yards and have gotten him used to holdovers/unders for the ranges around that mark to get a bit of an understanding of how trajectory works. Once he's pretty comfortable shooting irons, he'll earn a scope in the future.

As far as ammo goes. I've just been giving him boxes of Federal Range bulk ammo to burn through. The kid runs his single shot like a machinegun once he gets carried away, though once he gets started on more accurate shooting i'll be handing him single boxes of nicer ammo to start printing groups with.
 
Years ago when I bought one of these rifles to train my kids, I bought the Savage scope bases. They accept Weaver-type rings and depending on what you pick, the bolt may not clear. (if the rings are bulky) The first/cheap rings I tried were used ones I had on the shelf thinking "sweet=don't have to buy anything"

The bolt couldn't get past them.

I ordered better rings, but also discovered EGW makes a rail for the Rascal which might open-up some ring-locating options. I ordered one and mounted it=perfect.

Try your Savage bases for sure, but if you have an issue..that^ solution might help;

https://egwguns.com/egw-savage-rascal-picatinny-rail-scope-mount
 
Heliian said:
Here's my hot take of the day:

The Savage rascal is a rip off and a throw away gun.

For the price of a rascal you can get any number of good used bolt action 22s. Any bolt action 22 can be a single shot, just remove the mag. A normal sized 22 will never get outgrown, fun for the whole family.

If you're really set on a kid sized rifle then I'd recommend starting with a bb or pellet gun, you can shoot in your own yard and teach them proper handling and sighting at a fraction of the price.
Click to expand...
A normal sized 22 is a terrible choice for a kid that is the correct size for a Rascal though.

Removing the magazine creates a hole for your kid to drop ammo through. That's just one more thing too frustrate your little one.

By all means, if you want to turn your kids off shooting, buy them a full size cooey with a cocking knob they can't pull and a stock that doesn't fit them... but if you want them to ENJOY shooting, maybe think about their experience rather than your pocketbook.
 
Took a little digging, but found the video and took a screen cap. That little old Bushnell on the Rascal was a fun combo, we set-up about 6 clay pigeons at 40 yards, CCI SV and my youngest son shooting prone. The clays did not stand a chance, he just whittled them down nothing. lol Great memories!

Pxy8Yo8.jpg
 
Well... whirlygig targets are where it's at. The joy when he made it spin for the first time was amazing to see:


IMG_20240907_132849809_HDR.jpg
 
I bought the savage rascal for a lightweight grouse and bunny gun I could strap to my day pack while deer hunting.
As an adult, the irons took some getting used to but on paper i got it pretty close. I probably only have 100 rounds through it if that.
I like the rifle but the other day I was intoducing the wife to shooting..... finally after nearly 19 years together. She supports my firearms ownership but the sound of gun fire and thunder bother her as a result of the war she endured before she came to canada. Made me real happy to finally get her out shooting and it was the rascal 22 that she spent the day blasting away with. Now she's hooked LOL She has shot the big game rifles enough to use them hunting , but just shooting for fun has not been her thing.... till now
Problem is, for all i like about this little rifle, it started failing to extract.
I've surmised that it is not the extractor or the firing pin (serves double duty as ejector) and it's not a dirty chamber.
What I have found is that the red follower the round sits on before chambering is sitting just high enough at the chamber throat that it is actually catching the back of the lip of the shell casing, preventing extraction. This was with Winchester 333 22LR
I switched to CCI brand and improved but still had to pop the odd case out with the jackknife.

I took it apart and am looking at this long plastc unit that is the follower assembly and wondering if I should just shave that front lip on the follower.
Also notice that plastic thing is slightly twisted, making the follower sit higher on one side.
I googled Rascal extraction issues and seems many folks have a similar issue but they are looking at the bolt and many are not solving thier issue. Makes me wonder if these other rifles have the same problem mine has and it is being overlooked?
My brain tells me to yank that plastic follower assembly and make a new one out of aluminum LOL
I am not gonna bother with Savage warranty over a rifle this cheap either
anyone else find this problem?
 
I personally absolutely love the Rascal. I purchased one almost a year ago for a Christmas present for my 6 year old daughter.

She loves it. Previously she shot my 10/22 and an A22 I had in a AT-ONE stock. But both of those made shooting much harder for her than it needed to be. Now with the rascal it simply fits and she can maneuver and get comfy on the rifle far better making it just more enjoyable for her.

Just this past weekend her (now 7 years old) and I were out shooting a fun reactive target racing game. 3 shots a turn first to finish the race wins. She shot bench rest on bipod and bags and I shot standing unsupported (yes I know I need more practice). All shot at 25yards. To compare I shot a CZ457 Canadian with a vortex rimfire 2-7x32. She legitimately beat me by one and I couldn’t be any prouder. The savage rascal is the perfect little ones rifle and quite the accurate little thing. Hers is set up with a EGW rail (I believe can’t remember) cheap rings and a simple Simmions 4x32 scope. Has a super cheap amazon special carbon fiber bipod. It eats any ammo we throw at it and seems to shoot all very well.

Eventually I intend to get her a youth Savage MKII or a CZ Scout (if I can find one) and the Rascal will go into duty training her little brother who is begging me to go to the range (he needs a bit more training first).

Easily one of the best rifle purchases I have ever made.

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