"Youth" .22 required for 9yr old?

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Joe Sixpack

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I'll be getting my son a .22 for his 9th birthday, was wondering if a youth model is necessary. He'd be an average sized 9yr old, I guess. I know I started shooting a .22 when I was 6 or 7 and we just used the old man's .22's, they were just regular .22's, not youth sized and we did fine.

I don't want to buy a youth sized .22 if I don't have to, would like him to be able to keep the gun and have it for the rest of his life. Would buying a full sized .22 and shortening the stock a bit work too?

I am on the list at SIR for a new Winchester Wildcat, it has a 13.5" LOP, which may be too long, but am thinking about maybe a Savage Mark II-G youth. I think the Winchester is a better gun from what I have read, and if I just shorten the stock maybe 1/2 to 3/4", maybe he could make do until he grows a bit more. The rate he is growing, I'd hate to buy a youth gun or modify unnecessisarily though.

What is everyone's opinions and experiences?
 
I'd sugest looking at the Henry Youth model. http://henryrepeating.com/h001y_leveryouth.cfm
h001y_leveryouth_lg.jpg


It has a 16" bbl and a 13" LOP. It is identical in every way to the other Henry H001 guns, except for the butt stock, which is 1" shorter. Even when your kid gets older, it will still make a fine bush carbine for him. And if the stock feels too short when he gets older (it probably won't, it's actually quite comfortable even for an adult) you can just order a regular butt stock from Henry and there ya go. The best part is that Henrys sell for under $300, which is a great deal for a lever gun.

I have the Henry .22 carbine, which is the same gun with a regular butt stock and a large lever loop and I never go out for a hile without this little beauty! It is the one gun I will never sell.

Good luck with whatever you do decide to go with.
 
krausb said:
I'd sugest looking at the Henry Youth model. http://henryrepeating.com/h001y_leveryouth.cfm
h001y_leveryouth_lg.jpg


It has a 16" bbl and a 13" LOP. It is identical in every way to the other Henry H001 guns, except for the butt stock, which is 1" shorter. Even when your kid gets older, it will still make a fine bush carbine for him. And if the stock feels too short when he gets older (it probably won't, it's actually quite comfortable even for an adult) you can just order a regular butt stock from Henry and there ya go. The best part is that Henrys sell for under $300, which is a great deal for a lever gun.

I have the Henry .22 carbine, which is the same gun with a regular butt stock and a large lever loop and I never go out for a hile without this little beauty! It is the one gun I will never sell.

Good luck with whatever you do decide to go with.
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Nice gun, for sure. I like the idea of clip-fed vs tube. I had a tube fed as a kid and hated that thing, when we got a clip fed, we liked that better. Clip fed is maybe easier for a newbie to tell if the gun is empty too.

Thanks for the suggestion though. I'll definitely take a look at one of them.

The reason I liked the Wildcat is the 4.5lb weight. Weight is a big factor for a kid. The youth Savage is still 5 lbs, so the Winchester is lighter than that by .5lb, but it is still a full sized gun that he will not outgrow.
 
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I picked up a Henry Mini Bolt for my 9 yr old son a couple of summers ago. He loves shooting it!

While I understand your reasoning for not getting a youth size rifle I have to say I have as much fun with his mini bolt as he does. So it can still be a rifle he continues to use even as he get older.

h005_minibolt_lg.jpg
 
Joe Sixpack

I am also looking for a small rimfire, for my 9 year old daughter.

I am considering the Savage cub because it is about as small as it gets, single shot, 3 lbs., has aperature sights and accutrigger. Looks like a good starting point.


Take a look: http://www.savagearms.com/cub.htm

Any members have one of these, comments appreciated.
 
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reddot said:
I picked up a Henry Mini Bolt for my 9 yr old son a couple of summers ago. He loves shooting it!

While I understand your reasoning for not getting a youth size rifle I have to say I have as much fun with his mini bolt as he does. So it can still be a rifle he continues to use even as he get older.

h005_minibolt_lg.jpg
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I handled one before (never shot it) very inpressed with the fit/finnish, SS barrel and sites for the money ($175). I'll vote for it. Reddot where did you get it and how much are they now?
 
How about the Ruger 10/22 youth model http://ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdSpecsView?model=1168 It only weighs 4.5lbs and comes with a 16" barrel.
Plus when your son gets a little older and out grows the stock you two could do a father/son project of customizing it with the endless aray of aftermarket parts that are available, or simply buy a full size stock for it that are always popping up in the EE forum.
It will be a gun he will not only keep forever but will also use forever.
 
I bought the boys (8 & 11) a Marlin 915Y and marlin 915YS. After looking at the various youth models, I must say that these are one of the best ones. The only other one I'd recommend is the Stevens Cadet.


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Thanks for all the recommendations, guys. I like the Savage because of the Accutrigger. Leaning away from a Ruger 10/22, don't want a semi auto for a youngster. Good idea, though, about being able to customize and modify it as he gets older. The Marlin is up there too, but I think the Accutrigger puts the Savage slightly ahead.

I do want a repeater with a clip, probably a bolt action. I know there are merits of a single shot, but I just remember going from a single to a repeater as a kid how much more I liked the repeater.

Right now, I think I am leaning toward either the Savage or the Winchester Wildcat. I am thinking if I get the Wildcat, I can shorten the stock(because it is wood), to about an inch to 12.5 LOP, then as he gets older, just get a thicker butt-plate to put it back to the original length. I don't know what it is about the Winchester, but it just looks like a better quality gun than the others and the reviews I have read about it are very good. I guess getting parts for it if anything goes wrong may be an issue though, with the issues the company is going through. This all may be irrelevant because I don't even know if I'd get one by May anyway. They are supposed to be coming in April, but that could be delayed. I have a couple months to decide, I guess.

I guess I'll maybe just take him out shooting with the various .22's we have and see if he can handle our adult sized ones and see if/how much it would have to be shortened to get us through the next couple years. Our local gun shop is getting a schwack of .22's in stock soon for spring, will probably go down there and test fit a bunch and see what they recommend too.
 
I bought a Cub for my girls, and I really like it.

The peep sight is great, especially for kids. Much easier for a kid to shoulder and acquire a good sight picture. Adults take that for granted, but watch a kid shoot.

One of the problems you wil llikely have, is your son will always see that 1st gun as a kid's gun regardless of whether it is a youth gun or not. When he gets to be a little older he will need a man's gun. That is the trouble i had with my boy's anyway.

Like a good Nut, doesn't take a whole lot to buy a new one, so good chance a youth won't last him as long as you are thinking.
 
A really short gun thats easy for youths to handle is the 10/22 in the factory wood stock.It has a really short butt(too short for some adults) and is super reliable with the factory magazines or top of the line high caps.And is a great firearm to introduce him to modifying his rifle like different stock as he grows,more accurate barrel as he becomes a better shot,trigger kits so he can have the pull how he likes,and fairly simple to break down and clean to get to understand the inner workings of firearms.
Other than that i think alot of us canadians learned to shoot with single shot(39) or semi cooeys(64)..cant go wrong there either
 
For new or youth shooters,single-shot bolt action is the way to go. It is safer and easier to shoot in correct way.
 
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