Youth rimfires

John in B.C.

John in B.C.

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I want to buy a .22 rifle for my granddaughters to learn on. I have no idea what issues are associated with the various models available. Rascal, Crickett..... Can anyone give me a heads up as far as what models are having issues, have proved reliable etc etc.

I want my girls to have a positive experience and not be struggling with a substandard firearm.

John
 
Any single shot bolt action is a great start.
If you can find a cooey at a good price. Thats the best. Then they can grow with it.
Just load only one round.
The trouble with single shot is depending on age. They grow out of only having one round.
Again bolt imo is better than semi auto for a youth starter.
 
John I got my girls a Rascal and a Crickett you are welcome to try either out anytime. They were going out to Floyd's Monday shoots last year before soccer got in the way. You know my coordinates.

having some random extraction issues with the Rascal, Crickett has been good but the manual cocking takes a bit of effort for my 5 year old. She does it but it can bring on some frustration later in the day.

NCBB
 
I started with a Cooey but they are much to big for my girls. I don't see the point when there are so many guns downsized for kid sized people....anyhow thank you for your input.

John
 
No problem at all John!

I have a mint Stevens Little Scout 14 1/2 also I had my youngest daughter started on (low velocity ammo of course) nice short stock and kid sized action but the comb was way to low for her, she couldn't comfortably see the sights. Neither here nor there since it's 90 years old but it was neat to see it still serving its purpose.
 
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Look at the Cz scout. It comes with a single shot blank mag but can get mags for it when they are ready. It is just a little bigger than the rascal.
 
I bought a Thompson Center Hotshot for my kids. It's a tack driver, and they love it. My buddy got his son a Henry Mini Bolt, also another excellent choice.
 
I bought the Marlin XT 22 youth rifle. Has a seven round magazine, and a mag well plug to make it a single shot. Nice accurate little gun. I haven't heard of a negative review yet, and mine has been solid.
 
We've got a couple of the Savage Rascals for my club's Jr .22 program. They've been reliable as a hammer for 2 years and probably 3000 rounds each so far.

Recently we got some Winchester 333 ammo because that's all that was out there. This latest batch of the Win 333 has caused numerous jams when trying to extract the empties. But that's an ammo problem and nothing to do with the rifle.

One of them has a scope on it and when tested the rifle proved that it's darn fine in the accuracy department too.
 
Thanks for your help guys.

I keep reading about different models having extraction issues but I don't know who those people are so it is hard to judge what they know or what their frame of reference is!

Nice to get some help on CGN from people I know a little better: some personally and some from the Forum.

John
 
I got a Marlin 915YS for my niece and nephew when they were little. The only issue is it takes a little more strength than they had to lift the bolt handle after firing.

Auggie D.
 
The only issue I had with my kids rascal was light strikes. I chose to fix it myself, but Savage will take care of you if you happen to get one that does that.
 
I just bought Son 1 and Son 2 a Thompson Center Hot Shot. They are discontinued, that being said, they are half the price of a CZ Scout.

That being said, a simple mag change turns the scout into a repeater. Granted, the TC Hot Shot comes with an insert to adjust your length of pull - plus a peep sight. Scope mounts were made but impossible to find. Did I mention the TC has a simple extractor that pulls the spent case back from the chamber?

North Pro Sports has them in stock in Saskatoon. I would have bought the CZ myself but #1 and #2 do not appreciate fine details just yet. Good luck, mister!

I will give the Cricket one thing, the wood stocks I have seen are usually very good looking.
 
I've got a Henry Minibolt for my kids and it's pretty decent. Small enough for kids but I can still shoot it too. You have to pull the striker back to #### it after closing the bolt, which my kids aren't strong enough to do yet (they're 3 and 4), plus it has a safety. The fiberoptic sight are nice.
Kristian
 
I started off my grandaughters with a single shot pink savage rascal to learn to shoot and hunt grouse (they liked it because 'dad wouldn't take it,it was theirs')and this year the oldest one(13) stepped up to a 243 and shot her first buck....am I a proud grandpa?
 
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