Need help choosing a .22 rifle for kids first gun.

Cuz

Cuz

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My wife says I can get my kids a .22 rifle for Christmas. I would like some suggestions as to which one to get. I'm leaning towards the Ruger 10/22 for no other reason than it seems like the most popular. I have two boys (ages 7 & 9) who have only shot on two occasions at fund raisers for the Junior team at my club so this will really be their first intro to shooting. I would also like to equip the gun with some sort of peep sight as that seems to be easier for them to use.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
Cuz.
 
Someone at the Holbrook show had a rack of Chipmunk rifles. They're great for teaching youngsters shooting because they're so small.
 
Last spring I bought a Henry Minibolt for my son and daughter. It is light and small enough to fit their eight year old frames. It is a single shot bolt action .22 s-l-lr with fiber optic sights, stainless bbl., and polymer stock. The round must be loaded individually, bolt closed, safety engaged, and then cosked with a straight pull at the rear of the bolt. Lots of steps and lotsof oppurtunity to teach safety. The fiber optic sights definitely have a "cool factor". Because of its diminutive size it will be outgrown fairly quickly, but I feel that teaching them the fundamentals of safe shooting with a rifle that fits them properly far outweighs the economics of a rifle that they will grow into. The specifics of the gun can be found at http://www.henryrepeating.com/h005_minibolt.cfm We have been shooting it for four months now and it is still one of the best firearm purchases I have ever made.
 
I would not buy an autoloader for a kid's first gun. Whole bunch of reasons.

I'm a fan of either a bolt-action s/s or a bolt-action mag-fed (which, with the mag out, becomes a s/s).
 
Cuz I would have to agree with RKG about a semi-auto. A savage Mark I (single shot) or Mark II (bolt action mag fed) would be a decent choice. I think they are a little more than the 10/22 though.


Thunderbolt
 
I didn't have a .22 autoloader at that age. I learned off a Winchester 9422 which is no longer made but is a fine plinker. Later I moved down to a TOZ-17 (Baikal .22 B/A) which was cheap (got one for like $80, the other for $15 cuz my dad was still a 01 FFL at the time) and surprisingly accurate if a little rough. I did have a .22 conversion kit for my Colt SP1 but I shot it in 5.56 most of the time anyway.

Anyways, a nice bolt action, but I say stay away from the purpose-designed kiddie guns and get something that will still fit them in a coupe of years. If you can find some Russian imports, they would be a great, reliable, value option.
 
Cuz, are they big enough to shoot the Ruger comfortably? If not, Ruger has a new smaller model of 10/22 - I saw one at Callaghan's in Marlboro.

I don't see the need to start them off on bolt's or single shot models; just load ONE round in the mag when you're teaching to start off with. (Or is this a stickshift/automatic type argument that's making folks recommend a bolt?)
 
The Rossi .22/.410 and the Chipmuck are nice. My son out grew the Rossi until he got into camping and now carries it in a backpack. Taurus makes a small pump that you might want to look into.

I'm with RKG about an autoloader. They don't learn to shoot as well. They tend to spray-and-pray shoot.
 
hi, i got a cricket bolt action single shot 22 for my 7 year old daughter,then i put a scope on it to mke it look like my rifle she loves shooting it.cricket is made by keystone sporting goods
 
depending on how big your kids are, I would take a look at the Marlin line of bolt action 22's. They have a couple single shot youth's that are great and cheap. I actually bought the 981T for myself as a plinker and my nephew loves it. Its a tube fed and holds 17 LR rounds. I think I paid $180 brand new.
 
Here's a pic of my 7 yrold grandaughter TRYING to shoot my Marlin 'Mountie", carbine. On the table is her Cricket. Compare the sizes of the two guns. The Marlin is way to long and too heavy for her at this point.
web%20100_0508.jpg


She's much happier with the Cricket !

web%20100_0499.jpg
 
Pilgrim, great photo explanation.


I let my nephews shoot my 10/22s, and they blow off ten shots without thinking. I prefer to coach a new shooter with a single shot. Dwarven's idea sounds good too, if you don't mind taking out the 10 round mag every time to load a single shot. Then as they get older, they have a nice Ruger.

I think I learned to shoot better because I started with a single shot for many years before I got a repeater. It taught me to take my time and make the first shot count.

I have the Henry mini-bolt as well, and take it with me in my canoe, snapping turtle hunting. It works great and is handy as all get out.
 
"dwarven1". The "1" isn't silent (say it out loud to yourself and it will make sense).

I learned to shoot at camp in the 70's with single shot rifles. Can't say that it made me any more or less a good shooter. But if it's the single action thing, then just do what I suggested. You might want to consider an extended magazine release if the awkward stock 10/22 mag release is a problem. They're cheap and pretty easy to install.

Ross
 
Round Gun Shooter said:
AR15 with a 22LR conversion. Definitely room to grow and Dad can play too [smile]
Some times you gotta just think Big Larry
Click to expand...

Ha, I don't need a 22LR conversion for that. They both got to shoot a clip of 10 rounds from my AR at a steel dueling tree this Saturday at my club's fund raiser. You should have seen their faces!!! I donated my AR for the day and other members donated frangible ammo in a fund raiser for the Junior Rifle team. Shooting steel with the AR was a very big hit. But, alas, they "preferred" to shoot the .22 rifles in the Turkey Shoots which is what had my wife thinking we should get them a .22lr.
 
dwarven1 said:
"dwarven1". The "1" isn't silent (say it out loud to yourself and it will make sense).
Ross
Click to expand...

I tried it a few times and I still don't get it. dddwwwaaarrrvveeennn111. Nope, nothing. Oh well, I'm slow like that. :)

I agree the semi-auto loaded one round at a time should work as well as a bolt action. I did check out a bolt action that had to be loaded one at a time and that is just too cumbersome. I will have to check out some bolt guns that have mags, or tube feed so they will load themselves while working the bolt. The size of the Junior Ruger would be about right. Does Ruger make a bolt action 22?

-Cuz.
 
Cuz said:
Does Ruger make a bolt action 22?
Click to expand...
Well, they make the 77/22, but I don't know if they have a smaller version of it.

edit - they don't seem to mention the "compact" model on their oh-so-slow website for the 77/22, but they do have one for the 10/22.
 
Last edited:
dwarven1 said:
Well, they make the 77/22, but I don't know if they have a smaller version of it.

edit - they don't seem to mention the "compact" model on their oh-so-slow website for the 77/22, but they do have one for the 10/22.
Click to expand...

Their website is the worst. I don't know what's going on, but it's been that way forever. I think I'm leaning toward the 10/22CRR (if I can find one). That's got the 16 in barrel and only weighs about 4 lbs. I know it's not as accurate as a bolt gun, but I'm hoping to push them towards shooting steel rather than the super precision target shooting. Heck, the 10/22 will be plenty accurate enough for the 50 ft indoor range we'll be doing most of our shooting at.

-Cuz.
 
Cuz said:
I think I'm leaning toward the 10/22CRR (if I can find one)..
Click to expand...
If that's the compact, try Callaghan's in Marlboro - he had one on the wall last time I was there, and I think he's planning to keep them in stock.

Cuz said:
I'm hoping to push them towards shooting steel rather than the super precision target shooting.
Click to expand...
BAD idea - don't push folks to ANYTHING - you might turn them off completely. Let them decide where they want to go by themselves. Besides... they might shoot in the Olympics if they're good enough. [wink] I mean, show them steel shooting, by all means, but if they want to do other things, let them try.

Cuz said:
Heck, the 10/22 will be plenty accurate enough for the 50 ft indoor range we'll be doing most of our shooting at.
Click to expand...
10/22's will certainly be accurate enough for them to start out on - we use it as a base rifle for the Liberty Training Rifle for the Appleseed program, where we routinely have people shoot at one inch squares at 82'... and hit it, 10 out of 10 times.

Some mods you might want to make eventually:
  • Modified bolt release
  • Extended magazine release
  • New sights - Tech Sights are one that we use a lot, but there are others. Browse the Brownell's and MidwayUSA catalogs or look on www.rimfirecentral.com
  • Or instead of new sights, you may decide to put a scope on it. comes with a scope rail, but there are all sorts of rails available aftermarket, too.
  • Sling studs, swivels and a sling - a must for wringing out more performance
  • trigger job - Volquartsen makes drop in components or there are directions on Rimfire Central on how to do it yourself if you're handy. The drop in stuff would be easier if you're nervous about modifying the trigger group by yourself.
  • New stock - there are a zillion different types out there, from thumbhole to folding to bullpup to AK or AR style. Take your pick, or keep it stock.
  • New barrel - if you really feel the need to drive in tacks at 50 yards. Again, I get decent performance out of my stock barrel, but YMMV.
  • Bayonet lug - in case those squirrels charge. (OK, I'm kidding here... I think. I've never seen a bayonet lug for the 10/22... but I sure wouldn't be surprised to find that someone DOES make one. [laugh])
You can, quite literally, buy EVERY part of a 10/22 aftermarket - including receivers! - and build your own gun to suit. The stock model is quite a competent rifle as it stands - but if you want to tweak it you can.
 
dwarven1 said:
BAD idea - don't push folks to ANYTHING - you might turn them off completely. Let them decide where they want to go by themselves. Besides... they might shoot in the Olympics if they're good enough. [wink] I mean, show them steel shooting, by all means, but if they want to do other things, let them try.
Click to expand...

I didn't really mean "push", I'm sure they'll like it. I shoot it regularly and they are all over reactive targets. Thanks for all that "mods" info. For now, I was only thinking about changing the sights to a set of peep sights. I was leaning towards the Williams WGRS-RU22 Guide Receiver Peep Sight Set with Fire Sight. It has a fibre optic front site which will match all of my pistols. That way their gun will be like "dads".

Now that I've settled on the 10/22CRR (youth model), my only real concern is whether to get one for them to share, or should I get each their own?

Thanks for the inputs.
-Cuz.
 
Cuz said:
...Now that I've settled on the 10/22CRR (youth model), my only real concern is whether to get one for them to share, or should I get each their own?...
Click to expand...

Get one for yourself, which you will let them use...
 
Coyote33 said:
Get one for yourself, which you will let them use...
Click to expand...

I want it to be "their" gun. I know it will be in my name, but they don't have to know that just yet. I think it's important for them to have pride in ownership, and the responsibility of taking care of it and sharing it with each other when I take them to the range.

-Cuz.
 
Cuz said:
I didn't really mean "push", I'm sure they'll like it. I shoot it regularly and they are all over reactive targets. Thanks for all that "mods" info. For now, I was only thinking about changing the sights to a set of peep sights. I was leaning towards the Williams WGRS-RU22 Guide Receiver Peep Sight Set with Fire Sight. It has a fibre optic front site which will match all of my pistols. That way their gun will be like "dads".

Now that I've settled on the 10/22CRR (youth model), my only real concern is whether to get one for them to share, or should I get each their own?

Thanks for the inputs.
-Cuz.
Click to expand...

C'mon Cuz ........ There is only one answer to that question. One for each! [smile]
 

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