Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires What .22 for 8yr old?

My grandson is small for his age and my 10/22 is too heavy for him. The little chipmunk type rifle looks too much like a toy. Is there anything between that you would suggest. I have an extra 10/22 (3 yrs old, unfired) that will probably go for a trade.

Thanks
Jim

My son started a year older than that with a Henry Youth Model lever action. I like the exposed hammer so I could tell at a glance if it was cocked, and for a first "hunting" gun as well as plinker, it seems safer to me than a semi-auto. It was also inexpensive enough that I didn't care later when it got banged around on his ATV.

Savage rascal has an 11in LOP and a rear peep sight, standard.

It's a single shot bolt.

Henry has a lever 22 youth model with a 13", but you can work on that if need be.

I wish I would have got either compared to the Rossi crap combo I did get.

CZ Scout is a dandy first 22 if you can find one.

bought a Zastava Remngton model five youth rifle for my grandson. 5 shot magazine, and a single shot follower.

16 inch barrel. amazing accuracy for a "cheap" gun.

These would be my two choices. I bought my 8 yr old a Zastava "youth" .22 and even my 5 yr old daughter can shoot it pretty well.

A good bud got a Chipmunk for his grand daughter. He got me to work on the trigger, which was too hard for her to pull.

IMHO, a piece of junk.

Go with the Ruger or CZ. Handle them and check for weight, trigger pull, etc.

DF

Just discovered Browning is making a small version of their BL-22, csalled the Micro Midas.
LOP 12", only weighs 4 lb, 8 oz, with a over all length of 31 1/2".
Sounds about kid size to me



http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=005B&cid=024&tid=115

Saw one of the Brownings - it is SMALL!!!!!!!! Cool rifle!

Another vote for the Savage Rascal. I bought one for the kids, and it is great. The front sight is the weak point though. Worth replaceing or altering.

Thanks guys

I just got back to this thread and find several viable suggestions.

I hung a soda can off the side of a big Pine today and the 8yr old sure riddled it with my old Daisey BB gun. The Daisey was a gift to me about 1946,47 and it still works fine appearing to have lost none of it's original power.

Of the make/model suggestions made to me I will be looking at the Savage first.

Deeply appreciated
Jim

Now, that's nice...!

DF

Jim,

Yes both are good choices, with a Huge edge going to the CZ Scout.

BUT if your 10-22 is too heavy for him, both of these will be too heavy also. Being a rimfire junkie and having two kids... i tried several. The Crickett can not hold a candle to the Savage Rascal (have the Rascal, had the Crickett). Unlike the Crickett...the Rascal has a safety, feed ramp, real scope bases (avail. thru Savage), a much better trigger, and a better receiver sight. The regional mart (Bi-mart) has Rascal's for $139.

jerry

That Browning lever sure looks good, and while more expensive than the Henry, definitely has better quality - blued receiver instead of a painted cover, etc.

Yeah, if I could swing it, I'd get the Browning lever gun.

So many of those cheap kiddy guns have terrible triggers, the last thing a young shooter needs. The BLR's I've handled have great triggers.

The Chipmunk I post on earlier had a terrible, very hard trigger. I was asked to work on it and helped it some. It's the design that makes the trigger so bad, not a lot that can be done. So, stay away from those cheaply made rifles with triggers that can't really be fixed.

DF

BLR

They are nice... to my eye anyway! here they run about $450 last i looked.

They've had them for awhile, was trying to talk my boy into getting one a couple of years ago (he has some gun money from selling some of 'his' older 22's). Answer was 'why? I can't see buying any guns as I can just shoot all of yours"!

Jerry

Is that Browning drilled for some scope bases? We find the 10/22's a little big for some of the younger Hunter Ed Crowd.

I bought a Chipmunk for my son.
My late father, chief engineer over 150 engineers and draftsmen and a gun designer came down on my ass.
"That gun has a firing pin galling the bolt. It was designed by an amateur. Take it back"

My wife took it back.

When I was a kid I had a Daisy made .22lr with a stock that adjusted to get longer as I grew. Too bad they don't make them anymore. Mine is still going after many tens of thousands of rounds, I use it as a snake gun.
Here's a used one though.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=429161716

The Daisy is not a $300 gun. I bought one used at a gun show for $55 when my son was 11. That was twenty years ago. today they should run $125-$150. K Mart closed the rifles out for $50 about 1990. I think Daisy did not have the right licenses for manufacturing rim fires and had to dump them.