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

Your Dad nailed that one.

The Chipmumk is very poorly designed.

DF

Grooved for scope mounts.

Dirtfarmer & all,

Even though I very much agree with you, I have to stand up for the Chipmunk (possibly because it was originally designed/built in my valley/region, about 25 or so years ago!!! as the Rogue Rifles 'Chipmunk' {in the rogue valley of oregon}). The Keystone crickett (and now their 'Chipmunk' model) are a cheaper copy of the Chipmunk (albeit same design).

Point being, there was nothing in it's class... that was small enough and light enough that a young kid could shoulder and shoot offhand, until the much later arrival of the henry mini-bolt and the even later arrival of the Savage Rascal. But none of these in my opinion is in the same league as the present Savage Rascal!

jerry

personally, I'd check the trigger pull on that little Browning lever gun. I had a BL22, with beautiful blue and walnut, but I could hardly pull the trigger. it's the only one I've ever tried, so it might have been an exception.

the CZ's and Zastava's have adjustable triggers. others might be adjustable also.

It's a cute looking little gun and was a novel concept at the time. The trigger set up is a plunger in a tube that has to be pulled to release the striker. Way too much friction in the design to ever have a nice trigger pull. Good triggers are designed to eliminate as much drag and friction as possible. Looks like this one was set up with no thoughts concerning the consequences of excess friction.

DF

This week someone brought me a Winchester 60A single shot bolt action to assemble.

It shares a feature with the chipmunk, the firing pin must be pulled to cock it.

There was no galling. The firing pin pull is easy, smooth, and consistent. No metals of equal hardness rubbing.
It looks like Winchester built in the 30s what Browning designed in 1900
http://www.google.com/patents/US632094

I was raised with a Winchester 67, which looks a lot like a 60. I'm not sure what was changed, M-60 to M-67. The Blue Book says the change took place in 1934.

Those are great little guns of fine quality. Mine has a Walnut stock and the trigger is pretty good.

One of those would be a heap better for a youngster than a Chipmumk...

The Remington equivalent is also a nice gun.

DF

Our family uses the savage cub mini, which is an earlier version of the rascal.

Great sights and excellent trigger. If the rascal is anything like the cub mini it should make an excellent training rifle...

Marlin Little Buckaroo

I bought a used marlin for $50. Cut and crowned the barrel to 16 1/2", cut the forend, cut the back of the stock to 11 1/2" l.o.p. refinished the stock and duracoated the action and barrel. For around $100 you can have a nice little bolt gun.

Some of those older vintage guns, set up for kids, are hard to beat, price and quality.

DF

The CZ Scout has a lot going for it, but they screwed up when they left the grip way too fat for small hands. It should have been scaled proportionately to the rest of the rifle, IMO.

Paul

I too was faced with this delema a few years ago. However, I went a different route.

I chose the S&W 15/22.
It is light, Has an adjustable stock, and is optics ready.

Plus for my boys, the cool factor was through the roof!

Plus, dear old Dad can shoot it too.

JMO.

Burt2506

There aren't too many summer days when our cub mini doesn't get a tour around the garden.
And I'm 6'7" and 375...

It is my hands down favorite garden gun...

Cool is a matter of perspective...

Thanks again for the help guys.

Yesterday I traded a used 10/22 for a new Savage Rascal after trying it out for size for my 8yr old grandson. We brought it home, disassembled, cleaned, and coated everything except the green stock with G96. Adjusted the accu-trigger more to my liking and his little hands.

Grandson woke me a few minutes after daylight this am asking Papa to assemble it and go shooting.

After church he put a box of CCI Longs through it. The receiver sight appears to be right on at 30yds and he had no trouble adjusting to it. Recycled one at a time with no problems. The target aluminum Sprite cans (3) were well riddled by the time he finished the box. No amount of explaining convinces him that the Rascal is MY gun and he is just shooting it. He's claiming it.

Huge grin, bright wide eyes, called his mom and told her of his great shooting prowess then called an uncle at work and gave him great detail about the size, accuracy and power of a Savage Rascal and how well he could shoot it!

What a great little .22 for a beginner. Thanks for putting me onto it.

Jim

Sounds like you guys had a great time.

Cudos to a Grandpa who cares and does the right thing with his grandson. That's the making of long term memories and relationship.

DF

Dirtfarmer

Cudos appreciated. Grandpa probably had more fun than grandson.

Jim

After Wife's parents passed, she rented the house for a while. Got to be a pain, so she sold it. While I was cleaning out the storage building I found a Remington 510 single shot. The barrel is too long for most kids, but 9 yo granddaughter is already 5'. ( her dad is 6'5" ), so rather than cut it, we will live with it. As was typical of FIL's guns, finish was about gone, but it is still accurate.

I also found a really nice 511 repeater in a pawn shop a few month ago for $40. I don't know what they were thinking, but it sure suits me. I think that one is going to get aperture sights for her. The granddaughters each get a wasp waist Browning and a Marlin Mountie. One each is minty, the other used but not abused. They can sort it out.

Jack

Good job on the Rascal, but you coulda got a tiny 10/22 youth stock and singleshot mag for your Ruger at Brownell's.

My kids outgrew a Crickett after a half- brick o' ammo. It's now a truck gun for me.

I settled on the TC Hot Shot for my sons first 22. Although they are longer offered by TC they can still readily be found on GB. The Hot Shot strikes a great balance in size, cost , and quality. All in a great little package. It comes with spacers for the stock to grow with them as they do.