Its getting to be that time when I need to start making my mind up on what to buy for my son's first rifle.

My first real gun and what I learned to shoot on was a Browning BL22. Loved that little rifle, and to this day I blame it for my love for leveractions in general.

Reese is 4.5 and tall for his age with long arms. He will probably be a lot closer to 5 by the time he gets the gun, thinking of fall to early chirstmas present.

I am after a 22lr he can learn on, not sold one way or the other on action design, single shot, repeater and so on.

Would love to hear what you guys have had good luck with for your kid's first rifle. I know a lot of folks go for that [bleep] rifle or whatever it's called. I've got a good mind to see how a BL22 fits him too, again any thoughts or pics/links would be great!

Thanks!

Matt

One thing I'm looking for it I'd like to be able to mount a peep sight on it to teach him to use. Any models that allowed that would be higher up on my list.

I'm at a similar point with my twins. They're almost 6 and I'm working on Momma, trying to get her to accept that it's time for them to start learning how to handle and shoot a gun.

After doing some research I've settled on the TC Hotshot single shot, break open 22. It comes with stock spacers to lengthen the stock as needed and it's break open design means I can easily teach them the importance of making sure the bore is always clear. Plus, I'm not sure they yet have the hand strength to pull back the cocking knob on some of the youth bolt actions I've checked out.

Good luck with your search and decision making.

BTW, the Hotshot comes with a peep style rear sight.

Single shot 20a gauge. After year or two a ruger 10-22. That's my plan anyways for mine.

My cousin (7 years old) has a little Henry single shot bolt action.

She bugs me whenever I go over there to take her shooting. She is a crack shot.

Is it wrong I am already thinking about the guns my kids are going to get?

That you're already thinking about kids of your own is impressive.

That you're already thinking of what guns to buy them is kinda heatwarming.

I bought my boys an H&R handi-rifle in .22lr w/ a 410 barrel... "versa pack" was the name? Youth model stock and the whole bit...

I can get barrels for $145. It is pretty accurate and an awful lot of fun to shoot!

Big lever fan, here. But for its basic simplicity and ease of cleaning and clearing, a bolt action is very hard to beat.

Something simple in a youth size, like:

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/24840

Not of my own, I plan on adopting if my future wife agrees.

Something about giving a child a chance at a good life is what gets me.

I bought my little Men a Savage Bolt action .22lr with iron sights.
One shot at a time at close distance to build confidence. Start with the basics.

Autoloaders not allowed, I watch my buddies Son blaze away with his .22auto, he seems to think it's cool to pull the trigger as fast as possible.

For a 22,I would go with a CZ 452 Scout.It's a little more expensive but it's a quality accurate gun.

I plan on a 410 this squirre season for my 8 year old daughter.I remember how frustrated I was when I first hunted with a 22.I'll keep teaching marksmanship with the 22 but I will let her hunt with the 410 so she can enjoy more success.

That TC seems to have a lot of the features I am looking for, thanks for the heads up.

My oldest son is 5. I have bought him a Savage cub, Marlin Buckaroo and a Cricket. The Savage is the best quality gun and it has a decent trigger with the accutrigger. The Buckaroo is a nice gun but the trigger is not the best. Both the Cub and the Buckaroo are easy to load with real working safety's that I like.

The Cricket I hate. Its a pain in the azz to load and you have the cock the stupid thing each shot. It figures that my son would like the cricket the best.

Dink

I cannot iterate this enough:

Get the Savage Cub. Only it is no longer called the Cub, it is called the Rascal.

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/finder/

Then buy Aguila Colibri's.


Travis

I agree. Savage Cub is a good one for sure.


First gun at Christmas: a BB gun
Next Christmas, the first rimfire: Savage Cub
Next Christmas, a bigger rimfire: CZ 452 Scout
Next Christmas, a semi-auto rimfire: Ruger 10/22
Next Christmas, the first centerfire: Winchester M70 Compact
Next Christmas, the first precision rifle: Gap Non-Typical in Edge
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

Better to get him something now and get him started. As he gets older he better do his chores and do well in school or he gets nothing...

BB gun is a good idea.

Or a pellet gun.



Mine has a receiver sight.

[bleep] that noise. Rascal/Cub and Colibris.


Travis

My first 22 was a Rem 121 Fieldmaster. I recommend a tube fed over a clip. Be hard to lose a tube�, The BL-22 sounds like a winner!

Laffin'. If I don't have one, the little guy isn't getting one either...

Just havin fun

I learned to shoot w/ a Fieldmaster. The lever gun would be a beautiful first rifle. Mine is the Marlin '39.


Another point of view is that the tubular magazine is more vulnerable to damage in inexperienced hands. And it is less EZ to be certain it is completely unloaded.

Spare magazines are usually affordable but that's a good point against having a removable mag. Then a single-shot would be simplest and EZ maintenance.

One of our local gun shops had a mossberg youth 22. Neat little gun, clip fed, came with a single shot clip and a 4or 5 rounder for later. Also had a peep mounted, right around $150.

I bought both of my kids the Cub, theirs came with a peep sight.

They shoot them well.

Just read a few negative reviews on that TC HotShot. Have you had any issues with light primer strikes in yours bruinruin?

Trying to find a stepping stone rifle if you will before I move him up to something like the BL22 or the CZ 452 scout mentioned.

I started my kids on a CZ 452 Scout when they turned 5. My son is now 16 and his 22lr rifle is a full sized CZ 452.

One reason to get a 452 Scout is that the 452's are being replaced with 455's.The Scout will likely be the last to go but I would still get one while I could.A Yo-Dave trigger kit will easily make for a great trigger as well.

My #1 granddaughter is a tall 7 year old. She is learning on the Red Ryder from last Christmas.

I just gave her great grandfather's Remington 510 (single shot) a shakedown this past weekend. It is still plenty accurate. It now gets a new blue and perhaps sights. I can handle the wood work myself.

I also took out a 10-22 that had remained NIB for several years, IMO, the magazine and the bolt hold open release are far too "tricky" for kids.

I like the magazine tube repeaters, perhaps because my first repeater was so equipped? Best

i agree with the Savage Cub/Rascal...



but i mostly prefer CCI ammo of one sort or another...

Oh, I didn't mean to use the Colibris forever. Just to get them started. They are every bit as quiet as pellet rifle, but you are starting them out with good sights, and a great trigger. After a box of Colibris, they got everything down.

I also like them because I can set up some cans around camp and they can get some practice without any noise.


Travis

Waste of time IMO. Get them racking a bolt early on. Makes your life easier when they move up to a centerfire.


Travis

My 8 year old daughter and my 5 year old son both do pretty well with the TC HotShot. It is small, light, and simple. Haven't had any problems with it. My 10 year old daughter started with a Rossi single shot (which isn't bad for the $) and she didn't have any problems moving into the Ruger Compact 223. A single shot rifle and reactive targets are the way to go in the beginning.

My #1 granddaughter is a tall 7 year old. She is learning on the Red Ryder from last Christmas.

I just gave her great grandfather's Remington 510 (single shot) a shakedown this past weekend. It is still plenty accurate. It now gets a new blue and perhaps sights. I can handle the wood work myself.

I also took out a 10-22 that had remained NIB for several years, IMO, the magazine and the bolt hold open release are far too "tricky" for kids.

I like the magazine tube repeaters, perhaps because my first repeater was so equipped? Best

For a beginner I like a manual cock single shot rifle and consider it a shame that they are mostly forgotten by the gun manufacturers. The little chipmunk is pretty nice but quickly out grown of todays rifles that are fairly avaliable I would look for one of the recent manufactured stevens favorites barring that a lever gun like you mentioned would be a good choice. Look around as I recenly purchased an old JC Higgins single shot (made by marlin) like we had when I was a kid for $90. It was in almost new condition and I am tickled to death with it a boat load of memories for $90 and they still shoot today as well as they did 50 years ago.

never met a kid i disliked quite that much....

Me either.



Travis

I started my son with a Stevens 72 single shot. That way I knew that after the shot the gun was safe. After he showed me that he was safe handling a gun, I bought him a Ruger 10-22.

My first rifle was a Stevens bolt action single shot .22, very accurate.
My dad later said he liked it because he could tell at a glance at the pull back at back of action if it was cocked or not.

I don't have the Hotshot, was only thinking of getting a couple. I have since changed my mind and will likely go with the little Rascal.

Savage Cub. Good starter and comes with a peep sight.

An auto-loader seems the least safe and encourages much wasting of ammo.

Just went through the same scenario with my daughter who just turned seven. We went to Bass Pro and a gun show and let her handle several makes and models. I learned pretty quickly that even the CZ scout was too heavy for her to shoot off hand for more than just a few shots without getting tired. The Davy Cricket was the lightest but is very cheaply made. My brother bought one for his son and the sights shoot loose, it is not very accurate and just feels dinky. We ended up with the Henry Mini Bolt. It has nice fiber optic sights, and more substantial feel than the Cricket or Chipmunk. She loves it and is becoming a pretty good shot with it. She can take about 20-25 offhand shots before she starts the leaning back posture that signals she is getting tired. I know she will outgrow it in a couple of years, but I thought it was important to get her a rifle that fit properly right now so that she can learn proper offhand shooting technique from the start, and no be relegated to shooting from a bench.

Thanks so much again for the suggestions. Looking over these rifles and a few others combined with my son's size has me convinced I do need to buy an inbetween rifle to start him with before jumping to the CZ or a small leveraction like the BL22 I am fond of.

The savage rascal has a lof of what I'm looking for at a price I am very happy with. BTW I google image searched "Savage Rascal Red" and the picture johnw posted of his son with his target and that great big grin is on the first page. Those come in a few different colors and my son loves red.

I think a contender carbine or G2 would be pretty practical. Safe for a little one and the only thing needed to keep him shooting for years is a new butt stock and some more tubes.

Too Bad that kid looks like his Dad.






Just kidding - Gotta Love that Smile & Expression on his face.

This is what I started both my kids on, and they (and I) still consider it our favorite, and most useful gun. It's an old Win 69A, I bought in a pawn shop. I had the barrel cut to 20" and the receicer grooved for scope mounts. The most accurate rifle I have ever seen.


Today...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=288098718

I understand "mine". Do I understand you're thinking about the 39 for a kids fist gun? I am not sure that's what your saying.

Regardless .... I like the 39s, but I've never handled one that was not heavy. All I've been around have been too heavy for a kid's first gun.

Matt - I honestly don't remember what I started my boys using in the way of a 22.

As a 'First Deer Rifle' I looked around and handled several, but all were in Adult size.

Another 'Gun Writer' (don't remember who) described the Savage 99 as, made quite well for 'yutes'. They have a 'shorter' LOP and in 243 the right model is not too heavy.

I found one, don't remember exactly which model, and by george he was right. At 10 yrs and small for his age, my younger son could handle and shoot it quite well. IIRC and I'm pretty sure, he killed 2 bucks his first season. They were not big but legal.

I haven't looked for a 'deer rifle' for youths in a long time and we have many new models BUT the Savage 99 will work.

No, I wasn't recommending that. It was posted more to agree that a lever gun is wonderful. But I don't think it is ideal for Matt's child.

Short, light, simple, cheap is better.

When my son was 6 years old, I bought him the Savage Cub for a Christmas gift. Great little gun with a nice trigger. Accurate and simple gun. Can't go wrong with that gun.
When he turned 7, I bought him a youth Remington 700 ADL in .243. Pic of his first deer.

I started my son out on a mossbert 22lr bolt gun that I cut down to fit him and mounted a red dot on. He took to it quite well and it was very easy to teach hm to shoot accurately. Hard to go wrong, put dot on target and pull the trigger. I really think the quick learning curve with the red dot helps keep their attention. He even used it to kill a few snowshoes over the first few years. Started him at 5.

Now that he is soon to be 10 I have been setting about to get him something he can handle and still be big game worthy.

My son is left eye dominant and I have taught him to shoot left handed. Being right handed the only logical choice of my rifles was my T/C Encore. I have rifle barrels in 22-250, 30.06, a shorty 45/70, and 209x50. After keeping my eye open for a 308 barrel for the last few years I came across a blued sportier 308 barrel for $100 bucks locally. I jumped on it and finally had all the makings for what I considered the perfect starter rifle for my son. had originally indented to get a wood stock and cut it down for him to use until I came across this collapsable m4 style stock that Choate makes. With a LOP variable from 11-16" it seemed like a great choice for something that we could both use.

First I cut and recrowned the 308 barrel at 17.25", and put the sights back on. I mounted a 2-7 Nikon scope and its good to go. I'm planning on starting him out with some reduced loads with Trailboss. There are a bunch of good reduced loads for the 308 that run between 900-1400fps with bullets in the 150-180 weight range. A good friend gave me a few hundred 173gr RNGC cast bullets to load up. He also gave me a recipe for 7.0gr of trail boss that had this bullets running around 975fps out of his 22" barreled 308. These ought to be very mild shooting. According to him no touch more than a 22lr.


Its still a little heavy for offhand shooting but with lots of practice off shooting sticks or packframe he should be good enough with it in a year or so to make moderate range shots on baited blackbear and maybe even fall moose.