Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Best .22LR rifle for my daughter to start with

My boys do a lot of shooting. They started out with a Cricket. It was fine for a trip or two the range. I quickly found that they were a pain to load for my fat fingers, the boys also struggled at times to get them loaded. The next issue was the cocking of the bolt. They are hard to cock, for a kid almost impossible for them to get it done while keeping the muzzle pointed in the right direction. The Cricket quickly went down the road.

I would opt for a Tikka T1.

Then put it in a chassis that has an adjustable stock, as the chassis' that fit the larger guns will work for the rimfires. This way she has a gun that will properly fit her and is not struggling as so many young shooters do, then lose interest. Then as she grows older, you can adjust the chassis to fit her growing size, and eventually put the full size stock back on it, or keep the chassis on if they enjoy it the way it is.

The Tikka rimfires are extremely accurate much like their centerfire versions.

The CZ 457 is about perfect. The safety is easy to operate. Switching the magazines out gives you the option of single shot or repeater. As a single shot it loads easy. Point a cartridge the right way and drop it in and it will feed with ease. Comes with iron sighs and the receiver is grooved for scope rings, gives a kid a chance to master both. Ours is very accurate with the cheapest bulk ammo we can find.

Working with 5th grade and 6th grade Boy Scouts several times a year rimfire shooting . I will tell ya kids have an easier time reloading "Tubular Magazines." on their own rather than clip magazines......just sayin.