Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Higher Quality Youth .22 Ideas?

I need some help on higher quality youth .22 options. My 10 year old has been saving his money and he is ready to step up. We are looking for a bolt action and a wood stock would be a plus. I'd like to keep it under $1000. I'm going to help him with the money. Ha.

Keep an eye out and you could find a Anschutz 54 for under 1000.

I'm not sure if a Ruger American compact 22 meets your "higher quality" standard but I can't think of a better youth size rifle to start a young shooter on. An inexpensive module converts that rifle to a full size stock. Save the bigger $ for a full size gun when the kid is older. He'll have many more to choose from then.

Thanks. That's actually what he is shooting right now and I agree. He's been shooting that since he was 4. He may just want something new but he really wants a wood stock. He's an old soul.

uhh, I can....CZ Scout......

+1 on The CZ Scout.

You can probably find a Kimber of Oregon 82 classic or cascade, or a Kimber of America K22 hunter, maybe an HS. Sako Finnfire if you can find one.

You can definitely find a used anschutz 54 for a grand.

Why settle for less?

A CZ American, either 452 or 455. Or an old Winchester 69A, 72, etc. As suggested a used Anschutz. With that budget there are loads of options.

He won’t outgrow any of those. The only difficulty will be convincing him to stick with it when he is 15 and wants something “better”.

Yeah, I was leaning towards a Kimber. The Anshutz is definitely a good idea. Do you think it would be a terrible idea to cut the stock down on one of those?

Not at all… there are plenty of used stocks out there for when he grows into it.

I’d not cut the stock on a $1000 .22. I’d also not spend $1000 on a youth model as he’ll outgrow it in a couple years. A full size Kimber or similar gun will serve him for a lifetime.

Edited: A CZ Scout youth gun now could be sold or traded for the adult gun in a couple years. Find a good used one for now. Or just shoot the RAR for a couple more years.

CZ's are great rifles; I have a couple 452's but don't consider them to be "youth" size guns. If a CZ452 or 455 fits the kid, it is a great choice. I gave my nephew's 12 year old son my 452 with a 16 inch threaded barrel. The rifle fit him well and he loves it. I gave his younger brother a Ruger American and heard no complaints. I am not familiar with the CZ Scout but I prefer not to buy a rifle that will be outgrown in a couple years.

I recently bought my 6 month old grandson this Winchester for $150.

He needs to handle one first. A CZ 452 scout would fit length wise but is heavier than most full sized 22's and an Annie 54 is the cats meow but as heavy as a wood stocked magnum deer rifle. Just make sure he can handle the weight. I would go ahead and get the Annie 54 and call it his but also get something light and cheap for him to use till he grew into the Annie.

This one. About $500. Same action and trigger as the full-size, just buy a factory full-size stock when he needs it. You can also make it a .22 mag or .17 HMR with an easy barrel swap when he’s ready to go a bit longer.

I wouldnt go the youth stock route, he's on the cusp of handling a full size stock no problem

Nice used cz452, maybe a 455

Winchester 320

Ruger M77/22

I'd have a cz scout if they came with walnut stocks.

They do make the ruger american with nice wood stocks. Sure is hard to beat the ruger mags.

Pretty sure a t3x stock will go on a t1x with minimal effort.

I’d get a t1x and pick up a take off walnut stock.

I'm 70 years old and I bought a CZ Scout for ME!

I added a 1" pad to make the LOP fit me.

Sure is a handy little rifle!

Virgil B.

I've had several CZ452's, and I would go with the latest model (the 457) which Huntsman has pictured above. The CZ452 (& I believe the cz455's also) has the 'Euro' safety (to the rear is fire) and the CZ452's really need trigger work, as opposed to just an adjustment. Besides the CZ457's are reputed to be quite accurate.

Boyd's (for instance) has about any grade of wood stock you want for CZ's, Ruger's, etc.



I'm not 70, but I've done the same thing... One inch pad on a CZ Scout, and they are one handy carbine.




I'd definitely consider this, My Tikka T1X is more accurate than any of my CZ452's were, and the ergo's are much better (at least for me). And Yes some guys have fit T3x wood stocks to they're T1X's. You can spend quite a bit more money, and maybe not get any better accuracy.


Jerry