Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Kids at the Campfire Is this a good youth rifle?

GOt my son a Chipmunk Stainless Synth 22. Peep sight is nice. I want one for me!

a cz is a great .22. they shoot dang nice too. Ive never had any exp. with the rossi trifecta, but I think I would stay away from it.

How about the nylon 66?

I would say just getting a bolt. Caliber? .243 youth barly has a kick

I bought my oldest a Henry SS bolt rifle as his first gun. His little brother now uses it as he shoots left handed, little one right handed. The Henry is an impressive little gun. Accurate, stainless, synthetic with a little butter knife bolt handle. Weighs 3-1/4 pounds and comes with fire sights. I highly recommend it and i'm a died in the wool marlin guy. The oldest now shoots a lh Savage youth .22

LOL - I still have 2 of those that I got for my twin girls about 20 years ago. Octagon barrel shroud of some cheap pot metal with a .22 liner. A plastic magazine somewhat similar to a 10/22 and a butterknife bolt handle. Plastic wood=grain 2-piece stock. But they worked very well for a couple of 7 or 8 year old girls.

My first rifle was one of those J.C. Higgins/Marlins single shot bolt action with the cocking knob that had to be pulled back in order to shoot. The only drawback I can see to that is that child has to be strong enough to do that while maintaining muzzle control, etc. I still have it and it still shoots very well.

My 12 year old started with a Savage 22-410 over and under single shot, worked up to a Ruger-10/22 and last year he dropped his first caribou with a model 700 .243 at 200yds. Nice progression.

Have hunted with several younger kids who have used savages, they seem to work very well at reasonable distances, and they are pretty inexpensive. Make excellent starter rifles, I began with a ruger compact 7mm-08. Was a very accurate shooter, took a lot of deer with it and would personally prefer ruger over savage

I bought my grandson the short barreled CZ .22. It has iron sights and a good trigger. It comes with a single shot adapter and I also purchased a 5 round magazine for it. I am a big fan of the bolt action .22 as it teaches new shooters the basics and is cheap and fun to shoot.

Short answer--no. Buy a CZ Scout if you're after a quality youth-sized training rifle (good trigger, adequate iron sights w/dovetails for scope, superb barrel). Under $300, and worth every dime--this is a gun a kid can learn proper marksmanship with, as mine has. Next year I plan to take him out for his first big game season with a CZ 527 in 7.62x39 and suitable ammo.

I implore you not to buy the Rossi. Not only is it almost certain to have a bad trigger, but manual hammers are a terrible idea for kids, as demonstrated by a fatal accident in a duck blind near where I live a few years back. Young teenager, mittens, dead friend. Not worth it. Granted the kid should have observed rule 2, but he also should have had better equipment.

If you buy him a gun that allows him to excel, you'll probably have a hunting and shooting companion for life. Also, and this may sound blunt, but I'd get over the nonsense about single-shots for Junior--I'm no advocate of spray-and-pray, but many kids love to shoot, and anyone who plans to hunt needs to learn to make follow-up shots. Your stated logic is "to make the shot count," but the real world often dictates otherwise--please read Cooper's The Art of the Rifle, specifically the chapter "Mystique of the One-Shot Kill." It's one thing if you're talking about punching paper, but by your choice of multi-purpose rifle, I don't think you are--I think you're talking about shooting at live animals. You can certainly hope for the best, but by all means, plan for the worst.
Best of luck,
Malcolm

Get the Marlin

Henry Mini bolt..stainless,synthetic, light,single shot, and a tackdriver, just what you are looking for.

Got my boy a Savage Cub with Accutrigger for his 5th b-day. Its one heck of a straight shootin lil' gun. STarted him off with the peep sights then threw a used bushnell on it. It was his first gun and he LOVES it!!

Started the boy on this Savage Cub:



But after moving to MT the single shot and peep caused more frustration than enjoyment. He shoots the Cub ridiculously well but when you have 30 gophers running around it's painful to watch.

So I got him a youth 10/22 with a 4X:



He gets some killin' done with it for sure.


Travis

................With a bolt action, the kiddies should still be able to focus just fine on the round that`s in the chamber.

Take a look at the new Ruger compacts in the laminated stock versions. Dimensions wise, there`s no better a bolt rifle for the yuuuts to start out with. I have the heavier but same lengthed Ruger Frontier. It`s great for the BIG kids too (like myself), and is a rifle they can certainly use as adults. And they are accurate.

If I`m not mistaken, the 223, 243 Win, 260 Rem and 7mm/08 are all available in the Ruger compacts.

However, if you`re lookin for a 22 rimfire then nevermind the Ruger compacts.

I got one of the Cubs for Gage when he was 5. Its PERFECT!!
Great little gun to start a kid with!

Handi rifle , thats the way to go. You can go from the 22 all the way up to the 35 whelen

I haven't had kids yet but some day I hope to. I needed a youth size 22 for my friends kids and wives for their visits to my ranch. I looked at six brands and hands down the CZ 452 Scout is the best investment. It feels great and it's a tack driver too.
Everyone loves that thing. I would buy another for sure.

Runner ups were Remington Model 5 Youth and if one just had to have stainless then maybe a Henry Mini Bolt.

I've found by spending a little bit more on my kids guns, and getting ones with good triggers, topping them with good glass and working up some accurate handloads, they have quickly become good shots. I spent as much on their guns as I have on guns for myself, sometimes more.

If you give a kid a gun that fits him poorly and has a heavy trigger, he or she will be frustrated and take quite some time to advance in their shooting skills.