Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire New 22 for a new shooter which one?

That would certainly have to be a top contender!!!

Yep, and yep, and yep!


Hard to beat a CZ Scout for a youth-.22, or more fancy-advanced CZ .22 in a bolt gun.

My favorite .22 IS the Ruger 10/22!

But I know my pops was glad I didn't learn to shoot with a semi-auto. Still remember the [discussion].

Dewayne ,and all thanks for such a nice post!
Lots to consider.

My kids shoot a Savage Rascal bolt action .22 (actually, I shoot it as we'll). The small stock allows them to hold it correctly.

Savage Rascal (formerly known as the Cub).

Have a 10/22 on standby.



Travis

Sounds like a really sharp kid.


Travis

A winnie 9422
my first gun and what i learned to shoot with. plenty of capacity, accurate, and the ability to shoot rapidly if need be.
Can also be properly maintained by a youth because the mechanism is simple.
OH and classy!
my old girl..

I wrote a piece once on this subject. Besides the bolt or other manually-worked action for safety and marksmanship, I recommended a low-power scope instead of iron sights.

Iron sights are hard to learn and hard to shoot, making for a discouraging and frustrating experience for a new shooter. Bad.

The average rifle shooter today will use a scope for 99.99% of ALL his shooting. Iron sights aren't even installed on most rifles, and are considered as emergency backups on rifles that do have them.

Scopes are instinctive, even for a kid. Put the cross on the target and squeeze. One focal plane and nothing to align even before you sight on the target.

Go with the instinctive, simple sight system that he'll use for the rest of his life. Get him a decent 4X scope.

I guess that is why they have only sold a gajillion of them.

And is a reason why we have a bunch of spray and pray shooters in this world.

A semi-auto for a first time shooter is a terrible idea.

And that is the guns' fault?

A bad trigger and relatively inaccurate gun does not contribute to good shooting. Add in the safety factors already mentioned, and you have a poor choice for a new shooter. There are many better options out there. I like the 10/22 and other semi-autos, but not for a new shooter.

Let me guess, you bought your kid a 10/22 as a first gun, and you're trying to defend your purchase?

FIRST guns in our family are single shots.
Even shot guns
My son's tiny plastic 22 is a tack driver.

I sent him to fetch a rifle one day and he returned with his..
no problem.
I dropped a woodchuck at 110 yards, stepped off, with it. It took two shots to get the wind, but the second was a solid head shot.

Your guess is wrong.

Rugers are not relatively inaccurate, ask all the small game taken with them.

YMMV, but when considering value, reliability, and accuracy they are hard to beat.

And they can function as a single shot. All you have to do is just load one bullet at a time.

Rugers 10/22s are not particularly accurate in factory garb, especially in comparison to some of the match chambered bolt rifles out there (ala CZ). They lack match chambers - which makes for better feeding of a wide variety of ammo, at the detriment of accuracy. There is likely a model or two that are accurate, but your basic off the shelf sporter weight 10/22 isn't going to light matches at 50 yards. With some mods they can become wonderfully fun, but I've not been in the least bit impressed with the off shelf versions.