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Good morning and happy new year!

I'm wanting to buy my daughter who just turned ten a .22 rifle. She has become quite proficient with a Crossman air rifle and is picking up all the back yard "range rules". My dilemma is this, do I get her a "keep and pass down through generations" 22, or do I go for something like a Cricket? I have two other daughters right behind her, one of which is starting on her own Crossman, she is 8. By the way, the 5 year old will prolly start out on a 50 cal

Which way have/would you go, and recommendations?

Buy a decent .22 LR.

Wodathunkit wrote:Good morning and happy new year!

I'm wanting to buy my daughter who just turned ten a .22 rifle. She has become quite proficient with a Crossman air rifle and is picking up all the back yard "range rules". My dilemma is this, do I get her a "keep and pass down through generations" 22, or do I go for something like a Cricket? I have two other daughters right behind her, one of which is starting on her own Crossman, she is 8. By the way, the 5 year old will prolly start out on a 50 cal

Which way have/would you go, and recommendations?

The Cricket single shot .22 is a great start and could be passed to the next daughters and move the older one up to something better after they gain proficiency. I have a Remington youth model single shot .22 that was my first rifle and will pass it on to my daughter to pass on to her kids if interested. Daughter has never been interested in shooting much, but now that she is in college she has shown a little interest. Maybe someday!

Have you thought about a Savage Rascal? After reading several reviews and comparisons between it and the Cricket it seems for the $50 difference in price the Rascal is a much better buy.

I have to agree. My first was a little Remington bolt action, but by the time I started it was already a couple of generations old. It was small enough for me to shoulder at that age (~7) and just enough that I had to think about what I was doing so I learned the basics very well.

Start small and simple, but get one that will be around for their kids too.

Max

I faced the same situation. I also trained them with a air rifle. I let them shoot my .22 'till their 16th birthday. Then they rec'd a CZ-452 . It's my hope they will have them to pass on to their own some day.

I started with an old single shot .22 that was my dad's when he was a youngster. It was given to him by his dad. I am not sure if it was "passed down" or not and dad cannot recall. I have since passed it down to my son that has now passed it down to his oldest daughter (11). So at least 4 generations and maybe 5 that have used and learned on the same rifle. It is still in good shape and shoots great.

My girls have Cricket. 22s; in pink, no less. My oldest has moved up to a Winchester 9422 now. I expect the Cricket rifles to be around a long time, and they have been great learning tools for them.

Buy a nice 10/22, and a Youth stock from Brownells.
Give it to her with the youth stock installed. When she outgrows it, install the original stock.
Then get the 2nd daughter a new 10/22, and install the youth stock.
Rinse repeat.

Rex B wrote:Buy a nice 10/22, and a Youth stock from Brownells.
Give it to her with the youth stock installed. When she outgrows it, install the original stock.
Then get the 2nd daughter a new 10/22, and install the youth stock.
Rinse repeat.

I've spent a few years and way too much mental energy on this same question.

I ended up getting my kiddos a Marlin 795 to share.

I was looking at the Savage, the Cricket, the Ruger, the Marlin 60, and the Smith & Wesson 10/22.

The Marlin 795 is less expensive than the Ruger and most reviewers felt it was much more accurate and had a far superior barrel out of the box. The Ruger has infinitely more accessories and after market parts available, but a lot of folks talked about the trap of ending up with a $400-500 Ruger before they were done with changing stuff out. The only high capacity mag available for the Marlin seems to be junk, so I'm sticking with the OEM 10 rounders for now.

I haven't shot it yet, but I'm looking forward to getting out soon. We got the synthetic stock version at Academy. My kids are younger than OPs, so it's a little heavy for them, but I'll start them at a bench and just go over safety, range etiquette, and firearm basics. I like the ability to load 1 shot now but move to semi-auto as they learn and grow.

I finally decided not to get each kid their own .22LR (we've got four kids with #5 on the way!). I'd rather have one "family" .22 that we teach and plink with, then see as they get older where their interests direct them. . .

In .22's, the nice thing is you can't really go wrong. Sounds like good family fun no matter what you decide!

I got my first 22 in 93. It was a Ruger 10/22. The barrel is a little worn as is the recoil spring but it is still one of my favorite rifles. It's light, quick handling, and accurate. The stock sights are very accurate but it can be a pain to drop the brass bead into the bottom notch. Some years ago I put peep sights/ghost rings on it. (I prefer these after all the trigger time behind an M1A)

Edit: I just saw and remembered all of the different 10/22s they now have. I have and recommend the 10/22 Carbine. It has a short stock already so you probably can hold off on getting another stock until you see how it fits.

I just bought a Savage Mark II GXP for $199 brand new.
It has wood stock, accu-trigger, iron sights, 10 round magazine and is bolt action.

It shoots very accurately and I got bolt action because it is safer for teaching a young one since it does not auto-load and requires more patience to set up for every shot.
Some places sell one equipped with a scope for a little less but they don't have the accu-trigger.

Another good option is the CZ scout. It is a small bolt action built on their 452 action. It comes with a single shot insert and a 5 round magazine. I bought one for my daughters when they were young. I still have it an hope that I can teach grandchildren how to shoot with it some day. It is a very handy rifle that I enjoy shooting as well.

Ok,

Tomorrow I'm going to get my oldest a 22. I'm starting at Academy and might end up at Bass Pro. Thanks to y'all's help I've narrowed it down to a;

Remington youth model 22
Savage Rascal
Savage Mark II

I have a 10/22 and I'm trying to stay out of Semi's for now. What ever is in stock is prolly gonna get bought. I might just buy two!

We got the granddaughter a cricket and it was great for a year or two, till she out grew the reach. Got her a Henry lever action last year and it is much closer to the Red Ryder BB gun she started with. It still has the a reasonably short stock, but not way too short like her Cricket. She is now 12. With the line up of other kids, the Cricket might make a fine choice for passing down as they out grow it.