Best single shot .22 for a kid.

[.455 Webley]

This month i will have two nieces born. As soon as i find out they have 10 fingers 10 toes and scream, my next question will be "When can they come over and shoot some pop cans?".

So i need a good single shot .22 with good iron sights for the young ladies to use when they visit.

I looked at the Savage Rascal and the Cricket .22's. They look good but how do they hold up? The sights looked a little flimsy on the Savage and i don't know how i feel about the acu trigger and a young shooter.

I volunteer with a youth group that shoots those Henry single shots with the butter knife bolt handle, and i cant say that i like very much about them.

Any other contenders in the market that i have missed?

Thanks for your time.

.455

[Skunk1]

Mine has been shooting old 22 single shots her whole life. She's 15 now and we went out last weekend and first thing she grabs is her H&R reg'lar. She went through 350 rounds that day. We also have a win 67, Springfield and a Rem. All old.

[rancher1913]

all the nieces and nephews and step kids learned with the cricket, its been abused and held up well and the key safety makes it so you do not have to worry about unauthorized shooting wile at the range.

[Ickisrulz]

My son started with a Cricket. They have pretty nice peep sights, but I installed a Tasco Red Dot to help him out a bit.

Both Henry and Savage make these youth sized rifles. Savage has the Accutrigger.

[Traffer]

There are lots of styles of old 22's. Way too many to suggest one in particular. As far as the new stuff goes, If you are going to start them at say 4 or 5 years old, you would probably want the cricket because of the size and fit to a small tot. But through the years there have been many many rifles made for child sized folks.

[country gent]

I have a couple for the grandsons here that are the original "boys" rifles or as a lot here call them butcher guns ( they were small light and handy when butchering) The first is a stevens favorite in very good shape and is small light and handy. The second is an remeington rolling block, both are 22 long rifle. Look around and see whats out there the new youth rifles are safe and solid performers. Cricket, savage henery, and some others. The older ones are also very good performers and have some history behind them. Look over the older ones carefully and make sure they are what you think they are as to chamber bore and condition.

[Sur-shot]

I did this project some time ago and restored a dozen 510 Remingtons for the grandkids. Built one for each. The nice thing about the 510 is, if taken care of, it will increase in value and it has an automatic safety that comes on every time it is bolted. The double pinned barrel to action makes a very stable barrel fit, for good accuracy, as long as you find a good bore to start with. I still have my grandfather's 510 that I learned to shoot with when I was 5, 66 years ago.
Ed

[Chill Wills]

This month i will have two nieces born. As soon as i find out they have 10 fingers 10 toes and scream, my next question will be "When can they come over and shoot some pop cans?".

So i need a good single shot .22 with good iron sights for the young ladies to use when they visit.

.455

I can't say one is best over another but I am 100% with you. A singleshot is the best, first rifle you could provide. A hat tip to you.

Teach them how to use an iron sight too. Many of the newer shooters (adults) were never shown. They often have no idea how accurate a rifle can be with nothing more than open and or iron peep sights.

[Mytmousemalibu]

I actually have a little Crickett that I bought for me, lol. They are pretty darn accurate and fun to shoot, i just wanted a fun little single feeder that shoots. Mine is the laminate stock model without the keylock and came with their own little 4X scope. From my example of one, I really like the little gun and it looks sharp with the laminate stock.

[NyFirefighter357]

I picked up two Rem. Mod. 33s for less than a Cricket I also have a pre-war Anschutz They all shoot great.

[Drm50]

The Chipmunk is a quality rifle, that's what the Criket and others like it copy. Don't know if it is
still made.

[maxreloader]

I know this has nothing to do with the OP but I wanted to mention it... if any of the lil ones are scared of loud noises try easing them into it with CCI 22lr "Quiet" rounds... they are $3.99/50 around here and are so quiet I can hear the action/firing pin "click" on my Moss 346KA when I pull the trigger. So quiet in fact that any city-folk that are reading this that are tasked with policing the feeders in the city for their missus will thank me once they try them. They are that quiet. 710 fps. Extremely accurate to boot.

[.455 Webley]

Those quiet .22s are a lot of fun. When my wife was pregnant she gave up her .45 and her M1 since we didn't want to hurt the ears growing inside of her. But the Aguilia quiet .22s were a safe alternative for that time.

[jhaston]

I bought my daughters a Western Auto Revelation single shot .22 at a garage sale for $25, they can put a 300 rd dent in a brick of 22 shells in an afternoon at the range. Keeps them from shooting up all of my 38 specials!
My first single shot 22 was a Marlin Glenfield Mod. 10, wish I still had it.

[tankgunner59]

I have two Grandsons so far, one is 8 years old and the other is 3. When the oldest was 4 he liked pulling the trigger on my 10/22 for me. So I bought him a Cricket and taught him safety and taught him to shoot it. He got so good that he could do like a 20 round mad minute. Bought a second when the next Grandson was born and he was shooting it at 3 years. They have been handled by the grandkids exclusively and are still in great shape. Incidentally, I saw a YT video where a guy was shooting steel at 200 plus yards with the peep sights and hitting every shot. Accurate little rifle.

[richhodg66]

I got my youngest son a Marlin 15Ywhich is bigger than a Cricket, but that means they don't outgrow it as fast. Something I like about it is to turn the safety from "safe" to "fire", you have to pull it back with your thumb rather than push it forward like most rifles. Always seemed like a good arrangement as it was a more deliberate action to take it off safe.

[6bg6ga]

I grew up with a Savage single shot. Kids don't need something special.

[.455 Webley]

I leaned on a Stevens favorite, one of the new ones that was not very good. You could slip a cartridge in the chamber over the extractor and it would not support the case when it went off. The end result was a .22 case ruptured at the 6'oclock position. So my dad would sit at the picnic table with me as i shot that thing over sand bags for hours and hours. He would confirm that i had the case in right each time. I think he may have even had to pull the hammer back for me when we started off. ( Was i ever that small?) Once i started hitting empty shotgun hulls with it at 50 yards i graduated to a M-67 Winchester.

[Randy Bohannon]

Started my two granddaughters with the Cricket rifle,they have appropriate L.O.P. for youngsters. I taught them both the silhouette game at 6 and 5 yrs of age.Local range had a .22 rim fire silhouette course. In very short order they were better than most adults with iron sights. One spotting for the other, people would stop their own shooting to watch these two shoot.Wish I had been smarter and taped their endeavors, such a joy these two young ladies are.

[tim338]

I would definitely teach them with iron sights first. When I was a young lad I had to shoot a 1" group at 25 yards with iron sights before I could scope my .22. To this day the majority of my rifles have peep sights. I like the Chipmunk rifles very nice quality and good sights.

[kenyerian]

http://chipmunkrifles.com/chipmunk_aboutus.php Bought one 26 years ago for my first Grandson and he will be using it to teach our first Great Grand Daughter to shoot when she gets a little older. Great rifles. they will last forever.

[mcdaniel.mac]

The Rascal for a new rifle for sure. Cock-on-close, a usable safety (good practice) and peep sights.

[Blackwater]

Many options, and none are bad unless they have a bum barrel. The main thing with kids, is that the stock fit them. Nobody can learn to shoot well with a stock that's too long. That would be the big issue for me. I cut one down for my son long ago, and he was VERY deadly with that little gun! Got my grandsons a Cricket. They loved it. I can't shoot it because the comb's too high for me to line up the sights, but they loved it. I'd cut down the comb, but I don't need that one at all, and it'd make it harder for any great grandkids to use one day. Most any old Rem. or Win. single shot should do the trick. Just make SURE to teach them to NEVER let the barrel cover anything they don't want dead. Some good instruction on hold and trigger squeeze, and they ought to be out-shooting you before you know it, as soon as they grow old and big enough to shoot. Kids CHEAT! They have VERY sharp eyes!

[15meter]

I like the old Winchester Model 67, it is what my dad started with when the Model 67 first came out. It is the first "real" gun the I shot and it is what all the grand kids learned on. The next generation is about ready to start. My dad's youngest grandson got his rifle. His oldest cousin is in the market for a Model 67 to start his son with and I had to go buy one just because I got beat out of My dad's by the nephew.

Closing the bolt still does not make it ready to fire, it has to be an intentional pull of the cocking bolt to get it ready to fire. When it is on safe there is a "flag" that is blocking the sights. There are still replacement parts available for them, I had to replace the extractor on my dad's for the nephew a couple of years ago. and found new mfg replacement parts online.

[shooter2]

Winchester boys rifle...

[Shawlerbrook]

My daughter just turned 31 and I still have her Chipmunk rifle. Walnut stock and very high quality and quite a shooter with the scope installed. Not sure if they are still made.

[JWFilips]

I bought my Boy a Marlin bolt action single shot youth model in the late 1980's We shot it maybe 3 times & I have it stored away.
He is now 33 and not interested in things like that anymore Would like to get a hundred for it plus shipping if anyone is interested.

I got pictures some where on my computer I can post if interested

[Texas by God]

Rossi Matched Pair .22/.410. Put the shotgun barrel up for a few years because a four pound .410 kicks. The rifle however has easy to use sights and being break open with a hammer is safe to operate. The first time they get hit with an ejected empty case they learn to tilt the gun a bit.
Best, Thomas.

[Fishman]

Thompson center put out a small scale copy of the Contender in .22. I forget the name now. But my dad picked up one and gifted it to me and my son. The advantage over the Chipmunk which I have as well is the ease of cocking. This could also be a disadvantage if one wants to have control over when the gun can be fired. It is also much easier to load than the micro bolt guns particularly for adults with large fingers. Unfortunately it was discontinued so you would have to find it on the used market.

[Norske]

I'm partial to the Marlin 15. There's no cocking piece to pull back with little fingers. If you think pulling one of those is easy for a kid, try pulling it back with your ring and pinky fingers.

[Matthewx]

This is a pet topic of mine. I have all the rifles suggested with the exception of the 510. My feeling is there are two options:
For hunting get the Rossi matched pair or just the .22. It is easy for a 4 year old to operate themselves and easy for the mentor to see if the rifle is cocked.
For range use get the Savage Rascal. It is the easiest to use but with the internal hammer the mentor can not verify as easily the safety etc while walking around. I am not as comfortable with a really young child carrying the closed bolt rascal when I hand it to them unloaded as I am the closed Rossi. I can see the Rossi hammer down and that helps ease my nerves with short kids with short guns that could easily point in a scary direction quickly.
I have put a few thousand rounds through each gun and own and like crickets(my daughter will not give hers up even with 10 other 22s to pick from) Henry's, TCs, marlins, old Winchester's, Stevens, Remingtons and a few customs. The Rossi and Savage are definitely the go to for teaching kids.

Matthew

[Sigmanz]

I got my daughter a Marlin 15Y as well. Still single shot but a little more substance than a Crickett. I have a thing for older single shots though. I learned on a Savage 24, open sights of course. I now have a #4 Rolling Block as well. Very fun, little, very light.

[CraigOK]

I went savage rascal bc of several of its features, feed ramp is not optional imo. It's fun to shoot.

[cosmoline one]

I vote for the marlin 15y as well. Your kids will quickly outgrow it & then later you can put it in a full size stock.The one I bought for my sons is very accurate and I still use it!

[jsizemore]

I'd look at the cz 452 scout. Leads right into the big boy rifle. You can start them on the single shot adapter and change to regular 5-10 shot mags. 12" length of pull like the cricket. Lots of upgrade paths if the youngun' decides shootin' is their thing.

[Larry in MT]

I went savage rascal bc of several of its features, feed ramp is not optional imo. It's fun to shoot.

I hear good things about the Savage --- I'm sure they will wnjoy it. Last Summer we had visits from 5 grandkids, all anxious to shoot 22s. I bought a carton of CCI Quiet and they worked very well. Accuracy @ 25 yards was excellent and they really are quieter. Plus, they are easier on my old 1906 Win pump, which was made in 1912.

[tmc-okc]

In 1975 I bought 2 Browning T Bolt 22 RF rifles. One in Grade I and one in Grade II. The Grade I was intended for my son who was only 4 at the time but he would grow into to it. The T Bolt at that time came with an adapter that allowed for it to be a single shot only rifle. Perfect for a first time rifle and as time went by I removed the ss adapter and let him use the magazine.. We both loved the rifle. Then many years later along came a grandson and out came the ss adapter until he was ready for the magazine.. The T bolt made today is not advertised with a ss adapter so dont know if it still available. Our rifles came with peep sights which were also a good option for first timers.


Ron

[Tackleberry41]

I bought my son whos now 9 a cricket. Its not a flimsy rifle where it will break, pain to load at times. as you cant just drop a round in it and close the bolt. You have to get a bullet started then close it. Have considered a scope for it, but he can just shoot something else. The irons are good fro learning. Told him if he can shoot it well, he can shoot anything.

[RPRNY]

My daughter shot competitively with the Rascal against kids using $3,000 Anschutz rifles and held her own. I replaced the front blade sight with a globe. The aperture sight is cheap and fiddle but once it's dialed in, it's very effective. Unbelievable value for money.

[marlin39a]

Back in 1992 I bought an Oregon Arms Chipmonk for my then 5 yr old daughter to shoot. Deluxe walnut and high polished blue. I still have that rifle. I cherish it.

[rfd]

for me and the grand kids, it was the crickett. a great little rifle, all USA made, and dog gone accurate to boot. plus, it can still be used as the kids become teens through adult by swapping the stocks for a longer LOP.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajTau8qByUc

[shooterg]

The daughter is 34 and still loves her Chipmunk. After they changed over to the Crickett they put a plastic cocking knob on it. Don't look for that to last forever!
If I was doing it now, I'd probably get the Savage as it cocks with the bolt. Many smaller kids have trouble with the cocking knob . Woulda had to hack the stock on the Savage as it's a tad bigger, but I woulda kept the wood and doweled it back on when she grew.
Main thing is they learn to handle whatever you pick safely and have fun ! My Marine Pops taught me with Springfield 15Y he used on a trap line before WWII. When we're long gone, the kids and grandkids will treasure the memories of those first shooting sessions. I know I do .

[Leadmelter]

I started my younger brother out with a Sears single shot rifle.
He joined the Marines and became a Sniper/Scout. He had the highest kill distance at 950 yards.
You never know what you might start when you teach somebody to shoot.
Leadmelter
MI

[Ed in North Texas]

I picked up two Rem. Mod. 33s for less than a Cricket I also have a pre-war Anschutz They all shoot great.

When I read this I thought "Dang, how cheap were those Remingtons?" Then I looked at the current Cabela's price for the Cricket. Dang, how did they get so expensive? I bought one for the next door grandson about ten or 11 years ago and the rifle was nowhere near $100, much less $127.

[deadeye ruck]

I have a Rascal, it is a solid rifle. I am hard on it (I raccoon hunt with it) and it hasn't let me down yet. It shoots well and is easy to handle.

[halvey]

Our gun club uses Crickets for Kids days. They have held up fine and obviously get shot a lot.

[54bore]

Steven's Crackshot!! Throw some nostalgia in there!

[Chill Wills]

Steven's Crackshot!! Throw some nostalgia in there!

Okay!
A Ballard. Hands down.195745

[Bigslug]

The biggest factor with little ones is going to be weight and length more than anything else. As much as I gravitate toward the more finely made, a little kid is going to outgrow a little gun before wearing it out. The CZ 452 youth model is my hands down favorite as a gun - the barrel's threaded in, you can run it as a single shot or a mag feeder, it's made of steel with the only stamping being the trigger guard, they make mechanically identical bigger versions, and they shoot REALLY well.

That said, they're a bit on the heavy side for the typical five year old.

I picked up one of the 1990's production Stevens Favorites a bit over a year ago. Gonna eventually fit a short stock onto the thing. Nice thing is there's NOTHING to the front-end weight of the thing.

[dirkdiggler]

I actually have a little Crickett that I bought for me, lol. They are pretty darn accurate and fun to shoot, i just wanted a fun little single feeder that shoots. Mine is the laminate stock model without the keylock and came with their own little 4X scope. From my example of one, I really like the little gun and it looks sharp with the laminate stock.

Same as me. But the kids learned from it also....we all loved it.

[pcolapaddler]

I have a chipmunk that was a gift a few years ago. Pretty good shooter, no plastic parts. I'm not sure if you can still find them.

I dont know anythi g about the crickets. I almost bought one once - with the idea of purchasing an adult sized stock for it. I don't know if others have the option of the larger stock.

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