.22 rifle recommendations for my 10 year old

Crimson Raptor

Crimson Raptor

New member
Since I was deprived of hunting by my family growing up, I missed out on the small caliber portion of hunting most young hunters receive and have little knowledge of the .22 rifle market.

Now that my 10-year old boy has shown proper gun handling skills and proficiency on an air rifle, I'm shopping for a .22 rifle for him so that we can hunt for raccoons and other varmints together this fall. Needless to say there are A LOT of choices out there in the youth .22 market.

I want something super light so that he won't wear out on me too quick on our hikes (he's not a big kid), but also a model able to take a very low power scope without modification and hopefully $200.00 or under.

I'm pretty sure that I want to start him out on a single shot, but am looking for any reasonable suggestions from you dads, uncles, and granddads who can point me in the right direction for my budding hunter.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Raptor
 
i started out on a remington 597. i love that gun. great shooting. mine shoots nickel size 10 shot groups at 50 yards.
 
I would get either a Savage or Marlin bolt action. I had a Marlin with a nice wood stock and a tube feed, perfect first rifle in my opinion. Semi auto's are cool, but you need to learn to shoot first, spray and pray later.
 
Originally Posted By: bigsky_songdogsI would get a Savage MKII, great gun that he would have and use forever. IMO

Fin

Big plus one. I have 2 of these. One with the accurigger and one with out. Both shoot great.

I would also reccomend the Marlin Model 60 if youre in to semi-auto. I got one when I was 9 and still have it. Shoots great with a variety of ammo but not as good as the MKIIs
 
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I bought my son an old JC Higgins .22 single shot for $100 at a gun show a long time ago. I loaded it for him in the beginning. Sometimes a live round, sometimes not, taught him not to flinch. Now he does very well and is ready for a semi auto. A bolt action-single shot is my recommendation. Good luck and have fun!
 
I would get him a savage bolt action in 22mag. You can load it as a single shot but as he grows then he can load more. I would get him a 22mag over a 22lr. It is still cheap to shoot but as he grows he can still use it if you want to take him yote hunting until he gets old enough for a bigger gun. You will have to spend more that 200 unless you can find a used one. If you are dead set one a 22lr then get him a ruger 10/22. They are easy to carry and add a scope to and you should be able to pick them up used for 200. JMO. I wasted 200 on a 22lr for my youngest and it sits in the safe while the 22mag gets pulled out more due to having a little more snort for hunting. He has shot everything from tree rats, puff bunnies, jacks and I would not think twice about letting him shoot a yote or a fox with it from 80yds and under.
 
Have a look at the Browning T-bolts. I don't have one, but from the little I have played with them I like them a lot. The accuracy on the one I was shooting was very good too.

I am not a huge fan of giving kids semi-automatic rifles, even .22LR's. But if you decide to go that route then the 10-22 would be my pick of the litter. They shoot pretty well out of the box and as time goes by you can upgrade it if you so choose.

If you don't have any problem spending a few more bucks, then go for my dream rimfire:
Sako Quad

Interchangeable barrels, .22LR, .22 Mag, .17 Mach 2, .17 HMR.
Best of all the worlds there.

Another one that I almost forgot was this:
CZ 452

One of the best .22LR's I have ever shot. They are great little rifles too. If you can find some of the old BRNO's for sale then you can also get them pretty cheap. I have seen them in the $215 range, but the rifles at that price were pretty ratty.
 
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I bought my son a Henry .22 for Christmas right before he turned 10 yrs. old. They are a little more than $200, I think aroud $250..but a nice little lever action that I don`t think he`ll ever outgrow. (dad sure likes it)
I would guess if you hit some pawn shops there should be many choices for under $200
 
My 10 year old got his first .22 a couple of months ago. He did odd jobs and turned in cans to save the money for a Savage MkII, no accutrigger. It was a little over $100 if I remember right. It came with a magazine, but he's starting out loading each round by hand, and is drilled and tapped for a scope mount. I like the thought that he will be able to use it for a very long time, and won't outgrow it.
 
I started with a Winchester 190 at 10 years old back in 1975. No scope, I never even used a scope until a few years ago. Go with a semi auto like a Ruger 10/22 and teach him. I paid for it with paper route money by the way.
 
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The Ruger 10/22 is the best bang for the buck. Kids need trigger time and pratice pratice practice. The Ruger 10/22 are the only way to go with a kid or any first time gun owner shooter.

I started out with the Marlin 22mag and my brother got a 10/22. He got to shoot three times as much and it was so much fun. I still own two of them right now. After market accessories for the 10/22 are fun to add and change the look and feel of the gun. You can't go wrong with one and they hold their resale/trade value better than other 22's.
 
I found a used Savage Mark II with the accutrigger. I then proceded to cut down the stock to fit my kids. They love it, and it fits them well. It is light, and I like the bolt action. I put a 4x ScopeChief on it, and it is very accurate. Can't go wrong with it. I found it at Gander Mountain(of all places) on the used rack, and it looked like new. I think I paid $140 for it.

kevlars
 
Raptor,
I read the responses so far and didn't' see one rifle that I thought of.
I don't know exactly how big your boy is, but would a Chipmunk Rifle be too small for him?
It is small and lightweight.
It's also a single shot.
I didn't see any info about mounting a scope.
You could check that out when you look at it.
On line prices are around $150.
If you have any younger kids they could grow into it too.
Just a thought.
 
Chipmunks are pretty low grade. No safety, no feed ramp, not a real bolt action (must pull the knob to cock it), horrible trigger, poor sights.

I just got a Savage Cub for my kids and it's nice. It's miles head of a Chipmunk, and a few inches bigger too. Not a "toy", this is a real mini rifle. I'll copy n paste the review I wrote on another site...
 
Picked up a new rifle for the kids to learn marksmanship. I picked the Savage Cub over it's competitors because the Cub comes with lots of features like a real bolt action, a real safety, AccuTrigger, and peep sights. It also has a handy loading ramp so you just drop the round into the mag area and the bolt pushes it into the chamber. In other words, this is a "real" rifle compared to other brands like it such as the "Cricket". The Savage Cub is 36" overall length with a 16" barrel and laminated walnut stock. It was just over $200 out the door.

The bolt was VERY difficult to operate, I don't remember my Savage BV .22 being this tough. But it smoothed out after I stripped the bolt down and polished the striker and all moving parts. It was much better after that. Still a little stiff but it'll break in.

Took it out today to see how it performs.

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The action smoothed up pretty well after a bit. It's fun to shoot, and even though the stock is tiny, I can still shoulder it and get the sights ligned up no problem.

However, at 25 yards the gun was shooting 6" high and the only direction I could adjust the sights was up. Looks like I'm gonna have to call Savage tomorrow and see if they can send me a new front sight post 'cause the one I got isn't the correct height!
 
I would buy the CZ Scout. It is a well made, tough, light, small(but not too small), accurate, quality rifle. I often take ours out on walkabouts and it is comfortable to shoot for adults as well. It comes with a magazine well blocker so that it is a single shot as purchased. 5 and 10 rnd CZ magazines can be readily purchased. It should last 2-3 lifetimes with heavy use and proper care. TTT
 
$200, A good used Remington or Winchester bolt action will fall into this price range. You will have something that is quality, and will shoot well too. I don't like to start kids on semi-auto's. They tend to point and spray instead of making the first shot count. There's also the safety issue, with the semi-auto. They will burn through a brick of ammo a lot slower with the bolt. All my kids have 10-22's now that they are grown. Many times they still drag out the scoped bolts when they want to hit something small or a little farther out.
 


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