Do you have a young one on your shopping list this holiday season that wants to learn to shoot? Helping young shooters learn safety and skills is one of the most important things we can all do to keep our shooting sports alive and well. Everyone of us had someone teach us either as a kid or an adult. This is the season of giving and giving the gift of a firearm to a kid is a great way to give back to our community and to the kid.
Here are 5 solid choices for the young shooter.
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The Rascal may be too small for some shooters, but it is still easy to learn on.
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The Savage Rascal
Savage RascalBuy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=rascal
The Savage Rascal is a great choice for the younger shooter. This is a little rifle with a short 11.25 inch length of pull and it only weights a little over 2.5 pounds. The Rascal is a single shot bolt action. Bolt actions are, in my opinion, the best to start a shooter on. They make you slow down and make every round count especially one like the Rascal that does not have a magazine. The MSRP on the Rascal is under $200 but even though it is small, it shoots like a much more expensive rifle. One of the great things about the Rascal is the trigger. Savage put on of their Accu Triggers on the Rascal, the same trigger that is on their “adult” guns. I have a bit of trigger time on a Rascal and you can check out my daughters review of her’s here. These are great little rifles with an even greater trigger.
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There are more versions of the 10-22 than there are stars in the sky, so finding the perfect one should be easy.
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The Ruger 10-22
Reader more at Ruger: Ruger 10-22
Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=10-22
You can’t write a best .22 list without having a Ruger 10-22 on it. Ruger has been making the auto loader for over 50 years now. They come in all shapes and sizes from the classic wood stocked to a tricked out tactical one. For this list, geared towards guns for younger shooters, the Ruger 10-22 Compact is the winner. It has a slightly shorter length of pull, 12.75″ vs 13.5″ and a 16″ barrel. The compact model is also a bit lighter than other 10-22s it weighs in at 4.5 lbs. Another great feature on the Compact for learning shooters is the fiber optic sights that are very easy to see. The MSRP on the Ruger 10-22 Compact is $339.
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The Henry will even make you feel like a kid. A great gun, but it isn’t light. Keep that in mind.
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Henry Pump Action Rimfire
Reader more at Henry: Henry Pump 22
Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=henry%20pump
I just recently did a full review of the Henry Pump 22. It is a great shooting rifle that is reminiscent of the old shooting gallery guns. This Henry is bigger and heavier than the other guns on this list and would be better suited for bigger kids. Or adults, this is one fun rifle. The Henry Pump has a 20″ barrel with an overall length of 38.5″ and tips the scales at 6 pounds. This is an old school gun with classic buckhorn style sights. The action is a little stiff out of the box but quickly turns into an easy to work smooth action. When loaded with 22 Short CBs you have a rifle that is so quiet you don’t need hearing protection. The MSRP on the Henry Pump 22 is $550.
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The Blaze 47 is a fun-gun, and has rewarding accuracy.
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Mossberg Blaze
Reader more at Mossberg: Mossberg Blaze AK
Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=mossberg%20blaze
If the Henry Pump is old school, the Mossberg Blaze is a freshman. There are two different models of the Blaze but the AK-47 dressed one is probably the coolest. The cool factor of the AK looking Blaze will appeal to a lot of young shooters. These are very light rifles with the synthetic stocked ones coming in at 4.5 and the wood furniture at 4.75 lbs. The Blaze has a 16.5″ barrel with a 13.5″ length of pull. They come with either 10 or 25 round magazines and have an MSRP of $375.
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There’s nothing wrong with a heirloom gun. And some classic guns offer tremendous accuracy at bargain basement prices.
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Something Old
Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=stevens%20bolt%20action%20.22
You don’t have to go with something new as a gift. There are a ton of classic .22s out there that will fit the need at all price points. I have an old Steven’s bolt action that was left to me by my great grandfather. There is nothing fancy about this 100 year old gun, but it is a tack driver. There are tons of little single shot and bolt .22s out there that are perfect for young shooters. Just take a look at these search results on GunsAmerica for over 1000 listings that might fit the bill. There are some rare old guns in there too!
I know I’m a little late to this party as it’s from 2015 and I’m commenting nearly a year later… but as for the classics, where is the Marlin/Glenfield 60 on the list? I’m actually surprised that the Mosberg Blaze is here but not the S&M 1522 or any of the similar “Tacticool” 22lr models out there… (though I prefer the Marlin 60 or 795 for box magazine rather than tube to the “AR/AK style 22s – & there are several 795 style firearms from Mosburg and others as well)
just saying….
Maybe they only had room for 5 but I’m really just shocked that the 60 didn’t make it other than by extension of “something old”. Just picked up a Glenfield 60 from 1977 a month or so ago for about $100+ tax out the door.
Howdy SkyG, Loved your narrative!
I lived in Arley for four years as a kid, got my .410 Topper model
when I was Ten. I lived at Arley in Winston Co. and Curry in Walker Co.
FYI: Those giant Bunnies are rare, I saw two in many years of hunting.
They are known as “Cane-Cutters”. I did not shoot for some reason and
the first I saw, near a cane-brake, ran about ten feet, stopped, and we just watched
each other for several minutes. I was incredulouse(sp) that there was a Giant Rabbit
running around in woods I knew very well. I realized soon enough that I would never
have seen the first one if I hadn’t been a stealthy creature to begin with. I didn’t
hunt with dogs so I “Still-hunted” or slow stalked game rich placed in the Bankhead National Forest.
Last, here, The years I lived at these locations included years before the Smith Dam was
even started and years after it was completed. I’m pretty sure I am one of the few
left that hunted the Sipsey River-Bottom. It is all under the Smith Lake now.
All of the above are great fun guns to introduce a child to rifles and marksmanship. The mention of used weapons is excellent. My grandson needed a rifle so I went to several gun sites and found a beautiful little .22 made for a little boy. It had been manufactured in Germany and imported by Stoger. The bolt and extraction system was comparable to many a modern large caliber rifle. The owner was an old man (by my standards and I’m 71) whose great grandfather had bought the rifle originally now a fifth generation has taken it over and I expect it will be passed on to several more generations. The company owner of the gun factory which also made excellent shotguns was Jewish, in 1934 his company was taken from him by Hitler’s Germany. His family had served in WWI honorably but sadly he and his family are gone but I think he would be happy to know the pleasure his little rifle gave another little boy.
I am an old man now. When I was a sprout I carried a single shot bolt action Springfield 22 on my hunting expeditions down on the family farm. That little rifle is now in the hands of my great nephew, having gone through three generations and still working as well as the day I got it new from my Grandfather. A twenty-two rifle is the way to go for teaching young people about shooting sports.
Brings back many memories of times long past growing up on a small farm in Ne. I carried a cherished Winchester .06 22cal pump. There was an abundance of small game & I could shoot all the rabbits ,squirrels & pheasants that I could find ammo for. I grew up during the great depression so finding money for ammo was very difficult. Fortunately I had a sweet doting aunt that somehow managed to scrape up the price of a box of .22 S when needed. Times were tough, but I remember it as a very happy childhood in spite of the difficult times.
My granddaddy had a small, 20ac. Farm in Winston Co. Al., a rural county a short distance above B’ham, Al. Every summer, when we were out of school from the end of May until the day after Labor Day I would spend as much time as possible before school started back. He had two old Stevens bolt action, single shot, .22 caliber rifles. One of them had a 16′, short barrel that was the perfect size for an 8yr. old boy. Even at 8y.o.a. I had chores to do each day, but in the afternoon when I had finished the chores I would grab the .22 with a few shells( had to buy my own with money I had earned doing a few extra jobs for either my granddaddy or grandmother) and go hunting in his lower pasture and a neighbors pasture that abutted up to his property line. There was a small stream running through my grand daddy’s land, where small and HUGE, predatory animals would come and drink. I would set up in my snipers hide next to a little pool and wait for the ‘ dangerous’ animals to come around. Suddenly I felt a little shake in the ground, realize there was complete silence from the regular prey animals,see a few smaller trees fall over and knew the always dangerous gimongous, saber tooth Jack Rabbit, or their even bigger ‘American Cane Rabbit’ would emerge from the jungle foliage around the alligator infested pool and saunter over to get a drink. This time it was a huge ‘ Canebreak’ with saber teeth extending at least 10 in.s below its lower jaw, scanning the pre-historic like area extending down close to the nearly white water, raging stream. I started trembling, because the ‘Cane’ had caught the scent of something and it would deal with the source of the smell first, if it could find it.Finally it was satisfied it was alone and it walked on over for a drink. The alligators wisely retreated to the lower part of the pool as far away from the always dangerous ‘Cane’ as possible. I slowly and quietly eased the safety off my .416 Rigby (.22) took careful aim and fired , luckily striking the animal just below its ear, where I had placed the metallic, rear buckhorn and front post sight, dropping it in its tracks. The Perchagators scattered and I picked up my ‘Cane’ sabertooth and heaved a sigh of relief as I had survived another hunt. The Stevens .416 Rigby ( .22 ) was a tack driver out to 50 yds. and if I could see my target that far away, I could hit it. My grandmother enjoyed my description of my safari as she cooked my ‘Cane’ Sabertooth to join the other victuals we were having for supper. That little Stevens .22, that was my first weapon I hunted with,went on many a dangerous animal hunt with me and left me with many fond memories of my summer stays with my grand parents.