I get asked all the time what type of .22 parents should get their kids, so I did a little research and here you go. For my kids\’ first gun, we went with a cheap bb gun. Nothing fancy, just something so they could learn the mechanics of loading, cocking, aiming and firing. It didn\’t take my son long and he wanted to “graduate”, so we looked at air rifles first, but then decided on a .22 rifle (I almost went with a .17, but that was more for me, so I restrained myself).

I already have 3 or 4 .22\’s around the house, but they were all too long for my son and not the right gun for him. So here are some good choices for your kids.

Basically, there are a few different kinds of rifle available for the new shooter: the single-shot bolt action, the bolt action repeater, the lever action repeater, the pump-action repeater, and the the semi-auto repeater.

I\’m a fan of single-shot bolt action rifles for first-time shooters, because shooting them requires several steps for loading, time to think about each shot, and the whole process is suitable for teaching. For smaller-statured kids, there\’s probably no better than Keystone Arms\’ Crickett, which comes in several kid-pleasing colors:

Keystone Arms\’ Crickett comes in several kid-pleasing colors

The little Cricketts are just over two feet in total length, weigh pretty much nothing, and are excellent “starter” rifles.

If you\’d like something a little more classy, then the Savage Cub is a pretty little thing:

The Savage Cub is a pretty little thing

…the Marlin 915Y isn\’t a bad choice either:

The Marlin915 aint bad either.

If your kids are older, and close to adult size, you may want to look at the Stevens Favorite:

Try the Stevens Favorite for older kids

If the budget\’s an issue, which it is for me, then a cheaper option is the H&R Sportster:

The H&R\’s 5lb weight makes it a natural for kids.

When it comes to affordable bolt-action repeating rifles, my pick is the Marlin 981T. It holds 14 rounds, the action is smooth, and the trigger is good.

A very accurate rifle

For about the same money, you could look at the Savage Mk II series (the only budget .22 rifle available left-hand):

The Savage also has the excellent “Accu-Trigger”, and has a removable 10-round magazine

Lever-action repeating rifles, are more expensive than both the above types. Probably the most common is the Marlin 39A:

the action of the “39” has had the longest uninterrupted production run (since 1891) of any rifle type in existence

Speaking of old-timers, one of the oldest names in rifles is “Henry”, and the Henry Repeating Arms Company makes a very pretty (but quite spendy) lever-action .22 rifle, the Golden Boy:

A good lookin’ gun, but I’m not sure it’s a great choice for kids.

When I was a kid, I had a pump-action repeater, but sadly, the market for them is not big—and I can\’t understand why because pump-action .22 rifles are a blast (pardon the pun) to shoot. Winchester no longer makes their ancient Model 62, and even Taurus\’s faithful copy, also called Model 62, seems to be getting hard to find. Here\’s the Taurus 62R:

Pump action .22s are my favorites

Henry also makes a pump-action rifle, and it has a cool looking octagonal barrel, but it\’s more expensive.

If you want to know, I\’d get a Henry Octagon in a heartbeat.

And finally, there\’s the Remington Mod 572 Fieldmaster.

This is what I had as a kid. I loved this gun.

Now, the only category left is the semi-auto repeater. In my humble opinion, these aren\’t the right choice for a kids first gun, so I\’m not going to list my picks here. I hope this helps, and I know I\’m probably going to get some argument from you. Let me know what you think.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

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