Best first rifle for children

[uwu]

My brother and his family will be visiting me in a few weeks, and in doing logistics, we got to talking about activities. My nephew is six years old, and his father feels it's high time he get some experience shooting. I think it would be fun to get him a firearm that can be his own, that stays at my ranch, and he can use when he visits.

My brother believes children shouldn't use a scope, and it should have iron sights only. Besides that, he's very open to suggestions. We'll just be shooting targets on the back 40, so not much need for practicality. Our father was distraught after shooting a rabbit at age six, and it stuck with him for years.

So I turn to y'all, and ask what you would recommend for a six year olds first rifle?

 

[Brlux]

I think a small form factor .22 is the obvious choice. I actually really like the Savage Rascal. But the Crickets are another common option. My Rascal is still fun to shoot as an adult and I use it a small lightweight pack rifle.

 

[Ballistic Therapy]

In my opinion , the first gun a kid should shoot , is a 22 bolt action rifle with open sights.
They can learn all the other stuff later.

 

[Brlux]

I do agree on starting them on the concept of open sights. The rascal has a rear peep sight for what that is worth.

 

[blasternaz]

Agreed, but I think that in this day of 'puter and 'phone stuff, you might think about a bed dot. Easier to put dot on target and concentrate on a clean trigger break. I know them young eyes can see irons much better then we can, but if a red dot makes it easier for them to have a pleasant and enjoyable introduction, why not? Just my thoughts. And yea, I'm an old fart, trained my kids, their kids and some of my great grand kids. Kinda wish I'd of had red dots in my yout!

 

[Doc]

 

[needsmostuff]

Iron sights and stick shift trucks until learned.
If they don't get this stuff right out of the box they never will.
Plenty of time to get spoiled with gadgets later on but they will have the basics.

 

[uwu]

IMG_9522.jpeg

Once the niece is old enough, I'll get them a mortar, but that's a forum post for 2029.

 

[paulgt2164]

I have a old Sears youth .22LR bolt action waiting for my niece. Single shot, bolt action, iron sights, and you have to manually cock it every shot lol.

Cricket, Rascal, etc would be good. I wouldn't go Ruger 10/22 as the allure of just mag-dumping will be hard to overcome.

 

[guardyan_angyl]

We bought our daughter the Henry Mini Bolt for her first rifle when she was young. Well built and she loves that thing even to this day…..she’s about to turn 18.

 

[Joe_Blacke]

A .22 Henry lever gun. My kids loved that over any other gun when learning to shoot. Something about working that lever action made them so happy.

 

[XJThrottle]

Marlin model 60

 

[Abbey]

The Ruger American Rimfire was perfect for when my kid was learning. It comes with high & low comb stocks so you can add a red dot or scope later. They're the same stocks as the 10/22 so I had the longer LOP from my 10/22 and the shorter LOP from the RAR that were all interchangeable and it also uses 10/22 mags. I only sold it because my family outgrew it but I'd buy another tomorrow if I had to train another kiddo.

 

[samnev]

In my opinion , the first gun a kid should shoot , is a 22 bolt action rifle with open sights.
They can learn all the other stuff later.

I agree with the above post.

 

[BigNate]

I'll tell you what I did... and for the most part it is what I would do again... My kiddos were about that age (6-7) when they started shooting. I told them that I'd start taking them shooting when they could not only recite the basic rules of firearms safety, but could explain to me why each of them was important (I was looking for general understanding not philosophical depth - but wanted to be sure that they understood why they needed to follow them - not just memorize the words). Once we started shooting, they would graduate from one gun to the next based on a couple of factors.
First - was I convinced that they had developed good safety habits?
Second - were they developing competence - or more accurately had they developed enough competence to move to the next thing, and had development slowed?
Third - did they WANT to do the next thing? Were they getting bored with the stage that they were at? Fourth - did I think that they could go to the next level without developing bad habits / reactions (youtube might think it's funny to hand a 65lb 9 year old a 45-70 lever gun with a spicy cartridge in it... but I don't).

The guns we used were the following:
1) I started with a single shot / breech break Rossi 22LR with iron sights (it is a "convertible" that has a 410 shotgun barrel that can be swapped in). I bought this gun explicitly for this purpose - and I used it for my kiddos, some nephews, some adult first time shooters, etc. If you are the guy who takes the family kiddos or other new shooters out for the first time - it is a very nice tool to have. I generally think that this is the very best option for a "1st" gun for a kiddo. You can stand there with a pocket of .22LR and would hand them one cartridge at a time, and when the gun goes Bang, you know that it is inert, so when the inevitable muzzle discipline issue happens after a shot (not saying that you shouldn't be "on top of it" - but if you are working with new shooters it WILL happen at some point) you can both react to it to correct, but also understand that the gun is certainly empty. If you have a bolt action 22lr and you don't plan to be the family "gun trainer guy" - then you might choose to skip this step - but if you are going to cycle through many new shooters in your life - this little gun is worth every penny of the $269 or whatever they go for these days.
2) They graduated from there to a bolt action .22LR rifle with iron sights. Here we started with the same "single cartridge" approach... then a pile of cartridges and them single loading, then loading the tube magazine...
3) They graduated from the bolt action .22LR to a Ruger 10/22 semi-auto 22LR with an inexpensive scope. This did not happen until we'd had a couple of shoots with zero muzzle discipline issues and the good habits were clearly in place.
4) They graduated from the 10/22 to 5.56 AR platform rifles. First center-fire gun and easier on the shoulder than a youth bolt rifle.
5) Then a youth .243 - also single shot breech break "handi rifle".
6) After this the world started opening up a bit. Pistols started with an old .22LR revolver, and then a Buckmark semi-auto 22... then followed the same pattern. They started shooting other "heavier" semi-auto and then bolt action center fire stuff and shotguns as their bodies, desire, relative recoil sensitivity made it make sense. By the time they were early teens they were shooting whatever they wanted to shoot and I felt safer next to them on the range than I did with your run of the mill "adult shooter" next to me...

My 2 cents... YMMV

 

[Lwstarks]

The financial part of this is that you can buy a 10/22 for cheaper than a Henry lever, and if we are talking new, practically the same as a single shot. My complaint about the cricket is the bolt has to manually be pulled back and it takes quite a bit of strength on a kids part. Each of my kids got different rifles but really it is teaching how to use sights, and mostly be safe. Have fun!

 

[campinginaz]

Bolt action .22LR. The Savage Rascal is amazing! Reasonably priced, great trigger, and many colors to choose from.
It's also worth mentioning that it is very light!

 

[QuietM4]

I’m about to buy my niece a rifle, she is 6 1/2 now, but I’m planning for her 7th birthday. Savage Rascal Minimalist…because it has a threaded barrel without the extra weight of the bull barrel model. The Rascal is better than the Chipmunk or Cricket because the bolt is cock on open, and it’s pretty light. Unless you want to be pulling that plunger lever back each shot, that is.

Buy once cry once choice is the CZ 457 Scout. Threaded barrel, iron sights, single shot magazine with the ability to grow up and use 5/10/25rd mags. It also fits in any CZ 457 stock, so you can upgrade to a full size stock a few years from now. If you go this route, buy an adult sized stock now, since who know what will be available 5 years from now.

 

[pneuby]

I saw this in Phoenix at Strapt Armory. IF my guy were coming-up, this would be dope!

https://mtnbilly.com/

 

[Holistic_Gunslinger]

I was given an older Marlin 22 bolt-action for my first gun. No magazine, so I had to load every round by hand for a time and had to earned the magazine by being responsible, safe, and accurate. Helped me retain what I was taught.

Pic is close to the same model I had.