There were no youth rifles back in the late 70's, but we were lucky, my dad was good friends with a gunsmith. He found us an old Savage single-shot bolt-action. My dad cut about 4 inches out of the stock and probably about the same off the barrel. We shot that thing untill the chamber wore out, so that the gas blow-by would sting your forehead. We also each had a Daisy. We had a BB range in the garage. A heavy curtain as back-stop, some blocks of polystyrene and a bag of cheap plastic soldiers as targets.
I got all my girls 10-22 Rugers when they turned 8, wanted to get them something that would last a lifetime. Huge aftermarket support to get anything you need to make it fit the kid, and when they grow you can put the factory stock back on or whatever is required for a lifetime of memories
I purchased my 6 y/o daughter a .22 for Christmas. Instead of the Crickett rifle I was planning on, I found a used CZ 452 Scout for $200. Short LOP, 10rd mag and a single shot adapter, as high quality a bolt rifle as any I’ve owned. Highly recommend!
It's like our brains were synced at @12:50. I bought a RUGER American in 6.5 grendel for my kids first deer rifle. "wouldn't it be nice if they had a RUGER American 22?". 🎉😮 And even a "youth" model? Awesome sauce!
1022 with soda cans and one of those 5 shot spinners Ryan mentioned. Was given five shots and if I missed one, I would get one less for the next series. I would shoot until I either got tired or I missed enough and ran out. Taught me the importance or repeatability and accuracy!
Great episode. One aspect of safety that might also be considered is how steel BB's will ricochet so much worse than lead pellets or bullets, at least in terms of coming straight back toward the shooter upon impact with hard targets. Half a century ago, as ten-year-ish -olds we were plinking at glass bottles (!) that were standing on a concrete block wall (!), and had a steel BB bounce back and lodge into my cousin's lower eyelid. We managed to dig it out with only minor bleeding, and our parents never found out about that particular indiscretion. ( The topic just never seemed to come up in our casual dinner conversations.) If they had found out, there was a good possibility that our Second Amendment Rights may have gotten somewhat infringed upon, and that would simply have been unacceptable to us.
The start of the video talking about taking the kiddos, man I feel that lol. I have 5 kiddos and each time I take any of them, I only take 1. Any time I introduce more than one, it is crazy. My 18 year old now has his own stand and blind when we hunt and is a budding hunter on his own, now my 7 year old is always excited for range day with daddy. This year will be his first youth hunt here in Wisconsin. We are shooting our 10/22 and later this year we will do the .243. Love watching the show guys. Great conversation.
I started my young fella on a savage FVSR 22 at ten yr old I added a .357mag lever action and now he's 13 I got him a 6.5X55 covering him for almost everything we can hunt in Australia short of water Buffalo
I purchased my 6yo a Bergara BXR Carbon, w/ a red dot. The rifle itself is very light for what it is. I took out all of the stock spacers. I placed the buttpad back on because that particular stock is hollow. He can rest the stock at its midpoint on a bag, and shoot pretty well. I wanted a bolt gun to start him, but could not easily find one with similar ergonomics as the BXR has built in.
A suggestion I would make if you want to get one .22 rifle to cover right or left handed shooters would be a Henry .22 lever action; the lever is effectively ambidextrous and it fits that balance of being slower and requiring more discipline to fire than a semi-auto but you can still rack through 10-15 rounds of .22 if you want to just load the tube up and go ham with it.
I have a carbine 16 inch Henery in 22 lr. It's a solidly built gun, but it might be a tad heavy for a young buckaroo. Plus with mine there is no safety, you have to lower the hammer down gently on a chambered round....i don't like the idea of that with a kids gun...ive never had an issue, and it wouldn't be a big deal in a controlled environment like while shooting targets from a bench. But I wouldn't want to risk a thumb slip every time the kid decided he wants to put the gun in safe mode.
I just received my grandfathers Winchester 67 “Junior”. Gun is in wonderful condition and I found it fitting to give it to my son so he could teach his 2 daughters how to hunt squirrels.
Love the conversation and completely agree. Not sure how I missed it in previous episodes, but the image on the back wall depicting handling a modern AR shows ridiculously bad form for fingering of the G chord...😂 Yall still playing the song of my people though.
Good discussion but seems like a few firearms were missed that might be the exact thing that Mark needs for his daughters. A few that came to my mind right away were the Savage Rascal…when I heard Ryan say Savage I thought that’s where he was going but he said MkII. The Rascal is just like the Cricket but it doesn’t have that cocking piece at the rear of the bolt…it works more like a regular bolt action. Length of pull is 11.25”. Henry has the Mini Bolt Youth which is very similar, 11.5” LOP. Savage also makes a MkI in a youth size and it’s a single shot…which might be a great place to start. I guess if you only load 1 round into the MkII magazine it accomplishes the same job. CZ also has the 457, specifically the Scout, which is an awesome rifle for a small shooter. It has a 12” LOP, open sights, dovetail for a scope, threaded muzzle if you want to use a suppressor and comes with a single shot magazine, but will accept any 455/457 mags (5, 10 or 25 round). Plus you can get a full size stock for it later and different barrels in various calibers/cartridges. Personally I don’t think there’s a better youth rifle than the 457 Scout. The whole thing about manually pulling the 10/22 bolt each time to shoot 22 colibri or 22 short could produce very bad habits later. I feel like whatever you want your kids to learn how to shoot you start them with it. Meaning, if you want them to use a bolt action centerfire someday then it’s probably best to start with a bolt action 22. Once they learn those fundamentals they can always have fun with a 10/22 later.
I bought a Thompson hot shot .22 break action (first of 1000 series) with a little thompson 4 power scope, great for kids. Single shot, hammer fired, one and done system.
My grandfather bought me a red ryder for my 5th birthday. I will never forget that Christmas morning and the first time we took it out for a try as long as I live. 😂😂😂
I went with a CZ 457 scout for my kids. Has single shot adapter, and can go to magazines when ready. Also a lot of aftermarket options for stocks and other things. It can grow with them. I have a 457 for rimfire competition. As I upgrade can hand down or save stuff for kids rifle. Only problem with it is that it's a bit heavy, and bolt takes a bit of effort. Overcame that with a bipod.
I got a BB gun then quickly moved to 10/22 My kids have been straight to 22. Bought my daughter a cricket when she was born…. But never shot it much. Cz457, savage mark2 fvsr, have been my go to. A ruger charger with a brace recently joined the mix because of short lop. But my daughter (now 9) has quickly became a scope snob and if it’s not a Burris xtr pro (currently on cz457) or similar higher tier scope she is disinterested in shooting it. She literally wouldn’t shoot the savage fvsr that had a vortex pst gen 2 on it the other day at the range. I started my kids out 22 suppressed and it’s been great for them and has transferred up to the larger guns they shoot very well.
I don't know the brand, but I was given a single shot 22LR when I was 5. I'd go shooting with my dad and he instilled that fear in me to alway be safe and aware with it or I'd never see that rifle again and a chunk of my rear would have been taken off by his belt. This was the 80s so I had many adventures with that rifle with no supervision after I proved I could be trusted with it. It's a bit insane by today's standards and safety paranoia. I have a lot of fond memories going shooting and hunting with my dad and uncle carrying that little rifle and my bandoleer of 22LR rounds.
I would take a look at the Savage rascal. I trained my sons and my grandkids on those rifles. It does not have all of those extra mechanisms it works just like a big bolt action rifle I still have the ones I bought many years ago I still use them from time to time to dispatch varmints.
I'd second the Rascal, it's a great little gun. It's light, and has fit my kids very well from when they started shooting until they are good sized teenagers. I also like it myself for is small stature and light weight, which makes it very packable. I mounted mine with a small fixed 4 power scope, and it's a grouse killer.
I got a Thompson Hot Shot 22 that is a single shot break action with the idea that my kids can learn on it. I love it and the kids are able to learn marksmanship fundamentals without an overly complex rifle.
I started my kid on a Ruger 10/22. He was maybe 12 years old. And he loved that gun. It was fun enough for him when I was shooting larger caliber guns, that he could walk the farm and shoot in the pond and just have fun.
One thing I noticed they forgot to talk about was that some .177/BB air rifles use compressed air. So no pumping and you still get the knowledge and the leeway for mistakes. Plus the report from the impact of shots is still excitable for children.
Great Podcast! It reminded me of when I started shooting my father's .22 rifle. I remember you have to loaded for the side of the stock, I cannot remember the Brand, but was fun to shoot this rifle. Thank you for this podcast, It brought back old and funny moments from when I first started shooting. I don't have kids, but I agree the .22 rifle is a very good option for the kids to start shooting.
Not sure how popular it would be, but I almost want to say just get an AR with a rimfire adapter. Maybe even a way to make it straight pull for the first few years. A kid would bassically have a rifle that checks a lot of boxes all through his life. Safe handling and plinking to start, moving up to small game and preditor hunting, then deer, hogs, ect. Plus when mature, he has a rifle with serious defensive capabilities, and if they ever decide to ban production, he has one for life (Unless they get outright banned). Yea, it might be a bit large for a little guy, but he wouldnt be going it alone in those first few years anyway. And with all the aftermarket accessaries, you could customize it all kinds of ways for future Christmas and Borthday gifts. I was a 13 year old stringbean when i got my first 12 guage pump, and that thing is older than most college kids these days. Still shoots great, and ill pass it on to my kids.
Man you guys gotta do a cartrage talk on some of the African dg and pg cartrages from the big bore black powder erra to the nitro express lines, up unti today. I would love a talk on all of the 9.3 calibers, especilly the 9.3x62, 9.3x74, even the 9.3x64 brenneke, and 9.3x66 sako....and defenatly the 404 Jeffery, 416 Rigby, 416 Rem mag, 458 win, 458 lott, 505, 600. 700 nitro express...and everything in between and on either side...lol i have been asking forever now, and i know there is a truck load of history, data, and content between all of those calibers.
I got my son (7 years old) a small savage single shot for Christmas. It has a plastic feeding ramp in it. To aid in loading. Just waiting for the right day that he is ready ( attention). I myself started out with a bb gun. I can't tell you how many came back and hit me. When I was about 10, I got a sears ted Williams 22. Add still have it. Talking about shooting side I primarily shoot left-handed, but I can shoot left or right. I eat left. But besides shooting I do most everything else right. When I concel carry mostly left but there are days I feel better carrying right handed. I'm a very odd duck lol. Guys, thank you on for this video. Love and enjoy all your videos. I Always take something away for each one of them.
A 22 wound have been nice lol.....at 7 dad got me a red rider bbgun and used that up until age 12 when in Michigan we could then small game hunt and for Christmas he went directly to a new england/h&r,12 gauge with a full choke barrel...mine you i was big for my age but his reasoning was shotguns were more useful in his eyes and if it smarted a bit when you shot it then you wouldn't just be out there wasting ammo...you know 30 years ago when 22 shells were 9.99 per brick and 3 bucks for a box of 12 or 20 gauge shells. And he made me pay for my own ammo. Jokes on him i just learned to deal with it and fired away at clays and pop cans til i ran out every time .
Go for the Henry H001 Carbine Mark! A shorty .22 that will take you through all of life and then some for the kids. It was my first firearm and still in my arsenal. It can shoot shorts and CBs as well without issues.
I wish they made a rimfire bolt conversion for a cz 527.....you could get one or a couple of those 223 caliber adapters and shoot 22 untill they are big enough for 223....Would transition nicely from small game to varments, and when there ready. Deer...all with the same rifle. Plus all the plinking you could hope for with two popular and inexpensive cartriges. Hell you could chop it down and rig a folding stock for a pretty dam good survival rifle...like an m4 actually.
I have so many questions still about the .22 lr. What does a typical barre life look like? Can you overheat/burnout a .22 lr barrel? Does the barrel matter in regards to longevity of accuracy? So many questions 😭🤣 I love .22 lr and I wanna learn all I can haha
Mark you've got a mixed handed kid. Allow them to decide which hand and eye. I personally am mixed handed can do both left and right hand & eye with shooting
When I was 5 or 6 I got a daisy leveraction but it wasn't the red Ryder And if one of them is left handed or left eye dominant do not force them to use a right handed gun
I'm lefty who's been shooting for 30 plus years, I get excited when I find a left handed firearm in the store but actually using one just feels weird. IMO you're Lil lefty would be better off learning on the much more common rh gun unless it just doesnt work.
@@paisleyprince5280 I'm left handed and I learned on a Henry 22 but of I had learned on my Dad's model 60 I probably would of quit shooting all together I had burn all down my right arm from the cases
My dad started us shooting on 22 lr. We had to demonstrate proficiency in his presence before he considered buying us BB guns. My dad never gave me any guns other than the BB guns. Don’t know why. I was the best shot in our family.
If your rifles are too big for your kid you can either get a youth model or a 22lr adapter for your AR and shorten the adjustable stock all the way, that works for my sister's 5 year old he loves the 22 AR. Also my 2 year old loves it, but he can't hold the rifle yet, he holds on to the scope 😂 When he's done shooting you can get some reps in for cheap too.
I agree although not the conventional pick, but I think the AR in 22 is a SUPER effective early entry. I had my 9 yr old girl (high % in height for age/ gender), shoot for the first time on my AR 22 (CMMG conversion kit). From my perspective: 1) teaches them AR manual of arms which can grow with them for life. 2) with adjustable stock/ brace easy to expand LOP as they grow / and can support multiple kids with different LOP requirements on 1 gun 3) as they get older it is easy to introduce other calibers with a simple upper swap 4) [pending correct resolution on pistol brace legality], can use brace with a short 5"-10" barrel to keep weight down and reduce muzzle weight out in front 5) easy entry to add in optics (red dots or scope). My daughter was hitting ~40% on steel at about 50 yards her first time with red dot. She definitely felt accomplished 6) it was a good teaching aid regarding proper malfunction clearing, dropping mags, and remembering to check the chamber!! 7) easier to add a suppressor to keep the report down (recognize 22 report isn't much anyways) as many kids (especially younger) will get incrementally more nervous the louder the report or if you have a child with auditory sensitivities. She shot the 10/22 immediately following the AR 22 and she preferred the AR 22. There is a reason it is one of (if not the) most popular rifle platform in America for new rifle purchases!
@@pmergler I agree 100% It sounds unconventional, but an AR 15 platform can be set up to address every problem/concern a youth will deal with. And it will be a rifle for a life-time rather than one that will be quickly outgrown and relegated to collect dust. It all comes down to providing good training from the start.
Would like to hear thoughts on sites/optics for youth or anyone starting out. Started kids with peep style sight, moved to red dot. Will move to scope eventually but eye box may be a bit challenging/ discouraging.
I have a cricket in 22 magnum that I acquired specifically to hunt pigs if the opportunity presented itself. in MS we can shoot pigs during small game season as long as we are using a legal firearm for that season. This gives me almost 6 month to hunt pigs. It is an awesome little gun if you want to carry something light weight and compact while trail walking. I would not consider it a kids gun, because once a round is loaded, and the bolt knob is cocked, the only way to unload it is to either fire the rifle, or lower the knob VERY CAREFULLY on a loaded round. I could see a kids fingers slipping off while trying to unload the gun. It's never happened to me, and I am not really worried it will, but I would not want that for a youngster. Too risky.
Just FYI yes BB guns are dangerous as my Father lost a eye, So he would never allow us to have one. We received a 20ga shotgun for our first gun at 12. Oh it was nice to meet you Ryan said high to you a week ago in the show room. As far as .22 I let my Son use my Remington 77
Cross eye dominant shooter. In the worst way. Right handed left eye with a baaaaaaaad right eye. I have one left hand bolt action rifle but honestly the best thing I did for myself was learn to shoot right hand bolts left handed. Lots of ways to do it, but if I ever had to borrow money is on I'd be borrowing a right handed gun.
I'll add I didn't discover this until hunter safety. Prior I had been shooting my 10/22 with high scope right handed left eye. Only because it was see thru rings to see the irons. But now there's no way I could do the same and honestly holding a rifle in my dominant hand feels awkward. Thought I still right hand shoot handguns.
Mark. Mossberg plinkster youth. Bolt gun. Has a plastic single shot insert(feed ramp) loading a cricket sucks. When kid(s) get older replace "insert " with 10 round mag.
I have a request for a video. Please link if you already made one. But I really REALLY want to get into hunting, but unfortunately I didn't grow up in an environment with guns and I don't currently know anyone who is into hunting. I had a little experience in boy scouts shooting and I had a college friend try to take me hunting but despite seeing a herd the day before we never saw a single deer the day we were hunting. I'm very willing to pay for the license and tags and I've even invested in a rifle. But I don't want to pull that trigger until I have at least a little experience in dressing the deer and understanding of what to do in the event the deer runs off between shooting and dying. I am unaware of any classes in my area, so would there be any good options on how to learn that stuff?
@Jack White shoot too far I'm in the mitten honestly it would be best to go to your local gun club and make friends usually at least a couple guys willing to help out.
@@russellgavin1820 thank you. I actually grew up going back and forth between Chicago and Wisconsin. So maybe next time I visit it’ll be possible. If I go into rural LA I could definitely find them. But all the gun shops around me are more oriented towards “tactical” shooters
Dressing a deer is relatively simple. Cut around the anus and through the windpipe. Cut through just the hide of the belly and pull everything out. There's videos on how to skin and remove the meat all over YT.
