crickett?

[lazyworm]

Is a crickett still a good starter rifle for a child?

What alternatives should I consider?

[M60A1Rise]

Some folks say single shot is best for youngsters but I never owned one so I started my boys on a beat up borrowed Marlin 60 back in the day.

[Gat Man]

I started my oldest off on a Savage Rascal. Single shot bolt action with a peep sight and a super crisp trigger. It has a short LOP and is as light as a potato chip. I recommend it.

[RandyD]

I started my daughter in a Crickett, she is 17 she now shoots a 10-22. We went shooting today in the desert and she remembers the drills I put her through when she was 5 to 10 with the Crickett. I bought some .22 snap caps and had her load, aim and dry fire, and unload a lot in our living room. It taught her safety. I also installed a 2X Leupold scope on it. The iron sights on a Crickett and not the best. When she shot it, she could hit shotgun shells at 15 yards.

BTW, since she is no longer using it, I am open to selling it. It is a stainless steel with a pink stock.

[sonofeugene]

I started my daughter in a Crickett, she is 17 she now shoots a 10-22. We went shooting today in the desert and she remembers the drills I put her through when she was 5 to 10 with the Crickett. I bought some .22 snap caps and had her load, aim and dry fire, and unload a lot in our living room. It taught her safety. I also installed a 2X Leupold scope on it. The iron sights on a Crickett and not the best. When she shot it, she could hit shotgun shells at 15 yards.

BTW, since she is no longer using it, I am open to selling it. It is a stainless steel with a pink stock.

Save it for her. She may treasure it in coming years.

[morrcarr67]

I started my daughter in a Crickett, she is 17 she now shoots a 10-22. We went shooting today in the desert and she remembers the drills I put her through when she was 5 to 10 with the Crickett. I bought some .22 snap caps and had her load, aim and dry fire, and unload a lot in our living room. It taught her safety. I also installed a 2X Leupold scope on it. The iron sights on a Crickett and not the best. When she shot it, she could hit shotgun shells at 15 yards.

BTW, since she is no longer using it, I am open to selling it. It is a stainless steel with a pink stock.

Save it for her. She may treasure it in coming years.

Yup, she may even want to teach her daughter on it. It could be the start of a family heirloom.

Sent from my motorola one action using Tapatalk

[keith1911]

I bought my nephew a 10/22 and put Tech Sights on it for him to learn on. Seemed to do ok the first time out at the range.

[drclark]

My daughter just got a savage rascal and really likes it. Its 11.25" LOP and in a black synthetic stock weighs on the order of 2.5lbs. Its about the same size and weight as her daisy buck 105 bb gun. Got if for around ~180 just before xmas.

My older son has a 10/22 that I found a 16" bbl and cut the stock down to 11.5" LOP and put tech sights on but it is still a 5lb rifle. He can manage it, but was too heavy for my younger daughter. If the gun is too heavy, shooting will be less enjoyable and will be more difficult for the child to control where the muzzle is pointing.

So a lot will depend on the size and strength of your child.

The rascal is a cock-on-open bolt design and as a feed ramp that does not require the 22 cartridge to be loaded directly into the chamber. I think cricket has a "cocking-knob" on the back that needs to be pulled back after the bolt is closed. So the Savage manual of arms is more similar to larger bolt-action hunting style rifles. Rascal comes tapped for scope bases - think you have to use Savage proprietary mounts - there may be some aftermarket rails, etc. Have not looked into optics much since I want the kids to be comfortable with irons. The Rascal is available in wood or synthetic stock; but I think the wood stock adds about a pound to the overall weight.

The only issue we have had is that the rascal will sometimes have light strikes that usually a re-cock of the bolt will fire. I have read that re-profiling the firing pin may solve that issue but have not attempted anything like that yet.

The other minor issue is the rear aperture sight adjustments are not very precise. Our first time out shooting was too windy and the paper target holders kept falling over so we couldn't really confirm where it was hitting... but my daughter was able to hit steel pistol plates at 50-75 yds so out of the box zero was close enough.

Other rifles I looked at when buying the rascal

Henry lever action youth - LOP was still ~13in and too big -~300ish

CZ457 - scout - beautiful rifle - 12" LOP, ~5lbs - comes with single shot sled - can use CZ 452 magazines, and barrels - large aftermarket support - can "grow" with your child - ~500ish (I like this so much I bought one as well for my smaller-frame wife)

S&W MP15/22 - collapsible stock can have LOP as short as 10.5". Weight is still 4.5-5lbs - reach to fwd hand-guard is longer due to AR pattern receiver and magwell. Fore-end supports adding bipod easily - have to teach more complex manual of arms - may be intimidating for new shooter - or kid will blast through scarce ammo too quickly with semi auto - ~500ish - I passed on this as I already have a dedicated CMMG upper AR pattern .22 - was still too heavy and awkward to hold for my daughter. My son prefers his 10/22 even though both are similar in weight.

Henry Abolt youth - essentially a more expensive version of the cricket - similar manual of arms ~300ish

[AR22]

Yup, she may even want to teach her daughter on it. It could be the start of a family heirloom.

Sent from my motorola one action using Tapatalk

My Sons and Daughters first was a Crickett..Still have it and soon the Grandkids will be shooting it. It is a little hard for my Large hands to load though..Other than that it severd its purpose great and will again in a couple years.

[Fate]

Another vote for Savage Rascal.

[bergmen]

Another vote for Savage Rascal.

I'm in the same boat. My eldest grand daughter will be 7 in May and my daughter has asked me to train her to shoot. I'm leaning towards a Rascal as well (Savage is a great firearms company).

Dan

[Dan_Eastvale]

My 10 rear old daughter and 11 year old son started on their 10 round Mossberg Plinkster at 7 and 8. Easily controlled.

[Someday]

My daughter started off on a Crickett when she was 9. My plan was either to move her to my Marlin 60 or a Ruger 10/22. Instead, she picked up my AR and never looked back.