Cricket vs 10/22

[historian]

So...my daughter is now five. That means I'm going to have to take her shooting soon. What say ye INGO. Should I get a Cricket for her (and the other two after her) or just get a 10/22 and call it a day?

 

[d.kaufman]

Im in the same situation, but i know im going with the cricket. I personally feel for a very young and new shooter a single shot bolt action is the way to start her out. Once she is proficient and follows the rules to a tee, then I'll get her a 10-22. Just my opinion though

 

[SSGSAD]

Either one would be ok. I started mine out on a Daisy single shot .22 with an adj. stock. They will outgrow a Cricket, you can cut the stock down, and then glue it back together as they grow ..... Just single load the 10/22.... use the mag., and teach them that every shot counts .....

 

[MPD742]

a .22 on an ar platform would meet everyone's needs.

 

[308jake]

The cricket is very light and she will have a much easier time being able to line up the sights with the shorter stock. She can learn all the basics on that rifle and then graduate to the 10/22 as she gets older and stronger. My son is 8 and pretty tall for his age, and he is just now shouldering the 10/22 correctly. Rossi also makes a 22/410 combo kit that is sized in between the Cricket and 10/22. They can be found for $100 if you look and they come in a decent little bag.

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Both of my daughters learned on a cricket. I also used it for 4-H shooting sports for 14 years. Easy to learn on and just the right fit, for very young and very small stature kids.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Savage Rascal. It is, IMO, superior to the Cricket. Safety is easy to see and independent of the bolt, real accu-trigger, decent sights.

 

[Scuba591]

Savage Rascal. It is, IMO, superior to the Cricket. Safety is easy to see and independent of the bolt, real accu-trigger, decent sights.

This. Should not be more than $125.00

 

[87iroc]

I would never waste my money on a Cricket again. Cheap POS gun. I don't know much about the savage...but the Cricket was only useful to my daughter for a short time. She is now 10, has outrown it. I bought it for her when she was 8. If you're stuck on a bolt action...maybe the Savage would be a better choice.

I have a 10/22 'carbine' I think they call it. Thing is featherweight. She handles it nicely. I should have just gone to it.

I do agree a bolt action is good to learn on, but I spent 175 on the cricket I bought(pink laminated stock, not cheap toy looking plastic you see everywhere). I should have just spent another 25-75 on a 10/22. I saw a pink laminated stock 10/22 I would love to get her this Christmas but she'll keep borrowing mine for now.

I wanted to move her to the lever action...but the dang henry was about twice as heavy as the 10/22!

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I would never waste my money on a Cricket again. Cheap POS gun. I don't know much about the savage...but the Cricket was only useful to my daughter for a short time. She is now 10, has outrown it. I bought it for her when she was 8. If you're stuck on a bolt action...maybe the Savage would be a better choice.

I have a 10/22 'carbine' I think they call it. Thing is featherweight. She handles it nicely. I should have just gone to it.

I do agree a bolt action is good to learn on, but I spent 175 on the cricket I bought(pink laminated stock, not cheap toy looking plastic you see everywhere). I should have just spent another 25-75 on a 10/22. I saw a pink laminated stock 10/22 I would love to get her this Christmas but she'll keep borrowing mine for now.

I wanted to move her to the lever action...but the dang henry was about twice as heavy as the 10/22!

My son is 10. He can handle a Marlin 60, but it's hard for him to maintain a proper stance with it because of the weight. He still uses the Rascal most of the time.

 

[DRob]

If Ruger still makes the youth model 10/22 that's what I'd do. When she outgrows the gun, you can simply replace the youth stock with a standard carbine stock.

 

[dagibson1507]

Smith & Wesson Model M&P15-22 .22 LR 16" Barrel Collapsible Stock 811030

Really cheap right now, 329$ . Since its all plastic is light enough for a 5 year old but she won't outgrow it. This is what I got my 5 year old girl, only I got the pink one.

 

[OutdoorDad]

Henry 22 youth.

Started my girl on it. Its a very heavy rifle. But short and compact.

She won a Cricket a few years ago in a giveaway. She took it out of the box. And decided she'd rather shoot the Henry off a bag than deal with the Cricket.

The Cricket really isn't very well put together.

 

[hopper68]

Ruger does make a single shot mag for the 10-22.

 

[Cerberus]

I have a Savage Cub that I've used to teach my kids and several nephews to shoot with. Light, accurate, single shot and easy to see the safety on. Too bad it's out of production. Will probably pass it to my youngest nephew in a couple more years.

 

[308jake]

Ruger does make a single shot mag for the 10-22.

Yes they do

 

[Bigtanker]

What about the Ruger American Rimfire youth model? They have the interchangeable stocks to alter length of pull. Once they get bigger, you can put the full size stocks back on. One rifle from age 5 to adult.

I haven't looked into how short the length of pull is or the weight of the rifle. It might be better a few years from now for her.

 

[Psode27]

My vote would be for the cricket, but thats only because I havent seen the Savage offering... That being said, knowing Savage, I'd probably go with the savage after I checked it out. I LOVE my 10/22, however I think a bolt gun 22 is a great thing for a young shooter. After they out grow it, then you have a cheap little 22 bolt gun, so what if its tiny.
There used to be a guy that offered a pack rifle setup for the cricket. There is this Pack Rifle Kit but I thought there was another cheaper option... He might be long gone though.


Are Chipmunk rifles any/much better?

 

[hopper68]

What about the Ruger American Rimfire youth model? They have the interchangeable stocks to alter length of pull. Once they get bigger, you can put the full size stocks back on. One rifle from age 5 to adult.

I haven't looked into how short the length of pull is or the weight of the rifle. It might be better a few years from now for her.

And it uses 10-22 mags. Depending on the model it looks like about the same weight.

 

[char130802]

Cricket would be the way to go if you get her a 10-22 you'll probably have to give her 1 bullet at a time as it's just 2 easy to rip me off and not try to hit anything