Crickets under the Chrsitmas tree!!

[Rusty Shackelford]

My youngans (10 and 7) are really taking a fancy to alot of dads outdoor activities. Last year they were introduced to my archery hobby and enjoy going out "Flipping sticks" with me.

The also have enjoyed the Red Rider bb gun. So the obvious next step is the 22. The oldest has got some experience with grandpas 22, but it is obviously an adult sized rifle and overwhelms her if we are not on a bench with sand bags. Not to mention it does not fit well enough to teach good form. It is so big that it is not even an option for the 7 year old who is all of 42 inches tall and 37 lbs.

So my thoughts were getting the single shot cricket (maybe two of them) as their first true gun.

http://www.crickett.com/

I can get one locally for under $100. With its small size that will fit the girls, I feel better about not having to go back and correct form issues that will arise from shooting a poor fitting rifle. Plus with several of the saftey features, mom is more accepting of the idea (not really scared, more like the fear of giving your kids the keys for the first time at age sixteen).

So anyhow, any members had experience with this rifle. Good? Bad? Comments welcomed and appreciated.

[Maximus]

I bought crickets for each of my children, totaling 3. I also have one. You might look into the Chipmonk sp? as well. If I'm not mistaken the Chipmonks have no plastic were the Crickets do. That is my only druther after buying 4 Crickets.

[livtocruz]

No experience here Rusty but, I wish that there were rifles like this on the market when I was a young kid. My earliest shooting was with a bolt action 20ga, out pheasant hunting with my dad. Bought a Remington 77 when I was 20 over in Germany, no where near the types of rifles that they have these days. Have your kids ever been to a carnival that has a 22 shooting game? I'm sure you know the one that I'm talking about.

[gpond]

I can't judge the size of those Crickets. I own a Mossberg Plinkster .22 which is quite a small little (lightweight) rifle. Maybe not as small as the Crickets?? Dunno, but it is plenty small, and that's what I like about it.

[Lt Dan]

Crickets are good, wish I had one. Even at my 6' size, I think they are cool, handled a few, more like fondled, By the time I taught my son to shoot, he was getting some size. He is taller than me now and was tall for his age, so I just gave him my single shot .22.

[curmudgeonista]

I gave my son a Henry Youth .22 lever action when he turned 9. Great gun! It fits a kid, but it's fun for adults to shoot too!

It's about double the cost of the Cricket, but well worth it IMO.

I think my son will still be shooting his when he's my age... I know I would!

5570

[Rusty Shackelford]

My oldest has shot a henery. It is just a tad big. YOu got to realize that my girls are in the 0 percentile for height and weight for their age. They are freaking tiny. Healthy but tiny. My 6 month old boxer pup weighs more then my 7 year old daughter does!!

[Rusty Shackelford]

I gave my son a Henry Youth .22 lever action when he turned 9. Great gun! It fits a kid, but it's fun for adults to shoot too!

It's about double the cost of the Cricket, but well worth it IMO.

I think my son will still be shooting his when he's my age... I know I would!

5570

A good father would encourage so much shooting that his son would have the barrel worn out by the time the kid was an adult.:biggrin:

I know that me and my brother ran about 30-40K rounds of 22LR through a Rossi gallery gun over a course of 2 summers and ruinh the gun. Had a great time though. But that was back in the day when parents were allowed to leave 12 and 13 yr olds at home alone with guns and unsecured ammo!

[MISRy]

A good father would encourage so much shooting that his son would have the barrel worn out by the time the kid was an adult.:biggrin:

I beg to differ. My first 22 is a (Steven's I think), breach loading single shot my g-g-pa Benton got in the early 1900's. It has put more squirrels and rabbits on the table than I dare to think about. It still puts a hole in the 10 ring at 75m all day long if I do my part.

[Sport]

Great thread. I will be running into the same issues with my daughter (on the bottom of the curve as well). Fortunately she is into Elmo so I have time to learn from others on this. Has anyone seen or used a CZ 452 Scout? Here is a link to a list of 22LR youth rifles by make:

Youth market firearms (http://www.ocshooters.com/Gen/kidshooting/youth-firearms.htm)

[GoldWampum]

Probably a good choice for the young Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane on your list.

[Lt Dan]

The Cricket is really good for the smaller young folks, boys/girls alike. When hard times came I had to sell my old single shot 12 ga that I'd had since I was a teen. When I got employed again and was in the market for a new shotgun, I actually bought a youth model Win pump in 20 ga. My son wasn't quite old enough for it yet, so I hunted with it a few times. I had it drilled and tapped for a receiver scope mount. Anyway, I could have bought an adult size stock set for it, but never did. It's smaller size actually made it ideal for hunting in brush with heavy coats on. When My son turned 16, I gave it to him for Christmas. He is still hunting with it and has shot every deer he ever got with that shotgun. My point is, your girls could get a lot of years use out of it and still be able to pass it to their children.

[curmudgeonista]

My oldest has shot a henery. It is just a tad big. YOu got to realize that my girls are in the 0 percentile for height and weight for their age. They are freaking tiny. Healthy but tiny. My 6 month old boxer pup weighs more then my 7 year old daughter does!!
Point well taken. Crickets sound good then!

Love boxers! I had one that was huge at 6-mos (80 lbs. sound right?). Great dog! Next time I'll be looking for one a little less likely to get that big, though.

[curmudgeonista]

A good father would encourage so much shooting that his son would have the barrel worn out by the time the kid was an adult.:biggrin:

I know that me and my brother ran about 30-40K rounds of 22LR through a Rossi gallery gun over a course of 2 summers and ruinh the gun. Had a great time though. But that was back in the day when parents were allowed to leave 12 and 13 yr olds at home alone with guns and unsecured ammo!
Would that I could!

[elroy]

FYI, I just got an email from Buds Gun Shop online.

They are having a sale on Crikett rifles.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/211

Hard to beat buying guns at a sale price!

[Rusty Shackelford]

Thanks!! my local source no longer was carrying them. I had scratched them off the list and was going to wait for a spring surprise. Might check bud out now.

[livtocruz]

Rusty, even though you're buying for girls, please, please tell us you aren't going to go for the S/S or blued with the pink stock and receiver. Puleeze!

[Usury]

I bought one to teach my kids to shoot when they were about that age. I started with an "adult sized" 22 rifle but it was really just too big. In any case, the cricket did the trick. Both my kids can shoot it better than me now!

IIRC I picked it up for cheap at China-mart.

[Rusty Shackelford]

Rusty, even though you're buying for girls, please, please tell us you aren't going to go for the S/S or blued with the pink stock and receiver. Puleeze!

Hell Yeah I am!!

[branshew]

Got an e-mail from Buds today. They are selling Crickets starting at $115 w/ free shipping.

[livtocruz]

Hell Yeah I am!!

AAARRRGGGHHH!!! :argh: :argh: :argh:

Personally I think that they'd like this one better. :biggrin: Oh wait, that would be me that likes this one better. :hmmmm2: Never mind!

[Maddie]

Ooohhh! Pretty! I like that one, too!

I hope you keep us posted on how your girls do with their Crickets. My nephew is 7 years old, and he's getting a BB gun this year for Christmas. Next year he should be big enough to handle a .22, and hopefully, mature enough.

[livtocruz]

Well Rusty, will there be Crickets under the Christmas tree?