Single shot 22

[Mosquito]

Thinking of getting my son a single shot 22 for his birthday. He is going be 12 in November and has been asking about squirrel hunting behind my house by himself. He has showed very little interest in hunting so far (unlike his big sister) and i want to be supportive. He is a great kid so i have no worries other than safety and i think it would make me feel better for him to start with a single shot. He has been shooting for a long time so its really just the hunting he has no experience in. Because he is going to be 12 the rascal is to small. I've been doing some internet searches and haven't been finding much . I think traditions makes one but does any know of any more. The only thing im really looking for is .... 22 lr not to big or small. Not to heavy and the option to mount a scope. Thanks for any tips

 

[marksjeep]

CZ would be an excellent option and fits all the needs listed. It's a little spendy. My daughter has shot one (455 scout) for 4H the past few years. It's a quality rifle that can grow with the child. The single shot adapter allows for single shpt, top load only. Larger magazines can be used when the shooter becomes more proficient.

https://cz-usa.com/product/cz-457-scout/

 

[Jbotto]

Find a nice used old Remington or Winchester with an actual walnut stock and blued finish. Models that pop out to me are the Remington 510 and 514. I don’t follow the Winchester’s of that era as closely. Cool old rifles that are accurate and can be found very affordably and are arguably nicer than most affordable rimfires today.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I grew up popping prairie dogs & jack rabbits with an old Savage/Stevens model 89. Looks like a lever gun, but has a martini action. Great Kids gun.

 

[MT_Chad]

Find a nice used old Remington or Winchester with an actual walnut stock and blues finish. Models that pop out to me are the Remington 510 and 514. I don’t follow the Winchester’s of that era as closely. Cool old rifles that are accurate and can be found very affordably and are arguably nicer than most affordable rimfires today.

This is what I was thinking. I have my dad's old 514 in my safe to teach my girls to shoot with. It was my dad's first gun and he learned to shoot on it, then me and my brother, next will be my girls. It's a great rifle, very accurate. It looks good too after I refinished the stock, the old man was shocked it looked so good with the plain old stock that it has.

 

[44hunter45]

+1 for old school used.

I got each of my sons their own single shot 22 when they turned 9, and my granddaughter as well. They used them supervised until they were 12.
I love the old Ithaca Model 49 single shot lever guns. When my youngest turned 9, there was not an Ithaca to be had. I got him a Rem 514. (I have since found another one to add to the collection.)
Everyone notices our huge gun safe, little do they know its got more .22 single shots in it than anything else.

 

[Dan O]

Track of the Wolf has a Stevens crack shot-26, 22 lr for $479.00. It's a drop block single shot. Might fit your needs real well.
Dan

 

[MT_Chad]

Track of the Wolf has a Stevens crack shot-26, 22 lr for $479.00. It's a drop block single shot. Might fit your needs real well.
Dan

That is a cool gun, I've never seen one of those before.

 

[turbobrick]

Maybe consider the Ruger American Rimfire with a single shot magazine, then once he’s ready just swap out to a standard 10 round mag. This also works with the 10/22 since they share magazines.

.22 LR 1-Round Rotary Magazine

shopruger.com

 

[VOLhunter]

I just purchased a Browning T-bolt for my 10yr old. It is amazingly accurate!!!! 10 round mag so not single shot but it has quickly become his and my favorite gun to shoot. He has shot a 10/22 takedown for a few years, but the accuracy of the Browning wins the fun-to-shoot category! It is a full size rimfire rifle with 22-inch barrel but weighs less than 5lbs. I put a Leupold freedom rimfire 3-9x40 on it. Highly recommend

 

[mtmuley]

That is a cool gun, I've never seen one of those before.

My son has one of the original Steven's Favorites. Cool little rifle his grandpa gave him. I'd go with a quality bolt rifle that can be single fed. mtmuley

 

[Mosquito]

Thanks for the responses everyone ill check into all of them . Thanks again

 

[BAKPAKR]

CZ would be an excellent option and fits all the needs listed. It's a little spendy. My daughter has shot one (455 scout) for 4H the past few years. It's a quality rifle that can grow with the child. The single shot adapter allows for single shpt, top load only. Larger magazines can be used when the shooter becomes more proficient.

https://cz-usa.com/product/cz-457-scout/

I would second a CZ. My daughter has a CZ 452 Scout that my dad got her for her first Christmas. It is a tackdriver but, for a beginner’s rifle, it has a serious flaw - the safety is pulled back to the “fire” position rather than pushed forward. That has been remedied on the new 457.

 

[Finnis]

CZ Scout I got my son is such a handy thing to carry, super accurate, that I've taken to slipping on a recoil pad that I had for a mosin to increase the LOP an I've been carrying it around myself.

 

[Six by five]

I picked up a used Anschutz .22 single shot with a bolt action. I absolutely love that gun. You would likely have to look at used inventory but the one I picked up was not pricey. Great idea on getting a .22!

 

[BrentD]

I don't think you can beat "fowl punishment's" recommendation of a Rem 514, except that it is a bolt rifle. I'm not fond of them, but that's just me.

I am also not fond of Stevens Crackshot and Favorites. Most of them are pretty clapped out, not really made for modern high velocity .22 ammo and just not worthy of kid that would be more interested in a gun that hits what he aims it properly. There are also Hopkins and Allen 722 and 922 rifles, the latter being a bit better, but they have much the same problems at the Stevens I just referenced. I grew up with a 722 that was pretty nice and a family heirloom, so I was lucky that way. I gave that away to someone with a daughter that needed a gun and I had no other future in mind for it.

Among better quality more modern .22s is the Winchester/Browning modern 1885 lowwall singleshot. Though completely different internally than an original Winchester 1885, these are good guns that i would say are a little more than halfway between a boy's rifle and a man's rifle. These are pretty common on the used market. Not terribly cheap either, but a quality rifle.

Personally, I would start a youngster with any gun that did not automatically put a hot chamber in his hands after firing - in other words, I'd consider pumps and levers (and even ugly bolts) in play, but then what do I know about raising kids?

If you stumble across a nice Ballard #3 Gallery rifle, they too are quality rifles like an original Winchester of the same era. These are light small guns, but not boys rifles per se. I think a 12 yr old could find a lifetime of enjoyment in either.

Good luck with your search. I look forward to hearing what you might come up with. There are so many .22 out there but not so many singleshots AND of decent quality of manufacture. Too many were junk the day they hit the showroom floor.

 

[CubSlayer]

As part of my mandatory evangelism for Savage, I will tell you about our Savage Rascal. I bought it for both kids to learn on. My son was seven at the time. Now he's 13, and my daughter is 16, but they still love to shoot that gun. It is the one gun that goes with us every time we go to the range, at least if rifles are involved. I enjoy shooting it myself.

The size of the Rascal isn't off-putting to me, but the single-shot aspect for hunting kinda is, but you've made that a condition in your original post.

One thing I don't like about the Rascal is the iron sights. Difficult to adjust accurately and easy to bump off zero. If the windage peep gets even a little loose, it can move substantially.

Are you thinking about putting a scope on it? If so, that would ameliorate my biggest complaint about the Rascal.