Greetings

I plan on buying my son a little .22 that we can enjoy together......for his 5th birthday. I know there are a couple different ones out there. does anyone have any suggestions??

thanks

hb

Hillbilly, watch this review of the Savage Rascal. It may make up your mind for you.

http://www.gunblast.com/Savage-Rascal.htm

thanks guys

RR I'm in martinsburg but travel corridor H on a regular basis. If you want to shoot me a pic and price, I'd be happy to take a look. I did find a cricket at walmart for 110.00 which suits my pocketbook at the moment.

thanks again
hb

Chipmonk is a great little rifle. The fit and balance at that age is very important.

The Chipmonk is a POS...not easy to use and after watching a friends child struggle with one wouldn't waste a dime on it.

My daughter started out on a Rossi Tri-Fecta...the advantages are:

- The rifle cam with both youth and adult stocks...allowing growth and longevity of use
- Swapable barrels allows for versatility...her's came with a 22lr, 243 and 20g barrels...we have since added to it a 410 and a 223 barrel. Again...versatility and growth potential.
- Cost...bough on sale with 3 barrels in stainless for $179 @ Cabelas...
- Accurate...it shoots very well...I managed to shoot 2" groups @100 yards with the 22 barrel with cheap ammo..and 1.5" with the 223 and 243 barrels with reloads...plenty accurate for a first rifle.
- Single shot rifles teach kids patience and not to just pull a trigger, are easy to use and have less moving parts to complicate the process...


That being said the Savage Rascal gets much better reviews than the Chipmonk and doesn't seem to have some of the same safety concerns. Whatever you do, don't buy the kid an autoloader as the first firearm! Enjoy the time with him shooting...some of my best times are with my daughter at the range...she also started shooting when she was 5...she can now consistently hit a 6" pie plate target @ 50 yards from the bench after 2 years of shooting.

nice looking gun adn a beautiful daughter you have there RR. Looks like it might be worth a little more than I want to spend....but if you think not, please pm me.
precious pic none the less
hb

I have been really looking at one for my daughter as well and really like the T/C Hotshot. I don't like the Rascal so much b/c a single shot bolt action rifle just seems silly to me, and I don't like the fact that it has a "safety". The Hotshot is a break action rifle with a hammer. The trigger cannot be pulled unless the hammer is cocked. I like this because it teaches your kid that your finger is the safety. I also much prefer the peep style sites of the Hotshot. Seems to be a simple way to teach your kid site picture.

My two cents.