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.22 Bolt Gun Suggestions...

Capt Beach

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 1, 2011
355
13
65
Virginia Beach Va
I have three grandsons, 2 and two more that were just born, 3 months old now...looks like that is going to be it...looking for suggestions on .22 rim fire bolt guns for them...I'd like to set them up now...thinking hard I want them to learn the basics on simple bolt action .22's, let them fire one at a time out of a wooden block that holds 50 rounds at a time...

Ideally I want something with good irons and the ability to install a decent scope after they can shoot with irons...

I want 3 identical guns and will get three identical scopes and mounts...then pack 10-12K .22 rounds to split between them. Then clean'em up and oil them down and put them in the safe for 6-7 years until they are ready.

Anyone have any experience with the CMP Kimber 82 (Rusty's)

Savage Mark II? Savage 93? Stevens 300 series?

Thanks...Capt Beach
 
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When I was very very very young my father did similar, bought me a rifle. It was stolen along with much of his others while we were out of town, living in VA.

I recently just bought my son a Savage Mkii and it's a pretty darn nice rifle for about $200. His has the heavy barrel, no sights, but I know the standard barrel with sights are available for a little less. We have a local store that sells them for $179 all the time, always in stock. The only possible downside is all the factory Savage rimfires I know of have a habit of developing surface rust pretty quick and easy. So if you're gonna store them for a while you just have to keep up on them to prevent that, or have them coated. I just Cerakoated my son's last weekend so we wouldn't have to worry about it any more.

I also have a Ruger 77/22 that I consider my first rifle. I shoot it a lot still today, like at least once a week. But in all honesty, for how much more they cost, and the fact you need to buy a few, the Savage will be a lot cheaper and end performance will be the same, if not better.
 
If you want irons then the Savage FVT or one of the CZ models - I'd go FVT and swap the stocks out for the BV style from boyds (rimfire hunter i think they call it) when they are ready for a scope.
 
You might want to look at something like a Criket to get them started. Get one and pass it down as each graduates to a bit larger rifle.
 
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The CZ-452 was my first thought when I saw your original post. Your grandsons will be able to learn, train and enjoy them. Then they can pass them down to their children/grandchildren.
 
I bought a Chipmunk rifle just for teaching my grandkids to shoot.
If you want new 22s for them I would buy CZs, either the 452 American or the Scout.
You might want to look at old Winchester 69s or 72s for bolt guns, no longer made but are
quality rifles.
 
savage rascal is pretty nifty, got to fondle one and it's pretty nice, even for a "truck gun". single shot, accutrigger, drilled and tapped, adjustable peep & somewhat cheap (affordable).

marlin xt22Y adjustable trigger, single shot adapter can be swapped out with a 7 rnd mag later, drilled and tapped for scope bases, open irons

CZ scout would be more of a step up, irons, single shot adapter included but can be swapped out with a 5 or 10 rnd mag, 11mm dovetail and i believe it can be bolted to an adult sized stock later on, whereas i don't believe the rascal or the XT can (i could be wrong).

IMO the cz would be the best choice over the long haul into adulthood, while the rascal would be outgrown in a few years.

i think the kimber 82 would be a bit heavy for a youngster to enjoy, heck it's heavy enough for me!
 
CZ Scout for sure.

I went with CZ Scouts for my three kids (and one for my wife). All of mine are accurate. They come with a single shot adapter and 5 and 10 round mags are available. The sights are not target sights, but serve well for learning to shoot open sights. They are easy to scope and the stock can be upgraded to an adult version. My wife and daughter find the original stock just right, but last year I upgraded one son to an CZ American stock. CZs are lifetime guns, worthy to be passed down to the next generation.
I also have a Trainer and it to is a great rifle, but they are too big to be used by small folks. This summer I have run 5 NRA kids classes. Kids ages 6-13 are attending. I am using three Savage Rascals, a Savage FVSR with a chopped stock and one CZ Scout.
 
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I've got a CZ 453 and a Ruger 77/22 and love them both but if I was going to buy my grandsons each one it would be a 77/22. I've had mine for 25 years and have shot thousands of rounds through it without a hitch. One neat thing you can easily remove the barrel for whatever reason. I took mine off and sent it to adco to have it threaded for my suppressor. I've enjoyed many days in the woods shooting squirrels with it too. My CZ has a great trigger but still prefer the Ruger. Good luck.
 
The last time I had shot the model 194 my dad bought me, I was 15 years old. Had not picked up a rimfire rifle since then. Fast forward 35 years, and I wanted to get into rimfires in the worst way. Therefore as far as I'm concerned I don't know anything about what's a good choice. Most of the guys here and at the local range are shooting CZs. I ran down and picked one up last week, and already ran a whole brick through it. All I can say is that I was impressed, and had a blast. I don't know what others do with theirs, but I love bouncing a golf ball around at 100 yards. It's very accurate, and very reasonably priced at around $400.00.