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Old February 2, 2013, 09:31 PM   #1
deerslayer303
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Lil Cricket?

Hey Guys,
I'm thinking of buying my daughter the pink Cricket. Or the "2 foot rifle" as she calls it. I've been telling her since she was 3 (she is 6 now) that one day I would get her a 2 foot rifle to learn to shoot. So thats what she calls it now. Its past time for her to learn, and I don't have a thing that fits her. Anyway, Do any of you have any experience with these? Its really the only one I see that would fit her. Thoughts?
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Old February 2, 2013, 09:45 PM   #2
jmortimer
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I looked at the Cricket and the Henry Henry Mini Bolt Youth and went with the Henry. Better quality in my opinion and for what it is worth, the official gun of the USA Olympic Shooting Team.
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Old February 2, 2013, 09:58 PM   #3
chris in va
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How about a Henry Lever Youth? It'll be a lot more entertaining than a single shot.
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Old February 2, 2013, 10:20 PM   #4
Mobuck
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We chose the TC HotShot over the Cricket or the little Savage. It was a compromise between myself and my Grand kids parents.
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Old February 2, 2013, 10:23 PM   #5
kayakersteve
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I have a cricket for my kids and honestly think the quality is lacking, plus if scoped, it is difficult to get round chambered because it loads from the top. My kids have done better with the Ruger 10/22.
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Old February 2, 2013, 11:17 PM   #6
Edward429451
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Those are the coolest little rifles. I was looking at one just the other day. My friend has one for his kids. He put a peep sight on it instead of a scope and the kids have a blast with it.

What kid needs a scope when 25 yards would be a long shot for them? Especially a 6 yr old. Go get it Dad! and Pics, or it didn't happen, lol!

The important thing is that it will fit your 6 yr old. The Henrys and 10/22s are cool but will be way to big for her to have fun with. Get her a 10.22 and put it on ice for her if you must but heck yeah, the cricket for now. It is a good solid single shot and easy to cock.
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Old February 2, 2013, 11:41 PM   #7
joshobrien77
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My 7 yr old has one and loves it. We scoped it at Christmas and he is hammering targets out past 50yds.

Its not a high quality gun but for $100 its a great trainer and its dead accurate even withe the supplied peep.

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Old February 3, 2013, 11:47 AM   #8
PetahW
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While a Crocket's "ok", and "great" for her, since it come in pink (I got my Grandson a Chipmunk), in reality they may be a bit much for a small child to cock (the bolt's cocking knob must be pulled back against the mainspring pressure).

Since YOU'RE the adult, and small kids don't know any better, why not start her on a Ruger 10/22 (or other) auto-ejecting single shot rifle ?

If you never/ever remove the magazine in the child's presence, they'll have no way to know it's actually a repeater - and dutifly single-load each shot into the chamber.
Of course, you'll hear about the charade, once the child's old enough to find out - but by then, they should have already had several years of safe shooting under their belt.


.
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Old February 3, 2013, 08:21 PM   #9
Ferretboy
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My Daughter and nephew both learned with Crickets, not bad for the $100 paid for them, heck I even have fun one handing the pink one just for giggles. my daughters was accurate with the peep sight out of the box.
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Old February 3, 2013, 08:44 PM   #10
sirdiealot
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get the cricket...got one of them last month and my 6 and 9 both like it...its safe and a nice shooting rifle
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Old February 3, 2013, 08:57 PM   #11
ShamrockArmory
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I got my nephew the Cricket for his first rifle.
The cocking knob isn't too hard that he can't do it himself, but I would have your daughter try it herself (withOUT a round in the chamber, obviously) before you buy it, if there is a way to do so without loosing the element of surprise.

The one I got came with fixed sights on it, and my nephew is a DARN good shot with it at 25 yards. I'm glad I went with a bolt action to teach him patience in making the shot count. I started having him shoot a side to side swinging target and because of his patience, he does pretty good at it.
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Old February 4, 2013, 02:34 AM   #12
bamaranger
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yup

I bought bamaboy a Cricket when he was about 7. He shot it under intense supervision with .22 CB caps to limit noise and the distraction of muffs. I could coach in a normal voice, the rifle sounded like a pellet gun.

We moved up to .22lr and muffs pretty quick. I think starting a kid with a reduced size .22 single shot and iron or aperature sights is the way to go.

At some point the Crickett developed an extraction problem. I called the folks in PA and they had a UPS truck at my door THAT DAY! In about 10 days it retuned, complete with a nifty case..... free! It ran fine ever since, though we don't shoot it much anymore.

That was 10 years ago, if the outfit and quality is the same, you won't be disappointed.
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Old February 4, 2013, 07:58 AM   #13
Saltydog235
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My 4yo has one that we bought for him last year. Great little gun for what you get. It isn't designed to be cocked and loaded by little hands, that is why the main spring pressure is to high. It's single shot, so I control everything throughout the process. Its accurate as I need it to be right now, he's four, I'm just excited he wants to hear it go bang and be there with me. I could care less what he hits, everything is a bullseye at this point. He's learning gun safety and handling which is more important than accuracy at this juncture as well.
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Old February 4, 2013, 03:52 PM   #14
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Not a post for the OP so much as the Thread itself

It's threads like this, where the focus on teaching your kids is about safety, control and companionship that are really heartwarming to see. This is the type of thing that should be made publicly visible, and what non-gun owning people should get into their heads, not that we are all a bunch of crazies
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Old February 4, 2013, 04:10 PM   #15
stu925
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Take a look at the Marlin 915Y, another youth sized single shot but no cocking issues. You might check out the Savage Rascal too. I bought my oldest boy (8 this month) the earlier version of the Marlin (15YN) and he loves it. The rifle shoots really well and fits him pretty well. If you're into gun shows you might be able to find a pre-loved 15YN for under $100, I got his last year for $75 or so. If you're looking for something new then the 915Y might be a better choice.

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Old February 4, 2013, 10:00 PM   #16
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my favorite youth .22lr is a CZ scout. it is a little more,ok twice and then some,than the cricket but you will get a gun that your kid will pass down to their grandkids. i made the mistake of buying one for my lil boy when he was 6. i say made a mistake in jest only because that lil CZ scout so impressed me that i purchased 4 more CZ rimfire rifles. it is the most accurate youth rifle i've ever seen. and when your lil 'un gets bigger you could get a adult CZ stock and it will drop right in as the barreled action is just the same legendary 452 action as their bigger adult sized rimfires.
good luck and enjoy this time as this is the good stuff,
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Old February 5, 2013, 03:13 AM   #17
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I picked up an older used pink Cricket for my granddaughter. It's sitting in the top of my safe waiting for her to get old enough to shoot it.

Anyway me and the other granddad took it out and put a couple boxes through it when I first bought it and it shoots as well or better than any other .22 I have and that's saying a lot. I'm glad only one other person saw me shooting it. I'm sure that this grizzled old 6'5" biker was a quite a sight shooting this tiny, pink rifle...

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Old February 5, 2013, 07:11 AM   #18
PawPaw
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My 80 year old mother decided that she wanted a .22 rifle and after bringing over every 22 I had, we finally decided on a Cricket for her. She likes the single shot and says that the Cricket is "just her speed". She uses it to keep raccoons out of the muscadines. I mounted a low-power scope and the raccoons that are left are mighty nervous.
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Old February 6, 2013, 02:00 AM   #19
jimmythegeek
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I'll second the CZ Scout. Savage Rascal a good alternative

I don't care for the Chipmonk's extra safety. It actually makes it harder to safely unload.

The Scout comes (new) with a single shot adapter, but you can use the 5 round or acquire a 10-round magazine. It uses the same mags as any of the adult CZ 452s or 455s. On a bolt-action, I am not worried about it running away from the shooter, so I think a single-shot is not necessary.

The Rascal comes with a great peep sight and is drilled and tapped for scope mounts if that's your pleasure. Also comes in kid-friendly colors. I didn't want that, though. I wanted it to look like a 'real' rifle. Not a toy. I can dig wanting to maximize the kid appeal.
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