Crickett .22

We took our five-year-old out shooting today with his new Crickett .22; and a fun time was had by all. It's not a bad little rifle; good for beginners, good accuracy, and it shoots shorts, longs, and LRs.


Our little guy has been shooting a BB Gun for the last couple of years, and he transitioned to this .22 easily.


Most of the gang came down to see what the crazy humans were up to, and to see why we were making such a tremendous amount of noise. (We were shooting some of our larger toys as well.)

The Crickett is simple enough that, once back to the house, our little one was easily capable of cleaning his own rifle, including removing and replacing the bolt carrier group, with practically no assistance. I'd definitely recommend one of these for a first rifle.

 

And a good time was had by all. Great that you have him interested/shooting at a young age.

 

Funny you mentioned 22 longs. Have not seen them for years and thought everyone forgot about them.

 

I have a bunch of them in a bag, and absolutely no idea how and when I acquired them. Until we picked up that Crickett for our son, I had nothing in which I could shoot them. My Marlin 60 won't cycle them. My father had a .22 revovler, and the longs may have been left over from it. If so, they're quite a few years old, but still shoot fine.

 

Congrats! I know my daughter loves to shoot hers.

My son has the Savage Rascal.

A quick comparison I did of the two:
Review of youth Rifles (22lr) | McMullen Family

I inherited a bunch of 22 Longs from my dad, since nearly all of my 22 shoot them I was good to go.

My daughter asked to go squirrel hunting this fall - woohoo!!!

 

Those are the greatest pictures. You got a really cute little boy and it looks like he did a real good job hitting the target. The photo of the animals watching is so funny.

Thanks for sharing.

 

A cute kid, and a marksman in the making. Well done, Dad.

 

Thanks for sharing also.
.22 is such a great learning rifle .
I should pick up one for the WA house & kids..

Sloth

 

Thanks. I was looking for a comparison of the two rifles prior to buying the Crickett, but I didn't find one with the clarity of yours. I don't know why it didn't dawn on me to ask the members here first. I wish that I had. I went back and forth between the Crickett and Rascal, and finally settled on the Crickett because of the manual cock. I liked that because it would slow him down a bit, and make each shot a bit more deliberate. He has a good grasp of shooting safety for a little guy his age, but he is five, runs everywhere he goes, and nothing ever happens fast enough for him. He gets out of bed in the morning already on fast forward. I figured anything I could do to slow him down prior to his pulling the trigger would be a good thing.

 

Thanks. He is a really good shot, though I'm still having a difficult time making him see the value of shooting right handed. He's a better shot left handed, as he showed that day shooting. He put quite a few very fair shots on the paper right handed, grumbling all the while that he didn't see why he had to shoot right handed, and then switched to left handed and dropped one on the edge of the bullseye, turned to face me and delivered a very sarcastic, "seeee!" The shot on the edge of the bullseye here is the one I'm talking about.

I've prodded him for two years to shoot right handed with his BB gun, but the moment I walk away he goes back to his left. He bats equally well both left and right handed in baseball, and doesn't see it as any special talent. He thinks everyone can do it.

He's a game little guy, and I wouldn't want to be the person harming his mother if he got them in the peep sight of his rifle. It'd be all over but the police report.

 

Awesome seeing the little ones shoot - brings a tear to this old man's eye sniff sniff Damn allergies....LOL Strong work teaching 'em young. Safety will stay with him his entire life.

 

What is wrong with shooting left handed? He can join the club of shooters that get the pleasure of hot brass flying down his shirt. He will be a shooter that has learned to adapt and make it work cause the world is a right handed world.

I am so impressed with his shooting, that huge smile on his face says it all.

 

When he learns to hunt, and gets a little bigger, I would suggest a Savage model 24 , in a .22/.410. It is the gun I, and my whole family, learned to hunt with. Single shot, selective hammer, and legal for all hunting here in Ohio. Savage has just started making them again in this size. Breaks down in seconds to fit in a pack. Nice gun. When I can afford it, I will be picking up one for my own use.

 

The ONLY thing that has kept me from buying a cricket thus far is the absence of any magazine.

I don't understand the point of NOT making a repeating arm; if a magazine is not wanted at the time due to added complexity, a sled-top placebo magazine can be used to turn it into a single shot arm. It is hard to go the other way.

I can even get over the manual cocking knob, for a little rifle like this has a definite purpose and would seem to be a good candidate for a pocket suppressed rifle. If and for only the express purpose is for the fun of it! Especially the pistol version.

 

I wouldn't have bought one for any purpose other than the one that I purchased it for. You're right that it doesn't transition to a more capable rifle. It is what it is. It's a trainer. I gave some thought to the lines of reasoning that you bring up, and if I intended to use the gun myself, I'd definitely want a magazine. And if I'd waited until my son was eleven or twelve to start him out, I'd probably have gone with a magazine fed rifle.

For a little one though, single shot is a definite plus IMHO, and by the time he has matured to the point that I would feel comfortable with him firing a semi-auto, or even a magazine fed - bolt action, he'll be too big for this little Crickett. As the years progress, and he matures, I'll step him up to more capable guns. I know what you're saying. As he outgrows this rifle, I'm going to be stuck with a single shot weapon, that isn't very capable, and not much fun to shoot; but right now it's what he needs, I think.

I see it a bit like a high chair for a baby. The baby doesn't need it for very long, and once they outgrow it, it's about as useful as tits on a boar hog; but it can be passed down. The high chair that we used for our little one was given to us by some friends, after their two little girls had outgrown it. When he outgrew it, we gave to the sister of the lady who had given it to us, for the little one that she had just brought home. That little chair has a very limited use, but it has served four children well, and is ready to be passed on to another.

Like that high chair, this little training rifle can be passed down, and hopefully it will find a place in other little hands in years to come. Right now, I want slow, deliberate fire, with plenty of time to think through each shot.

 

Aside from the safety aspect of a single shot it also gives young minds time to think before the next shot.

 

...and emphasizes the importance of accuracy!

 

Absolutely. I've allowed him to fire my Marlin 60 semi-auto, with me assisting, and I've noticed that he seems to just like popping off rounds, with no regard to accuracy. With his Crickett, without me even having to remind him, he delivers a carefully aimed shot each time.