I made a fundamental error gifting a .22 rifle,,,

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Letfreedomring

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Feb 21, 2022
Messages
2,228
Reaction score
5,930
Location
74053
I learned to shoot on a Charter Arms AR7 with my dad and still shoot it today after he gave it to me with a little persuasion. It eats almost everything you throw at it and is fairly accurate and when broken down takes up very little room in safe. Peep sights are the way to go for new shooters IMHO. Henry kept on the tradition with their US Survival ar7 rifle modeled after the armalite version. Plus it floats so no worries of losing it in a tragic boating accident! :rollingla
 

Settled_Nomad

"Be Curious, Not Judgmental." -- Ted Lasso
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2017
Messages
106
Reaction score
81
Location
OKC OK
I made a fundamental error gifting a .22 rifle,,,
I forgot to take into account the physical size of the recipient.

Several months back I gifted .22 rifles to the three sons of a dear friend,,,
I had a surplus of very good rifles that I never shot anymore.

It was a delightfully satisfying experience.

On the Sunday of this past Memorial Day weekend,,,
I gifted two more firearms to the daughter and son of my oldest friend.

The daughter is 19 years old (almost 20) and is a junior at TCU,,,
Her dad okayed the gift so I presented her with my venerable Ruger LC9.

It is the "Lady Lilac" color and she loved it,,,
She also got a Twisted Industries .22 adapter kit.

So with 3 mags for each cartridge, lilac shooting muffs/glasses, and a cleaning kit,,,
She is now well armed with a good pistol that will be cost effective in practice.

She mastered switching from 9mm to .22 LR quickly,,,
And was soon putting holes in a paper plate at 15 yards.

I felt very satisfied with the gift and her reaction to it.

I didn't do so well with the .22 rifle I gifted to her 10 year old Brother.

I gifted him a Savage Mk-IIF that I purchased new a few years back,,,
He also received two 10-round mags and one 5-round mags,,,
I mounted a new Simmons 3-9x2 scope on it.

My "fundamental" mistake was not considering the fact that he's a small-ish boy.

The rifle is simply too long for his short little arms to accommodate,,,
He couldn't get any kind of cheek/shoulder weld,,,
Nor could he see through the scope.

I was so proud of myself in the choice of a quality firearm for him,,,
I know for a fact that the rifle will hold a 1.25" group,,,
That's at 50 yards with bulk HV ammo.

It was almost painful watching him sit at the bench,,,
And try to hold the rifle on the bags,,,
And still look through the scope.

Fortunately I do have a solution for this dilemma,,,
I own a Crickett "My First Rifle" that I'm sure will fit his small frame better.

So as soon as I can arrange it,,,
I'll take him to my rifle/pistol club range,,,
And see if we have better results with a more size appropriate rifle.

He'll still get to keep the Savage,,,
He'll grow into it in just a few more years,,,
But in the meantime he will have a rifle he can actually use.

I have no idea why I didn't think of this problem beforehand,,,
I think I got caught up in the excitement of gifting,,,
And gave him the rifle I would have wanted.

Oh well,,,
Live and learn.

Aarond

.
that's pretty awesome of you. Do you adopt? I am house broken. :)
 

HoLeChit

Here for Frens
Special Hen
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
6,532
Reaction score
10,486
Location
None
Two letter
Didn't want to create a new thread so since I don't have much expirience with .22 and Aarond looks like a guy who knows those well: What is a good .22 rifle to get aside from Ruger 10/22 that I already own? Been browsing web for 22 rifles articles and visiting my go-to online stores to see what they've got, but would love an unbiased advice from a person who's savvy with .22s. Thinking of boiling choices down to Savage Mark II, Henry American Eagle and Keystone Chimpmunk. Any help is appreciated if someone wants to chime in and has expirience with any of those.
two letters: CZ. The 452, 455, and 457 are fantastic platforms for hunting, plinking, and target shooting.
 

jakeman

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
4,564
Reaction score
6,587
Location
Blanchard, America
If you can find a nice used 9422 or a Model 61 you will not be disappointed. I’ve got a couple three of each, and every one of them is more accurate than any other model of .22 I’ve ever owned or shot, and I’ve shot a whole bunch of .22’s.

They aren’t difficult yet to find, but they are a bit pricey anymore, but they’re worth every penny.
 

Tinytim

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
707
Reaction score
671
Location
Calumet, Oklahoma 73014
I made a fundamental error gifting a .22 rifle,,,
I forgot to take into account the physical size of the recipient.

Several months back I gifted .22 rifles to the three sons of a dear friend,,,
I had a surplus of very good rifles that I never shot anymore.

It was a delightfully satisfying experience.

On the Sunday of this past Memorial Day weekend,,,
I gifted two more firearms to the daughter and son of my oldest friend.

The daughter is 19 years old (almost 20) and is a junior at TCU,,,
Her dad okayed the gift so I presented her with my venerable Ruger LC9.

It is the "Lady Lilac" color and she loved it,,,
She also got a Twisted Industries .22 adapter kit.

So with 3 mags for each cartridge, lilac shooting muffs/glasses, and a cleaning kit,,,
She is now well armed with a good pistol that will be cost effective in practice.

She mastered switching from 9mm to .22 LR quickly,,,
And was soon putting holes in a paper plate at 15 yards.

I felt very satisfied with the gift and her reaction to it.

I didn't do so well with the .22 rifle I gifted to her 10 year old Brother.

I gifted him a Savage Mk-IIF that I purchased new a few years back,,,
He also received two 10-round mags and one 5-round mags,,,
I mounted a new Simmons 3-9x2 scope on it.

My "fundamental" mistake was not considering the fact that he's a small-ish boy.

The rifle is simply too long for his short little arms to accommodate,,,
He couldn't get any kind of cheek/shoulder weld,,,
Nor could he see through the scope.

I was so proud of myself in the choice of a quality firearm for him,,,
I know for a fact that the rifle will hold a 1.25" group,,,
That's at 50 yards with bulk HV ammo.

It was almost painful watching him sit at the bench,,,
And try to hold the rifle on the bags,,,
And still look through the scope.

Fortunately I do have a solution for this dilemma,,,
I own a Crickett "My First Rifle" that I'm sure will fit his small frame better.

So as soon as I can arrange it,,,
I'll take him to my rifle/pistol club range,,,
And see if we have better results with a more size appropriate rifle.

He'll still get to keep the Savage,,,
He'll grow into it in just a few more years,,,
But in the meantime he will have a rifle he can actually use.

I have no idea why I didn't think of this problem beforehand,,,
I think I got caught up in the excitement of gifting,,,
And gave him the rifle I would have wanted.

Oh well,,,
Live and learn.

Aarond

.
What a great and generous “uncle”.
 

Tinytim

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
707
Reaction score
671
Location
Calumet, Oklahoma 73014
Didn't want to create a new thread so since I don't have much expirience with .22 and Aarond looks like a guy who knows those well: What is a good .22 rifle to get aside from Ruger 10/22 that I already own? Been browsing web for 22 rifles articles and visiting my go-to online stores to see what they've got, but would love an unbiased advice from a person who's savvy with .22s. Thinking of boiling choices down to Savage Mark II, Henry American Eagle and Keystone Chimpmunk. Any help is appreciated if someone wants to chime in and has expirience with any of those.
My Brother started my kids and a couple godsons off with single shot bolt guns (better accuracy with a good bolt gun, instead of their desire to “spray and pray”. I have gifted each of my Daughters with Henry .22 levers.
 

aarondhgraham

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
2,419
Reaction score
3,948
Location
Stillwater
Hello Tinytim:

The Savage Mk-!! is a great choice both for quality and price,,,
Assuming that he is big enough that the rifle will fit him.

I prefer bolt actions to semi-auto's for a first rifle,,,
It avoids the spray-n-pray method of shooting.

I wouldn't choose the Henry for a first rifle,,,
Even though I loved the H-001 that I once owned,,,
I still believe that a decent bolt-action is the perfect first rifle.

If your boy is small like my friends son though,,,
Go ahead and get him a Crickett.

Yes, he'll outgrow it eventually,,,
But it will serve him well until he does,,,
And the rifle is so inexpensive (relatively) that it's not cost prohibitive.

As an aside I know a man in his 40's,,,
He still shoots the Crickett that his son eventually outgrew.

Hope this helps,,,

Aarond

.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom