Small rifles for small hands

[Rob The Bastard]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about buying a .17 HMR youth rifle for my daughter. ( 2 years old... I am going to start her young! :) )

I can get the Rogue Rifle co Chipmunk brand over here http://www.roguerifle.com/Rifles.htm#Bull%20Walnut but I was wanting to know of any other's that you know of or have used.

Thanks.

[IrishArmenian]

I learned on a normal sized rifle, but I wasn't 2, more like 5. I honestly cannot help you, I do not think Dragunov SVD's are common in New Zealand.

[Crazed Rabbit]

My parents got me a 0.177 cal pellet gun when I was in my young teens. A great piece, I've never cleaned it and it works good (though I haven't tested accuracy lately).

But that required flexing the barrel down to cock the spring. No easy task for a young'n. Definately not possible for a 2 year old.

So, a .17 sounds good, though I've no experience with them. Best of luck to you!

Crazed Rabbit

[Beirut]

The Chipmunk rifles got good reviews when they came out. For my part, though, I would be inclined to get a .22 Chipmunk instead of the .17 caliber version.

.22 ammo is cheap, clean, accurate and easy to find. The recoil is non-existent and you can use .22 Shorts (as well as Long and Long Rifle) which make very little noise and have no recoil to speak of, this will make it easier to teach your daughter to shoot as she will be less inclined to flinch when pulling the trigger. Something that can be hard to unlearn for a young'un.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

A GUN!!?!??!?

I'LL REPORT YOU! ALL OF YOU!

[Geezer57]

I have to agree with Beirut, here, in that .22LR would be much more logical than .17HMR for training purposes. You're going to want your daughter to do a lot of shooting in order to become a good shot - that's a lot more affordable with .22LR!

In a perfect world, you could opt for a switch-barrel rifle that alternated between either type. That .17HMR sure is a sweet caliber - have you looked at the Thompson-Center G2 Contender? One of them, with a 2nd barrel, might just fulfill the need.

[Big_John]

she'll shoot her eye out!

[Spetulhu]

I would be inclined to get a .22 Chipmunk instead of the .17 caliber version.

.22 ammo is cheap, clean, accurate and easy to find.

If you want some extra noiselessness with that, buy a sound suppressor. My .22LR rifle is very silent even with full-size subsonic rounds.

[Ronin]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about buying a .17 HMR youth rifle for my daughter. ( 2 years old... I am going to start her young! :) )

I can get the Rogue Rifle co Chipmunk brand over here http://www.roguerifle.com/Rifles.htm#Bull%20Walnut but I was wanting to know of any other's that you know of or have used.

Thanks.

you want to buy a gun......for a 2 year old?

[English assassin]

Hmm, if I saw this qu raised on airgunBBS or rimfirecentral I'd suspect a troll by a gun control nut. Firearms for a two year old? No point trolling the org so I guess its pukka, but wouldn't this qu be better raised on a shooting site?

Not airgunbbs though I guarantee the thread would be deleted as soon as a mod saw it. Probably an insta-ban too.

IMHO the Rabbit's parents had the right idea. A kid can't use a springer, obviously, and a full PCP would be too heavy, but one of the crossman CO2 powered jobbies at about 8 ftlbs would be good to learn safe gun handling on.

Just my two cents.

Edit: Sorry, on reflection, mixing two year olds and firearms is just a really terrible idea, full stop. A junior springer air rifle like the HW25 at about the age of 8 would be the way to go.

[Rob The Bastard]

I hadn't thought about the noise... although a suppressor and earmuffs was definately going to be used.

I've owned a .17 Rem calibre rifle for years and I have a lot of respect for the accuracy and potentcy of .172 projectiles on small game... I think that even one sitting on top of a necked down .22 WMR will deliver superior results when compared to the .22 lr . The price of ammunition wasn't an issue.



I was joking when I said I would start her off at two... more like 8 or 10, depending on whether she wants to go hunting or not ( the choice will be her's )

A GUN!!?!??!?

I'LL REPORT YOU! ALL OF YOU!

Are you kidding? what for? Providing my daughter is under my direct supervision ( as a firearms licence holder) she is allowed to use a rifle, without a licence, under New Zealand law. ( Which is quite a bit more restrictive than American firearm statutes, I would point out.)

[Ja'chyra]

8-10 sounds a whole lot better Rob but instead of guns why not try archery, I did and it was great, really need to get back into it.

[Tribesman]

I was joking when I said I would start her off at two...
Damn , and there was me thinking you were going to cut down the stock and lighten the pull .

[Beirut]

If you want some extra noiselessness with that, buy a sound suppressor.

They are illegal here and probably in NZ as well.

[English assassin]

Really? How weird. Here you need a ticket for one, but you can get it if you have a reason. Rimfires for vermin control almost always get one, to avoid disturbing anyone who might be nearby.

Can't get one for target shooting though.

[Rob The Bastard]

Archery is on the list as well, but I'm already set up for that.

Suppressors are illegal in the US?

Oops, there goes my comment on the restrictive nature of our firearms laws...

We can use them on whatever we like including handguns ( I think ) without restrictions. ( bearing in mind that handguns are a special category of the firearms licence over here, only people belonging to a pistol club who have been accessed over a period of time and are deemed to be stable/acceptable can get the endorsement to their licence. Once endorsed a handgun can be purchased. Handguns have stricter controls on storage ( ie a safe instead of just a solid lockable cupboard) They are locked away in an approved container when being carried (not on the person), and can only be taken between the home and the pistol range etc... no hunting with pistols over here, well, thats what the law says anyway. )

I have read this review of the chipmunk and it seems that the scale of the rifle is suited to pre-teens... hopefully I would not be forced to cut it down at all.

http://www.gunblast.com/Chipmunk.htm

[Papewaio]

Keep this kind of thread going and you will have Eclectic moving to NZ quick smart.

Any bowhunting still happening in NZ?

I remember the boar hunters going in with a couple of dogs and a knife on the farm, then comming back later with a tusker.

[Geezer57]

Suppressors are illegal in the US?

Yes, since the 1930's (when The National Firearms Act was passed by the Federal Government) silencers, short-barreled rifles (under 16 inches), sawed-off shotguns (under 18 inches), and any firearms capable of full-auto operation have been essentially banned for civilian use in the U.S. The justification for the legislation was the highly-publicized wave of gangster related crime at the time. Of course, after the ban, the only ones regularly using the prohibited weapons were the gangsters.
Bureaucrats, of course, never admit to making a mistake.

The problem for society has never been due to the hardware, but to that very small minority of people who are just no good. Once trained in its proper use, giving the "good" majority access to all that lovely hardware (if they so choose) can even provide society with an extra level of deterrent for the "bad" minority - witness the significant reductions in crime for those states (forty-something so far) that have passed Concealed Carry laws.

Figuring out ahead of time who's going to become a "bad apple" (or not) is beyond human capability, although that hasn't stopped the "politicos" from trying endlessly - with almost no success. Look at all the permit hassles folks have mentioned in this thread alone. I'd prefer to see something more along the lines of the "Shall Issue" language written into most of the CCW legislation, where anyone who wasn't in an automatically disqualified category would be allowed access, but with heavy penalties for any sort of violent misuse. See Project Exile as an example.

[Xiahou]

Are you kidding? what for? Providing my daughter is under my direct supervision ( as a firearms licence holder) she is allowed to use a rifle, without a licence, under New Zealand law. ( Which is quite a bit more restrictive than American firearm statutes, I would point out.)

I promise you, he was joking.

I wouldnt really have any advice for you as to a specific rifle, I don't hunt and most of my shooting time is spent target shooting with handguns (mainly my .357 magnum ), although I have a good time skeet shooting on occasion too. Good luck, and stay safe!

No point trolling the org so I guess its pukka, but wouldn't this qu be better raised on a shooting site?

Judging by the responses, I think there are enough shooting enthusiasts to make the question worth asking here.

[Geezer57]

I was joking when I said I would start her off at two... more like 8 or 10, depending on whether she wants to go hunting or not (the choice will be her's).

In the "oh so not politically correct" early 1950's, my father used to take me out plinking with both his .22LR semi-auto Colt Woodsman and .38 Special Officer's Model revolver - at my advanced age of three. Obviously, I was never left unattended with the guns, but I can still remember the glee at making that old rusty tomato can dance!

So it really ought to be up to your darlin' daughter - if she has any interest, I'd make the effort to feed it.

[Hepcat]

I have never been able to fire a gun, my dad doesn't own a gun liscence and I don't even think he has been hunting before.

I never actually realised how much New Zealand allowed where weapons were concerned

Nobody I know seems to have any guns, I think it is just the people out of town, my friends dad has an old gun from the New Zealand land wars but he has never tried firing it, it is only a family relic.

[Rob The Bastard]

Hi Pape,

There is a thriving bowhunting community over here... http://www.nzbowhunters.co.nz/photo_gallery.htm Mike Murray is my brother, I picked up his bow when he traded up... he is the hunting nut of my family. I just dabble in hunting and buy toys for him to borrow.

I'm not so keen to take on a pig with only a knife and a few dogs as a back-up... give me a rifle any day!