Ok, so I am trying to pick a 22 Rifle for a young cousin. Rifles I have experience with and am considering:

Marlin 60

Winchester 52

CZ 452

Marlin 39A

Ruger 10/22

I know these are pretty different, two bolt actions, two semis, and a lever. I am leaning against the Ruger as I don't want something I have to customize at all.

What are your general thoughts/preferences on these? Any others to consider?

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Aaron Terry

I have newer Marlin 39A lever, a Glenfield 25 bolt and just bought a Remington 573 pump today on the forum. I am no expert but for simplicity the bolt action which you can use with or without the clip, if you make sure that you fully work the lever the 39A is great and don't know yet about the pump. Canoeguy can really give you what you want to know.

The Marlin 39A is a great rifle but it is a full size gun and may be a bit too big and heavy for a younger shooter. I bought a Remington number five for my grandson and its a good shooter for the money. Oh, its no sin to leave a 10/22 stock you know and they are good shooters right out of the box and can be made even better later on with a few mods if desired.

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Stay safe people!

Having owned all of the above except the Winchester Model 52, I'd have to say the pick of the litter would be the CZ 452. They are super accurate, reliable, high quality rifles.

Whatever you do, don't get a modern Marlin 39A. They have changed the design of the rifle to incorporate some safety features including a rebounding hammer and crossbolt safety, the result is the rifles are unreliable, many failures to fire/failures to extract. Very expensive, and very frustrating. The older Marlin 39's without these features are OK I hear, these would be ones from the 50's-80's, something like that. I bought a brand new Marlin 39A ($550!) a couple of years ago, two trips back to the factory for repairs, and it still has failure to extract issues.

The CZ 452 Military Trainer is a great rifle, the military type sights are adjustable for elevation, so you can easily hit targets from 50 feet to 100 yards. They go for around $400.

I like the CZ 452 rifles so much I have bought five in the last two years, two Military Trainers, a 452 American (no sights, scope required), a 452 FS "Mannlicher" Carbine, and a 452 "Scout" youth rifle.

Another good rifle, cheaper than the CZ is the Marlin 925 bolt action. 7 shot, magazine fed bolt action repeater. Almost as accurate as the CZ, priced right around $200. The sights limit your shots to 50 yards, but that should be adequate for most uses. Easily scoped if you want to.

The Marlin Model 60 can be finicky if not kept clean, and is difficult to disassemble.

Here's the order I'd pick, were you buying me one.
Winchester 52
Marlin 39a
CZ 452
Ruger 10/22
Marlin 60
Not a bad choice in the bunch, in my opinion.

You don't have to, but the options are legion should you decide to do so. Some would see that as a plus.

For me, I would choose the Win 52--see what the Winchester aficionados say about it in that forum. But I already have a Win 56 in short-only, the gun my father gave me when I was 13, same gun he himself was given brand new in 1930, when he was 13. A perfect .22 in my book, for lots of reasons.

I would suggest an older model Glenfield 25 bolt action. You don't give the youngster's age, but the model 25 is a seven shot magazine-fed rifle with open sights, which means you can start out single shot and move upward from there. The older models (which use the curved, angular magazines) were tapped on the left rear side of the receiver just at the woodline, and if the youngster decides that they would like to get into something like Light Rifle competitions, the gun meets the weight requirements, and being tapped already, you can mount a Lyman MJT(?) Target Aperture sight on the rear, and put a Globe sight on the front. I did this for my son when he was growing up, and the Marlin was plenty accurate. Unfortunately (?), he stuck with it, and I had to buy him an Anschutz match rifle later on (left-handed, even!)

The Marlin 60 is cheap and reliable. I just bought my nephew one for Christmas.

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Insert short witty words here

I'm not a fan of semi-autos for a first gun for young shooters; they're not as inherently safe, and they can teach bad habits. Neverless, with close supervision they'll work fine.

I prefer bolt or lever guns, and especially the latter, as the hammer serves as a visual cue as to whether the gun is ready to fire or not.

I don't know how big or small this young person is, but you might want to look at the Henry youth model. While they're not "high end" rifles, they function smoothly and they're more than accurate enough.

BTW, I agree with the earlier comment that the Marlin 39 is much too heavy for a youth. It's a "big boy" (or girl) gun.

EDIT: I should add that my youngest (now 18) daughter's first gun was a Ruger Mark II, so you can see I'm terrible at following my own advice. What can I say? That's what she wanted <g>.

You are talking apples and oranges

The CZ is the best bolt action 22 lr out of the box for the money.

All the others are good also but which one will he enjoy shooting more??

Bolt action dead eye target shooting, probably boring for a youngster.

Both the Marlin 60 and Ruger have been around forever but are not built like they used to so I would look for a good used older one. The 10/22 is a great semi auto but do you want him to start with a semi. The 10/22 shoots just fine with no customizing(I have 4)

Leaving the Marlin 39A. A classic, and Fun!

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Still Running Against the Wind

Whats wrong with a little pump rossi 62. The copy of the old winchester 62. Light, accurate, fast and retro. Most us old timers grew up with the little gallery gun. I started my daughter off with one too.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...pump&FORM=IGRE

I would choose the CZ452. It is a very high quality gun that is accurate. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

All the rifles you mentioned have merit as a learner. If money is not a deep concern, then the CZ 452, perhaps the Trainer. If the rifle is for a youngster's knocking around [after training], a rifle that has served me very well is the Marlin 25. [My 39s, 10-22s, 60s have also served well, but not as good for a beginner, I think.]

Years ago Winchester, Remington, Savage, et al all made affordable wood/walnut stocked bolt action .22s, but no more.

Good you are taking on this role as teacher and mentor.

Regards,

Dyson

There have been many fine suggestions, but i'd like to recommend the new savage, bolt action, with the accu trigger system.

It is an amazing value for the money.

And no, I do not work for Savage lol. It is a fine rifle for $200. Good luck and be safe.

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Rather be outdoors

Not a good idea - if he/she doesn't like it, they will loose interest immediately. Let him/her pick the rifle themselves.

My vote would go to a Winchester Model 69A bolt action .22 rifle. No "spray and pray" semiauto, it would teach precision marksmanship and making every shot count. I've bestowed a couple of them on my grandchildren as their first firearms. You can still find them at gun shows, and they are well worth the hunt. For more on these fine rifles see:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/...-4-5-10-a.html

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

+1 This one or the Win 52.

Was the CZ452 based at all on the Winchester 52?

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Aaron Terry

I'd vote for the CZ452. Now, for a first 22 rifle, maybe not. The only complaint I have with the CZ is the 5 shot mag, and the expensive replacements.

How young are the cousins?
Iron sights or glass?
What is your price ceiling?

The The Winchester 52, Marlin 60 and 39a are miles apart from each other but all are legendary in their own right. The CZ is fast becoming a legend and the Ruger, out of the box it's the poorest performing, but it's a tinkers dream.

There are so many good .22s out there, a few to look at are the Remington 513T, 37, and 40X. The Winchester 75, 67, and 94/22. Stevens 44s and Favorite's and Anschutz 64s and 54s.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

Taurus was making a version of this too. I had a stainless one. Traded it off a few years back.

Ruger 10/22's certainly are a popular gun to customize, but nobody says that you have too. They're great guns right out of the box. I have three...all pretty much original except for scopes, slings, etc.

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'Merica!

Kids will probably not be interested in the same guns as we old timers.

Let the kid pick out the gun or he/she will undoubtedly lose interest in it very quickly.

You didn't mention the kids age or stature. But I've been partial to Mod.39's for years. For a starter rifle have you considered a Henry? Not a lot of money & very well made in the USA.

$30 for a 10 rd mag is worth it for the beautiful Turkish Walnut and not a bunch of plastic parts.

The "Tactical" version of the Ruger 10/22 was rated the best by NRA American Rifleman. the action and barrel are the same.

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Still Running Against the Wind

+1 In losing interest.
My Daughter said my grand-daughter of 10yrs old would love to shoot with grandpa. So I went out looking for prospective .22's that she would like and enjoy shooting.

I bought her a Ruger 10/22, a new Henry Youth model Mini-Bolt .22, and a Pink Crickett Stainless .22 singleshot.

I took her to our local indoor range one-time to shoot for about a hour.
She enjoyed the session, but due to all her other school and sports activities she has lost interest and has no time for target shooting now.

I did enjoy sharing my sports interest with my grand daughter, with no regrets. But the three .22's are now safe queens.
586L-Frame

DLC’s Henry Mini-Bolt, Pink SS Crickett & Ruger 10_22.


x

I have a Marlin 60 semi-auto (my second), a Mossburg 802 Plinkster (bolt action), a Marlin 39A (newer one), a Ruger 10/22 (actually the kid's), and a Winchester 62A pump. I also have a Ruger 22 Charger but that is considered a 10/22 pistol.

For a first time shooter I suggest a bolt action. Teaches them to shoot slow and aim correctly and safety, but a semi-auto is more fun.

My Mossburg I paid $90 plus tax at Dick's on sale, and with a scope is pretty accurrate. Has a 10 count clip. I want to put a bipod on it this spring.

My kid's 10/22 has a Tapco stock, a forearm grip/bipod combo unit, a nice 2x7 scope, and a 2 point sling. All in all a little over $500 in the thing, but it looks cool and is fun to shoot.

Marlin 39A - Most expensive but my favorite but also the least shot. Just happens to be that way, no reason why.

Marlin 60: I had one I got when I was 16, and I literally wore it out. Shot it a lot and a lot of rapid fire, and didn't keep her clean. My second one has a 4x scope on it and is at the parent's farm for Mom to shoot groundhogs with.

Winchester 62A: More an antique safe queen but I get her out ever now and then to shoot.

Ruger 22 Charger: Mostly just a fun gun.

I would suggest a cheap bolt action until proper shooting technics and safety is learned, and then a semi-auto. The Ruger 10/22 is the most accessorized 22 in the world, and you can get about anything for it. I love my Marlin 60 but there are so many more options for the Ruger....

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Good life will not Heaven get!

We took the kid's 10/22 right out of the box. ran a bore snake though her a few times, and put 10 rounds out of 10 in a 8" circle at 25 yards the 2nd magazine we shot out of it. First mag was a bit all over as he was just trying to figure out the open sites. After that we switched to a 25 round mag, and he was putting 22 out of 15 shots in a 12" circle at 30 yards semi-rapid fire (2 seconds apart shots).

Since I put the scope on it we take her to the range and at 25 yards (indoor range) all 25 shots are in a 3" circle. I could get her a bit tighter, but the kid is happy with it.

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Good life will not Heaven get!

My only choice when getting my boys shooting was a 10/22. My boys needed a scope to be sucessful due to some defects from their mother. What I did do was buy a couple of factory stocks for 12 dollars total off ebay and took a chopsaw to get the right lenght of pull. Worked great for me and mine.

Go for the 52. If you want to give an awesome .22 then stray from your list and get a Winchester 9422. I love the 9422.

I bought my 10 year old grandson a CZ 452 Scout [youth model]. He shoots it very well. Many times he has told me, "papa I love my gun".

I have owned many in my 68 years, like Remington 510/511/512/513 and the semi auto 550 the best.Buy one of these you have a sound investment as well. The 510 is the one I would buy for a young persons first gun, single shot and the safety comes on automatically when you close the bolt,

Unless your cousin is very small, you won't go wrong with a Marlin 25. Inexpensive, accurate, reliable, easily mounts a scope. Extra clips are inexpensive and easy to find. Marlin made these under the Glenfield and J C Higgins name too. A kid can learn everything they need to know about shooting, gun handling and safety with an inexpensive gun that they will from a pricier one and not have to fear for "messin' it up". Later on they'll probably appreciate the finer rifles more, too. Maybe it's just in my neck of the woods but if I had a dollar for every time I saw a kid carrying a Marlin 25 through the woods in squirrel season I'd surely have enough money to by a couple of 'em.
John

I agree 1000% with the 510. I have mine from 55 years ago and it is still as accurate as anyone would want a .22 to be. The 'automatic' safety is of prime importance to a starting shooter IMO.

(And no one never outgrows a 510 Remington.

Give some consideration to the Savage Mark II. Especially with the bull barrel.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed