.22 Crickett

[Boela]

Good day all,
My Mrs and I are expecting our second child the end of February 2020, and have we come to learn the day before yesterday, that in all likelihood, we will be welcoming our second son.

I had the opportunity to visit @huntinlabs a few weeks ago, and he introduced me to the .22 Crickett. One that he bought for his kids to plink with. It was the first time that my paths crossed with this little rifle, and was I quite impressed to see how well it was made to fit children. I unfortunately did not look at it in detail, since I never contemplated or expected to ever be in the market for one...……...until now.

I was quite apprehensive going through the motions of buying and importing a rifle to South Africa, especially regarding how strict our laws are and the amount of hassles we have to license one. But having two young sons soon that will in all likelihood follow my steps into the hunting world, I would strongly consider going through the hassles of importing and licensing a rifle that I can teach them to shoot with. I do not wish to buy a locally sourced .22 and simply hack off the stock and the barrel to make it fit better enabling my boys to shoot it better. I am so too unaware of any air rifle that is built small enough for young children to shoot with that is made to fit them. I am apprehensive to go down the lever action BB gun route too, as I wish to rather teach them with a more powerful firearm from the word go, that will automatically install respect with them.

I have searched the net a little and see that they are also available in .22Mag, and this really caught my attention. If I was to import a Crickett, I would strongly consider getting one of these, and have a suppressor fitted to it if I see fit to do so. (Would one be able to shoot .22Long ammo in it???)

The most important aspects that I will be looking at if / when obtaining this rifle will be as follow, and in no specific order of importance:

• Correct shooting posture - prone, sitting, off hand and from sticks.
• Firearm Safety
• Shot placement
• Trigger control when shooting
• Confidence in shooting
• Relation of distance to trajectory
  
• Creating and building general interest in hunting

Is there any members of this forum that will be willing to share their thoughts and experiences regarding this firearm with me?

 

[Dirtdart]

You will not be able to use .22LR ammunition in a .22Mag chambered firearm.

 

[mdwest]

I’ve got 3 crickets in the safe. I bought the first one almost 22 years ago before my son was born .. it was a great educational tool for him.. he could recite the 4 firearms safety rules by the time he was 3 (our deal was he could touch the rifle and begin learning to use it after he could recite the rules).. and he was shooting cans at a distance of about 30 feet reliably by the time he was 4..

They are cheaply made little rifles.. the sights aren’t great, trigger sucks, etc.. but for what they are designed to do I think they are great.. they fit small children well.. are a good way to start getting them used to working a bolt action.. and I like that they are single shot (control the ammo)...

I wouldn’t worry about a suppressor.. just load it with .22 Long cartridges as opposed to Long Rifle..

Longs feed and function in the rifle very well.. produce even less recoil than the LR and significantly less sound.. great way to introduce a little one and not get them spooked by the loud “bang”..

I was so happy with the original cricket that I bought a pink synthetic one for my first daughter when she was born.. then bought another one for the next daughter as well..

 

[Bullthrower338]

I bought both my sons crickets when they were born both LR versions. Then bought a 17 HMR version at a NRA banquet one night. Mdwest is correct on his critique of quality, it is a good learning tool though. I moved them both up to a CZ 452 scout rifle as soon as they grew enough to shoot it. The CZ is a quality rifle and very accurate. If I had it to do all over again I would have just bought the CZ and sourced a second stock to cut down for the very early years. My eldest son is now 17 and 6’-5” tall and has well outgrown that rifle but he still drags it out and shoots it for old time sake, even though I tell him he looks like the proverbial monkey Pumping a football! Lol
Cherish the time they are small, it only happens once. I’m on my next project for them acquiring parts for two DG rifles that will be identical in all but chambering, one in 404J the other in 470 Capstick with instructions to go hunt buffalo together with these rifles after I’m dead and gone. Time flies!
Cheers,
Cody

 

[curtism1234]

My thought is: if all a kid can shoot is a cricket, the kid is too young to fully comprehend instruction and safety. That could land a 22lr right into someone's body - not anything I would want to happen. It can and has killed people. It's bad enough to be shot in the butt with a BB gun.

I would shoot a lever bb gun till they were 6-8 years old before introducing them to a 22lr. By then they would be big enough to shoot a full size 22 (albeit a bit awkward) with your supervision that they can grow into.

But I am of the old way of thinking...

 

[mdwest]

i dunno.. im pretty old... and think like an old dude most of the time...

and I was hunting squirrels and birds with a .22 and a .410 shotgun at 5 with my father and my uncle... and started shooting at about 4..


there are plenty of people out there that shouldnt be handling a firearm at 40.. much less 4...

I have also seen a lot of kids over the years (below the age of 6) handle firearms safely....

Shyanne Roberts began shooting at 3... and started competitively shooting by the age of 8... placed second in the womens division in the first competition she entered.. has won several competitions since then.. now 14 is a sponsored professional shooter..


https://www.benelliusa.com/benelli-pro-staff/benelli-pro-staff-3-gun/katie-francis

Katie Francis.. started shooting at 5.. is now at 16 a nationally ranked competitive shooter, sponsored by Benelli.. started shooting adult 3 gun at the age of 12 (smoking several well known shooters along her path to pro sponsorship)..


Should they have waited until later?

 

[Bullthrower338]

I would much rather been around my kids at 6 than a lot of the “adults” I see at public ranges!

 

[Newboomer]

Start them young. I started at the age of six with a 16 guage shotgun. My Dad was going bird hunting one morning. We were waiting for the school bus I and asked if I could try it. Having never shot a gun before I had no idea of what I was getting into. He helped me hold and aim it and told me to hold tight. The first shot was an epiphany and instantly instilled in me a healthy respect for firearms. Upon realizing what I had just done and recovering from the recoil I just had to do it again--and again. Then the bus came and we had to go to school but it stuck in my mind all day. I was hooked and the rest is history. From then on I shot every gun I could get my hands on. By age 10 I was hunting on my own and took my first deer. By high school I seldom went anywhere without a gun with me. In those days we walked and hunted our way to school. There were always several guns leaning in the corner of the classroom and no one cared. It was the custom in hunting season.

So I am a strong believer in starting young. Be it a BB gun, small .22 or whatever. As soon as the child is big enough to hold a gun, they are big enough to learn. It's just like getting them on skis as soon as they can walk. My great grand daughter will turn 2 in a couple weeks and I'm contemplating a Cricket for her, not to given to her for another year or two but it will be there for her. A little pink one.

 

[Boela]

Gents, thank you for all your views and opinions, it much appreciated.

It will be almost impossible for me to send one of my boys out to shoot a rifle without me being in their presence - not because it will be trust / judgement issue, but simply because our law states that the licenced owner of the firearm need to be in the presence of the shooter at all times - meaning that I am obliged to supervise them until they are old enough (21 years) to license their own firearms...…… the joys of owning a firearm in South Africa.
It is however important for me to ensure that they learn the correct posture as soon as possible. I would not like to hand them a rifle and they need to stretch their necks in order to ling up with the sights / scope or if they stand and shoot, their backs are almost horizontal to the ground. I am hoping that a Crickett will eliminate this - am I hoping for too much?

@Bulltrower , thank you for mentioning the CZ452, I will look at them too.

Regarding accuracy, will you be able to get a 2" grouping at 50m with one?

 

[Bullthrower338]

Gents, thank you for all your views and opinions, it much appreciated.

It will be almost impossible for me to send one of my boys out to shoot a rifle without me being in their presence - not because it will be trust / judgement issue, but simply because our law states that the licenced owner of the firearm need to be in the presence of the shooter at all times - meaning that I am obliged to supervise them until they are old enough (21 years) to license their own firearms...…… the joys of owning a firearm in South Africa.
It is however important for me to ensure that they learn the correct posture as soon as possible. I would not like to hand them a rifle and they need to stretch their necks in order to ling up with the sights / scope or if they stand and shoot, their backs are almost horizontal to the ground. I am hoping that a Crickett will eliminate this - am I hoping for too much?

@Bulltrower , thank you for mentioning the CZ452, I will look at them too.

Regarding accuracy, will you be able to get a 2" grouping at 50m with one?

The CZ is a very accurate rifle, assuming that it was scoped like my other 452’s I would say most likely it would. The full length rifles that I have are very accurate and shoot well under 2” with the right ammo.
The CZ 452 is out of production now but there are still many available.

 

[Jaws]

Boela,

Just a thought, being from SA, why don't you consider the PCP's ? you can pick one up for less than R3000 brand new & you can source even cheaper secondhand (I got my 5 yo daughter a .22 Artemis PR900 for R1800 incl scope & 10 shot mag)
I took off the butt plate and rounded it to fit her nicely. I was contemplating building a temporary stock out of cheap pine, but she managed OK with the standard stock without the butt plate.
It does a 15-20mm grouping at 50m easily, fart quiet with a little silencer & it gives +/-40 shots to a fill. (I reduced the FPS to +/-680FPSwith a 18.13grn pellet by fiddling with the hammer spring)
The nice thing, no license required and you can get going the same day, no need to wait months to sort the paperwork.
Guaranteed you will end up buying yourself one too once you see what these PCP rifles can do.
We do Pigeon control over decoys after the shotties aren't effective anymore & at the cattle feedlots. The initial investment to buy the rifles, tanks, filling stations etc is around the same price as a decent .22 rimfire, but there after it is dirt cheap if you consider 500 pellets @ R220 a tin. It really is such a straight forward set-up once you get into it.

For me its the easiest & cheapest thing to maintain trigger practice & also to get the whole family into it.

Drop me a PM if you want to get some more info on it.

Congrats on the good news btw!

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

I have 3 crickets and love them for learning purposes. My kids both started with deluxe models back in the 90's when they were called chipmunks. My grandson has a cricket in Stainless laminate. He's 10 now and quite an accomplished shooter.
This is him with an iguana he took in Puerto rico almost 2 years ago .

 

[huntinlabs]

Buddy if you wanted one why didnt you say something?

 

[Bullthrower338]

Buddy if you wanted one why didnt you say something?

Hell Logan, one would easily fit into your rifle case next trip! Sounds like an excuse to go to SA!

 

[Stephen Ausband]

The only problem I might foresee with the cricket is the cocking plunger (or whatever you might call that thing) at the rear of the bolt. Since the bolt doesn't cock the rifle either on opening or on closing, the plunger has to be pulled back to lock position after a round is loaded into the chamber. Question one: Will your young son be able to pull it back into cocked position by himself? (I've never handled a Cricket .22, but I once had an old Remington single shot .22 that took a lot of "pinch power" to cock.) Question two: Once the gun is cocked, I assume the only way to make it safe again is by holding down the trigger while CAREFULLY easing down the cocking plunger with your other hand. If this is correct, do you trust a youngster to be able to manage this safely? As I said, I've never handled a Cricket .22, but experience with other plunger-cocking mechanisms make me wonder about safety and practicality. Not trying to bad-mouth the little rifle, and I certainly approve of getting the young ones started early, but please check out the cocking plunger situation before purchase. Just my $02 worth.
Steve

 

[huntinlabs]

Hell Logan, one would easily fit into your rifle case next trip! Sounds like an excuse to go to SA!

Lol you are right! Maybe next trip I'll have to bring him one over!

 

[crs]

Is this young enough? He was 4 and learning on the same Chipmunk as his mom and uncle.

All are now good shots with rifle and shotgun and love hunting .
His first ten point buck:


Now he is in college, his mom wants to go back to hunting by shooting feral hogs, so,,,,

 

[Boela]

Thank you to each and everyone giving their insights and views, I appreciate it!

@Jaws, thank you very much for the recommendation, I will most definitely keep that in mind! Realistically, this will most probably be the easiest, cheapest and most practical way to go .

@huntinlabs , at the time that I was visiting you, I did not really though that I would ever want to go through all the hassles of importing one to SA. Just because it is a .22 Crickett, does it not by any means make it any easier to import one to SA - I would have to go through all the hassles of permanently importing it, just the same as I would have to with any other firearm . It is only now, after Tanya and I learned that we are in all likelihood expecting another son, that the idea has grown on me - it is really such a cool little rifle, making all the effort a little more worth my while.
I saw how much your kids enjoyed their little rifle, and it was remarkable to see how well they shot with it .
I do however think that it will be a very good idea to have @Bullthrower338 join you on your next trip - apparently he is quite a likeable person to have around in camp…...

@Stephen Ausband, thank you so much for your concerns, and I take them to heart. I would in all honesty prefer it if my son could not pull the plunger back as yet - as mentioned, our laws are very strict in SA regarding the handling of firearms, and will I need to be in his presence (and in control) at all times. I trust that this will install the necessary respect required, as the firearm might be dainty, but by no means less lethal.

@crs, thank you Sir - that is exactly what I will be trying to achieve.

The idea of getting a PCP rifle is great, and will it be just as effective to train my kids with. There is however just something nostalgic about operating a bolt action rifle (I am fully aware that PCP's operate this way too) and have the bolt eject a empty casing. My feeling is that this will expose them to bolt action rifles ejecting spent casings (and with all the movable parts of a centre fire rifle), from the beginning - setting a sound foundation to build on. Having a actual dirty barrel to clean and to see how this influences accuracy, will most definitely be beneficial to them. I would much rather have them learn gun maintenance on their own rifle, before they have the opportunity to start shooting and maintaining any of Mod 70's.