TargetTalk

Hi, my first post here. I'm a PPC handgunner type, air rifles are foreign to me.

My daughter is turning 4, and what she wants for her birthday is to learn to shoot.

She has the dexterity, she asked me to build her a tightrope for her 3rd birthday and she can walk it (6" off the ground). She's mature for her age - which means she acts like a 5 year old. At this point I just want to teach her safe handling, how to use the sights, how to breath, without trying to get a tight group, because she still has a 3 minute attention span for anything that doesn't involve an animated Princess. I live in suburban southern California, so at this stage it's got to be an air-rifle in the garage. Probably balloon at 20' for targets.

The problem is that every air rifle I've found is simply too big for her. Does anyone make one that's about 3 lbs, 23" overall and a 12" pull? Maybe that can be dialed down to 250 fps or so, but is still better quality than an official, Red Ryder, Carbine-action, 200-Shot, Range Model, Air Rifle? With a rifled barrel and reasonable open sights?

Any ideas?

An opinion here ...

There are no suitable air rifles for this young of shooter.

Best to start out with a Daisy 499 BB-gun at 5 meters ... chop the stock if you have to
(You cock and load)

When she gets to 7-9 years then she can handle (physically) maybe a S200 or XSV40

Joel Martin

The length will be your problem, rifles will be about 36"+
In concept what you want is a pistol w a stock.

The only one I know of is the out of production Diana 70 or 72. It can go even shorter than 12" LoP. It is basically a break-barrel pistol in a sub-junior rifle stock. You will have to look on the used market for it, and it likely won't be inexpensive.

Check the Daisy 499. It is a BB gun w a smooth barrel, but this model is supposed to be more accurate than the "plain" BB gun.
It is 3 pounds and 36" long
http://www.pilkguns.com/sporterar.shtml

The IZH-60 has an adjustable stock that goes down to just under 12"
It is about 4-1/2 pounds, and the shortest OAL is 31-1/4"
http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=75

gud luk

- edited w IZH60 length

I also recommend a Daisy BB rifle. You can go with several models from the inexpensive (~$40) 105 Buck, to the $50 Red Ryder to the competition grade model 499 ($175). THey all have wood stocks (I am pretty sure) that can be cut off. Your backstop could be as simple as a hanging carpet, heavy blanket or canvas.

There are a couple options. One is to use a Daisy BB gun as some of already suggested. The other is that there is a cheap air rifle out there that is no bigger then a BB gun, but the draw back maybe that it is a break barrel action and she may not be able to cock the rifle herself. I would think however, for a kid that age you wouldn't want the kids to be handling the rifle totally by herself, so that shouldn't be a problem. The rifle is about $25 or $30. The store I worked at got a bunch of these rifles at the last Shot Show. Obviously at that price you aren't buying a target rifle, but they are good enough to teach the basics. If your interested just email me at randys@bigskytel.com.

The Crosman 2250 series are light and short - e.g. 3lb, ~30in.
Their 1377 pistol can apparently take the same shoulder stock.

Also the Baikal MP-514K
The 514 is a very compact spring driven repeater.
http://www.baikalinc.ru/en/company/118.html

There's also a stock available for the Drozd - this is a select-fire BB pistol, maybe not the best option for a 4 yr old!

I'm not a fan of BB guns. BB's conserve much of their energy and so will ricochet w/ significant force.

An airsoft rifle may be another option. They not very accurate, but there are alot options for compact rifles.

But your best best may be to cut down the stock of an inexpensive CO2 pellet rifle.

I also would suggest the Daisy 449. The stock is wood so it can be shortened. It is plenty accurate.

I would not recommend the Daisy Buck. They are hard to cock, multi-shot and inaccurate. Might cause frustration with a young shooter. Red Ryder is a little better and ok for toting in the woods but it is not near as good as the 499 for accuracy.

I also would suggest the Daisy 449. The stock is wood so it can be shortened. It is plenty accurate.

I would not recommend the Daisy Buck. They are hard to cock, multi-shot and inaccurate. Might cause frustration with a young shooter. Red Ryder is a little better and ok for toting in the woods but it is not near as good as the 499 for accuracy.

We have a Daisy 888 at our club that was cut down for a small shooter.

It's pretty easy to shorten the stock on them. She still won't have the strength to shoot it off hand, but it will work well for supported shooting.