Has anyone tried one of the Crickett precision rifles and if so what are your thoughts on them?
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Crickett precision rifle
- Thread starter robcho
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They look cool. Fun for the kiddos as they get to feel like daddy with a cool looking rifle. Accuracy isn't great.
Seems like a marketing gimmick to me. But if it helps the little kids get more involved in shooting then it something to consider.
Too bad nobody makes little .31 or .36 black powder rifles for kids starting out. Would be a fun way to get them started in the basics, and the little powder cloud should bring lots of smiles.
Too bad nobody makes little .31 or .36 black powder rifles for kids starting out. Would be a fun way to get them started in the basics, and the little powder cloud should bring lots of smiles.
Spend a few more bucks and get the CZ Scout comes with a youth stock and a threaded barrel. Has a great set of iron sights with the option to mount a scope also has a phenomenal trigger.
I have a CZ 457 and love it so a scout would be outstanding. As a compromise gun that’s better than the Cricket, a Savage Rascal should be considered as 1) it doesn’t do that wonky main spring cock that you have to do that little ones may struggle with 2) it has a decent trigger... it used the Accurtrigger lifted from a MkII it’s based on 3) accepts optics easily 4) Costs little more than the Cricket and 1/2 what the CZ costs. I see the often for $150 or less. I think I got mine for maybe $120-130 on sale a couple years ago.
I handled the Cricket and it was an awful feeling gun in comparison. The CZ Scout has a 12” LOP and is 4# as I recall. Really light. The Rascal has a similar LOP and is substantially lighter. Here’s ours with a Red dot added.
I handled the Cricket and it was an awful feeling gun in comparison. The CZ Scout has a 12” LOP and is 4# as I recall. Really light. The Rascal has a similar LOP and is substantially lighter. Here’s ours with a Red dot added.
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Looking at the different options the Savage rascal does look good for the money. Now the interesting part will be to find one.
My son got a cricket for Christmas from my brother when he was 5. Shot his first beaver when he was 8, it was swimming and a good 40 yards out. on demand from my aunt as they were destroying the family fishing hole.
Neat gun for small kids, there are better. He had the older style one, but he could make it work.
Neat gun for small kids, there are better. He had the older style one, but he could make it work.
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If the cricket gets the kiddos more excited, it's well worth it. Can always upgrade later down the line. They do grow fast and interests change quickly, so get em hooked early
Weve got a little girl on the way, and as soon as I can find one I’m gonna pick up a savage rascal minimalist with the pink/purple laminate stock. I like the features the rascal has.
If you can, do what I was able to do: Compare a Cricket and Rascal side-by-side. Their triggers. Their bolt effort. The fact you’ve got an additional step of your little ones having to reach for a knob on the back of the bolt after they chamber a round and try and cock the mainspring (it requires a bit of strength young ones may not have... and I didn’t want to insert a parent-cocking-step in our hunts). The overall feel of the guns themselves. A cricket to me seemed like a strange cheap feeling little gun. The rascal seemed to me like just a way chopped down Savage MkII. They’re both tiny little guns.... I want to say the Rascal isn’t even 3 pounds. I’ve shot a couple hundred rounds through it myself. Its a fun little gun and I don’t mind shooting the little gun w/my daughter here and there, to show her what accuracy it’s capable of. It’s shorter barrel makes High Velocity ammunition a bit extra loud. I bought a small supply of CCI Quiets (still a 40 grain LR-length bullet, unlike shooting CBs. They fly accurately at a distance) for her looking hunting use. While not pellet gun quiet in my 24” barrel CZ, they are plenty quiet to where hearing protection isn’t required... and my daughter is very noise sensitive. Standard velocity that’s still subsonic are also decent. All the supersonic stuff about pistol-loud to me. In the end, I thought it was the most fun for the money and a good fit for her. I grew up without youth model anything and really struggled until I was maybe 11 or 12. I was lugging around an adult-sized pump action .410 at the age of 7 or 8 I couldn’t even shoulder properly because that’s what we had to use. I swore I would buy a couple smaller guns after I had kids so they would have something matched to their size.
I would have sprung for a $300 dollar CZ scout over a Cricket if the Rascal didn’t exist. I though the Cricket wasn’t all that great, personally... other than the price. The Rascal is a really good alternative. They’re in stock all the time at PSA... and are often a sale item at $150, sometimes closer to $100 around the holidays.
Good luck.
I would have sprung for a $300 dollar CZ scout over a Cricket if the Rascal didn’t exist. I though the Cricket wasn’t all that great, personally... other than the price. The Rascal is a really good alternative. They’re in stock all the time at PSA... and are often a sale item at $150, sometimes closer to $100 around the holidays.
Good luck.
