Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan 22 LR – Proven 16.1 in. Youth Single Shot

Description

Most first rifles fail on fit rather than on anything mechanical. A stock that is too long pushes the head back off the sights, the shooter cranes their neck, the groups open up, and a child decides they are bad at this. The Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan is built the other way round: 11.5 inches of length of pull and under three pounds, sized for the shooter rather than shortened from something that was not.

This Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan is Keystone part number KSA2235: a desert tan synthetic stock over a blued 16.1 inch barrel. The stock is molded in color all the way through, so the scuffs a rifle of this kind is going to collect do not show as bright plastic underneath.

Underneath the color it is the same single shot, manual cocking, bolt action .22 that Keystone has built in Milton, Pennsylvania since 1996. One round at a time, a striker that has to be cocked by hand, and a rebounding firing pin safety.

Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan at a glance

• Single shot bolt action chambered for .22 Short, .22 Long and .22 Long Rifle.
• 16.1 inch blued barrel, 1:16 twist, on a blued receiver drilled and tapped for Crickett scope mounts.
• Desert tan synthetic stock, molded in color, 11.5 inch length of pull, sling swivel studs fitted.
• Adjustable rear peep sight and a fixed front post.
• Manual cocking striker: the rifle cannot fire until the cocking piece is drawn back by hand.
• Rebounding firing pin safety, under three pounds, 30 inches overall, Keystone lifetime warranty.

How to know the Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan fits

• With the rifle shouldered and the trigger finger on the trigger, there should be a couple of fingers’ width between the thumb knuckle and the nose. Less than that and the stock is too short; a lot more and it is too long.
• The eye should land behind the peep naturally when the cheek touches the stock. If the shooter has to stretch forward or pull back to find the aperture, the length of pull is wrong.
• The trigger finger should reach the trigger with the first pad, not the crease of the joint. On a Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan most children in the usual age range manage this easily.
• Both arms should support the rifle without shaking within about ten seconds. If they cannot, the rifle is still too heavy, whatever the stock measures.
• Children grow out of an 11.5 inch length of pull eventually, which is a good problem: the rifle keeps its value and Keystone also builds full size versions of the same design.

Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan specifications

• Manufacturer part number: KSA2235
• Chambering: .22 Short, .22 Long and .22 Long Rifle
• Capacity: single shot
• Action: manual cocking bolt action
• Barrel: 16.1 inches, blued
• Rifling: 1:16 twist
• Receiver: blued, drilled and tapped for Crickett scope mounts
• Sights: adjustable rear peep, fixed front post
• Stock: desert tan synthetic, molded in color, sling swivel studs
• Length of pull: 11.5 inches
• Overall length: 30 inches
• Weight: under 3 pounds
• Trigger: single stage, roughly 2.5 to 3 pounds
• Safety: rebounding firing pin
• Warranty: Keystone lifetime
• MSRP: $169

Sights, optics and ammunition for the Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan

The rear sight on the Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan is a peep, and that is the right choice for a beginner. A notch rear asks the shooter to line up three things at once; an aperture lets the eye center the front post automatically, so there is one less thing to explain on a first range trip. The rear is adjustable for elevation and the front post is fixed.

The receiver is drilled and tapped, and our Crickett 3/8 inch scope mount base kit is the factory part for it rather than a generic rail. A small rimfire scope shortens the learning curve considerably, though it is worth teaching irons first so the habit is there.

For ammunition, Remington Golden Bullet 36 grain plated hollow point in the 525 round box covers both target practice and small game out of a 16 inch barrel. Standard velocity loads are quieter than high velocity, which matters more to a new shooter than most adults remember.

The Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan is also chambered for .22 Short and .22 Long, which are quieter still. We do not currently stock either, so tell us if that is what you want and we will look at bringing some in.

Supervision and storage

A Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan is a firearm and nothing about its size changes that. It should be used under direct adult supervision every time, and stored locked and separate from its ammunition. The rebounding firing pin safety stops a dropped rifle from discharging; it does not supervise anybody.

Teach the cocking piece on the Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan first. The rifle can be loaded with the bolt closed and still cannot fire until the striker is cocked by hand, which gives the adult behind the shooter an unambiguous visual state check and gives the shooter a habit that carries over to every rifle they handle afterwards.

The purchase is a normal firearm transfer made by the adult, not by the child the rifle is intended for. Your transferring dealer runs the paperwork exactly as for any other rifle.

Who the Crickett My First Rifle Desert Tan suits

• Families who want a neutral finish rather than a bright one, because a tan stock passes down between children without looking like it belonged to somebody else.
• First shooters in the usual Crickett age range, where a properly sized stock is the whole point.
• Scout troops, 4-H programs and youth ranges that need something light, simple and hard to misuse.
• Anyone who wants a cheap, accurate single shot for close range small game on a small property.

If a brighter stock suits better, we also hold the same rifle as the Crickett My First Rifle in blue synthetic, which is identical apart from the color. Specifications here come from the distributor record and from Keystone Sporting Arms’ own product page.

This is a serialized firearm and ships to a licensed dealer for transfer. We are holding 197 of the desert tan, so there is no wait on this one.