The Crickett .22 bolt action rifle is one of several designed specifically for the “children’s” gun market. The Crickett’s biggest competitor is the Savage Rascal. How does the Crickett .22 stack up as both a children’t strainer and a bug out gun? Let’s find out.
A patriotically covered Crickett .22 Rifle In All It’s Glory!
Crickett .22 Philosophy Of Use (POU):
To a prepper/survivalist, the Crickett .22 has two main uses. First, it’s a “first rifle” to give to children to use as a platform to teach them how to shoot, to teach them firearms safety and to help them develop a sense of responsibility. This is what the gun was designed for, what it is marketed as, and what everybody thinks about as it’s POU.
There is another (and rather interesting) POU for the Crickett .22 rifle… it’s an inexpensive, small, light weight .22 that disassembles with one screw (well, sort of) and breaks down into a very small package. This makes it (and other guns in the Crickett’s class) a very interesting Bug Out Bag (BOB) and Get Home Bag (GHB) option to consider.
Crickett .22 Design:
The Crickett .22 is a tiny gun, measuring out JUST at the legal limit for rifles. The gun is a single shot only, bolt action rifle. As a safety feature, opening and/or closing the bolt does not cock the weapon, a (plastic) knob must be pulled backwards on the bolt to cock the gun. A pull of the trigger fires the gun, and opening the bolt ejects the spent shell.
The “working bits” of the Crickett .22
The Crickett .22 is available with or without an added “Key Safety Feature”, although those sold in “big box” stores all have the “Key Safety”. This is a button on the bottom of the rifle that, when depressed with the bolt open, prevents the bolt from closing. To open the button, one must insert a key into the mechanism that surrounds the button and unlock it.
This is a controversial feature. It does keep the Crickett .22 from being fired by a child not possessing the key (unless that child is very mechanically minded), but it also is exceedingly easy to push the button in accidentally while holding onto the gun during cycling the bolt action.
This “feature” can easily be removed from the gun by removing the action from the stock, and using a 9/16th deep socket to unscrew the nut that holds the lock in the stock. This will leave a hole in the bottom of the stock, but I find that not to be a distraction.
Non-Standard Screw Alert!
The Cricketts’ disassembly screw is not a standard Phillips or flathead, rather it is headed by a screw that requires a TT25 torque bit to remove… this screw can be replaced by a standard screw if desired.
If a person plans on using the Crickett .22 in a GHB or BOB, I would recommend removing the key lock entirely and switching out the TT25 headed screw with a standard screw head… of course, you could always just buy the Crickett without the key safety in the first place.
The gun can be scoped, but it requires the purchase of a special mount from Crickett.
Build Quality:
Frankly, the gun feels cheap. Lots of plastic where metal would have done better, all the parts just have the look and feel of cheap/slapped together. This gun feels like it was made in China, and not in a good way.
Tale Of The Tape:
Stock: Polymer & also available in many types of wood
Capacity: 1 round
Finish: Blued
Barrel Length: 16 1/8
Overall Length: Standard stock, 30 1/2
Front Sight: Blade
Rear Sight: Peep
Weight: 3 lbs
Ammunition:
.22LR, L & S. Strangely enough, the manufacturer recommends “Federal” ammo, but doesn’t say whether that ammo should be HV or SV.
Shooting & Action:
The Crickett .22 is extremely accurate, well behaved, and shoots exactly as you would expect it. Obviously, since it’s a child rifle, it’s very, very, very short in the length of pull. Still, it’s quite manageable even for somebody like me who’s 6’3. Length of pull is a whopping 12 inches.
The bolt action cycles nicely. The “cocking” pull is a bit harder than it needs to be, and the little round “gripping” knob at the back of the bolt doesn’t allow fingers as good of purchase as it should. Additionally, it’s plastic and feels… plastocheap…
The trigger? That’s really the heart of any gun, especially a kid’s rifle. To put it bluntly, the Crickett .22’s trigger stinks. The manufacturer says the gun has a trigger pull of 2 ½-3 inches. Baloney. Mine’s about 6 pounds, and it’s ragged and harsh in the pull. The competition, the Rascal, features the fantastic Savage Accutrigger.
The sights are actually good, this gun will totally pound tacks at 50 yards. They are easy to set, and stay put. The LOP is too short for me to get any cheek weld on it, but kids can.
Crickett Precision Rifle
Jeepers Creepers how about them PEEPERS…
The Bottom Line:
Let me start by just saying this: if you are considering buying this gun or it’s competition, the Savage Rascal, for either POU, buy the Savage. Period.
Honestly, it’s not even close. The Savage has an immensely better trigger (which is the heart of any gun, and critical when teaching younglings the proper trigger technique), it’s built better, has better sights and a more solid feel to it. Additionally, Rascals come tapped for a standard Weaver mount, while you have to order a special scope mount from Crickett to put optics on the Crickett.
I would have reviewed these guns together for a compare/contrast situation, but my Rascal is out on loan to a group member so she can start working with her 6-year-old. Santa has informed me the child will be getting a Pink Rascal of her own at Christmas time so I will be getting mine back after the first of the year and will review it separately.
If you happen to see a Crickett .22 dirt cheap, don’t be afraid of buying it, they aren’t really BAD guns… this Crickett I bought second-hand for $50 and others are out there in that price range. Pull out the safety, stick it in your GHB and you have a nice little setup.
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I bought my new-born daughter’s Cricket 12 years ago. It impressed me with its excellent sights, crisp trigger and flawless blued finish. The $100 selling price was a spectacular value for this little gem.
Regrettably, you may have boarded the train too late to enjoy the best example of this breed but mine is a keeper.