Need help setting my daughter up for prone shooting

[Jason]

My daughter, Abby, has started shooting prone and will be eventually 3- and then 4-position with the local 4H club. She is 9 and small for her age, so even their small guns are pretty big for her. On top of that, she wants to shoot the summer prone league next summer after she practices with the 4H club this fall and winter. That leads me to want to get her a rifle of her own set up. The only rifle that I have small enough for her to shoot is her little pink CZ 452 Scout. I had the idea that I could set it up easily enough for prone with a stock and some decent sights. There are some complications with that, of course. The first one that I'm up against is trying to mount decent sights. The rear sight I think can be handled with something clamps onto the dovetail. I had planned to use one of my Lyman 17A front sights but the dovetail cut into the barrel is bigger than the standard 3/8" dovetails that I'm accustomed to. I'm assuming that it's some sort of European, and probably therefore metric, size. I haven't been able to find the exact size or a sight or sight base to go into it, though. If I could find a sight base (i.e.- goes into the dovetail and provides a base to clamp a target sight onto), that would be ideal.

Anyone gone through this before and have info or particular model or sight or sight base I should look into? Also, has anyone found a particular rear sight that would work well for an application like this? For reference, this is what her little scout looks like. The front sight isn't a target sight like it might appear. It's just a normal post in a dovetail and the hood clamps to the barrel.

[Bob259]

Jason, You could probably do something like I set up on my 1710, for our Open Sight Indoor Sporterifle league. I use the regular Anschutz 6834 sight set that the rear mounts right on the dovetail and had (at the time) Neal Johnsons make me a front plate that went on where the original front sight was. It was made the same as on the target rifle and the front globe bolted to it. Works great. That way when she moved up to a regular target rifle you'd have the sight set to move to the new rifle and she would be familiar with it and it's adjustments.

[Finprof]

There is a version of the Lyman 17a that fits the European dovetail instead of the US dovetail.
Brownells carries them.

Have you looked at the youth version of the Russian CM-2?

At our club we have a bunch of loaners for kids. Most are either Anschutz Achievers or a Marlin with a blue plastic adjustable target stock.

[Jerry G]

No-Deal Neal is out of business. Can't you make a shim to take the extra space in the dovetail?

I hope your daughter does like shooting when you finaly get the gun set-up. I guess next you'll have to get a pink cap like JB has. It does somrthing for his looks but I'm not too sure what it is yet.

[Jason]

I can't make a spacer to fit the Lyman 17A sights that I have into the dovetail on the 452 Scout, as the dovetail is really big and it wouldn't be secure in there. I called up CZ-USA and talked to Mike, the gunsmith. According to him, the dovetail is a 10mm dovetail that I wouldn't find anything resembling a target sight or sight base on this continent to fit. I bet I could get a little bloop tube to put on there that I could mount a sight base to, though. Anyone got the skills to make one of those or know where I can get one? I think I might need to get it custom made, as I doubt there's much demand for bloop tubes for barrels as thin as the 452 Scout has.

I'm considering just buying a different rifle for prone shooting. By the time I gets sights and a stock for the little Scout, I could probably just buy a cheaper kid prone rifle and she would have two guns. Anyone got ideas on what other rifles I should consider? I looked up the "Cadet" version of the CM-2 and the stock still looks really big even though the barrel is shorter and thinner. At 8lbs, that's probably more than she can handle for at least a couple more years. She's not even 60lbs yet herself. I think the 4H club is considering buying a couple of the Savage Mark I-FVT rifles from CMP, but they don't look like they have a rail so I'm not sure how good they will be for the task. They're getting them from CMP for $220 but they can only belong to the club so I can't buy her one through them. I haven't seen one for less than about $320 through normal channels. Anyone got any other suggestions or know of a kid prone rifle that someone grew out of?

[Innocent]

Jason,
Have you looked at the Izhmash basic biathalon? Very good rifle.

Mary

[Bob259]

Jason, All you need to order is your culbs CMP number and you can order yourself for that price.

See the CMP link here http://www.thecmp.org/22targetcommercial.htm.

If they are ordering some for the club they have a CMP number and all you need is that number and to fillout the CMP paperwork.

[Jason]

Are you sure about that? It sounds like that page you linked goes right along with what the 4H club guy told me:

Purchasing organizations must be CMP affiliates with a junior rifle marksmanship activity or be youth camps employing instructors who are trained and certified through a CMP Instructor Training Course (ITC). Clubs, teams or camps may order as many rifles as they wish as long as they can demonstrate that the rifles will be used for their junior marksmanship program and are not for resale or other re-transfer to individuals.

Sounds like it's for club use only. What am I missing?

[Bob259]

I saw that too and was thinking the same thing, but sometimes it's misleading what is on the site to restrict/limit multiple purchases from one group/individual and they will sell to members of a club that will be using in one of the programs. They are great to deal with give them a call and ask, I would hope that they will.