The first time I ever shot a gun, my husband introduced me to shooting by taking me to our local gun range. I prayed the whole way there that he would forget his code to get in because I was so terrified. Of course, he didn’t forget, and we went on in and he set me up with his little bolt-action .22. With my hand shaking so bad I didn’t know if I could continue, I fed one round in at a time, took deep breaths and slowly took my shots.
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By the time we were finished I was laughing and excited and asking, “We can come here anytime we want, 24/7?” And that is how I fell in love with bolt-action rifles.
Fast forward several years and I now struggle to shoot long guns because I have bicep tendonitis in my left arm and I can’t hold a rifle or shotgun up for long. But when offered a chance to try out the Rossi RB22 Compact, I just had to try it. It is bolt-action after all.
The Rossi RB22 stats from the website include the following information:
The first thing I did was read through the manual, as is always recommended. It explains the need to clean the rifle before shooting to get all the “maintenance” grease off. The next step is installing the bolt because it is shipped in a little bag. The manual had very clear directions for this as well.
Time to shoot. I tried a couple of different distances and settled on 15 yards as the best distance for me to test the Rossi RB22. I shot freehand, at an indoor range.
My groups were all acceptable. The ammunition I shot and the results were as follows:
It feels a bit odd to shoulder a rifle that is SO light. The best part, however, was discovering I didn’t really need to hold it up with my left arm. I could just more or less “guide” it where I wanted it, not using my bicep strength at all. While I couldn’t shoot it one-handed, I could just hold it up to my shoulder with one hand. For the first time in years, I was able to hold a long gun up and shoot for quite a while without hurting at all.
One may wonder since it’s so light if it may have more recoil than most .22 rifles (which is very little anyway), but it doesn’t at all. The recoil feels no different than other .22s.
Have you known someone that wants to try shooting, but is afraid because of what they’ve seen on TV or at the movies and they’re afraid that if they pull the trigger it’ll blast off a bunch of rounds like a machine gun? With the Rossie RB22 Compact it will be easy to show them that you have to run the bolt for every shot so there is no way they can “accidentally” fire off more rounds at a time than they want. This makes it an excellent introductory rifle.
There are also a lot of us small women out there and the Rossi is so lightweight that anyone can lift it. It’s also great to use to teach children who are mature enough and ready to learn. The typical lack of heavy recoil makes it not the least bit intimidating. And with an MSRP of under $200, it’s an affordable way to get anyone started in shooting – and that is why this one is a keeper for me, so that I can use it for just such a purpose.
MSRP: $185.99
Click here to read more about the Rossie RB22 compact.
Nancy Keaton is a retired college administrator, president of her local gun club, competitive shooter and freelance writer whose work has appeared in A Girl and A Gun Women’s Shooting League, "American Shooting Journal," "American Concealed," "Northwest Meetings + Events," and other publications. She enjoys writing about a wide variety of topics and interviewing ordinary people doing amazing things. To see a compilation of her writing, check out her website at www.nancykeaton.com. View all posts by Nancy Keaton
