I called T/C today just to confirm this Hot Shot frame doesn’t interchange with any other barrels that T/C offers. I suspected this and I wouldn’t buy one, I would consider a G2 Contender available now in youth with a 223 Remington barrel. You can easily pickup a 22LR or whatever you wish for it as the child grows.
http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/youth_g2_contender.phpI bought a Savage Mark 1 youth in 22LR for my daughter, she loves it. It’s a single shot bolt gun. I also bought an adult Encore stock and cut it down and stuffed plastic Wal-Mart bags in it until over full and slipped on a Limb saver recoil pad. This gives her proper LOP and a very cushion pad, I have a 223 Remington barrel for it so she can practice with sometime heavier than 22LR.
She will graduate to my Mauser 95 action in 243 Winchester and finally to the Weatherby Mark V in 7mm-08 Remington as she grows.
yooper77