First youth gun advice/input/sizing

[browning2480]

I agree with .243. I have 3 boys and they all started on that. Savage youth model. I was surprised at how well it killed deer. Everyone dropped shooting 95gr SSTs. Hornady also makes a low recoil for it that they target shoot with. We have killed a pile of deer with it now.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

The 243 is a great round that so far all of my girls had started on and I haven't graduated from. Having said that I'm starting the rest of my kids on a 223. I am fairly partial to Savage rifles.

Esse quam videri

 

[Felix40]

I guess I will add to this old thread too.

There is something to be said for a first rifle being something you can keep forever and hand down to kids and grandkids. Nothing wrong with a synthetic stock savage but wood stocks and blued metal seem more timeless to me. I started with a Remington 600 in .243 that was my grandmas first rifle. I have a black and white picture of her in her 20s with a bull she killed with this rifle. I killed my first buck with it when I was 13 and I expect my son will kill his first buck with it in a few years. Its definitely not a fancy gun but it feels different than a gun with a plastic stock.

Ruger makes a compact rifle with a walnut stock and there are a bunch of well made used guns that could be cut down pretty easily.

 

[Rich M]

7-08 or .308 will kill deer better than 243. I was on a lease and got to trail a handful (6 or 7) of 243 shot deer one year - and found a very nice buck kid lost by not looking. That all ended when the boy got old enough to shoot a bigger gun - he stopped having to track em all.

Nothing wrong with 243. I have 2. Just not the best to be shooting a deer in the shoulder with. Also be easier to find deer out west as opposed to in the eastern thickets.

If you are gonna have short shots (under 100 yards) a 357 magnum rifle would work well - relatively quiet and like 5# of recoil. I've got a Ruger M77-357 and my wife, my stepson and I all use it. Probably 12 deer dead to it, 1 didn't fall DRT. I use it when hunting tight areas.

 

[Longranger]

My sons first upgrade from the 22 was a wood stocked tikka 223 which I shortened the LOP to 11.25. I made a couple spacers while grinding the pad. Worked out great and he loves shooting it. Last fall I moved him up to a 6.5 Creedmoor with a brake an he managed to take his first deer with it and handles the recoil fine being he was only 11 and 55lbs. Proper fit is a must and it’s easier to cut down a wood stock than the hollow plastic ones. I’ve taken several deer with the 243 as well but if your going to allow him to shoot at longer distances I would step it up in caliber to a 260 or 6.5 Creedmoor. You can always load it down if necessary.

 

[TexasElevation]

Ruger American predator with youth model stock
Chambered in 6.5 creedmoor with a muzzle break if worried about recoil. 129g sst is equal to a .22.
My 6 year old can shoot 2” groups at 100 yards.

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[270BBD]

My son loves his 270 and my daughter loves her 6mm. Both started shooting them at 9.

 

[Wmmichael20]

How's used to sell a youth rifle that cam with a second full length stock for when the kiddos out grow it...or cva also makes a compact model that's great for short statured people and it's under 250 bucks, and Marlin makes a youth 336 in 30-30 and parred up with the Hornady leverevolution ammo it's a legitimate 250 yard gun.

 

[blacktail sniper]

I would also suggest a 7/08 my daughter has been shooting her from 11 to now 120 running 3150 no brake. With that said my son just turned 11 and shoots a 6.5 saum with a brake no problem and his gun is only a hair over 7.5 lbs. We wanted calibers they could grow with.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Both my boys shoot an AR in 6.8 for deer and hogs...they both have adjustable stocks and .22 uppers...Started them off with ..22 uppers until they got gun safety and comfortable shooting and manipulating controls. Once they are comfortable I switched uppers to 6.8..My oldest has killed 2 8pts and a few hogs..with the adjustable stock they never out grow it and my wife and I can shoot them anytime we want as well.

 

[JP100]

+1 for a .243
Ive used one as my main big game rifle for 10 years and it will kill most things, easy to shoot.

Id stick to .243, 6.5creed/.260/6.5x55 or 7mmo8
30-30 or reduced .308 loads are another option.

Tikka make a youth rifle, as do savage.

Could get a 2nd hand wooden stock rifle and chop it down, most synthetic stocks are hard to modify as the plastic is hollow. Wooden stocks are easy to cut down.

 

[Myronman3]

When my small son could go deer hunting the first time (10), i solved this issue with a 6.8 spc. The AR platform eats all the recoil, and the stock adjusts to any length.

I am a single shot or bolt guy, but dont overlook the AR platform for kids. When you shoot, it is one shot at a time, teach them to use it like a single shot, making the first shot the last shot, and they will.

 

[Myronman3]

A 44 magnum rifle works well too....as long as you are not hunting over 100yards.

 

[FishfinderAK]

We had great luck w a Tikka compact in 7mm-08!

 

[deerkiller]

apparently I'm the ONLY one who chose this route …. Kimber Hunter in 6.5 CM, lopped the barrel to 20" & cut the stock down to my 10 y/o GS and saved the piece (very simple matter to replaced it when needed) I don't know WHY anyone would still put a first timer in a .243 since the Creedmor had gained such notoriety ? IF you handload it's a small matter to tailor the load and allow it to grow with the youngster … if factory is the option there are still a myriad of "easier" loads with good HUNTING bullets available - (please don't start the ".243 has killed plenty of elk and moose" rhetoric, not with the CM in the debate ….) He'll be 12 this winter and if he chooses a step up in cartridge I'll gladly "inherit" that CM for a handy "rig gun" (AND it's already trained)

 

[Dennyd]

7-08, 25-06, 6.5, my son started with full size butt stock it was alittle long but with a lot of practice he adapted. Had to move scope all the way back. We mainly shoot with biPods on our rifles so both hands were on the stock. Arizona shooting everything is long shots.

 

[Wmmichael20]

When my small son could go deer hunting the first time (10), i solved this issue with a 6.8 spc. The AR platform eats all the recoil, and the stock adjusts to any length.

I am a single shot or bolt guy, but dont overlook the AR platform for kids. When you shoot, it is one shot at a time, teach them to use it like a single shot, making the first shot the last shot, and they will. View attachment 112010View attachment 112014

I'm a fan of the 6.8 as well especially since I already have.277cal bullets for reloading my 270win, I believe I'll get a barrel for my tc contender for my boy when he starts hunting,and maybe a stag upper for me

 

[Catahoula]

7mm-08 or .308Win.

 

[Lowg08]

We actually bought this gun. Works great. It fits smaller frame hunters and not to price to beat up a little

 

[robby denning]

While my son shoots a .308 since he was 10, it was because he inherited it from grandpa. If I was starting fresh, I’d go 6.5 CM or 7mm-08. Prolly a Tikka if this available to keep it light. I handload his .308 so I can keep the recoil down and would do the same with those cals of it were me.

Whatever you decide, let us know.


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