Kids First Deer Rifle

[Cant hit em]

Euro optics usually have .243 or 6.5 compacts in stock.

 

[Timwinjr]

my softest shooting rifle is my Cooper in 260. I’ve had kids shoot it with ease. Great round.

 

[Titan_Bow]

A carbine length AR-15 chambered in 6mm ARC, 6.5mm Grendel, or 6.8SPC would be my choice for small child or new hunter. My son has taken quite a few deer and antelope with a 16” barrel 6.8spc. It really does a great job, has very minimal recoil, and potential follow up shots are easy.
I like the one I built my son so much, I’m building a 20” barrel 6mmARC for myself


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[wind gypsy]

Worked at my local range for public site in day last weekend. I'd guess 80% of the grown men shooting their rifles were flinching like crazy.

Makes me think 6 ARC or 6.5 Grendel in a howa mini or TC encore (ala hobbit rifle) with a suppressor would be the way to go if you don't want to try to coach a tiny human through a flinch or possible dislike for shooting.

 

[Leaf Litter]

350 legend is a nice mild recoil and good starter round for young hunters.

 

[CHMD]

I went with a Mossberg patriot youth in 350 Legend. The gun fits him well and is light enough that he can handle it easily. The round works well and has mild recoil. With the stick spacers that come with it he won’t outgrow it for a while.

 

[Waterboy]

I had considered my AR-15 but it’s very heavy. Although with the kiddos we would be hunting from a shooting house so a rest wouldn’t be an issue.

Same boat. I have a 20” Grendel ar. I think the recoil would be fine but I don’t believe the ar platform is a simple enough rifle for a kid to safely operate. I’m thinking single shot, bolt action or lever action. Leaning 300bo or 350 legend for a handy short range rifle daddy can use too.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I have a Tikka 223 getting cut to 16.5", that'll be the gun my kids start hunting with.

 

[Waterboy]

I went with a Mossberg patriot youth in 350 Legend. The gun fits him well and is light enough that he can handle it easily. The round works well and has mild recoil. With the stick spacers that come with it he won’t outgrow it for a while.

I have a patriot in 308. Not crazy about it but it shoots. I’m leaning 30 cal for blood trailing since my little ones won’t be doing that for a few years. How does it fit your kid and how big is he if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[Yoder]

I bought my son a Marlin.243 bolt action youth model. It was under $300. It shoots great and actually has a trigger similar to the Savage accu trigger. My wife killed her first deer with it this year.

 

[CHMD]

I have a patriot in 308. Not crazy about it but it shoots. I’m leaning 30 cal for blood trailing since my little ones won’t be doing that for a few years. How does it fit your kid and how big is he if you don’t mind me asking?

It fits him really well, even with warm bulky clothes on. And he has room to grow with it. When he gets big enough to shoot my guns, I’d like to get him something nicer. For now though, it’s pretty ideal. He’s about 4’ 6” and 75lbs.

 

[Swamp Fox]

I would set them up with rigs that match their squirrel rifles.

Win-win-win.

 

[Waterboy]

It fits him really well, even with warm bulky clothes on. And he has room to grow with it. When he gets big enough to shoot my guns, I’d like to get him something nicer. For now though, it’s pretty ideal. He’s about 4’ 6” and 75lbs.

He is a giant compared to my little girl. Lol I think we have the same idea. My thought process is to buy something nice “that I like” that fits them. Compared to buying something cheap that fits them.

 

[BigNate]

I can't believe this is three pages in and little mention of the Rockslide special! ;D

Seriously though, an AR in .223/5.56 with a 1:7 barrel, fed some Sierra 77gr. Tipped Match Kings will work so well they may never " move up". It's LOP is adjustable, and it will continue to get used, long after they're done being young.

There are other bullets that work but this seems to be the pinnacle.

 

[Rich M]

He is a giant compared to my little girl. Lol I think we have the same idea. My thought process is to buy something nice “that I like” that fits them. Compared to buying something cheap that fits them.

350 Legend might be a good one for you. I ended up w Ruger American Ranch rifle. It shoots subMOA. I love it.

A single shot 357 mag rifle will get your little one hunting sooner, with a 100 yd range. My wife and step son fight over who gets to use that gun. He’s timid with the louder guns. We shoot a ruger m77/357 stainless bolt.

 

[spdrman]

Didn’t read every comment word for word but thought I’d see more suppressor suggestions on whatever you chose .

My boys where 5-6 when they wanted to start shooting farther than their 22lr’s would allow so I had them try my 260 with reduced loads, they liked it but it still thumped them pretty good so I put a brake on it, the added noise of the brake scared them more than the recoil without the brake and they preferred it without the brake, so that’s when I bought my first suppressor, reducing the noise and recoil they’d shoot all my ammo in a single range trip if I’d let them.

It’s also nice being able to communicate with them while they are setup on an animal without the restriction of ear pro on and not worrying about their hearing. I tried the electronic muffs and trust me when I saw they forget them all the time.

Other thing I’d look into is a chassis setup if you choose not to use an AR, LOP is important for little people but a lot of people overlook an adjustable cheek piece, last thing you want is there head floating around trying to look through the scope, it’s getting better now but when I first setup my boys rifles the cheek rest was so high I couldn’t see through the scopes but the way they’d shoot them I knew it was good for them, nice thing with chassis’s is it doesn’t take much adjustment for it to fit you if you want to double check the zero

Boys are 9 and 11 now now and have had quite a successful hunting careers at such a young age

 

[Durran87]

My wife shoots a youth Savage .243 bolt. It shoots so nice—I add a buttstock extender and shoot does with it late season.

 

[4GIVON]

350 legend. Soft recoil and very little muzzle blast / report. Bought one for the kids, but find myself wanting to grab it here lately

 

[deezs]

If you get a youth rifle make sure it has the option to lengthen the stock, even then they will out grow it fast, mine is 13 and had to go to a full size this season. Another thing I found was my cva muzzle loader fit him very good when he was smaller as well

 

[Long Cut]

A CVA Scout single shot rifle in .243, .300blk, 6.5 CM or .350 Legend

Keep it simple, economical and mild on the recoil.